Summary of newspapers of the previous day – 15. 10. 2008

To study rural development at virtual university of third age is possible in Klatovy

A virtual university of third age is in fact a form of distance elderly education. It is dealt with a long-term common activity whose aim is to make accessible education to elderly people market as University of Third Age (U3V), so to the interested people who can not for various reasons attend a presence U3V study at universities. Therefore it will be used mainly by those who would have to commute at a seat of university, whose course they would like to attend, with difficulties, and further also interested people with a handicap and health problems. The virtual U3V education fulfills one of aims of the U3V Association which is so called transferability of courses.

Europeans buy GM foods despite the fact that they refuse them outwards

(Results of a project CONSUMERCHOICE: “Do Europeans buy genetically modified foods?”) A basic answer is YES when they are accessible on the market. The study also showed that minimally 68 food products marked as genetically modified is on the market, 27 of it in the Czech Republic. In September 2003 EU legalized a duty to mark foods produced or containing components of genetically modified organisms (further only GM foods) by issuing the Regulation 1829/2003 (2).

Farmers: We are ready to strike in case of breach of promise

In time of big-volume works on field enterprises welcomed an agreement of the Premier Mirek Topolánek with a management of the Agrarian Chamber. There is no disappointment among farmers that an intention of the Agrarian Chamber and agricultural department to block roads with heavy farm machines as a protest against the governmental budget policy on Monday fell. “We will be glad if the government fulfills its promises. Nor we like to complicate traffic”, they say. Farmers agree that if promises of Mirek Topolánek, who advised increase in subsidies from the state budget for farmers, will be kept, there is any reason to strike.

PEFC audit: Criteria of sustainable management are fulfilled in state forests

The state enterprise Lesy České Republiky (LČR) manages in way above standard. Radek Drahný, a spokesman of LČR states it in his report on base of an audit which evaluated keeping of a PEFC certificate by LČR. “Especially an exemplary care is paid to increase of biodiversity within forest renewal, use of natural rejuvenation and taking into account the aesthetic value of forest. These are conclusions of the supervisory audit of an international certification system of sustainable management in forests PEFC in which three organization units of LČR chosen at random had to be checked through during several last months – forest administrations Český Krumlov, Bučovice and Klatovy”, Drahný reported.