A group of international experts to check Temelin

As of next week, an international mission of nuclear safety experts, sent to the Czech Republic by the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, will carry out three weeks of safety tests at the controversial Temelin nuclear power plant in South Bohemia. The mission has been invited to carry out the tests by the Czech government. The last tests at Temelin were carried out in February 2000. This year's mission will check how the plant's workers abide by operational and safety regulations, and it will also evaluate the ability of the electricity company CEZ, which is in charge of constructing the plant, to conduct operations safely. The mission will include nuclear energy experts from eight countries.

Austrian anti-nuclear activists prepared to blockade border check points

Meanwhile, Austrian anti-nuclear activists are threatening further blockades of Czech-Austrian border crossings, claiming that the Czech government has not complied with an agreement signed by the two countries' prime ministers in December. As part of the agreement the Czech prime minister promised that an environmental impact study would be carried out at Temelin.