News
Security Council meets in wake of London bombings
The Security Council is meeting to discuss security issues in the wake of Thursday's terrorist attacks in London. Security measures have already been tightened around the country with increased police patrols in the city centre, at airports and railway stations, power plants and all buildings deemed sensitive, including the headquarters of Radio Free Europe. Following a meeting with the country's intelligence services Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek said he had no information indicating a possible terrorist attack on Czech territory, but said that greater precautions would be necessary in the coming days and weeks.
Seven Czechs still unaccounted for
Seven Czechs believed to have been in the centre of London at the time of the bombings have so far failed to contact their relatives in the Czech Republic. The Foreign Ministry has established a hot line where people with missing friends and relatives can get more information. Over seventy Czechs staying in Britain contacted their families within 24 hours, and the ministry says it will wait until Friday night before giving the names of the people still unaccounted for to the British authorities.
Ombudsman on enforced sterilization of Romany women
The Ombudsman Otakar Motejl says that he does not have evidence to suggest that the former communist regime ordered enforced sterilization of Romany women. Close to eighty Romany women have written to the Ombudsman complaining that they were sterilized after giving birth without authorizing the procedure. The cases go back over a 30 year period and the Ombudsman told journalists that, serious as the matter was, closer investigation suggested that the cases were isolated incidents rather than an ordained practice. They allegedly happened in different hospitals and at different times and could not be linked to a given person or institution. The Human Rights League, which has also been monitoring the problem, does not agree, claiming that the former communist regime ordered the practice and that Romany women were bribed with money to agree to be sterilized.
Police detain 24 illegal refugees from China
The police have detained 24 illegal refugees, whom they found packed in the back of a lorry during a routine check on the D1 highway from Brno to Prague. Their detection caused a minor incident on the road when some of the refugees attacked the officers while the others ran for cover. Police re-enforcements finally rounded up the whole group. They are all Chinese nationals and have been placed in a detention centre, pending further questioning and possibly expulsion.
200 hrs of community service for injuring tram driver
A young man who got into a fight with a tram driver has been served 200 hours of community service by a Prague court. The twenty three year old was allegedly making trouble and holding up the tram by blocking its back doors. When the tram driver came round to investigate and asked him to desist they got into a fight in which the driver got both his arms broken.
Weather:
Saturday is expected to be cloudy to overcast with more rain showers and temperatures between 16 and 20 degrees Celsius.
