News Monday, SEPTEMBER 06th, 1999

Those are the headlines and now the news in more detail:

Moravia Bank in trouble, clients to get help

The premier has promised to help firms and enterprises which have been hard hit by the bankruptcy of Moravia Bank. The bank closed its doors to clients on Friday following an announcement that the Czech National Bank had began proceedings to revoke its license. The bank has sustained heavy losses and is said to have mismanaged huge sums in government aid. Speaking on Nova television on Sunday Zeman said that some form of assistance would be forthcoming to firms which have been hard hit –most likely interest-free government loans. Individuals should get 90% of their savings but no more than 400,000 crowns. The premier ruled out any kind of government support for the bank itself , saying it had received a 700 million crown government subsidy only two years ago and that the money had gone down the drain.

Jewish SWW survivors visit Terezin

Some five hundred people gathered at the site of a former Nazi concentration camp in Terezin , on Sunday to pay homage to the memory of Nazi war victims. Those who bowed their heads in silent prayer had a tragic personal experience to relate to the vast majority of them were Jewish child victims of the war, the so called "hidden children" who lost families and friends in Nazi gas chambers and who paid a high personal price to escape death. 600 of them have attended a three day conference in Prague aimed at helping them carry the burden of a past filled with terror and guilt over having survived. Six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis, one and a half million of them children. Today there are 6,000 former "hidden children" living in all parts of the world who will never escape their memories. Within this conference in Prague, two Czechs were awarded in memoriam for having hidden and thus save the lives of several Jewish children.

Finnish defense minister visits Czech republic

Finnish defense minister Jan Erik Enestam has begun a two day working visit to the Czech Republic. He is due to meet with the Czech defense minister Vladimir Vetchy later today to discuss bilateral cooperation in military training as well as European security issues and in particular the situation in Kosovo. Unlike the Czech Republic Finland is not a member of NATO, thought it has observer status in the West European Union.

Civic Democratic Party leader riding out the media storm

The leader of the Civic Democratic Party and speaker of the Lower House Vaclav Klaus has said he has no intention of apologizing to the winner of the Senate by elections Vaclav Fischer for what the media have described as a dirty and underhand campaign . He also ruled out a meeting with Fischer saying that he had nothing to say to the man. Fischer is reportedly still considering filing a law suit against the Civic Democratic party leader on charges of slander.

Czech planes to undertake monitoring flights over Russia

Czech army planes are poised to begin a five day monitoring mission over Russian territory. The mission , which is to take place within the framework of Open Skies, is aimed at helping to ascertain the country's adherence to international agreements and covenants. It is the first time that Czech army planes are undertaking such a mission over Russia.

Sport

Czech football fans are celebrating their teams impressive 4:0 victory over Lithuania on Saturday. The Czech Republic, which has qualified for the European Championship, again grabbed maximum points, and now have an impressive 21-5 goal average and 24 points from eight matches. Although Lithuanian goalkeeper Guntaras Stauche managed to keep the Czech team scoreless for the duration of the first half Czech fans were in for a treat . Pavel Nedved found the net first , driving home a shot, and doubled the lead just three minutes later with a strike from 16 meters. Five minutes later Jan Koller capitalized with a header and topped it off with another close range header in the 90th minute. The team's performance drew praise from Lithuania coach Kestutis Latozha, who admitted that the Czechs were quicker and better prepared both physically and in terms of technique.

And finally a quick look at the weather :

Monday should start out fairly warm with afternoon highs reaching 24 degs C. However due to an approaching belt of rain the weather is expected to worsen in the course of the afternoon. There are likely to be scattered showers and possibly thunderstorms.