News of Radio Prague

Defence Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik describes the UN anti-terrorist resolution as a US victory

Czech Defence Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik told TV Nova on Sunday that the UN anti-terrorist resolution was the first victory for the US since the September 11th attacks. The resolution calls on all countries to freeze the bank accounts of people suspected of terrorism. Tvrdik felt strongly that this decision was a positive achievement and that it strengthened the UN's role in the global war against terrorism. Mr. Tvrdik said the Czech army is preparing for all possible security risks which may threaten the Czech Republic. He added that the army must not neglect the protection of Czech infrastructure, such as the recently barricaded Radio Free Europe in Prague. And that the army's mere presence, even if there is no threat, will deter any planned attacks.

The Czech Foreign Ministry questions reports of Czech citizens aiding bin Laden

Accompanying the Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan during his four-day visit to New York, the Foreign Ministry's spokesman Ales Pospisil has tackled the recent rumours that Czech citizens are present in some of bin Laden's terrorist bases. The report, which simply mentions that Czechs may be present in the camps, was recently received from Russia and the information has not been confirmed. Mr. Pospisil stated that the Foreign ministry did not consider the matter of extreme importance. The Czech Interior Minister Stanislav Gross and Foreign Minister Jan Kavan have announced that so far they know of only one Czech citizen who has contact with suspicious Afghan circles, but that the man in question was not recently seen in the Afghan terrorist camps.

Austria demands Temelin test results be made public

The Upper Austrian governor Josef Puhringer demanded on Sunday that tests carried out on one of the turbines in the Temelin nuclear power plant in South Bohemia be made public and be sent for analysis by international experts. Mr. Puhringer is acting on information which was leaked to Austria and states that the turbine has not passed recent dynamic tests. Suspiciously the power plant's management refuses to comment on these accusations, says Mr. Puhringer.

Devitalization questioned

The Czech Health Ministry's Scientific Board will decide on Monday whether trials of a new method of curing cancer in humans - known as devitalization - will continue. Devitalization involves binding malignant tumours, thus preventing blood supply from reaching them. The bone of contention among Czech doctors is whether it is effective to use devitalization even in the early stages of cancer or whether the treatment could prove counter-productive. If the Board decides the treatment of human patients is dropped, trials will continue in animals.

A no-flying zone above the Dukovany nuclear power plant has been violated

A flight-free zone above the Dukovany nuclear power station in Moravia was violated over the past weekend. On Saturday, a private sport plane flew within the 20 kilometre no-flying perimeter of the Dukovany plant without clearance from the nearby Namest nad Oslavou military airport. Immediately a jet plane was deployed and the situation remained tense until the private plane's pilot contacted Namest's ground crew and followed instructions to land in the city of Brno. A police report has been filed.

In October, Czechs will talk with the EU about restructuring the steel industry

In October, as part of the Czech Republic's accession talks with the European Union, a Czech Trade Ministry delegation will start negotiations regarding restructuring the Czech steel industry. The leader of the Czech delegation, Deputy Trade Minister Miroslav Somol hopes to discuss the states involvement in the industry. The Czech government has agreed to provide 22 billion crowns to launch the restructuring but would like to recruit foreign investments. Many foreign companies, such as Arbed steel works from Luxembourg and Shiran from Israel, have shown interest in buying key Czech steel works.

Weather

And finally a quick look at the weather: Tuesday will be a cloudy, yet quite warm: the daily highs will be between 21 and 24 degrees Celsius and evening low eight degrees Celsius.