News of Radio Prague

Date to be set for general elections next week - Zeman

Prime Minster Milos Zeman has confirmed that he will meet President Vaclav Havel next week to set the date for general elections. The elections have to be held between May 20 and June 20. President Havel has said in the past that he is in favour of the poll being held in May.

Bavarian prime minister demands Zeman retract statements over Sudetens

The Bavarian prime minister Edmund Stoiber has written to the Czech prime minister, Milos Zeman, demanding that Mr Zeman retract statements he recently made about the Sudeten Germans. Mr Zeman described Sudeten Germans as traitors and Hitler's fifth column. And Mr Zeman's comments have complicated a visit the German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder plans to make to the Czech Republic in March, a spokesperson for Mr Schroeder said on Friday. Czech and German officials are now trying to overcome the misunderstanding caused by Mr Zeman's statements, said the spokesperson.

Austrian foreign minister calls for joint Austrian-Czech declaration on Benes decrees

Meanwhile, the Austrian foreign minister, Benita Ferrero-Waldner called on Friday for a joint Austrian-Czech declaration that the Benes decrees were unjust. The decrees sanctioned the expulsion of Czechoslovakia's large German minority after World War II. On Thursday, Mrs Ferrero-Waldner said the decrees represented a hurdle on the Czech Republic's road to the European Union, although Austria was not planning to block Czech accession over the issue.

Havel and Schuster inspect Czech-Slovak KFOR unit

President Vaclav Havel and the Slovak president, Rudolf Schuster have inspected a joint Czech-Slovak KFOR unit at Cesky Krumlov, southern Bohemia. The unit is to begin taking part in KFOR operations in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo in March. The Slovak defence minister, Jozef Stank, also inspected the troops and pointed out that it was the first Czech-Slovak unit since the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993.

Police drop cases against weekly Respekt and government

The police have dropped both the case taken by the government against the editor of the weekly Respekt and the case taken by Respekt against Prime Minister Milos Zeman, a police spokesperson said on Friday. The government said in October it was filing charges of slander against Respekt, when it carried an article accusing the government of being corrupt. Mr. Zeman said he wanted to see the weekly go out of business. Respekt then filed a suit against the government for inciting hatred, limiting rights and freedoms and violence. The editor of Respect Petr Holub said he now plans to make a complaint against the Prague 1 state attorney for dropping the case.

Number of asylum seekers doubles

The number of asylum seekers in the Czech Republic more than doubled in 2001 to the highest level in a decade, according to police statistics released on Friday. The figures showed 18,082 foreigners asked for asylum last year, up from 8,788 in 2000. Only 83 asylum applications were accepted in 2001, compared to134 in the year 2000. The number of asylum seekers is expected to drop following the introduction of stricter laws at the beginning of this year.

Church leaders call for Good Friday to be state holiday

The Czech Ecumenical Council has called for Good Friday to be made a state holiday. The council said on Friday that they wanted parliament to consider the proposal. If approved, Good Friday would be the eighth state holiday in the Czech Republic.

Draw for Euro 2004 qualifiers made

The Czech Republic will face the Netherlands, Austria, Belarus and Moldova in the qualification round for the 2004 European Championships in football in Portugal. The draw for the qualifiers was made in Porto on Friday.

Zeman to lead Socialist International delegation to Belarus

Prime Minister Milos Zeman is to lead a Socialist International delegation to Belarus in April or May. Mr Zeman is the chairman of the Socialist International committee for peace, democracy and human rights. The committee's delegation plans to discuss democratic change in Belarus. Critics say the country's president Alexander Lukashenko rules Belarus in an authoritarian manner.

Weather

And finally a look at the weather forecast. Sunday should be cloudy with rain or showers in places. Temperatures should range from seven to eleven degrees Celsius.