News of Radio Prague
Further BSE tests prove negative
Tests carried out on four cows from the same herd where the Czech Republic's second case of BSE, or mad cow disease, was discovered this week, have proven negative. The four cows, all related to the cow where tests for BSE proved positive, were slaughtered on Friday on the orders of the Czech Veterinary Authority. A regional spokesman for the authority said that all of the tests carried out on brain tissue taken from the four cows had proven negative. The farm where the infected cow was discovered is to be disinfected, and no further action will be taken at this point.
Post office workers find second batch of body parts
Post office workers in the Moravian capital of Brno have found a second package containing human body parts. Staff at the office discovered a severed arm and leg on Friday, after a package that had been returned to the office began to smell. The police were called in to the office on Saturday after a second package began to give off a similar smell. Although the police have not released any information as to what body parts were contained in the second package, a spokesman told journalists that tests had shown they belonged to the same person, believed to be either an adult or an adolescent. The police have checked the addressee and sender's addresses listed on the packages and say that they are both non-existent.
Czech troops could be first to begin 'Essential Harvest'
Czech troops newly stationed in Macedonia could be the first to begin carrying out NATO's 'Essential Harvest' mission - disarming ethnic Albanian rebels as part of the recent peace agreement with the Macedonian government. The commander of Czech troops in Macedonia, Captain Oldrich Napravnik, said Czech soldiers, who are currently guarding NATO's command headquarters near the Macedonian capital Skopje, could begin collecting weapons as early as Monday. 125 Czech troops are taking part in the operation.
No news on when Britain will reintroduce airport immigration controls
Britain is still refusing to say when it will re-impose controversial immigration controls at Prague's Ruzyne Airport. A spokesman for the British Embassy in Prague said the matter was now in the hands of the British Foreign Office, but that the airport was ready to accommodate the return of British immigration officers at any time. British officials were first stationed at Prague Airport last month following a sharp increase in the number of Czechs - almost all of them members of the country's Roma minority - arriving in Britain to seek asylum. Czech Roma say they are subject to widespread discrimination at home, but Britain says it cannot grant asylum to any Czech citizen because they are not persecuted by the Czech state. Opponents said the measures were discriminatory towards all Roma passengers.
Local girl takes the title in the Mushroom-picking Olympics
On a lighter sporting note now, the first annual Mushroom-picking Olympics took place in the small town of Brzice in Eastern Bohemia on Saturday, and the gold medal went to local girl Hana Kubeckova, who collected an astounding 17 kilograms of mushrooms between dawn and lunchtime. Overall, the 68 contestants managed to gather almost 100 kilograms of edible fungi between them.
Weather
And finally, a quick look at the weather forecast. Sunday in the Czech Republic should see clear to partially cloudy skies, with occasional rain showers expected in places. Daytime highs could reach up to 31 degrees Celsius. Night-time lows could drop to 13 degrees Celsius.
