News of Radio Prague

UK: no link between Benes decrees and EU enlargement

Britain has rejected opening the issue of the post-war Benes decrees in connection with the expansion of the European Union. Germany, Austria and Hungary have been calling for the abolition of the Benes decrees which sanctioned the expulsion of ethnic Germans and Hungarians from Czechoslovakia after World War II and allowed for confiscation of their property. Certain groups in Germany and Austria have been trying to make the Czech Republic's accession to the EU conditional on revocation of the decrees. British ambassador to the Slovakia, Roderic Todd, said on Saturday that Britain saw no reason for the Benes decrees to play a role in European enlargement.

More Czech troops deployed in Kosovo

A fresh Czech contingent has been deployed in Kosovo, near Pristina. The Czech soldiers replaced British troops in the region. They now control a major road between the Kosovo administrative centre Pristina and the South-Serbian town of Nis with as well as a strategic border crossing. The Czech troops are responsible for border checks of people, vehicles and cargo. Altogether, there are 300 Czech troops in Kosovo who form a joint unit with 100 Slovak troops.

Novak beats Kafelnikov at Dubai Open to proceed to semifinals

Tennis now - and Czech Jiri Novak defeated second seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-1 6-1 to reach the semifinals of the Dubai Open. Eight-seeded Novak -- a semifinalist at the Australian Open in January -- dominated Kafelnikov from the start, never allowing him to settle and blasted him off the court in mere 51 minutes. Novak said it was their fifth meeting and that he had never beaten the Russian player, so he was just trying to play his best tennis. Kafelnikov merely stated that Novak had been the better player on that day. "He didn't miss any points, he played faster and his groundstrokes were way better than mine," Kafelnikov said. Novak now meets Frenchman Fabrice Santoro in the semifinals.

Czech weather report

And finally, a quick look at the weather. We are expecting a mostly cloudy day with occasional snow showers, especially in the Northern and North-Eastern parts of the country. The highest daytime temperatures should range from 2 to 6 degrees Celsius. The following two days should be partially cloudy with rain showers in places, with afternoon highs between 5 and 9 degrees Celsius.