News of Radio Prague

Ten injured in train collision

Ten people are reported injured in a train collision in north-western Bohemia. Two passenger trains collided in the Chomutov region on Saturday afternoon for as yet unknown reasons. There were no casualties. Rescue workers report one seriously injured person. Nine others are said to have sustained lighter injuries. The cause of the accident is being investigated and rail employees are working to clear the tracks.

Vandalism puts 170 lives at risk

The police is investigating a case of vandalism at Ostrava airport which could have ended in a major tragedy. Three youngsters broke into the grounds on Wednesday night, smashed 11 runway lights and threw the pieces of glass onto the runway. A Boeing 737 carrying 170 holiday makers from Greece which was coming in for a landing early on Thursday had to circle the airport until the runway was cleared. The airport management said they were horrified by this form of vandalism. According to experts the pieces of scattered glass could have punctured a plane's tires, or in the event of a departing plane the shards of glass could have been sucked into the motors and caused a crash when the plane had become airborne. With the help of sniffer dogs the police later detained three boys who have now admitted to the prank. One is aged 16, the other two are thirteen year olds.

British immigration controls at Ruzyne

British immigration officials have ended another round of immigration controls at Ruzyne airport. 82 people bound for Great Britain were turned away between now and June 23rd . The British immigration checks at Prague's main airport are the result of an agreement between the Czech and British governments. The Czech side agreed to the move in the wake of a mass exodus of Romanies to Great Britain. An alternative solution, which both countries want to avoid, is the re-introduction of a visa regime. The British authorities who want to protect their country from economic asylum seekers, say that the number of Czech nationals asking for asylum has dropped significantly in the wake of the immigration checks. However the procedure has come under fire from human rights activists who say that the questions Czechs travelling to Great Britain are asked are too personal. Romanies who have been turned back say that the check ups are racist.

Karlovy Vary Festival ends

The 37th International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary is due to end with a gala show and award ceremony on Saturday night. Over the past ten days the famous West Bohemian spa town hosted over 140 thousand film fans who saw close to 300 domestic and foreign movies. Visitors also got the chance to mingle with some of their film idols –among them Sean Connery, Michael York, Stephen Fry, Ben Chaplin, Claire Duval, Keira Knightley and Orla Brayd . The Festival's main prize is the Crystal Globe award, a 20,000 dollar prize given to the festival's best premiere feature production.

And finally a look at the weather forecast:

Sunday is expected to be partly cloudy to overcast with scattered showers and storms in many parts of the country and day temps between 20 and 25 degs C. Temperatures in Moravia, the eastern part of the country, are expected to be somewhat higher, with afternoon highs reaching 30 degs C in places.