News of Radio Prague

Politicians discuss stationing U.S. missiles on Czech soil

Czech officials have said the Czech Republic is considering a plan to allow the United States to station "defence shield" missiles on Czech soil. According to US experts, the Czech Republic as a central European country is an ideal site for missile and radar installations that could be part of a proposal for a defence "umbrella" to protect the United States. The reactions of Czech politicians to the proposal range from cautious to positive. Defence Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik said the proposal was in the early stages of discussion, and would have to be considered by the cabinet and parliament. Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda said the government had a generally positive attitude to the matter.

Spidla - Czech military doctors to leave Afghanistan by end of 2002

The Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla, who's on a one-day visit to Afghanistan, has told the command of the International Security Assistance Force that a substantial number of Czech military medical personnel stationed in Kabul will leave Afghanistan by the end of the year. Although the work of the Czech military field hospital is highly appreciated by local citizens, Prime Minister Spidla said the Czech Republic could not afford its further operation. Mr Spidla also said that at the beginning of next year a Czech special operations unit would arrive in Afghanistan, if approved by the Czech Parliament.

Spidla and Tvrdik discuss Czech-Afghan cooperation in Kabul

Accompanied on his one day visit to Afghanistan by Defence Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik, the Czech Prime Minister also spoke to the Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Defence Minister Mohammad Fahim about possible Czech-Afghan economic and military cooperation.

Fourth case of mad cow disease discovered

Less than a week after a third case of BSE, or mad cow disease, was discovered in the Czech Republic experts have found a fourth case, this time in a seven-year-old cow from a farm just outside the capital Prague. The cow was slaughtered on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the state veterinary authority said that the results still had to be confirmed by further tests. The two cases are the first since August last year.

Foreign Ministry criticises Polish MP for arrest of Polish murder suspect on Czech soil

A Polish MP has drawn heavy criticism from the Czech Foreign Ministry after he orchestrated the arrest of a Polish murder suspect on Czech soil on Sunday. The Polish Foreign Ministry has not yet responded to an official protest conveyed by the Czech Deputy Foreign Minister to the Polish Ambassador in Prague. The Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda pointed out that although the controversial arrest had breached international laws and agreements, it was not going to harm Czech-Polish relations. The incident took place on Sunday in the northern town of Cesky Tesin, when a commando made up of employees from the Polish MP's private security agency kicked down the door of a hotel room and, using handcuffs, subdued the 23-year-old murder suspect within. The commandos then drove the suspect to a nearby border-crossing where they handed him over to Polish officials.

Two Czech travellers escape abductors after being brutally raped in Queensland, Australia.

The Czech general consul to Australia has revealed that two Czech women, aged 22 and 26, were abducted by a group of men on Wednesday morning while travelling in the Gold Coast region in Queensland, Australia. The women were then brutally and repeatedly raped. Afterwards, the abducted women managed to escape from the trunk of a car, which one of the abductors drove to a local gas station. Witnesses say that the suspect tried unsuccessfully to recapture both women, before making an escape in the vehicle. Police later discovered the car abandoned and are currently searching for those involved in the crime. The Czech women, meanwhile, have been treated by doctors but did not need to be hospitalised.

Weather

Friday will have cloudy skies with rain in places. Daytime temperatures should range from 12 to 16 degrees Celsius. The coming weekend is expected to be cooler, with daytime temperatures not exceeding 13 degrees Celsius.