News of Radio Prague

Deputy police chief resigns over drunk driving

The deputy president of the Czech police Miroslav Antl has resigned to his post. Mr. Antl had been drinking before causing a traffic accident in the east Bohemian town of Pardubice on Thursday. A breathalyser test proved that Mr Antl was over the limit when the crash occurred. Observers say Mr. Antl’s case could serve as a good example for Czech officials and politicians who usually do not even think of resigning after committing an offence.

Defence minister expects close military cooperation with Slovakia

The Czech Republic and Slovakia will closely cooperate in the defence area. Czech Minister of Defence Jaroslav Tvrdik said that after Slovakia joins NATO, military cooperation between the two former federal partners will be elevated to a completely different level. He cited joint air defence as one of the main areas of cooperation but said that possibilities were virtually unlimited. Slovakia is likely to be invited to join NATO at the alliance’s summit due to take place in Prague in November. Mr. Tvrdik visited Slovakia on Saturday to attend a solemn ceremony to commemorate the victims of World War Two battle of Dukla on the Slovak-Polish border.

One third of pressure seals remained open in metro during floods

The Czech police, who are investigating why the Prague’s subway system was flooded during the August floods, discovered serious shortcoming in protective measures and construction. The police said that only two thirds of the pressure gates supposed to seal off the subway system were actually closed when the water arrived. Water also leaked through insufficiently sealed cable openings. In addition, it has come out that at several places, construction works were done in variance with the project so that the tunnels, designed to withstand a nuclear attack, broke under the pressure of thousands of tonnes of water. In all five cases, the faulty parts were constructed by the same company which may now face criminal prosecution.

Civic Democrats support media tycoon’s senate candidacy

The Civic Democratic Party of Vaclav Klaus has openly supported the head of the commercial TV station NOVA, Vladimir Zelezny in his candidacy in the upcoming senate elections. For several years, TV NOVA has been giving more space to the Civic Democrats in its talk-shows than to other parties; the party in turn supported Mr. Zelezny in his disputes with business partners.

Zelezny, who is 57, launched the successful TV station in 1994. His breaking from an American investor triggered a series of arbitration proceedings against the Czech Republic for failing to protect foreign investment. Zelezny himself has been charged with an attempt to cheat a creditor and with tax evasion.

Czech weather forecast

We are expecting a mostly cloudy day with occasional showers; the highest daytime temperatures should range from 9 to 13 degrees Celsius. The beginning of next week should also be cloudy with rain showers, afternoon highs are expected to reach between 6 and 10 degrees Celsius.