News of Radio Prague
Country recovers from bad weather but more snow and high winds are expected
The Czech Republic's regions of Bohemia and North Moravia have recovered after unexpected high winds and heavy snow brought much of the country to a standstill on Saturday. Although it is still snowing occasionally in the western and northern parts of the country, most of the affected roads are now passable and trains are running back on schedule. Heavy snow is currently only being recorded in the higher altitudes but meteorologists have warned that more bad weather is expected throughout the country at the beginning of the week.
Collapsed roof at power station leaves thousands of homes without heating
Some 55,000 homes in the district of Pardubice in eastern Bohemia are without heating after a local power station had to be shut down on Saturday. Part of the station's ceiling had collapsed over the boiler room. It is yet uncertain what caused the accident. The unexpected high winds and snow that hit the region on Friday night, however, are not believed to have been responsible. With hospitals, homes, schools, companies, and institutions affected, experts hope to get at least one of the boilers running in order to provide most of the heating by Wednesday. Hot water is not expected to be restored before next week-end.
RFE/RL no longer guarded by armoured vehicles
The Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty headquarters in Prague are no longer being guarded by armoured vehicles. On Saturday night, the three armoured personnel carriers, which were deployed outside the building just across the street from Prague's Wenceslas Square a year ago were removed. Following the September 11th attacks on the United States, security measures were tightened after fears were raised that the U.S. funded station may be a terrorist target. The vehicles have been replaced with cement and iron barriers.
Austrian police detain two people smugglers
Police in the Austrian town of Leopoldschlag detained two men on Saturday night who are suspected of people-smuggling. The men are believed to have tried to smuggle nine refugees from India across the Czech -Austrian border. Neither suspect is a Czech citizen. They had both been monitored for several days as part of a special police operation that was launched due to the growing number of illegal border crossings from the Czech Republic. Since mid-October, the Austrian border police has caught a total of 102 illegal migrants, mainly from India and Pakistan.
Weather
The country is experiencing the first signs of winter and more of the cold weather and high winds are forecast throughout the country. On Monday morning, drivers in western Bohemia are warned of icy roads and patches of snow. Day-time temperatures are expected to reach a maximum of zero degrees Celsius.
