News of Radio Prague

Czechs to hold out for better EU accession terms, says Spidla in Copenhagen

Prime Minster Vladimir Spidla has said the Czech Republic will hold out for as good a deal as possible on European Union accession, and will not bow down to a fast-approaching deadline. Mr Spidla made the comment on Friday at the EU summit in Copenhagen, at which the Czech Republic and nine other countries are being invited to join the union in 2004. While a final agreement between Prague and the EU is expected on Friday, when the summit is officially scheduled to end, Mr Spidla said it might not be made until Sunday. There has been some criticism in the Czech Republic of the fact the country is to receive the least amount of financial aid from the EU; while Poles for instance will receive 166 Euros per capita in the first three years of membership, the Czechs will get only 70.

No deal with Austria on Temelin nuclear power station, says Svoboda

Austria is reportedly trying to forge an agreement with the Czech Republic on the Temelin nuclear power plant in south Bohemia. Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda held talks with his Austrian counterpart on the sidelines of the Copenhagen EU summit on Friday, and said afterwards that Prague was not willing to make a bilateral agreement on the plant. Other EU members are opposed to Austria's desire to have a clause on Temelin included in the Czech Republic's accession agreement. The plant's critics say it is unsafe.

Klaus calls for unity on eve of final Civic Democrats' conference as leader

Speaking on the eve of the opposition Civic Democrats' party conference, outgoing leader Vaclav Klaus has said the party should unite around whoever is chosen to succeed him. The two strongest candidates to replace Mr Klaus at the conference in Frantiskovy Lazne are Petr Necas and Jan Zahradil. Mr Klaus, who has led the party since he established it in the early 1990s, is the Civic Democrats' candidate to succeed Vaclav Havel as president when Mr Havel steps down at the end of next month.

Czech anti-chemical troops in mock terror attack on US embassy in Kuwait

Czech anti-chemical troops have taken part in an exercise in which a mock terrorist attack was made on the United States embassy in Kuwait. US and German troops also took part in the exercise. Czech soldiers equipped with decontamination units evacuated 'casualties' and offered medical care in 'warm' and 'cold zone' areas adjacent to the attack site. The Czech company is the only one of its kind in the Middle East.

Police investigate 100-million-crown fraud at steel giant Nova Hut

Police in north Moravia are investigating allegations of large-scale corruption at steel giant Nova Hut. Four managers at two investment companies are accused of fraud involving bills of exchange issued by Nova Hut; the alleged fraud amounts to some 100 million Czech crowns.

Former Terezin guard Malloth dies

Anton Malloth, a former SS guard at the Terezin concentration camp in central Bohemia has died at the age of 90. Mr Malloth had been serving a prison sentence in Germany but was allowed to leave prison ten days ago due to his deteriorating condition. He was sentenced to death in absentia by a Czechoslovak court in 1948 but managed to evade justice for many decades before being sentenced to life in prison in Germany in May of last year. Some 32,000 people died at Terezin (known in German as Theresinstadt) while 100,000 inmates were later killed at Nazi death camps.

Weather

Both Saturday and Sunday should be quite cold, with maximum daytime temperatures of zero Celsius. It will be cloudy with snow in places.