News of Radio Prague
Third attempt to elect president should succeed, says Prime Minister Spidla
Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla has said he believes a third attempt to elect a new Czech president will be successful. Mr Spidla said on Tuesday he expected those members of his own Social Democrats who have promised to support former education minister Jan Sokol in the February 28 vote to keep their word. On Monday the prime minister and the heads of the two other parties in the governing coalition discussed the issue of support for Mr Sokol's candidature. The Christian Democrats and the Freedom Union have said they would vote for Mr Sokol, if it is clear the Social Democrats are united behind him, something some observers say is unlikely. The Czech Republic has been without a president since Vaclav Havel stepped down on February 2, after two attempts by parliament to elect a successor in January proved inconclusive.
Foreign Minister Svoboda to discuss Iraq, EU issues on Paris visit
The Czech Foreign Minister, Cyril Svoboda, is to discuss the situation in Iraq and European Union issues with his French counterpart in Paris on Thursday. Unlike France, the Czech Republic has said it will support a possible United States-led war against Iraq if the United Nations passes a resolution allowing for such an intervention. Czech anti-chemical units in the Persian Gulf have been reinforced for that purpose.
Unions at nuclear power stations to call strike alert Wednesday
Unions at the Dukovany and Temelin nuclear power stations are to call a strike alert on at noon Wednesday in protest against planned lay-offs. Unions at Temelin came out in support of their colleagues at Dukovany after they announced their planned protest action on Tuesday. While specific plans for redundancies have been made at Dukovany, unions at Temelin have yet to obtain any concrete dates and figures.
Spindleruv Mlyn doctor arrested for locking up injured Polish student
A doctor at a medical centre in the mountain resort of Spindleruv Mlyn has been arrested for locking up a Polish student last Friday. Police said on Tuesday doctor Leo Cerny had locked the 16-year-old student in a room and taken his passport until he came up with the payment for medical assistance following a skiing accident.
Record number of Internet visitors in January
Internet servers have released figures showing that the number of users visiting Czech websites exceeded three million for the first time in January. The figures are ten percent up on the previous record, which was set in December, according to a report released on Tuesday. The average user spent three hours on-line in January, and the most popular website was the portal Seznam.
Weather
Wednesday should be cloudy in most parts of the country with temperatures of between minus six and minus two degrees Celsius.
