News of Radio Prague
Klaus calls for urgent reform of Castle Guard after soldier's suicide
President Vaclav Klaus has called for urgent reform of the president's elite Castle Guard unit, after a Guardsman shot himself dead at Prague Castle on Saturday. President Klaus has ordered the head of the Castle's military section to speed up the transformation of the unit immediately. He made the decision hours after a 23-year-old Castle Guard officer shot himself in the head with a sub-machine gun in the grounds of Prague Castle. The apparent suicide was the latest in a series of unfortunate incidents for the Castle Guard. An army psychologist attached to the unit was dismissed after he was found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting soldiers. Recently it was revealed that Castle Guard members had posed in their uniforms for a gay pornographic website.
CEZ loses power from coal-burning plant in storm
The country's largest power producer CEZ has said it has lost all supplies from its largest coal-burning power plant in northwest Bohemia after wind damaged the grid. A spokesman for CEZ said a storm late on Thursday had torn down two pylons and damaged another on the network connecting the firm's Prunerov plant to the national power grid. The spokesman said it would take several weeks to repair the grid and restore supplies, but added that customers had not suffered any disruptions.
Four killed in car accident near Vrchlabi
Four people have been killed in a car accident near the town of Vrchlabi, in north-east Bohemia. The four died in a head-on collision on Saturday night. Among the dead were three female colleagues returning from their night shift at work. The Czech Republic - which already has one of the worst road safety records in Europe - recorded its blackest month ever in July, when almost 160 people were killed on the roads - an average of five a day. Police have warned that Czech driving habits are getting worse and worse, with excessive speed and lack of respect for other drivers causing hundreds of car accidents.
Man in psychiatric hospital after throwing baby son out of window
Police say a man who threw his 11-month-old son out of a first-storey window is being examined at a psychiatric hospital. The baby is recovering in hospital with a broken leg and bruises, after surviving a six-metre fall onto the pavement. The incident occurred on Friday morning in the town of Nejdek, West Bohemia. Witnesses say the baby was thrown out of the window during a row. Police are treating the case as attempted murder.
World champion Rossi wins motorcycling Grand Prix in Brno
World champion Valentino Rossi, riding a Honda, has won the Czech motorcycling Grand Prix in Brno. Spain's Sete Gibernau finished second in Sunday's race, and Australia's Troy Bayliss came third.
Weather
Monday will be a hot but mostly cloudy day, with the chance of showers, rain and thunderstorms throughout the country. Daytime temperatures will rise to 32 degrees Celsius, falling at night to lows of 13 degrees.
