News of Radio Prague
Svoboda: Anna Lindh "closest friend" amongst European foreign ministers
Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda has spoken of his grief at the death of his Swedish counterpart Anna Lindh, who died on Thursday morning after being stabbed in a Stockholm department store. In a statement released on Thursday, Mr Svoboda said Mrs Lindh was his closest personal friend amongst Europe's foreign ministers. President Vaclav Klaus and former President Vaclav Havel have also expressed their shock at Mrs Lindh's murder.
Czech, Tunisian premiers condemn terrorism on Sept 11th anniversary
Speaking on the second anniversary of the September 11th attacks, the Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla and his Tunisian counterpart Mohamed Ghannouchi have condemned terrorism in all its forms. Speaking during an official visit by Mr Spidla to Tunisia, the two men said that all the world's countries must join the fight against terrorism. The Czech prime minister is currently on a visit to the Middle East.
No monetary policy decisions taken at CNB meeting
The Czech National Bank (CNB) has said its governing board took no monetary policy decisions at Thursday's regular weekly meeting. The bank's rate-setters are not scheduled to review monetary policy until September 25. Few analysts expect a further policy easing after the central bank surprisingly cut interest rates twice in June and July. The cuts slashed the key two-week repo rate by a combined 50 basis points to bring it into line with the main eurozone rate of 2.0 percent.
Constitutional Court candidate Pejchal: no third time lucky for me
Constitutional Court candidate Ales Pejchal has said President Vaclav Klaus will no longer put forward his nomination to the Senate for approval, following two unsuccessful attempts. Mr Pejchal told reporters after meeting the President on Thursday that he was not willing to see his nomination rejected for a third time. Mr Pejchal said he would return to his career as a lawyer. The Senate has rejected a total of four candidates put forward by Mr Klaus.
Czechs triumphant after trouncing Netherlands to qualify for Euro 2004
Thousands of football fans flocked to Prague's Old Town Square on Wednesday night to celebrate the Czech Republic's 3-1 victory over the Netherlands and qualification for next year's European Championships in Portugal. National newspapers described the game as the match of the year and hailed the team as heroes. Asked by reporters how he would relax after steering the national side through an unbeaten run of 17 games to qualification for Euro 2004, coach Karel Brueckner said he would go and watch some football.
Weather
Friday will be another overcast day, with rain or showers across the country. Temperatures will reach highs of 16 degrees Celsius, falling to lows of 8 degrees at night.
