News of Radio Prague
Child mauled to death by family dog
A little girl, 18 months old, has been mauled to death by the family dog, a cross between a Labrador and a Doberman. The child was allegedly playing out in the backyard with her mother when the dog attacked her. She died minutes later in her mother's arms. It is not clear what prompted the attack. Police are investigating the incident. There have been an increasing number of cases of dogs attacking and seriously injuring children in recent years.
Communists will not support government in confidence vote
The Communist party leadership has advised its deputies not to support the government in a vote of confidence, which the leading opposition party of Civic Democrats is planning to instigate. The governing coalition has a razor thin 101 voice majority in Parliament while the two opposition parties, the Civic Democrats and the Communists command 99 votes altogether. As a result, the coalition government has been calling its deputies to order demanding 100% attendance at all parliament sessions. The vote on next year's budget is expected to be critical and the government has been working hard to ensure the support of all its deputies.
Prince Andrew talks business in Prague
The Duke of York, Prince Andrew is on a three day visit to the Czech Republic. Trade and investment opportunities are high on the agenda of the prince's visit. During a meeting with the Czech Trade and Industry Minister Milan Urban on Friday he said the Czech Republic's poor infrastructure presented excellent opportunities for British firms. The Prince was also interested in the tender for the modernization of Prague's Ruzyne Airport. He said that Czech products had a good name in Britain -especially beer and Skoda cars - but that Czech companies would have to become more competitive in order to be successful on the British market.
Iraqi boy undergoes heart surgery at Prague hospital
A two year old Iraqi boy is reported to be in stable condition after undergoing heart surgery at Prague's Motol hospital. He is one of nine Iraqi children who were flown to the Czech Republic for special care after being diagnosed by doctors at the Czech field hospital in Basra, southern Iraq. All were born with serious heart defects and had little chance of receiving adequate medical care in their home country.
EU tells Czechs to improve food safety standards
The European Union has urged the Czech Republic to improve food safety standards, warning that hundreds of food companies could be forced out of business when the country joins the EU next year. The warning came from a delegation headed by EU health Commissioner David Byrne who found that many Czech food companies were still lagging behind the strict EU requirements. The EU delegation also urged the Czech government to enact legislation that would bring food regulations up to EU levels in areas of veterinary care, meat and dairy processing plants.
Weather:
Saturday should be partly cloudy to overcast with some rain showers and day temperatures between 14 and 17 degrees Celsius. The weather on Sunday should be two or three degrees warmer and sunny.
