News of Radio Prague
Army changes structure
As of Monday, the Czech Armed forces are changing their structure. The system of command will be simplified to just two command centres. The military will also abandon many bases across the country. The changes are aimed at saving both operating and staff costs, but also at adapting the Army for the current defence situation. They are part of the Czech Army's transition to a fully professional force by 2005.
Coal barons charged with misuse of insider information
The police in North Moravia have filed charges against three main figures of a North Moravian coal mining empire. Viktor Kolacek, Jan Przybyla and Petr Otava are principal owners of a large investment company Karbon Invest. They also sit on the supervisory and executive boards of the largest Czech black coal mining company OKD, which is controlled by Karbon Invest. They have been charged with misuse of insider information in business. The charges are related to disadvantageous contracts which the managers concluded between OKD and Karbon Invest, by which they allegedly stripped OKD of more than 1.5 billion crowns.
Police, fire-fighters check disco clubs across country
The police and fire-fighters have checked security and fire prevention measures at more than 150 disco clubs across the Czech Republic on Saturday night. They discovered more than 800 hundred violations of regulations, the most frequent being insufficient emergency exits and misplaced fire extinguishers. The operation comes just weeks after a woman died and more than 60 people were injured when a disco club in the town of Karvina went ablaze at the end of October. The police later found that emergency exits from the disco were absolutely inadequate.
Novak wins Golden Canary award for the fifth time in a row
Czech tennis player Jiri Novak has won the prestigious Golden Canary award for the fifth time in a row. The award is granted every year by the Czech Tennis magazine. Novak was also named the best player of the year. Denisa Chladkova was named the best female tennis player.
Weather forecast
We are expecting a mostly cloudy day with occasional drizzle and fogs in places. The highest daytime temperatures should range from 4 to 8 degrees Celsius.
