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In the same interview, Foreign Minister Schwarzenberg clarified that it would be the United States, and not NATO, who would have the final say on whether to deploy a counter-missile from the proposed missile-defence system to be built in the Czech Republic and Poland. Mr. Schwarzenberg stated that while the missile-defence shield that the US plans to build in the Czech Republic would fit in with NATO's 'political architecture', it would be United States that made any decisions on 'button pushing'. This, he said, was because there would be no time for consultation in a crisis. If approved by the Czech parliament, the radar base would be part of the United States' global missile defence programme. It is set to house around 200 US soldiers and civilians and go into operation in 2011.

Three nurses who were on duty when babies Nicole and Veronica were accidentally swapped are to be questioned by police, reported TV Prima on Saturday. One of the nurses has been suspended from duty following the disclosure of the mix-up. According to Prima, the three nurses, who have not been named, are wanted for questioning in connection with charges of gross professional misconduct. The hospital has declined to comment.

Photos taken by one of the parents involved show that his child was not allocated a number, written directly onto the skin to avoid confusion, as is normally the case. These photos are being handed over to the police as evidence. The parents of Nicole and Veronica met face-to-face this week, to discuss their next move. It was agreed that the girls will be handed over to their biological parents before their first birthday on the 9th of December.

Also on the agenda at the Green Party's Sunday conference is finding a successor to Education Minister Dana Kuchtova, who resigned this week. While a candidate is expected to be put forward today by the party's leading members, leader of the Greens Martin Bursik wants further consultation with those elsewhere in the party, before any decision is taken. At the moment, Ms. Kuchtova's former deputy Dusan Luzny is hotly-tipped to replace her at the helm, though Green MP Olga Zubova and former rector of Zlin University, Petr Saha, have also been mentioned in connection with the post.

Domestic beer sales for the first eight months of this year are up by 2.2% on last year's figures, revealed the Czech Beer and Malt Association on Sunday. But a surprise came in the form of beer sales for the months of July and August, which had been unexpectedly low. July and August's beer sales were actually down on last year's - a result which those in the industry are attributing to last year's exceptionally strong sales throughout the summer months. Despite the setback, sales of Czech beer are expected to go up by somewhere in the region of 2 - 3% this year. And beer production is expected to rise above the golden 20 million hectoliter mark for the first time. Last year, the Czech Republic produced some 19.8 million hectoliters of beer.