News of Radio Prague

Belarus recalls its ambassador

Belarus has recalled its ambassador from Prague in connection with the Czech government's refusal to issue President Lukashenko an entry visa to the Czech Republic where he planned to attend the upcoming NATO summit. The Belarus Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the ambassador had been recalled "for consultations". The Czech Foreign Ministry on Friday announced its decision to reject President Lukashenko's visa request on the grounds that his government violates human rights. A foreign ministry statement said that the rest of the Belarussian delegation had been issued visas out of "recognition and respect for the Belarussian community whose European orientation is well known". Over the past week President Lukashenko made several public threats, warning the Czech Republic that a rejection of his visa request would irrevocably damage bilateral relations and that Belarus would "open its borders allowing illegal immigrants and drugs to flood Europe".

Ukrainian President planning to attend NATO summit

It has been announced that the Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma is planning to attend the NATO summit in Prague, despite opposition from Brussels. According to the Interfax news agency, Ukraine's National Security Council ruled on Saturday that President Kuchma should head the Ukrainian delegation at the Council of European-Atlantic Partnership conference due to be held on the second day of the summit. Earlier this month, NATO downgraded the meeting from chief executive to foreign minister level in view of preventing Leonid Kuchma from attending. Relations between Ukraine and the West have been strained after the US accused the Ukrainian government of selling an advanced aircraft detection system to Iraq. The DPA press agency notes that the only way NATO could now prevent Leonid Kuchma from attending the conference would be by asking the Czech government to refuse to issue him a visa.

EU candidates make common demand for entry

Ten countries poised for EU membership have set out a common demand for entry terms which would not leave them worse off when they join the union in 2004. The EU candidates fear that the slow phase-in of aid proposed in Brussels' 40 billion euro enlargement budget combined with tough competition on EU markets could result in serious economic problems, leaving them worse off than prior to their admission to the EU. The common demand, drafted at a meeting in Warsaw, comes ahead of a final agreement on farm aid and infrastructure funding which is to be reached at the EU's Copenhagen summit in December.

Heat slowly returns to cold cities

Six days after the collapse of a regional heating plant , heat is slowly returning to Hradec Kralove and two other cities in north-east Bohemia. The accident in which the plant's roof collapsed, damaging all six boilers, left over 100,000 people in the cold. The inhabitants of Hradec Kralove, the sixth largest city in the Czech Republic, have been using electric appliances, stoves and ovens to keep warm but the overload has resulted in numerous power failures. Many schools and offices have been closed and hospitals have been evacuating their patients to institutions in other parts of the country. The plant provides heat and hot water to about 55,000 households and buildings in the region. The cause of the accident has not been determined. The police are investigating possible foul play.

Weather:

Sunday should be partly cloudy to overcast with scattered showers and day temperatures between 8 and 12 degrees Celsius.