News of Radio Prague
One dead and several injured in train accident
A railway accident a few kilometres west of Prague left one person dead and over ten people injured on Monday morning. A passenger train derailed after a collision with a bus on an open railway crossing. The police are now investigating the cause of the accident, checking if the signals were working properly.
Cabinet approves sale of Skoda Holding and Moravian arms producer
During its session on Monday, the Czech government approved the sale of the Pilsen-based mechanical engineering company Skoda Holding. Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said that the state's 48.4 % of shares in the company is to be sold to the US investment firm Appian Machinery for some 350 million Czech crowns, which is a little under 11.5 million US dollars. The US firm was chosen in a public tender on November 19th by the Czech Consolidation Agency. The sale is expected to be finalised by March 31st 2003 at the latest.
During its session on Monday, the cabinet also approved the singling out of the Moravian arms producer ZVI from the Trustfin group and its subsequent sale for a symbolic one Czech crown to the military repair plant VOP Sternberk. ZVI is currently holding an order for 144 Plamen cannons for the new L-159 fighter jets to be supplied to the Czech military in the next 15 years. However, according to Defence Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik, the company has been in financial trouble and its temporary or possibly permanent insolvency could jeopardise the completion of the cannon's production.
Inflation at an all-time low
Czech inflation dropped to a new all-time low in November, slowing down to 0.5 percent year-on-year. In a monthly comparison, consumer prices fell by 0.2 percent, which is the eighth decrease this year. The inflation development was influenced mainly by lower prices of foodstuffs and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as fuels.
Unemployment stagnates at 9.3 pct
The unemployment rate stagnated at 9.3 percent in November. At the same period last year, the unemployment rate stood at 8.5 percent. However, the number of jobs offered by employment offices decreased slightly, so that there are more than 11 applicants per one vacancy. The lowest unemployment was traditionally in Prague and Central Bohemia - between 3 and 4 percent, on the other hand, the greatest number of jobless people - around 20 percent - was registered in some of the coal-mining regions in North Bohemia and North Moravia.
Weather
Monday night is expected to have partially cloudy skies with temperatures between -8 and -12 degrees Celsius. Tuesday is forecast with overcast skies and temperatures ranging between -3 and -7 degrees Celsius.
