News of Radio Prague
58th anniversary of Prague Uprising
Czech politicians, WWII veterans and Prague citizens, on Monday, gathered outside the Czech Radio building to commemorate the 1945 Prague Uprising. The commemorative ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla, deputy chairman of the Senate Premysl Sobotka, and the deputy mayor of Prague Petr Hulinsky, who laid wreaths in front of the Czech Radio Building and paid homage to the memory of those who lost their lives. The Prague Uprising began on May 5th, 1945 with a call to arms, broadcast on the radio. Around 30,000 people spontaneously joined the freedom fighters in the Czech capital.
Czechs commemorate victims of Nazism at Javoricko
Over 200 people came to the village of Javoricko in Moravia on Monday to commemorate the death of 38 men who were killed by the Nazis 58 years ago. Besides the victims' relatives, members of the Czech Union of Freedom Fighters, representatives of the local authorities, and politicians attended the ceremony. On May 5 1945, over 200 Nazi officers surrounded Javoricko, shot all 38 men who were between the ages of 15 and 76 years dead, and set the village on fire. Only a school, a chapel, and a farm house with a barn can be found on the site today.
Fifth case of BSE suspected
Czech officials are investigating what may be the country's fifth case of mad-cow disease. A six-year-old milk cow on a farm in the south Moravian town of Dolni Lazany tested positive for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, BSE, after she was slaughtered on April 29. According to an Agriculture Ministry official, the infection was found by two rapid tests and the ministry is waiting for a confirmation by the State Veterinary Authority which should come on Tuesday or Wednesday. Four cows of similar age in the 70-strong herd and one descendant of the infected cow will be slaughtered as a precautionary measure. Among the country's previous BSE cases, two were reported last year and two in 2000.
Scientists have linked BSE to the human brain-wasting variant Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, which has killed about 100 people in western Europe in the past decade. No proven case of the human form of the disease has been recorded in the Czech Republic. BSE, believed to originate from cattle feed, has also been found in several animals in neighbouring Poland and Slovakia.
Official opening of Czech field hospital to be delayed
Doctors and nurses from the 7th Czech field hospital are still working under poor conditions at a local clinic in the town of Basra. The Czech hospital still lacks equipment and material, despite having been scheduled to open on Tuesday. The hospital's transportation to Iraq was launched on April 17, when the first 39 health care employees left on board a Russian-made Ruslan plane. With the responsibility having been transferred to the United States, which uses its smaller Galaxy planes and follows a different flight schedule, the transport has been delayed. Up to date, only some 51 percent of the total hospital equipment, and three-quarters of just under 300 health personnel have reached Iraq. Once fully operational, the Czech field hospital will have two operating theatres and a capacity of 50 beds. Czech doctors and nurses currently treat dozens of people every day, mostly with burns, diarrhoea and neglected chronic diseases. Czech Defence Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik, who left for the Middle East on Monday to visit the Czech anti-chemical unit stationed at Camp Doha, Kuwait, will travel to Basra on Tuesday, to visit the Czech field hospital.
Weather
Most of Tuesday has been forecast with clear skies and temperatures between 28 and 31 degrees Celsius. On Tuesday evening, it is expected to become cloudy in much of Bohemia, with a possible thunderstorm.
