News of Radio Prague
Klaus to stay in Lany, appoint constitutional judges there
President Vaclav Klaus, who is recovering from a recent illness at the presidential summer residence in Lany, central Bohemia, will stay there for another week, according to the Press Department of the Presidential Office. President Klaus is also expected to appoint new constitutional judges at the Lany Chateau and also charge Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla with taking over some duties of the justice minister since current Minister Pavel Rychetsky is leaving his post to become a Constitutional Court judge.
Two Kinsky cases passed to Constitutional Court - Kinsky's lawyer
The district court in Usti nad Orlici, East Bohemia, where the descendant of a noble family Franz Ulrich Kinski won four property feuds, has cancelled two scheduled hearings, Mr Kinsky's lawyer told journalists on Friday, adding that the judge had passed the case to the Constitutional Court. Since 2001, Mr Kinsky has filed a total of 157 lawsuits, seeking the recognition of his ownership of large amount of property. Franz Ulrich Kinsky is the descendant of a noble family whose property was confiscated after World War Two on the basis of the so-called Benes decrees, which legalised the confiscation of the property of those who collaborated with the Nazi occupation. In order to prevent Czech courts from passing contradictory verdicts in Mr Kinsky's cases, politicians have called on the Supreme Court to issue a unifying attitude. The Court is to produce it by the end of August.
Police arrest man threatening to poison water in Prague
Police say they have arrested a fifty-five-year old man suspected of threatening to poison drinking water in Prague this week. A police spokeswoman said the man is suspected of scaremongering and blackmail. An anonymous blackmailer wrote to the mayor of Prague Pavel Bem on Tuesday threatening to poison drinking water in pipes in Prague with cyanide and mercury unless given an unspecified amount of money. If convicted, the man is facing up to three years in prison.
Cesky Mobil makes first-ever operating profit in second quarter
Cesky Mobil, the youngest Czech mobile operator, said on Friday it made operating profit of close to 140 million crowns, the first in its history, in the second quarter of 2003 after a 100 million-crown loss between January and March. From April to June, the company raised client numbers by almost 67,000 to 1,4 million. Cesky Mobil, which launched activity in 2000, covers 18 percent of the corporate clients market. The company is in the hands of ClearWave N.V., a vehicle of the Telesystem International Wireless group.
Czech nuclear plant to shut down reactor for August
Czech power producer CEZ said on Friday it would shut down for almost a month the first of two reactors at its nuclear power plant Temelin for planned maintenance work. The shutdown will last from August 2 to August 29. CEZ, which covers 60 percent of the domestic market and claims to be Europe's second biggest electricity exporter, operates two 1,000 megawatt reactors at Temelin, some 60 km north of the Austrian border. Opponents, mainly in the nuclear-free Austria say Temelin's mixture of Soviet design and Western operating technology poses a risk to safety; Temelin's operator CEZ says the plant is safe.
Mayor demands Cervenak family to pay debt for rent
The mayor of the northern town of Usti nad Labem Radek Vonka has called on the Cervenak family to use the money they are to receive on the basis of the decision of the European Court of Human Rights to pay back the debts they have with the town. The family's lawyer Klara Vesela-Samkova rejected this, saying she will not recommend to the Cervanks to do so. The Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights confirmed on Tuesday that the Czech state had agreed to pay the Romany family an out of court settlement after a case they took was dealt with too slowly by the Czech courts. The Cervenak family are to receive 900,000 crowns in the settlement. The family took a case in 1993 against the town of Usti nad Labem, after losing their state flat when they briefly moved to Slovakia. According to the Usti and Labem town hall, the Cervenaks owe 30,000 crowns in rent and another 100,000 crowns in penalties for delay in payment.
Weather
Saturday is going to be bright to partly cloudy with rain or thunderstorms in places. Daytime temperatures are expected to reach highs of 28 degrees Celsius. Sunday should be slightly cloudier, with daytime highs at 29 degrees Celsius.
