News of Radio Prague
Fire at disco kills teenager, injures 61
A fire at a discotheque in the Moravian town of Karvine killed a teenager and injured 61 young people in the early hours of Saturday. A police spokeswoman said the fire broke out at around 3:30 am and raced through the building as the panic stricken youngsters made a dash for the disco's only exit. There are said to have been around 150 people present and many of the injuries were inflicted in the stampede. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors treated them for burns, broken bones and open injuries. It took fire fighters 20 minutes to get the blaze under control. The cause of the fire is being investigated.
US immigration authorities detain Czechs working in States illegally
US immigration authorities say they have detained 36 Czechs working in the United States illegally. They were all employed by the Wal-Mart chain in different parts of the United States. An immigration court will decide about their deportation from the country.
Hojdar wants to rejoin the fold
The rebel Social Democrat deputy Josef Hojar has expressed a desire to re-join the fold. Mr. Hojdar left his party's deputies' group in the early summer in protest of planned reforms and poor communication within the party. He kept the ruling coalition on tenterhooks during a number of crucial votes in Parliament. The rebel deputy now says he would like to re-join the deputies' group in Parliament but would only do so if this was approved by at least 55% of votes at a regional party conference in Chomutov this weekend. A number of party delegates have allegedly pointed out that Mr. Hojdar did not stop to ask for permission when he walked out of the deputies' group at a critical time.
Czech killed in train collision
A twenty one year old Czech woman was killed on Friday evening in a collision between two trains at Zurich's Oerlikon railway station. Four carriages were derailed in the accident and 32 people injured. Eight passengers including a child are reported to be in serious condition. Police are investigating the cause of the accident. Swiss television quoted witnesses as saying that the express train from Zurich ran a red light and failed to make the scheduled stop at Oerlikon station.
Weather:
Sunday is expected to be a grey and overcast day with scattered rain or sleet showers and snow in the mountain regions. Day temperatures: between 3 and 6 degrees Celsius. Night time lows: between 1 and minus 3 degrees.
