News of Radio Prague

Second road safety operation launched after record number of road deaths

A large-scale operation aimed at improving safety on Czech roads has been launched in the wake of record numbers of road deaths in recent months. Police stopped over 350,000 cars in a similar operation last month. A police spokesperson on Tuesday refused to say how long the latest safety campaign would continue.

Brno policemen sacked for pocketing fines during road safety operation

Meanwhile, two policemen accused of pocketing fines during last month's road checks have been removed from the police force in the Moravian capital, Brno. Three other police officers in the city have been let go for other misdemeanours, the Brno police chief said on Tuesday.

Armed forces must be reformed as soon as possible, president tells top brass

Speaking at a meeting of Czech Army commanders at the Ministry of Defence, President Vaclav Klaus said reform of the country's defence forces should be carried out as soon as possible. Mr Klaus, who as president is the army's supreme commander, said it was necessary to find a balance between being able to defend the country and fulfilling the obligations that went with membership of NATO and other international organisations. The Czech Army is due to become fully professional by the beginning of 2005.

Nobody to face charges over flooding of Prague metro system

Nobody is to face charges in connection with the flooding of the Prague metro system in August last year. A source told the CTK news agency on Tuesday that while police found a crime had been committed, they had not found the evidence needed to charge anybody. Some seven billion crowns worth of damage was done during the flooding, which knocked out parts of the metro system for several months.

Scientists to determine whether Temelin "causes drought" in south Bohemia

Scientists are to conduct tests to ascertain whether the Temelin nuclear power station in south Bohemia is to blame for a drought in the region. Local farmers say clouds of hot steam rising from Temelin's cooling towers are effectively chasing away rain clouds, leaving their land dry. The director of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute told the daily Pravo Tuesday they would compare data currently being gathered near the plant with long-term climate records.

Anti-monopoly office investigates bakeries over price fixing

The anti-monopoly office is investigating whether bakeries are guilty of fixing the price of bread, the daily Mlada Fronta Dnes reported on Tuesday. Bakeries, which have announced that the prices of rolls and loaves of bread are to rise later this month, say the level of competition in the Czech Republic is such that it would be impossible to create a bread cartel.

Weather

Wednesday should be partially cloudy, with temperatures ranging from seven to eleven degrees Celsius.