News

Bavarian Prime Minister calls for abolition of Benes decrees

The Bavarian Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber has again called for the abolition of the so-called Benes decrees, a piece of legislation which sanctioned the expulsion of ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia after the Second World War. Speaking at the annual Sudeten German Days in Nuremberg on Sunday, Mr Stoiber said the Benes decrees were an injustice which had no place in the European Union. In his address the Bavarian Prime Minister said that if the Czech Republic does not condemn the post-war expulsion of Germans he will not pay an official visit to the country. He added that discussion on the topic must not stop after the Czech Republic's accession to the European Union.

Defence Minister visits Czech unit in Basra, Iraq

The Defence Minister Miroslav Kostelka has left for a one-day trip to the Iraqi city of Basra to visit the Czech military police unit stationed there. Minister Kostelka is accompanied by the chief of staff Pavel Stefka. A one-hundred strong Czech police unit is operating in Basra in southern Iraq, training the local police force and instructors. As of July this year, six Czech military medical personnel are expected to start working in Basra at the request of the British troops. The trip is Minister Kostelka's first visit to Basra since last autumn.

Number of children with type 1 diabetes growing

The number of children with type 1 diabetes is growing in the Czech Republic. According to experts there are currently 2,500 children and young people under the age of 18 suffering from the condition. Their number increases every year by seven percent and the percentage is even higher in children under six. The situation is similar in other European countries, for example Hungary, Austria, Poland, Belgium and Portugal. Type 1 diabetes patients must depend on lifelong insulin injections. In total, there are about 47,000 people with type 1 diabetes in the Czech Republic.

Car imports expected to increase

Czechs are expected to import cars worth almost 69 billion crowns, or 2.3 billion euros, in 2004 - by some 3 billion crowns more than last year. According to the Automobile Industry Association, the overall worth of both new and used imported cars of all categories has been rising by five to six billion crowns annually in the last few years. In 2003 over 286,000 cars were imported into the Czech Republic. Around 231,000 were passenger cars, two thirds of them used.

Weather

Monday is expected to be partly cloudy with occasional showers. Daytime temperatures should range from 19 to 23 degrees Celsius.