News of Radio Prague

President of Belarus threatens to let thousands of illegal migrants, drugs, into western Europe

Belarussian President Alexandr Lukashenko has threatened that unless the Czech Republic grants him an entry visa, enabling him to take part in the NATO summit to be held in Prague next week, Belarus will cease guarding its borders, allowing thousands of illegal migrants into western Europe; the move would also open the way for drug smuggling, Mr Lukashenko warned. So far, there has been no Czech response. The Czech Foreign Ministry has not yet decided whether to grant the Belarussian president an entry visa, along with members of a Belarussian delegation that also applied last month; each case is decided individually and a decision on Lukashenko might not come until early next week. NATO officials have already made clear the Belarussian president is not welcome at the NATO summit because of both his autocratic style and his opposition to NATO in the past.

Czech committee approves US defence aid during NATO summit - Senate to vote Thursday

The Czech Senate's foreign, defence and security committee has unanimously recommended the Upper House approve a government bill enabling US military planes to protect Czech airspace during the NATO summit in Prague on November 21st and 22nd - senators will vote on the bill on Thursday. Under the bill American F-15 and F-16 fighter jets will begin guarding Czech airspace as of November 19th, deputy defence minister Stefan Fuele told senators Wednesday. The US will also provide refuelling aircraft and an AWACS radar plane, while Czechs will provide their own MiG-21 fighters and other combat planes and helicopters. Mr Fuele added that major flights of civilian aircraft over the Czech Republic would not be curbed during the summit, but said armed guards would be stationed aboard. Small aircraft, on the other hand, shall be banned from Czech airspace during the summit.

Police sweep leads to deportation of thirty-two illegal residents

Thirty-two people have been deported from the Czech Republic and five have had their residence status terminated after a security dragnet launched by police on Tuesday revealed they were in the country illegally, either with expired visas or without visas at all. Overall police screened two hundred and fifty-five foreigners in Prague and central Bohemia. The controls come in connection with next week's NATO summit in Prague; besides tighter security within the country, police have tightened controls on the border. Police spokeswoman Klara Krejci said on Monday that the police have already denied entry to several people on the Slovak and German border, but said detailed information including the precise number of those turned away, or their citizenship, would not be released.

State prosecutor charges former Foreign Ministry official Srba in plot to murder Czech journalist

The state prosecutor has charged former Foreign Ministry official Karel Srba, together with four other suspects, with plotting to murder a Czech journalist. The case also includes charges of corruption and the illegal holding of firearms. Mr Srba is believed to have commissioned the murder of journalist Sabina Slonkova, through his partner Eva Tomsovicova, allegedly because Mr Srba felt threatened by articles the journalist had written exploring his business activities. Others allegedly involved in the plot include a repeated criminal offender and another operator who was supposed to have bought the Czech-made explosive Semtex for use in the planned assassination.

EU accession for 10 candidate countries may be pushed back by several months

The Czech Republic has acknowledged that its possible accession to the European Union, together with that of nine other candidate countries, could slip back by several months; the announcement coming in response to a statement made in Brussels on Tuesday, in which Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said that a small delay from the January 1, 2004 date would give parliaments in the 15 current member states more time to study and ratify the accession treaty. Responding to the comment Czech Deputy Foreign Minister and chief EU negotiator Pavel Telicka told reporters on Wednesday that the Czech Republic would continue to seek the earliest date possible, adding that an eventual delay should not create new obstacles. The Czech Republic is one of the 10 mostly ex-Communist countries from central and eastern Europe hoping to finish membership talks by the end of the year, to join the EU as early as January 1, 2004.

EU package proposed to help countries hit by August floods

The European Commission has called for 728 million euros in aid to help repair flood damage in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and France. Officials said agreement on the package by EU governments and the European Parliament could come as early as next week, with the funds being made available by the end of the year. The newly-created one billion euro European Union Solidarity Fund will provide 444 million euros in EU help for Germany, 134 million euros for Austria, 129 million euros for the Czech Republic and 21 million euros for France. The packages will be used to restore vital equipment and infrastructure destroyed by floods that devastated many parts of Europe in August this year.

Czech prime minister and president to meet US President George W. Bush day before summit

It has been announced that Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla and President Vaclav Havel will meet with US President George W. Bush one day before next week's NATO summit gets underway in Prague. The summit, which begins November 21st will see dozens of government and military leaders discussing plans for a multinational expansion of the western alliance, and will be the first NATO summit ever held in a former communist country. The Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla was appointed prime minister in June; while Vaclav Havel, a former dissident, became president after the fall of communism in 1989.

CTK: government approves reform plan for Czech military

A government source has revealed to the Czech news agency CTK that the Czech government has unanimously approved a plan for the reform and professionalisation of the Czech military, which should see the military fully transformed by 2006. According to the plan the reformed military will rely on the services of 35,000 soldiers and 10,000 civilian employees. The reforms also propose a special command structure for units working within the framework of NATO; these include anti-chemical, anti-biological and anti-radiation units.

Sport

Czech tennis player Jiri Novak battered Andre Agassi Wednesday at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, in a two set 7-5, 6-1 win over the American. The match took just sixty-five minutes. After leading 5-2 in the first set Agassi's game fell apart: he lost 11 of the final 12 games. Jiri Novak qualified for the season-ending finale this year without having won a title in 2002; but, at the New Shanghai International Expo Centre Novak thrilled the Chinese crowd with powerful hitting and resilience. His win over Agassi now complicates the American's chances of toppling Australian Lleyton Hewitt in the world number one ranking.

Weather

Thursday will see partly clear skies with a chance of increasing cloudiness and occasional showers. Daytime temperatures should reach highs between 9 and 13 degrees Celsius.