News of Radio Prague

Flights resume at Prague airport

Airline flights, albeit with marked delays, have resumed at Prague's Ruzyne airport, after several scheduled flights to Prague were redirected or turned back, and outgoing flights were cancelled across the board Thursday evening because of freezing rain and extremely icy conditions. Friday morning flights to and from Ruzyne airport were also limited. After cancelling 30 departures from Prague overall the Czech carrier CSA said Friday no more cancellations were expected. CSA spokesman Daniel Plovajko said on Friday that customers could expect delays to last up to several hours, adding that so far customers had generally been understanding of the situation.

Icy conditions: hundreds of accidents, several fatalities

Meanwhile extreme weather conditions on Thursday and Friday saw hundreds of traffic accidents throughout the country. At least two deaths were reported in a crash on a highway east of Prague, and a separate pileup claimed about 25 vehicles. Icy conditions are also likely to have caused an accident in northern Bohemia Friday morning that claimed the lives of three siblings, after the car they were in went off the road and hit a tree. The driver, of Polish origin, apparently escaped with his life. Meanwhile, police in some areas of the Czech Republic have asked drivers to stay off the roads. Meteorologists are saying icy conditions could continue in places with temperatures hovering at or just above the freezing point throughout Saturday and Sunday.

Central Bank: situation favourable for Czechs to adopt the euro by 2007

The Central Bank has called on the Czech government to adopt reforms in public finances that would make it possible for the Czech Republic to adopt the currency of the European Union, the euro, as early as 2007. In a statement released on the bank's internet site Friday, the Central Bank said that analysis had shown that overall the situation was favourable for the Czech Republic to join the Eurozone relatively quickly. But, the bank stressed the need for some changes in economic policy to ensure the opportunity would not be missed. At the same time the bank has conceded that the outlook for current fiscal policy is not entirely consistent with the quick adoption of the euro. Criteria which must be met in order for the country to adopt the European currency requires, for example that the public finance deficit not exceed 3 percent of the Gross National Product. Current budget policy indicates, however, that by 2006, the public finance deficit could exceed 6 percent of the GNP.

Visa requirement lifted for Czechs travelling to New Zealand

According to the Foreign Ministry Czech tourists travelling to New Zealand will no longer need entry visas as of January 1st, if their stay does not exceed 90 days. The change in New Zealand's policy comes one year after visas for Czechs were reinstated in reaction to a growing number of suspected economic migrants seeking asylum in the country. Over a hundred Czech citizens applied for asylum in the year 2000, though none received asylum status. The Czech Republic and New Zealand originally waived mutual visa requirements in 1996.

Number of refugees caught on Czech-Slovak border down

The number of refugees caught trying to illegally cross the Czech-Slovak border decreased this year, according to figures released by police in south Moravia. Around 1,150 refugees were caught in 2002, down by around 250 from last year. When police catch them they are immediately deported. Police attributed the lower numbers to increased stability in Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia. Most of the refugees were attempting to pass through the Czech Republic into the European Union.

Two die as train hits tractor

Two men died on Thursday when their tractor was hit by a passenger train at a level crossing near the town of Rychnov nad Kneznou, north Bohemia. None of the passengers on the train, on route from Prague to Wroclaw, Poland, were injured in the collision. They were transferred to buses for the remainder of the journey. Officials have not offered an explanation for the crash, but said the crossing signals had been working properly.

Policewoman knocked down by tram dies of injuries

A 25-year-old policewoman who was hit by a tram in Prague on Thursday has died of her injuries, a police spokesperson said on Friday. The policewoman was investigating a traffic accident at Hlavkov bridge in Prague 7. Police have issued a call for witnesses of the incident to come forward.

Record 47 million mobile phone text messages on Christmas Eve

Almost 47 million mobile phone text messages were sent in the Czech Republic on Christmas Eve, up from 30 million on December 24 last year. Mobile phone operators say there were two peak hours on Christmas Eve: between 11 o'clock and noon, and between eight and nine in the evening, with up to 200 messages a second being recorded. It is expected that a similar volume of messages will be sent on New Year's Eve.

Mayor serves carp soup to homeless, foreign tourists

The mayor of Prague, Pavel Bem, served free carp soup to both the homeless and foreign tourists on the city's Old Town Square on Christmas Eve. The mayor said that between 1,000 and 1,500 people had been served the soup, which traditionally precedes the main course of carp and potato salad at Christmas. Prague's homeless were also given Christmas dinner at the Nadeje, or Hope, charity centre, near the city's main train station.

Visitors treat animals at Prague Zoo

Around 1,500 people visited Prague Zoo on Christmas Eve, with many of them bringing apples and other treats for the animals. Children, for whom admission was free, were in turn given small gifts by staff at the zoo. Prague Zoo is still dealing with the devastation caused to it by August's floods, during which what staff described as 'the biggest zoo evacuation in history' was carried out.

Weather

Saturday is expected to be cloudy with a chance of showers. Daytime temperatures should hover at around 2 degrees Celsius.