COLD - Bitter cold has claimed the lives of five homeless people, as well as hindered repair work on Prague trams, delayed international train arrivals and caused numerous traffic accidents throughout the country. Homeless shelters in Prague say they are at their nighttime capacities. Prague Mayor Pavel Bém ordered Jan. 24 five heated tents to be placed on Letná hill. Temperatures were expected to fall to a low of -23 degrees Celsius (-9 degrees F) Jan. 24.

TEREZIN - During the opening of a new social center in Terezín Jan. 23, Christian Democratic Senator Zdeněk Bárta said that Germans suffered in Terezín after World War II much like Jews did during the war. Terezín, which opened in 1941, was a transit station for many Jews on their way to Nazi death camps. After the war, the camp was turned into a prison for ethnic Germans.

BOOK - Former Prime Minister Miloš Zeman's newest book, The Rise and Fall of the Czech Social Democrats, is set for a nationwide launch Feb. 20, amid much media buzz. Readers have already requested 60,000 copies of the book in advance, no doubt thanks to the fact that his last work, How I Made Mistakes in Politics, was a best-seller in 2005.

RELEASED - Prague 4 District Court Judge Monika Kozelková Jan. 22 released a 40-year-old Kosovo Albanian accused of kidnapping businessman Jakub Konečný in April 2002 on the orders of fugitive billionaire Radovan Krejčíř. Police arrested the man Jan. 20. Kozelková refused to offer an explanation of why she let him go.

KIDNAP - An Ústí regional court Jan. 19 sentenced Martin Vlk, who organized the abduction of a 28-year-old woman in Dolní Poustevna last March, to 15 years in prison. The woman, Vlasta Sluťáková, suffocated in Vlk's trunk during the abduction. Two other men involved in the crime were sentenced to 10 and nine years, respectively.

EU - A Jan. 23 Eurobarometer poll says only one in six Czechs believe they can have any influence over European Union affairs, a statistic that suggests waning support for the union since the country became a member in May 2004. Only Latvians fared worse in the poll. On average, one-third of all EU citizens say they can influence the union's affairs.