News
Bill to support Czech film industry thrown out
A bill aimed at increasing state support for the Czech film industry has been thrown out. The Chamber of Deputies had previously approved it, but on Tuesday failed to overturn a veto by President Vaclav Klaus. Under the bill cinemas, TV stations and video and DVD distributors would have had to contribute three percent of their sales to the state cinematography fund. The Czech Republic's stand at the Cannes film festival closed on Wednesday in protest at the bill's failure.
Press: neither main party has position on US anti-missile site
Neither the governing Social Democrats nor the opposition Civic Democrats have a clear position on the possible building of a United States anti-missile site in the Czech Republic, Lidove noviny reported. Social Democrat Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek said he knew nothing about the project and would have to learn more about it. By contrast, Poland - the other candidate to host the site - has shown interest in further negotiations with US officials. The New York Times wrote on Monday that Czech parties were trying to avoid debate on the issue because of the upcoming elections.
Havel hoping bigger turnout could harm Communist Party
A group of anti-communists including former president Vaclav Havel have called on Czechs to go to the polls in ten days' time. They say many people who did not vote in the 2002 elections would have voted for somebody other than the Communists, and an increased turnout could mean fewer seats for the party, who are currently third in the opinion polls. Mr Havel and a number of other personalities will appear in a series of photographs with their heads wrapped in barbed wire.
Cinema refuses to screen Da Vinci Code...
A cinema in Jirkov, north Bohemia is refusing to show the hit film The Da Vinci Code. Manager Milos Kubelka told the newspaper Deniky Bohemia he was a Christian and said The Da Vinci Code undermined the values this country's democracy was founded on. Both the film and the novel it is based on have been slammed by Roman Catholic groups.
...while maker of Good Bye Lenin! says Civic Democrats do not understand film
Meanwhile, the director of the German film Good Bye Lenin! says he does not understand why the right-wing Civic Democrats have used the movie in their election campaign. Wolfgang Becker said in a statement that the party's PR people could only regard the comedy as a warning against the dangers of communism if they were in a coma when they watched it.
Czech tennis team into semi-finals at World Team Championships
The Czech Republic's tennis players have reached the semi-finals of the World Team Championships in Dusseldorf, after beating Italy 2:1 on Tuesday. Tomas Berdych and his team-mates take on Germany on Thursday for a place in the final.
Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech passes maturita on eve of World Cup
The Czech international football goalkeeper Petr Cech has passed his maturita school leaving exam. The 24-year-old got a "one" in Czech, English and Social Science and a "two" in German in the exam, which took place at the Sportovni gymnazium in his home town of Plzen. Immediately afterwards he returned to Seefeld in Austria, where he is preparing for the World Cup with the Czech squad.
Weather
It should be quite cloudy over the next few days, with rain in many parts of the country. Temperatures are expected to reach around 20 degrees Celsius.
