News

On Tuesday officials in Azerbaijan blocked its citizen Saday Nazarov from departing for Prague from Baku's airport, even though Mr Nazarov enjoys political asylum in the Czech Republic and has a valid refugee passport. Mr Nazarov, a former government advisor in his home country, was first detained in Azerbaijan in January - charged with "high treason". He had travelled to his homeland to visit his father, who was seriously ill. Mr Nazarov's return to the Czech Republic was expected Tuesday when it was planned he would meet with Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda. The Foreign Ministry has expressed hope that his case will now be resolved and that Azerbaijani officials will allow Mr Nazarov to return to Prague in one day's time.

Police in the west Bohemian region of Cheb have admitted for the first time that cases of child prostitution in the area are more widespread than previously revealed. Detective Jiri Istavnik told public broadcaster Czech TV that police in the area had investigated 7 cases of sexual abuse of minors by visiting tourists since 1997. Police also cited 60 cases in which youths' moral upbringing had been put under threat. Last week the subject of child prostitution again made headlines after a German television reporter from Pro 7 taped secret footage of a 12-year-old girl being offered for sexual favours. Until now police in Cheb had denied child prostitution in the area had gone beyond the isolated case.

The respected Czech science fiction author Josef Nesvadba has died at the age of 78. Mr Nesvadba's family made the announcement on Tuesday without disclosing further details. Josef Nesvadba's death comes as a blow to the Czech sci-fi literature scene which he so influenced in the 1960s and 1980s, continuing in the philosophical footsteps of Czech writers like Karel Capek and Jiri Weiss. His many works include "Einstein's Brain" and "Hell Benes" (2002) - his final book.

In 2003 Mr Nesvadba was a key guest at the annual Prague Writer's Festival, where he debated the nature of speculative fiction with colleague and fellow sci-fi writer Ondrej Neff.

President Vaclav Klaus accepted the resignation of Stanislav Gross as Prime Minister on Monday, ending weeks of political crisis. The Cabinet was also dissolved, as is required by the Constitution, when a prime minister resigns. Before tendering his official resignation, Mr Gross' party, the Social Democrats, and their coalition partners, the Christian Democrats and the Freedom Union, signed a deal for a new government. The incoming prime minister is Jiri Paroubek, a vice chairman of the Social Democratic party who was the Regional Development Minister in the previous government.

Stanislav Gross, a former interior minister, had led the government since last July; he remains Social Democrat party chairman. Calls for Mr Gross' resignation came after media coverage revealed that he had spent more to buy his Prague apartment than he could have afforded on a government salary. Mr Gross had offered several, contradictory explanations of how he had paid for the apartment. The controversial business dealings of his wife had also become a political issue.