News

The continuing heat wave in the Czech Republic is causing an increase in the need for emergency medical services. In Prague there were over 100 emergency cases attended to on Wednesday alone, including incidents of heart failure and epileptic seizures. High blood pressure and sun burns have also been threats. Doctors are warning that the elderly and those with respiratory problems should avoid the outdoors, while all should stay properly hydrated, drinking at a minimum of 2.5 litres of water per day.

In related news, national squad coach Karel Brueckner may stay on despite the Czech teams exit, leading the Czechs through qualifying for Euro 2008. Mr Brueckner, who is 66, was extended an invitation on Friday to stay on as the coach for the next two years - the matter will be decided in the coming days. Despite the Czech Republic's exit in the first round of this year's World Cup, the team has by-and-large enjoyed success during Mr Brueckner's tenure: the team, for example, reached the final four in the last European Championship in Portugal.

In the NHL, the Czech ice hockey star Jaromir Jagr received the Lester B. Pearson Award on Thursday awarded to the league's most outstanding player. On Thursday the player reportedly joked on getting the award, saying that players understood the game better than the media: the Lester B. Pearson is awarded by the Players Association. It is the third time that Jagr has been given the honour. This year he amassed 129 points in the regular season.

Leaders of the two major political parties in the Czech Republic—the Civic Democrats and the Social Democrats—have met again, but they have not yet reached an agreement on support for the developing centre-right coalition. Mirek Topolanek, the Civic Democratic leader, is looking for additional support from the Social Democrats that would give his 100-seat coalition with the Christian Democrats and the Greens a chance of survival. However, meetings between Mr. Topolanek and Jiri Paroubek, the Social Democratic leader and outgoing prime minister, have produced little in the way of a satisfactory compromise. Their next meeting is scheduled for Friday.

Mr. Topolanek told the daily Hospodarske Noviny that he is estimating a 50:50 chance that his coalition will survive a vote of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies. According to Mr. Topolanek, the Social Democrats are trying to eliminate the smaller parties, especially the Christian Democrats, from a coalition agreement. Relations between the Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats have been very strained since spring 2005, when the Social Democratic Prime Minister Stanislav Gross was forced to step-down after accusations of financial misdealing; he did not receive support from Christian Democrats who were then members of the government coalition.