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Czech tennis number one Jiri Novak has been beaten 6-1 6-2 by Guillermo Canas of Argentina in the semi-final of the Shanghai Open. Novak described Saturday's defeat as "a bad day at the office".

Two men who were detained by the police on Thursday on suspicion of attempting to bribe a member of Parliament have been released on the order of a state attorney. The state attorney said on Friday that the police had not presented sufficient grounds for keeping them in custody. Marek Dalik, adviser to opposition Civic Democratic Party leader Mirek Topolanek, and lobbyist Jan Vecerek, are both suspected of attempting to bribe government coalition MP Zdenek Koristka ahead of a crucial vote in Parliament. Last month, Mr Koristka told a leading Czech daily that someone close to the Civic Democrats had offered him the equivalent of 300,000 euros in exchange for a "no" vote of confidence in the government.

The US will refrain from introducing import duties on glass and glass products from EU member states, according to the deputy prime minister for the economy Martin Jahn. The move would have led many Czech glass making firms into bankruptcy and Czech officials have made a big effort to persuade the US authorities against it. The US is expected to definitively confirm the decision to the World Trade Organization within the next few hours.

Police say they have detained two men who are suspected of attempting to bribe government coalition MP Zdenek Koristka ahead of a crucial vote in parliament. The men are Marek Dalik, an adviser to the head of the opposition Civic Democrats Mirek Topolanek, and lobbyist Jan Vecerek. Last month, Mr Koristka told a leading Czech daily that an unnamed figure from the Civic Democrats had offered him the equivalent of 300,000 euros in exchange for a "no" vote in a confidence vote, which would have brought down the new government of Prime Minister Stanislav Gross. If found guilty, the two men detained on Thursday face one to five years in prison.