News

The Czech campaign in the Olympic men’s ice hockey opening group starts Wednesday evening with a tough match against Sweden. Sweden are on paper the strongest team the Czechs will face in a group that also includes Switzerland and Latvia. The Czechs have only won three out of their last 11 major competition confrontations against the Swedes. Czech coach Alois Hadamczik has refused to divulge his selection ahead of the match. In spite of that, Jakub Kovár is widely tipped to be the first choice goalie for the encounter.

The Chamber of Deputies has rejected a Communist Party bill that would have brought to an end a law barring those who collaborated with the secret police under communism from holding high office. The smallest party in the governing coalition, the Christian Democrats, had threatened to quit the government if the legislation reached a second reading. In the end some 121 of the 167 MPs present in the lower house voted against the motion. The so-called lustration law was introduced in the early 1990s and requires aspirants to important posts to get a security clearing.

The new government is planning to amend its programme statement to take on board comments from union leaders and employers, the prime minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, said after a tripartite meeting with both groups on Tuesday. Following the talks, the president of the Confederation of Industry, Jaroslav Hanák, said it was still unclear how the coalition aimed to finance its plans. The cabinet aims to approve its programme on Wednesday before seeking confidence in the Chamber of Deputies on February 18.

Shirley Temple Black, a former child star who became US ambassador to Czechoslovakia, has died at the age of 85. The diplomat was appointed by President George Bush senior in 1989 and held the post during that year’s Velvet Revolution. She remained in Prague until 1993, by which time Czechoslovakia had split. Temple Black is credited with helping create strong Czechoslovak-US ties in a period of transition.