News

Czech-born tennis star Martina Navrátilová has said she is free from breast cancer after an operation and radiation treatment. The nine times Wimbledon singles winner was diagnosed with a non-invasive form of breast cancer in February this year. The form can, however, increase the chances of contracting cancer later if it is not dealt with. Navrátilová gave the update on her health at a news conference in the margins of this year’s Wimbledon tournament. She added that she still has the goal of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa by the end of the year.

The Czech president, Václav Klaus, has warned against the Civic Democrats occupying both the position of prime minister and speaker of the Chamber of Deputies. In an interview for Tuesday’s edition of the newspaper Právo, he said it seemed to him out of the question that TOP 09 and Public Affairs would allow the biggest party to assume the two posts. Mr Klaus said he thought the Civic Democrats would pay for filling both jobs by losing ground in the planned coalition. Civic Democrats chairman Petr Necaš is expected to become the next Czech prime minister.

The vice governor of the Czech National Bank says the Czech Republic is not ready to give up control of its monetary policy, while the euro is not ready to become the country’s currency. Speaking on Tuesday, Mojmír Hampl said it was contradictory for the eurozone to allow member states to have budget autonomy, while at the same time trying to enforce budget rules. Mr Hampl said the euro had not harmonised the diverse structure of the eurozone; neither had it ensured growth in its members and enforced basic rules upon them. In fact, the opposite happened, said the central bank vice governor.

The budget carrier Wizz Air is to reduce significantly the number of routes it offers from Prague, the news website idnes.cz reported. As well as its usual seasonal routes, the airline will cut five routes which it previously operated during the winter months. A Wizz Air representative said the cuts were being made because of high charges and large seasonal swings in the number of people flying from Prague Airport. The announcement follows the news that Europe’s biggest budget airline Ryanair will discontinue all its flights to and from the Czech capital later this year.