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The minister for human rights and minorities, Michael Kocáb, visited one of the country’s largest Romany ghettos in Janov on Tuesday, describing the situation as “dramatic”. Mr Kocáb said however he was pleased with the lively debate between the local authorities, human rights groups and Romany NGOs. The local mayor gave Mr Kocáb keys to an apartment in the Janov housing estate so that the government could set up an office in the area.

Janov, part of the northern Bohemian town of Litvínov, is one of the Czech Republic’s largest Romany ghettos. In November last year, it became a target of far-right activists who intended to stage a march through the area; the attempt ended in a clash with riot police.

About 200 people were evacuated after a cloud of chlorine escaped from a water-treatment plant in the community in Vítkov, north Moravia, on Tuesday. The evacuees included students from a nearby boarding school and local inhabitants who were taken away by buses. It was the second incident of air contamination in the same place in less than 24 hours. In the first accident, two men had to receive medical treatment after they inhaled chlorine.

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, who is on a two-day visit to the Czech Republic, told officials in Prague on Monday that a two-state solution was the only viable option to the Middle East conflict and should be actively pursued. Speaking after a meeting with President Klaus, Mr. Abbas said that it was important to build on what had already been achieved, rather than going back to square one after the Israeli elections. He also stressed that the Gaza Strip could not be reconstructed without a united Palestinian government which would respect international norms and existing commitments. President Klaus agreed that Palestine would not be “intelligible” to the international community unless it was united.

Efforts to reconcile Mahmud Abbas’ Fatah faction and the rival Islamist movement Hamas have so far failed to yield results. Hamas drove Abbas’ security forces out of Gaza in June 2077, taking over the territory and confining the Palestinian Authority to the Israeli occupied West Bank.

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said a summit of Europe's leading economies in Berlin on Sunday had exposed deep rifts over how to tackle the financial crisis. The leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands met in Berlin to hammer out a common European policy ahead of a G20 meeting in April. Although they approved a joint statement on the need for greater regulation of financial markets and increased IMF funding, the Czech prime minister said the difference of opinions was considerable, with some member states less inclined than others to abandon protectionist measures, both on a national and EU-scale. Both the Czech EU presidency and the European Commission have voiced concern at attempts by France, Italy and Spain to shelter their car industries from the effects of the downturn.