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Czechs are voting in the second round of elections to one third of the Senate, in which seats are contested every two years. Fifty two hopefuls face run offs in 26 districts after only one candidate, the controversial media mogul Vladimir Zelezny, booked an outright victory in last week's first round. Turnout last weekend was poor at 24 % , but officials expect a higher turnout for the run off as municipal elections are also being held around the country this weekend, giving voters an added incentive to cast ballots. Although the Czech Senate has limited powers in the two-chamber parliament, it will play a key role in selecting a successor to President Vaclav Havel, whose final term ends in January.

The authorities in Prague announced on Thursday that the state of emergency put in place during the summer's severe floods had been lifted, although the clean-up operation continues. A city spokesman said public services in the capital will not return to normal until at least next spring, while the city is still struggling to raise funds to cover clean-up and repair costs totalling about 1 billion dollars. The state of emergency began in August when the Vltava River burst its banks and forced 50,000 people to evacuate low-lying areas. Some people are still waiting to be allowed home.

The spokeswoman for Czech Rail has revealed that fierce gales that hit the Czech Republic over the weekend caused more than 18 million crowns in damages to the country's roads and railways. Damaged were railway tracks covered by fallen trees, rail communications systems, and trolley-bus lines. Vehicles were also damaged, and in all two-hundred and seventy-nine trains showed late arrivals during the storms. Thirty-six trains did not pull out all and another ninety-eight were by covered replacement busses.

Farmers' organisations have collected almost 120,000 signatures on a petition calling on the state to help them cope with the financial crisis they say is facing Czech agriculture. The petition is to be presented to the government and both houses of parliament on Wednesday morning, when around 3,000 farmers are due to hold a demonstration in the centre of Prague. Farmers in candidate countries are not expected to receive the same level of subsidies as those enjoyed by farmers in existing EU members.