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The governing Civic Democratic Party’s biggest donor last year was hockey star Jaromír Jágr, the newspaper Mladá fronta Dnes reports. Mr Jágr, who currently plays for Avangard Omsk in Russia, donated over 4 million crowns (over 202,000 USD) to the centre-right party in 2008. The hockey star told the paper that this was his way of voicing his view as a Czech citizen. The opposition Social Democrats’ biggest sponsor last year was a former teammate of Jaromír Jágr, Jiří Šlegr. Mr Šlegr gave half a million crowns (25,300 USD) to the Social Democrats in 2008.

Prague City Hall has banned a protest march coinciding with this weekend’s visit by US President Barack Obama. The city issued the ban on the grounds the demonstration could interfere with traffic and compromise security during Sunday’s EU-US Summit. Activists are planning to protest the possibility of a US radar base being stationed on Czech soil – part of missile defence plans pursued by Mr Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush. The Obama administration has been more ambiguous about the system. The Czech Republic signed two treaties on the base with the US but the plans have not been ratified in the lower house. Activists in Prague say they will go ahead with their march regardless of Thursday’s decision; it is estimated some 2,000 people could take part.

Police officials have said that attendees at a Prague speech on Sunday by US President Barack Obama will be allowed to bring mobile phones and cameras. Earlier reports said that those items plus sets of keys would not be allowed. The US Embassy in Prague has issued a full list of items which are banned for security reasons, available on its website. Among them are any kind of weapons, thermal or glass containers, packages, backpacks and other objects. Attendees will have to pass through metal detectors to view Mr Obama’s address on Sunday morning on Prague’s Hradčany Square. The 44th US president is expected to focus on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in his speech.

Opposition Social Democrat leader Jiří Paroubek has said the Czech Republic's main parties should agree on a new cabinet by Sunday - one that would complete the EU presidency and lead the country to early elections. Mr Paroubek said in an interview he saw a "cabinet of experts" as the only way out of a political gridlock after a no-confidence vote last week that toppled the country’s minority centre-right government. Some have argued that the government’s collapse has undermined its position as the holder of the EU presidency, while strengthening the role of euro sceptic President Václav Klaus. The plan for a technocratic government has raised protests from some in Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek's Civic Democratic Party, who say the outgoing prime minister had made too many concessions to the opposition.