News

Sparta Prague football club are opening a new sector at their Toyota Arena especially for children in what is a first in the Czech league. It will only be open to children under the age of 15 and their parents, club spokesman Lukas Pribyl told Mlada fronta Dnes. Mr Pribyl said Sparta were hoping to attract more children and youths; he said this segment of society was currently absent from football stadiums and had great potential.

Representatives for the Office of the President and the Metropolitan chapter of the Catholic Church have reached an agreement on the joint-administration of Prague's landmark St Vitus's Cathedral. Following several weeks of negotiations, both sides have agreed that the Church will transfer St Vitus's back to the state on April 16th. The decision follows the Supreme Court's recent ruling returning the cathedral and related property to Prague Castle, the latest chapter in a long drawn-out legal battle. On Friday, spokesman for the President's Office Jiri Weigl indicated that while the state retained ownership for now, both sides agreed on the Church handling day-to-day administration of the site, namely overseeing the cathedral's interior.

As of April 5th visitors will not be required to pay an entrance fee to view the main site.

Sixteen Roma organisations have put forward an official protest calling on Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek to distance himself from statements by his Deputy Prime Minister Jiri Cunek published on Friday. Asked in the Friday edition of the Czech tabloid Blesk whether others could receive state subsidies similar to those received by the Roma, Mr Cunek replied they would "have to get a suntan somewhere, start trouble and light fires on town squares" to get some politicians to feel sorry for them. Roma activists say that Mr Cunek has crossed the limits of social acceptability through his statements, and have described his approach to Roma issues as "clerical fascism." Aside from being a deputy prime minister, Mr Cunek is also the head of the Christian Democratic Party.

The Czech environment minister, Martin Bursik, has proposed a change to a European Union waste directive aimed at preventing the transport of waste across the EU for incineration. Mr Bursik put his ideas to his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel, at a meeting in Prague on Thursday. Germany holds the EU presidency and Mr Gabriel said it was trying to find consensus on the issue. The dumping and incineration of rubbish from Germany in the Czech Republic has been a source of some controversy. A decision on the final form of the EU waste directive will be made in June. Meanwhile, Mr Bursik and Mr Gabriel said their two countries would work together on the formulation of a scheme to support alternative sources of energy. Czechs experts will also study Germany's experience in this field.