News

Czech Airlines reported widening losses on Tuesday. Its first half losses widened to 773 million koruna (27.5 million euros, 35.4 million dollars) from 533 million koruna in the same period last year. The company is now expecting a shortfall of 17.5 million koruna for the full year, equal to its 2005 loss, according to company chairman Radomir Lasak. Lasak ascribed the company's problems to a recent dramatic surge in capacity undertaken in the absence of preparation and necessary restructuring, rather than to a hike in oil prices. The airline is hoping to return to profit in 2008 following a sweeping restructuring which has been in place since the start of the year. The initiative calls for a 10 to 20 percent reduction in personnel.

Prime Minister designate and Civic Democrat leader Mirek Topolanek and Social Democrat chairman and outgoing prime minister Jiri Paroubek met on Monday morning for talks about a future Czech government but the talks have failed to make progress. Mr Paroubek said it was unlikely that his Social Democrats would support a minority Civic Democrat government. Mirek Topolanek, on the other hand, accused Mr Paroubek of blocking the formation of a rightist minority government. Meanwhile the Social Democrat leadership decided later on Monday that the party would continue in the negotiations with the Civic Democrats on a Civic Democrat minority cabinet.

The Civic Democrats won the most votes in a national election in June, but parliament has been deadlocked because the right and left-wing blocs hold the same number of seats in the lower house.

A remembrance ceremony on Monday in front of the Czech Radio building on Prague's Vinohradska Street marked the 38th anniversary of the beginning of the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. Officials laid wreaths in front of the Czech Radio building which was the site of the bloodiest fighting in August 1968 between the occupiers and the citizens of Prague. The invasion of Warsaw-Pact troops crushed the reform movement known as the Prague Spring and Soviet units stayed in Czechoslovakia until 1991. More than 70 people were killed and several hundred wounded in the first weeks of the invasion.

Financial analysts approached by the CTK news agency have agreed that the major advantage of an early adoption of the euro for Czech citizens would be easier travelling. On the other hand, they warned that the economy might overheat causing a rapid growth of prices. The government have agreed that the Czech Republic should adopt the European currency in 2010 but the term has been put into question by some experts. For example, the deputy finance minister Eduard Janota said on Sunday that the Czech Republic's planned adoption of the Euro in 2010 was in danger because the Czech Republic was not going to fulfil all the Maastricht criteria by the middle of 2007.