News

The Czech foreign minister, Cyril Svoboda, was one of many state leaders and officials who attended the funeral of President Yasser Arafat on Friday morning in Cairo. Earlier, Mr Svoboda said that Mr Arafat had played a major role in the history of Palestine, stressing the Palestinian leader would be greatly missed by his people. Mr Svoboda added that the Nobel Peace Prize winner could be regarded as a controversial figure because of his role in the troubling Middle East conflict.

In the 1970s and 1980s communist Czechoslovakia provided political and financial support to the Palestine Liberation Organisation, as well as arms and military training. Mr Arafat visited former Czechoslovakia on several occasions.

Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka has recommended the government sell the 51.1 majority stake it holds in the country's dominant fixed-line operator Cesky Telecom on the capital markets, rather than holding a new tender to choose a single buyer. The government is to decide the issue next Tuesday. Mr Sobotka outlined his stance in a document sent to the cabinet describing the political and economic transparency - as well as efficiency - of selling on the capitals markets, an option which does not need approval by the European Commission. Opponents of the plan, however, say it is far from certain investors will be interested in buying up such a large amount of Telecom stocks: excessive availability could consequently drive share prices down.

The upper house of the Czech Parliament, the Senate, is discussing an amendment to the election law which should enable Czechs living abroad to take part in elections to the lower house of parliament by sending absentee ballots. The amendment would also concern Czech citizens living in the Czech Republic. According to estimates, there are between 250.000 and 300.000 Czechs living outside the Czech Republic.

A poll carried out by the Stem agency suggests that most Czechs want the government to immediately start a fundamental reform of the health care and social areas. In the poll, about 60 percent of respondents voiced the view that the cabinet would finally have to resort to deep cuts in the health care and social areas. Although several health ministers have submitted their ideas of the reform, none of them has been accepted. The current Health Minister Milada Emmerova wants to present her draft reform at the beginning of next week.