News

British immigration officials have ended another round of immigration controls at Ruzyne airport. 82 people bound for Great Britain were turned away between now and June 23rd . The British immigration checks at Prague's main airport are the result of an agreement between the Czech and British governments. The Czech side agreed to the move in the wake of a mass exodus of Romanies to Great Britain. An alternative solution, which both countries want to avoid, is the re-introduction of a visa regime. The British authorities who want to protect their country from economic asylum seekers, say that the number of Czech nationals asking for asylum has dropped significantly in the wake of the immigration checks. However the procedure has come under fire from human rights activists who say that the questions Czechs travelling to Great Britain are asked are too personal. Romanies who have been turned back say that the check ups are racist.

President Vaclav Havel has appointed Vladimir Spidla prime minister of the Czech Republic. On Friday Mr Spidla became the country's fifth prime minister since the fall of communism in 1989. Mr Spidla's Social Democratic Party came first in elections to the lower house in mid-June, and he has formed a coalition with the centrist Christian Democrats and the right-wing Freedom Union.

The Scottish film star Sean Connery has had to pull out of the closing ceremony of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival due to illness. Festival organisers said that the 71-year-old actor, who is filming in the Czech Republic, was suffering from a viral infection. Mr Connery , famous for his performances in the early James Bond films, was due to receive an award for his long-term contribution to world cinema at Karlovy Vary, and organisers are now trying to find a way to get the award to him. The film festival comes to a close on Saturday night.

And in related news the new parliament also passed a proposal Thursday allowing for six new parliament deputy chairmen. Six names were put forward by the parties Thursday afternoon: two representatives for the Social Democrats, two for the Civic Democrats and one each for the Freedom Union-DEU and the Communist Party. However, only two of the candidates prevailed: in secret ballots Christian Democrat Jan Kasal got 115 votes while Social Democrat candidate Jitka Kupcova got 142. The other candidates did not get the mandatory 101 votes with Freedom Union's Hana Marvanova coming up short with 95, while the Communist's Vojtech Filip got the least support, with just 48 votes. Proceedings have been postponed till later Thursday evening, when the lower house should vote again to try and fill the four remaining positions in a second round. There is speculation, however, that the proceedings could be postponed as late as next Tuesday, which would postpone the entire process of appointing the new government.