News

The Polish president, Lech Kaczynski, is holding talks with his Czech counterpart Václav Klaus on Thursday evening. The two heads of state are expected to discuss the ratification of the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty at the Czech presidential retreat Lány, near Prague. Mr Kaczynski had said he would not sign the reform treaty in the wake of Ireland’s rejection of the document, but changed his position after a meeting with Nicolas Sarkozy the president of France, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency. Mr Klaus, who is a euro-sceptic, has consistently expressed opposition to further EU integration.

The Czech Parliament is due to vote on the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon towards the end of this year, after the Czech Constitutional Court rules on whether it is in line with the Czech constitution. The news website iDnes reported on Thursday that the government of Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek was attempting to persuade the court to rule in favour of Lisbon.

A new edition of Jaroslav Hašek’s classic novel The Good Soldier Svejk: And his Fortunes in the World War with illustrations by Petr Urban is being prepared for publication in September, Vanda Stankeová of publishers XYZ said on Thursday. Petr Urban is known for bawdy cartoons often involving Czech pub life. His work is closer to the spirit of Hašek than that of the other well-known illustrators who were interested in taking part in the project, said Ms Stankeová.

One man was killed in a four-vehicle collision near Hradec Kralové on Thursday morning. The news website novinky.cz reported that the crash – involving two cars, a truck and a van – may have been caused by former Czech ice hockey international Ladislav Lubina. Police were reported to be searching for Mr Lubina, who fled the scene. The man who died is believed to have been the father of former football international Vratislav Lokvenc.

Meanwhile, Prague authorities have expressed alarm over an epidemic of hepatitis A which is particularly affecting drug addicts in the city. Around 100 people have contracted the disease since January, compared to the 36 and 13 cases recorded in the whole of 2007 and 2006. The incidence of hepatitis A is 30 times higher in the capital than elsewhere in the country.