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A Czech man and woman found guilty of murdering a five-year-old boy - the woman’s son - have been handed sentences of 20 and 24 years in prison. In an apparent act of revenge against the child’s natural father, Antonie Stašková and her partner Pavel Grepl murdered the boy last December – a case that shocked the country. The couple abducted five-year-old Jan Rokos, failing to return him to his father who had legal custody. The boy died from stab wounds and strangulation at the hands of the couple. Police caught the perpetrators by chance while checking the suspects’ vehicle last year.

Belgian club Anderlecht reportedly value Czech football midfielder Jan Polák at 15 million euros and won’t allow the Czech international to depart to any other club for less. The player recently told a Czech daily he had received an offer but admitted Anderlecht was against his leaving. The player first joined the club last year; unofficial estimates gauged his transfer from Nuremburg at around 3.5 million euros. Anderlecht coach Ariel Jacobs has called Polák one of the team’s “best players”, saying the midfielder had “enormous potential”. He also said he wouldn’t be surprised if Polák one day moved on to one of the richer leagues.

The government has launched an advertising campaign aimed at preparing Czech citizens for the country’s first presidency of the European Union next year. The first part of the campaign, which is intended to be humorous, features a number of leading Czech personalities, including scientist Antonín Holý, architect Eva Jiřičná and soccer star Petr Čech. Part two, due to follow in November, will focus on explaining the presidency, and will coincide with the unveiling of the Czech presidency’s official logo. The Czech Republic will hold the rotating EU presidency between the beginning of January and the end of June.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Government is preparing to open a new press centre in connection with the presidency. It will be based at the Office of the Government itself, a stone’s throw from Prague’s Malostranská metro station, and will have room for 70 print journalists.

The Czech president, Václav Klaus, is preparing for his first overseas trip since undergoing a hip operation in June. On Saturday, Mr Klaus will leave for the Japanese city of Tokyo, where he is due to deliver a speech on global warming at an economics conference. The president, who has published a book entitled Blue Planet in Green Shackles, questions received wisdom on climate change; he has described global warming as both a false myth and nonsensical fiction, and compared Green politics to communism.