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Czechs and Americans negotiating the terms on which US soldiers would be allowed to live on Czech soil did not reach an agreement on Friday as they had hoped. Delegates negotiating the terms of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) were unable to agree on questions of income tax and the criminal jurisdiction of American troops on Czech soil. Czech prime minister Mirek Topolánek has said that the agreement will now have to be signed in early May, at the same time as a Czech-American treaty paving the way for a US radar base to be stationed on Czech soil.

Leaders of the opposition Social Democrats told party deputies on Friday to get ready to bring a new vote of no confidence against the current government. Since the elections, the Social Democrats have tried on two separate occasions to topple the government through a vote of no confidence, both times without success. Head of the Social Democrats Jiří Paroubek said that there was every chance that this vote of no confidence would not succeed, but that it was the ‘role’ of the opposition to try anyway. According to Mr Paroubek, the opposition are unhappy with the current pensions system, the return of Christian Democrat Jiří Čunek into the cabinet, and the government’s stance on building a US anti-missile defence shield in the Czech Republic.

Fifty-nine percent of Czechs are satisfied with their physical condition, suggests a poll conducted by Unilever released on Saturday. Only 31 percent of respondents, however, said that they took regular exercise. The most popular forms of exercise in this country are cycling, swimming and walking, suggests the poll. Respondents of up to 44 years of age preferred sports that they could do in fitness centres, while older respondents in general preferred outdoor activity. Nearly half of those polled said that they were happy with the physical condition of their partner, while nearly as many respondents worried that their partner was not taking enough care of him/herself. Around 28 percent of Czechs polled said that they played sport with their partners.

Czech markswoman Kateřina Emmons snatched the gold medal in the women’s 10-metre air rifle and equaled the world record of 504.9 points in the World Cup in Beijing on Saturday. Emmons, a bronze medalist at the Athens Olympics, was followed by German Sonja Pfeilschifter who collected 502.4 points. Emmons’ form looks good going into the Olympics, but she remained cool-headed about the victory. “Just because I won here today doesn’t mean I can win an Olympic medal”, she said after the competition.