News

The new skiing season has begun in parts of the Czech Republic, including the country’s Jizera Mountains – a record for the area. Ski runs there have reported between 15 to 20 centimetres of snow enjoyed by the first to hit the slopes. The head of the Severak ski hill reported that Saturday morning saw about 25 skiers out, along with 15 snowboarders. An increase in numbers was expected, he said, for Saturday afternoon.

The European Commission has raised its estimate for the Czech Republic's GDP growth for 2007. The EC made the announcement on Friday, raising an earlier estimate of 4.9 percent to 5.8. At the same time, the commission warned that Czech GDP growth will slow in the next two years. The new rate by the commission is closer to the Czech Finance Ministry's own, lower by just one percentage point. The commission said that this year's growth has been driven by strong consumer demand, rising thanks to increasing wages, falling unemployment, and low inflation. Industrial production, particularly the production of cars, electronics, and transport equipment are dominant factors in the rise.

In other numbers on Friday, the EC revised its estimate for inflation for 2007, raising its forecast from 2.4 to 3 percent.

Prague Mayor Pavel Bem has come out strongly against a proposed 50 percent rise in the cost of fare on the city's transport network, saying it was "unacceptable". Under the proposal, the price of a monthly travel card could increase by 39 % while a single transfer ticket would cost 30 crowns - a rise of 50 %. The Prague Public Transport Authority would like to increase revenues to meet higher energy prices as well as to be able to cover new investment in services. The proposed tariff hike would help bring in an extra 850 million crowns (the equivalent of almost 47 million US dollars). City councillors are to discuss the proposals next week but the transport authority will reportedly provide the mayor with an alternative plan later on Friday.

Czech president Vaclav Klaus has renewed earlier criticism of environmentalists including former US vice president Al Gore - recently jointly-awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in publicising the issue of global warming. In an interview for the German news agency DPA, Mr Klaus said "the Rubicon had been crossed" when Mr Gore received the Nobel Prize, saying that in his view "propaganda" on the climate had become "official world doctrine" as a result. Mr Klaus, a sceptic of the human impact on climate change, also defended nuclear energy in the interview, saying the belief in other energy sources was "irrational". He made the latest statements on the eve of the German release of his book "A Blue, Not Green, Planet".