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Czech President Vaclav Klaus said on Friday that a presentation by Czech climate scientists was not objective. Czech climatologists met in Prague on Wednesday to present their conclusions concerning global warming issues. In a following discussion, some scientists rejected Mr Klaus' views that the global warming debate is hysterical and may restrain human freedom. Klaus said that he has "millions of arguments" he could use in such a debate and also expressed his disgruntlement over the fact he had not been invited to the conference in order to defend his opinions.

Plans to build a large commercial mall in central Ceske Budejovice, South Bohemia, are disputed by local monument care organisations, says Czech daily Mlada Fronta Dnes. The shopping mall is to be built on a site occupied by an Art Deco house erected in the 1930s. The monument care institute together with the Friends of Ceske Budejovice Club have suggested the house is declared a cultural monument which would bar its demolition. The construction company now has to await the verdict of the Czech Ministry of Culture which will decide whether the historical building is worth special protection.

Two Czech aircraft JAS 39-Gripen took off from the military airbase in Caslav, central Bohemia, on Thursday to assist a small passenger plane making a domestic flight. The pilot of the small plane sent out an emergency signal indicating the plane had been kidnapped. The two fighters accompanied the Cessna to the airport in Rakovnik, central Bohemia, the original destination of flight, and returned to the base. It later turned out that the emergency signal was sent out by mistake. It is the second case of Czech fighters assisting a civilian plane over the Czech Republic this year. In January, a Hungarian passenger plane flying from Germany to Poland was assisted by the Czech Air Force.

Czech Republic beat Panama 2:1 at the Under-20 football World Cup in Canada on Friday and advanced to the last sixteen. The Czech team drew their first game against Argentina as well as the following match against North Korea. The third match in group E against Panama on Friday night was crucial as both teams were to hoping to score victory and advance. In the first half, the Czech team gradually got their opponents under considerable pressure but did not score until well into the second half when Kalouda and Strestik scored within three minutes giving the Czech line-up a decisive advantage. Panama responded with a score from a free kick and set the score to 2:1, but it was already too late. With five points, Czechs came second in their group while Panama goes home early.