News

Two men drowned in Ostrava on Tuesday after jumping into a river in an attempt to escape from the police. A third man managed to swim across the Odra, while a fourth was prevented from entering the river, a fire service spokesperson said. The police said the men had been stealing copper piping from a nearby museum of mining. Both bodies have been retrieved by police divers.

Opposition leader Jiri Paroubek says the planned building of a US radar base in the Czech Republic would change the country's foreign policy, representing a "swing towards the United States to the detriment of the European Union". In an open letter to the prime minister, the Social Democrats boss called on Mr Topolanek to have the courage to explain the security implications of the planned base for Czech citizens. Mr Paroubek pointed out that polls suggest most Czechs are opposed to it being built. Mr Topolanek, a strong advocate of the planned radar, has rejected calls for a referendum on the issue. The base would be part of a United States global anti-missile defence system.

The Czech brewery Budejovicky Budvar has lost a court battle aimed at preventing America's Anheuser-Busch from using the Budweiser and Budvar brand names on non-beer products such as T-shirts and barbecue sauces. The Czech firm had sought to prevent Anheuser-Busch from registering the brand names as trademarks throughout the European Union. But the European Court of First Instance ruled that the "appellations of origin relied on" by Budejovicky Budvar only applied to beer and other similar products.

Sales of Skoda cars increased by almost 14 percent in the first five months of this year, Pravo reported, quoting a spokesperson for Skoda Auto. The company says sales have increased in eastern Europe in particular. Meanwhile, a shortage of car radios is holding up production of Fabia and Roomster models for up to two weeks, reported Mlada fronta Dnes.