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The Civic Democratic Party on Tuesday failed to push through a more lenient form of the road law. The proposed changes evoked heated debate in the lower house with proponents of the law arguing that the strict new norms had saved dozens of lives since July and any step back now would destroy all it had achieved. The Civic Democrats on the other hand believe that the new points system is too strict and opens the door to corruption. In the end there was general agreement that the law should remain in force for some time longer so that its effect could be properly assessed.

Organised crime groups, influential businessmen, and suspected terrorists are all threatening the country's security, according to a counter-intelligence service (BIS) report. The annual report for 2005 says there is evidence that organised crime groups are trying to influence courts, several entrepreneurs have bribed state employees to gain confidential information, and there is reason to believe that terrorists had planned an attack on the Czech Republic.

Last year, for example, three Egyptian nationals failed to enter the cockpit on a Czech Airlines flight from Oslo to Prague. The BIS did not view it as a failed hijacking but a move to test flight security for a future terrorist attack. The three men have been deported back to Egypt.

Outgoing Civic Democrat Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek says he knows of a member of parliament who is being pressurised into voting for a Social Democrat government. Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, he said he could not reveal the MPs name or party. Mr Topolanek already suggested in a radio interview on Monday that three Christian Democrat MPs are either being put under pressure or bribed to support a Social Democrat government in a vote of confidence in the lower house of Parliament. The acting head of the Christian Democrats, Jan Kasal, has ruled out the possibility.

Several Czech women's organisations are opposed to building a US anti-missile base in the Czech Republic, fearing it would increase the risk of terrorist attack. The women are reacting to the Czech Republic being one of several countries in Central Europe named as a potential site of such a base. The protesting organisations' representatives say a referendum should be held before a definite decision is made. Opinion polls suggest that three fifths of the population would vote against the US base.