News

A well-known patriarch of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church, Jan Shwarz, stepped down from his post following a conflict on Saturday over who should administer a special mass at the meeting of the church diet. Delegates voted in favour of fellow patriarch Josef Spak. Differences between church members are apparent: Jan Shwarz has been the centre of controversy in the Hussite Church in recent weeks, apparently at odds with bishops over questions of financing, property, and an alleged lack of democracy in the church's organisation.

Czech actor Jiri Kodet has died following prolonged illness. The much-loved stage and film actor, who came from a family famous for its theatre background, was known for dozens of roles throughout his career. Most recently he appeared in films like Jan Hrebejk's Pelisky and Petr Zelenka's cult hit Knoflikari (The Buttoners), for which Mr Kodet received the prestigious Czech Lion award in 1998. Jiri Kodet was 67.

A lower house deputy for the Social Democrats, Josef Hojdar, has been expelled from the party. The local branch of the Social Democrats in the northern town of Most voted to expel Mr Hojdar at an extraordinary meeting on Thursday, saying rules were broken during his election as chairman earlier this year. The government has a majority of just one, but the MP has said he will continue to support it. Several Social Democrats have given their backing to Mr Hojdar, who says he says he will appeal against the expulsion.

Increasing numbers of foreigners have been coming to the Czech Republic for fertility treatments, Hospodarske noviny reported on Friday. Assisted reproduction is considerably cheaper here than in neighbouring states Germany and Austria, the paper said, adding that some Czech clinics actively promote their services abroad.