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Foreign Minister and the leader of the junior coalition Christian Democrats Cyril Svoboda said his party would push its leftist coalition partners to agree to public spending cuts to speed up the adoption of the euro currency. Svoboda said his party would urge the government to approve major fiscal reforms aimed at joining the euro between 2007 and 2009. This is a more ambitious target than has been proposed by the ruling Social Democrats who have largely spoken against radical spending cuts, especially in social welfare, and favoured the period between 2009-2011 as possible target dates for euro zone entry.

The popular Czech novelist Zdenek Jirotka died at the age of 92 early on Saturday. Jirotka was an excellent storyteller, author of several comic novels, short stories, TV and radio plays. He was best known for his satiric novel Saturnin set in the 1920s, telling the stories of a young upper class man and his servant who never ceases to surprise his master with original solutions to everyday problems.

On an official visit to Germany, Czech President Vaclav Klaus said bilateral relations between the two neighbours have never been better. Mr. Klaus' talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder and President Johannes Rau focused on the two countries' business relations, the future of the European Union and the war on Iraq. At a press conference in Berlin, President Klaus said that the immediate concern of both states, as far as Iraq was concerned, was to avoid a full scale humanitarian crisis and help alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people. Speaking just a day after the European Parliament endorsed the Czech Republic's admission to the EU, President Klaus said he was certain that Czechs would vote in favour of joining the European Union in a national referendum, expected in June. We have some questions about the future evolution of EU institutions but for us there is nevertheless no alternative, Mr. Klaus said.

The Iraqi woman who was denied entry into the Czech Republic last week, has been granted a new Czech visa. The head of the Foreign Ministry's press department Karel Boruvka said on Thursday that Salia Khalaf, her husband and seriously ill son had all been granted visas and were welcome to return to the country. Mrs. Khalaf who came to the Czech Republic hoping that her son would get badly needed medical care here was turned away by the foreign police -in spite of the fact that she had a valid visa - on the grounds that she presented a security threat. She miscarried hours later on a plane to Syria. The Czech Foreign Ministry has come under severe criticism over the incident.