Press Review

All of the main papers today feature Monday's report for the United Nations Security Council by chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix, which says that Iraq falls short on co-operation, which affects the ability of weapons inspectors to fully ascertain the state of the Iraqi arms program. The papers give a detailed explanation of Mr Blix's report pointing out that he had criticised Iraq for not giving enough evidence of its past weapons of mass destruction programmes. At the same time, the paper writes, inspectors have not provided evidence supporting US claims that Baghdad has rebuilt its arsenal. Meanwhile, on the home front, it is a mix of headlines that dominate the front pages varying from the presidential elections to an evaluation of the number of accidents recorded on Czech roads.

PRAVO writes that the Czech Army has began tightening security around several buildings in fear of a possible terrorist attack. Besides ammunition dumps and army bases, other important facilities such as power stations and water basins are being guarded around the clock. The paper quotes an unnamed source at the Defence Ministry as saying that the Czech Army needed to be ready for anything as a possible war against Iraq had increased the probability of terrorist attacks being planned on Europe.

The ruling coalition is putting all its effort into finding a joint presidential candidate and the opposition Civic Democrats hope they will falter, writes MLADA FRONTA DNES. The paper adds that four days after the second attempt to elect a president failed, it looks like the country is gearing towards a direct vote. None of the opposition parties have expressed confidence in the third attempt and now even the public has called on politicians to change the constitution and allow the president to be elected by direct popular ballot. Fifty Czech artists, scientists, sportsmen, and celebrities, including singer Lucie Bila and writer Michal Viewegh, signed a petition for a direct vote on Monday, called "Respectable elections!".

LIDOVE NOVINY writes that the Czech Republic has one of the highest statistics of road accidents, when compared to other European countries. In the course of last year, more than 190,000 accidents took place in which over 1300 people died. The paper has a graph table featuring different countries and their statistics regarding the amount of fatal casualties per one million inhabitants in 2002. Great Britain has the lowest figures, recording some 58 deaths for every one million inhabitants, while Russia has the highest with 203. The Czech Republic lies just behind Russia, Poland and France.

And staying with statistics. HOSPODARSKE NOVINY looks into the popularity of the Internet and writes that one fifth of all Czechs surf the web. Compared to the other post-Communist European countries, it is thirteen percent higher than the average. Czech Telecom spokesman Vladan Crha attributes this to the increasing use of the internet in the academic sphere, the liberalisation of data services since the mid 1990's and the higher economic standard enjoyed by the country.

The paper, however, points out that in spite of the favourable figures, Czech businesses have not been using information technology effectively, simply due to a lack of trust and experience with e-business. Giving the examples of two companies that utilise the advantages of networked computer systems, the paper points out that such a step can increase profits by up to 30 percent.

LIDOVE NOVINY evaluates the nutritious value of Czech food and comes to the conclusion that it is far from healthy. Devoting a whole page to photographs and caloric tables of the most popular food among Czechs, it points out that the nation seriously needs to start taking better control of its diet. With most Czechs not having the time to wait an hour for their lunch in restaurants, they choose to eat in Czech pubs, eat instant food, or buy take-away meals - not very nutritious.

One of the most popular Czech meals, Goulash - a thick stew of either beef or pork - with dumplings has about 600 calories. A grilled sausage with bread has a little under 500 calories and a typical Czech salad with mayonnaise, ham, and eggs and a roll - most popular among those who have little time for lunch - has an unbelievable 850 calories.