Press Review
A variety of stories are covered on the front pages of Wednesday's Czech newspapers, but one theme still dominates: the retirement of President Vaclav Havel and the as yet fruitless attempts to find his successor. PRAVO and LIDOVE NOVINY carry the same photo of Mr Havel being toasted in Prague by the presidents of Poland and Austria and their wives. MLADA FRONTA DNES meanwhile has a photograph of President Havel's wife Dagmar been given what they term a "Polish kiss" by Aleksandr Kwasniewski.
A variety of stories are covered on the front pages of Wednesday's Czech newspapers, but one theme still dominates: the retirement of President Vaclav Havel and the as yet fruitless attempts to find his successor. PRAVO and LIDOVE NOVINY carry the same photo of Mr Havel being toasted in Prague by the presidents of Poland and Austria and their wives. MLADA FRONTA DNES meanwhile has a photograph of President Havel's wife Dagmar being given what they term a "Polish kiss" by Aleksandr Kwasniewski.
LIDOVE NOVINY reports on the huge gala concert being held at Prague's National Theatre in honour of the outgoing president on Thursday. While the line-up is intended as a surprise for Mr Havel, the daily lists many artists due to take part, including singers Marta Kubisova, Magdalena Kozena and Vera Bila.
From the world of theatre, lucky ticket holders for the event can expect Zdenek Sverak and Ladislav Smoljak, members of Divadlo Sklep and Mr Havel's old friend Pavel Landovsky. And those who failed to get a ticket need not despair - a large screen outside the National Theatre on Narodni Street will show the concert live.
Speaking of the National Theatre, MLADA FRONTA DNES compares the building of the theatre in the late 19th century to another great work symbolising Czech emancipation and confidence, Jan Otto's encyclopedia. The first part was published in January 1888, with the last, 28th part coming out in 1909. Mr Otto's world-class encyclopedia remains an essential reference book on some topics, writes the daily.
MLADA FRONTA DNES and LIDOVE NOVINY carry interviews with the Irish taoiseach, or prime minister, Bertie Aherne, ahead of his visit to Prague on Thursday. Asked by both papers whether Ireland, which is neutral, would ever join NATO, Mr Aherne says never, and that if his friends suggest such a thing in the pub he is quick to argue against it.
"Stink on the tram" runs a headline in the MLADA FRONTA DNES Prague section, referring to the members of the city's homeless community who travel the capital in circles on public transport to keep warm in winter. They don't have tickets and drivers have been ordered to kick them off. Many drivers say however they choose to leave them be, in order to avoid conflict.
A calf with two heads, that's something you don't often see on the front page of a newspaper. PRAVO reports that vets in the central town of Jihlava were shocked when they delivered a two-headed calf on Tuesday morning, with one of them saying he'd only ever seen such an animal in a museum. The calf is likely to be put down.
MLADA FRONTA DNES reports that the organisers of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which takes place at the beginning of July, are to hire a blow-up cinema from a company in France. The blow-up cinema, which is essentially a big tent, will be placed in the car-park of the hotel which is the hub of the festival, Thermal.
