Press Review

The front pages of most of the Czech dailies are today dominated by colour photos of Prague's Slavia hockey team, which defeated Pardubice on Thursday in the Extra League final. And the other celebration being covered by the papers is Easter: Hospodarske noviny is the only newspaper that doesn't include a big photo of the Slavia hockey team on its front page, but instead has a picture of the Pope praying at an Easter mass.

Prague's Slavia hockey team, photo: CTK

Hospodarske noviny also has an article on Catholics in the Czech Republic, who are decreasing in number and now comprise only twenty six per cent of the population. The newspaper writes that Czech Catholics will hold a congress in July for the first time since 1860, at which they will discuss how their position in Czech society can be strengthened.

On its front page, Pravo reports that the first group of forty medical workers from the Czech Army's Seventh Field Hospital left for Iraq on Thursday. The newspaper's correspondent in the Iraqi city of Basra, Vladimir Marek, writes that the hospital there lacks almost everything, and that the Iraqis are eagerly awaiting for the Czech field hospital to arrive there with supplies.

The main story on Lidove noviny's front page says that some schools in the Czech Republic are using urine tests and sniffer dogs to find out whether their students use or possess drugs. However, the Ministry of Education and the Czech government's Council for the Coordination of Anti-Drug Policy are against the use of such methods in schools, and Education Minister Petra Buzkova is reportedly frustrated by the situation.

Lidove noviny also reports that sex education in Czech schools is an important part of the curriculum. Teachers say that young people today are sexually more responsible than before, and that promiscuity is not increasing. Since 1992 sex education is meant to be taught in Czech schools one hour a week, but some teachers find it a nightmare and teach their students about biology and drug prevention instead.

If you're wondering where former Czech president Vaclav Havel has been of late, Mlada fronta Dnes reports that he was at a party in Prague on Thursday to celebrate the release of a book on the architectural changes made by him and architect Borek Sipek at Prague Castle in the last decade. The newspaper writes that the publisher of the book is controversial businessman Kamil Kolek, who has also purchased bookshelves from Mr Havel that Mr Sipek designed for the former president.

And while the Czech Republic will be hosting many foreign visitors this Easter weekend, Lidove noviny reports that the latest trend here is for Czechs to spend Easter somewhere abroad. Some tour operators tell the newspaper that they have recorded an increase in sales of twenty per cent for the Easter holiday compared to last year. The main foreign destinations that Czechs will be heading to this weekend are European metropolises such as Rome, Paris and Vienna, or seaside resorts in Spain.