Press Review

All the Czech dailies give a lot of front-page space to the announcement by South-Korean scientists that they have cloned 30 human embryos to obtain stem cells, which they hope could one day be used to treat diseases. There is a lot more variety in the choice of domestic stories on the front pages.

Pravo is chiefly concerned with money matters today. Tax payers will have to pay dearly for the departure of Boeing from the heavily indebted Aero Vodochody aircraft manufacturer, Pravo writes in its main story. The government has decided it is going to pay over 3 billion crowns this year and 6 billion next year to cover Aero's liabilities.

The finance and industry ministries are planning to start negotiations with potential new strategic partners for Aero and, at the same time, the government will agree with Boeing on the terms of its departure. Pravo writes that the company had promised to find foreign markets for Aero's L-159 aircraft, but failed to do so.

Lidove Noviny writes that the Czech police force is going to be bolstered by a special unit of financial investigators. The government has approved this step to help combat the shadow economy as well as serious tax and customs evasion. The financial detectives will work under the Interior Ministry. This financial crime unit will have 225 police officers with 30 support staff, and it will start operating in July.

Mlada Fronta Dnes gets back to yesterday's emergency landing of a Czech Airlines aeroplane at Thessalonica airport in Greece. The paper points out that it was the fourth time since the beginning of this year that a Czech Airlines pilot was forced to perform an emergency landing. The daily adds that the largest Czech carrier is not expecting a decline in the number of passengers due to the recent series of technical problems. On the contrary, Czech Airlines predicts a 20-percent increase in the volume of passengers.

Staying with Mlada Fronta Dnes and the paper touches on a very sensitive subject - infidelity. The daily quotes the results of a survey carried out by the SC&C agency, which suggest that 40 percent of Czechs have at some point had an unfaithful partner. Thirty percent admit that they themselves have committed adultery.

According to the poll quoted in Mlada Fronta Dnes the figures are higher in large cities. Experts say that the statistics suggest Czechs belong to the more liberal societies in Europe. The paradox is that, although so many people have first-hand experience with adultery, one third of the respondents condemn infidelity and every second person disapproves of it.