News
Coalition fate to be clear by end of the week, says Gross
Prime Minister Stanislav Gross has said he expects the fate of the governing coalition to be clear by the end of the week. On Wednesday he is due to hold talks with the leaders of the other two parties in the coalition, which has been in turmoil since the Christian Democrats called on Mr Gross to resign over a flat-financing scandal. Meanwhile, his Social Democratic Party have called on the prime minister to dismiss the three Christian Democrat members of cabinet.
Restrictions on free rents to be sped up after "Polish" ruling
The state is preparing to speed up the process of easing restrictions on free rents due to the threat of law suits from property owners, Deputy Minister for Regional Development Ivan Prikryl told Tuesday's edition of Mlada fronta Dnes. The move comes after Polish property owners won a case against rent regulation at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Court considering complaint by Czech Romanies over "special schools"
The European Court of Human Rights is considering whether to hear a complaint by a group of young Czech Romanies who say they have experienced discrimination in the education system. The group of 18 Romanies say they were sent to a school for children with learning difficulties in Ostrava for three years on the basis of dubious tests. They also say the significance of going to a so-called special school was not explained properly to their parents. It could be several weeks before the court rules on whether to hear the case.
CSA says it expects to double its profits in 2005
Czech Airlines expects to more than double its profits this year to 521 million Czech crowns (over 23 million US dollars), the airline said in a statement released Tuesday. CSA also foresees a 25 percent year-on-year increase in passenger numbers in 2005. Last year almost 4.5 million people flew on Czech Airlines, up from 3.6 million in 2003. Meanwhile, the airline has also announced plans to create 400 new jobs at a repair centre near Prague.
Sex assault sentence for Castle Guard psychologist overturned
A former psychologist with the Prague Castle Guard service has won an appeal against a suspended sentence for sexually assaulting a male soldier. Prague 1 District Court on Tuesday released Milos Topolovsky after the alleged victim of the assault changed his testimony.
Nedved released from hospital, very likely to miss big game against Real
Czech footballer Pavel Nedved is almost certain to miss next week's Champions League game between his Italian club Juventus and Real Madrid of Spain. Nedved was released from hospital on Monday after suffering concussion in the first leg last week, but has been ordered to rest at home for at least seven days.
Oldest Czech publishing house revived after 60 years of inactivity
The oldest Czech publishing company, founded by the great Czech historian and politician Frantisek Palacky in 1831, has been revived. After almost 60 years of inactivity the Matice ceska publishing house has just brought out a biography of Palacky by historian Josef Pekar.
Weather
The next few days should see temperatures of up to 4 degrees Celsius. There will be sunny spells and snow in places.
