News

Social Democrats winning back support, suggests poll

A new opinion poll suggests the governing Social Democrats are slowly winning back support, after hitting a low-point earlier in the year. In a poll by Factum Invenio this month, almost 23 percent of respondents said they would vote Social Democrat. Meanwhile, the right-of-centre Civic Democrats remain ahead in the polls, with 34 percent. Third are the Communists, with just under 20 percent.

Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek said on Thursday he did not want to take polls too seriously, but said he believed the Social Democrats would form the next government. Elections are set for June next year.

Kinsky gives up fighting property disputes in Czech courts

Franz Ulrich Kinsky says he wants to take property disputes against the Czech state to the courts in another European Union country, after years of failure in the Czech courts to win back for property confiscated from his aristocratic family after World War II. Mr Kinsky has made over 150 property claims in the Czech Republic. The Czech authorities say his father was a Nazi sympathiser, a suggestion strenuously denied by Mr Kinsky.

Structure of growth in Czech economy changing, says central bank head

The structure of the growth of the Czech economy has changed significantly in the last couple of years, the governor of the Czech National Bank, Zdenek Tuma, said on Thursday. Household consumption has slowed as exports have become the main driving force of growth, he said. Mr Tuma also said the Czech Republic must intensify preparations to adopt the euro - otherwise it will not meet its stated target of joining in 2009 or 2010.

One in seven drivers asked for bribe by police: poll

One in seven Czech drivers has been asked for a bribe by traffic police, suggests a poll published in Thursday's Mlada fronta Dnes. The poll found that young drivers and the owners of big cars were more likely to be asked for bribes than other motorists.

Schools out for summer

Almost one and a half million school pupils around the Czech Republic began their summer holidays on Thursday afternoon. Their two-month break ends on September 1st. As every year, psychologists have warned of the dangers of parents being excessively critical of their children's end-of-term grades, and help lines for worried kids have been advertised.

Only Czech in basketball's NBA changes club

The only Czech basketball player in the NBA, Jiri Welsch, has changed clubs. Welsch joins Milwaukee from Cleveland, in his fourth transfer since beginning his NBA career in Oakland in 2002.

Weather

The next few days should see sunny spells with rain in places, and maximum temperatures of between 19 and 23 degrees Celsius.