Press Review
All the Czech dailies today report on the peace agreement in Macedonia and another traffic accident in an Austrian mountain tunnel. On the home front, some of the papers report on an increase in the number of Czechs who are opposed to their country's accession to the EU.
Other headlines include the case of the allegedly dangerous anti-cholesterol drug Cholstat which is still available in pharmacies around the country, and also the success of Czech javelin thrower Jan Zelezny at the world athletic championship in Edmonton, Canada.
Today's ZEMSKE NOVINY takes a look at the prospects of privatisation of the Czech energy sector. The paper arrives at the conclusion that the Czech state-owned power utility CEZ will find privatisation difficult if the controversial Temelin nuclear power station is offered in a package to strategic investors.
The German company E.ON, the biggest foreign investor in the Czech power sector, has made it clear that it would not take part in the privatisation if it were required to buy Temelin. However, the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade can see no way that Temelin can be excluded from the privatisation package. ZEMSKE NOVINY mentions Electricite de France as one of the hottest favourites in the upcoming public tender as it has no objections to atomic energy.
LIDOVE NOVINY reports on the continuing police search for two children in Southern Moravia who have been missing since going on a trip with a Belgian uncle. The uncle's body has since been discovered and police suspect suicide. The children, however have simply disappeared. According to LIDOVE NOVINY, 10- year-old Jan and his 12-year-old sister Dagmar went missing together with their backpacks and tent. The police now believe that there is a possibility that the children may have been kidnapped.
MLADA FRONTA DNES leads with a report on the Czech Anti-Monopoly Office's finding that two Czech mobile phone operators, Eurotel and RadioMobil, discriminated against their younger competitor, Oskar. Eurotel and RadioMobil charged higher rates for calls to Oskar's network than calls to each other's network.
The two operators will now face a heavy fine. Although the exact figure has not been made public, MLADA FRONTA DNES writes it is between 30 and 50 million CZK or around 1 million USD, the highest ever fine imposed by the Czech anti-monopoly authority.
Back now to LIDOVE NOVINY, and the paper writes that many Czech politicians have taken it so easy over the summer months, they have even failed to update their own websites. One of the most progressive politicians in the use of Internet, Civic Democrat deputy leader Ivan Langer, last updated his site two months ago, while the leader of the Four-party coalition Karel Kuehnl limited himself to posting his speech from party congress in the middle of June.
However, politicians from the ruling Social Democratic Party and the opposition Communist Party have this time been left off the hook - none of their representatives have a personal website.
