Press Review

The front pages of today's papers carry photos of a happy and tearful Miss Czech Republic who was crowned on Saturday. The eighteen-year old blonde Katerina Prusova from the north Bohemian village of Chrastava won the contest despite a small handicap - a plaster cast on her left forearm. Katerina broke her arm riding a motorcycle.

Pravo reports on the ruling Social Democrats' Sunday hike to the Central Bohemian mountain of Rip which is closely connected with Czech history and mythology. The party has chosen the - for many Czechs - emotional location to launch the crucial stage of their pre-election campaign. The leader of the Social Democratic Party, Vladimir Spidla, dressed in informal clothes, addressed a crowd of some 15 hundred.

In front of the ancient church of St. George on Rip, Mr Spidla announced the main points of the Social Democrats' manifesto: 200 thousand new jobs, 50 thousand new flats every year, a professional army by 2006, a referendum law, better healthcare, stricter measures against corruption and neo-nazism. Pravo concludes the article with a detailed account of several other party members' choice of clothes for the hike.

Two people will split yesterday's record jackpot in the Sportka lottery, Lidove noviny says. The lucky numbers 3 8 9 12 17 and 20 have made two people multimillionaires with both winning 74 million crowns, or roughly 2 million US dollars. The largest amount one person has won in the lottery so far was 67 million. The daily writes that for yesterday's drawing Czechs bet 169 million crowns, another record in the lottery's history.

The arts section of Mlada fronta Dnes comments on the recent trend in TV shows - SMS messages. For example during the Saturday's beauty queen contest, viewers were able to cast their votes with text messages on their mobile phones. People can also SMS their preferences in the Czech version of the popular "Weakest Link" show or donate money in telethons.

And staying with mobile phones, Pravo writes about the fear of phone tapping. Rumour has it that not only can mobile phone conversations be intercepted but phones can also be used to eavesdrop what is being said in their surroundings.

Some politicians and businessmen are so afraid their cell phones might be bugged that they don't think it's enough to simply turn the phone off at meetings. It is not a rare thing to see somebody take out the battery and SIM card from their phone to let others know they can talk safely. Pravo says that its reporters often have to do that or even leave their cell phones with the secretaries when they interview politicians in their offices.