Press Review

As the Czech Republic elects its second president in history, all of the Czech dailies are dominated with reports of the presidential elections. They include the usual speculation on who has the greatest chance of being elected, together with more light-hearted fare on what each of the presidential candidates will be doing today (Petr Pithart thinks he will have time to walk his dog and then head over to Prague Castle, reports LIDOVE NOVINY). But while the presidential elections are by far the major story today, some other issues are also receiving prominent coverage in the Czech newspapers.

The Czechs are flying high, and as a result they need a bigger airport. The front page of HOSPODARSKE NOVINY reports that Prague's Ruzyne Airport is going to expand yet again, with the construction of a new terminal worth ten million crowns. The expansion is necessary due to increasing passenger numbers: in 1992 the airport handled two million passengers, last year there were six million and in four years it is expected to handle eight million passengers. The new terminal is also required once the Czech Republic enters the European Union, as it will be designed for flights to and from countries in the Schengen zone. When it is finished in 2005, the terminal will increase the whole airport's capacity to more than ten million passengers annually.

The red neon heart that has been adorning Prague Castle since November has again come under attack After saboteurs cut its power supply in late December, a visual arts group of around twenty students covered up half of the heart yesterday evening, reports MLADA FRONTA DNES. Shortly after, the authorities at Prague Castle switched off the neon heart. The students thought that, by covering up the left half of the heart, the remaining half would appear like a question mark, and it would seem as if Prague Castle was asking who the next president would be. Police arrived on the scene and ordered the students to climb down from the scaffolding, but - in a half-hearted operation - no arrests were made.

For the first time in 16 years, the Czech rally driver Karel Loprais is watching the famous Paris to Dakar rally on TV, reports PRAVO. After taking part in the event every year since the mid-80s - and winning the truck category a record six times - Mr Loprais is now lying in a hospital bed with spinal injuries, after his Tatra truck turned over five times in the Libyan desert last week. The driver's wife Danuse has a positive outlook on her husband's crash. He won seven times, she tells the daily, but this time he won his life!

PRAVO has good news for Prague's commuters. The remaining two closed stations on the A (or green) metro line - Staromestka and Malostranska - are to open on Thursday, for the first time since August's floods caused millions of euros worth of damage to the city's underground system. Some stations on the B (or yellow) line, which was hardest hit by the floods, are expected to remain closed until the end of February.