Press Review

Saturday's coach accident, the new Czech president and the situation around Iraq are the topics making today's headlines. All papers today feature a photo of the double-decker coach whose top deck was literally sliced off during the crash, killing 19 and injuring 34 people.

MLADA FRONTA DNES writes that Saturday's crash was the worst road accident in this country in the last 34 years. When the bus skidded off the road and fell down a seven-metre slope, 17 people were killed, including a toddler. Two others succumbed to their injuries in hospital.

Thirty-two-year old Petra, a survivor of the crash, told MLADA FRONTA DNES she remembers only the roof tearing off and the passengers being thrown out of the bus. The paper says a technical fault might have caused the crash, although police think the driver was momentarily overcome by tiredness. Another lucky survivor, forty-two-year old Dana, recounts that after the crash, some of the injured passengers climbed back on the road and waved at passing cars for help. Many drivers did not stop at all, Dana told MLADA FRONTA DNES.

LIDOVE NOVINY comments on the first public address by president Vaclav Klaus broadcast on Czech Television last night. In the speech, Mr Klaus called on his supporters and opponents to reconcile, saying he wanted to be a "good mood" president and encouraged Czechs to look to the future with trust, optimism and a smile. Commentator Martin Zverina thinks the address was a good start in trying to bring together the two camps of the president's loyal fans and adversaries. Only there should not be more than two presidential speeches a year, otherwise they might become counterproductive, commentator Martin Zverina concludes in LIDOVE NOVINY.

PRAVO, the only daily to stay away from the president's speech, writes that Defence Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik is going to sack over a hundred agents of the military intelligence service. As part of reorganising the service, Mr Tvrdik wants to get rid of everybody who cooperated with the Communist Military Counter-intelligence in the past. PRAVO says Minister Tvrdik is aware that the move will temporarily impair the intelligence service's abilities but he says that NATO accepts the fact that for the next three to six years the skills of the Czech intelligence team will be limited.

On a related topic, PRAVO reports on last night's Czech Army ball which took place at Prague Castle. The new Czech President Vaclav Klaus took part in it for the first time in the role of commander in chief of the Czech armed forces. MLADA FRONTA DNES carries photos from the event, featuring Mr Klaus looking stylish in his dinner jacket. The paper quotes Defence Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik as saying that Mr Klaus was the star of the evening. Seeing how eager many of the guests were to get anywhere near Vaclav Klaus, Mr Tvrdik reportedly said: "The soldiers love their president."

While Vaclav Klaus was entertaining Czech war veterans at Prague Castle, his wife Livia danced the night away at a national Roma ball in the town of Lysa nad Labem. She too was in the centre of attention and after a solo with a Roma association leader, Mrs Klausova was in great demand, as all the men wanted to have a dance with her and went out of their way to please her. The First Lady left the ball at half past midnight, MLADA FRONTA DNES writes.

And finally, LIDOVE NOVINY dedicates a two-page insert in the sports section to the sporting career of the new Czech president. Vaclav Klaus is known to be a keen sportsman and enjoys a multitude of disciplines. LIDOVE NOVINY features photos of Mr Klaus playing tennis, basketball and football. His other favourite sports are hiking and skiing. Mr Klaus's election was also generally welcomed by Czech athletes, LIDOVE NOVINY writes.