Press Review

All of Friday's newspapers are, as you might expect, dominated by the war in Iraq, with most front pages featuring photos of Baghdad under fire from American bombs. Given the dailies' deadlines and the fact that events are moving so quickly, it is no surprise that they all heavily advertise their Internet news sites on their front pages.

The war is one of the main topics of a long interview with new Czech president Vaclav Klaus in HOSPODARSKE NOVINY. The president, who has repeatedly expressed his opposition to attacking Iraq without a United Nations mandate, says that while Saddam Hussein's regime may be inhumane and undemocratic, there are many such states in the world.

The Czech nation also endured such a regime, Mr Klaus tells the daily. At the same time, the president refuses to discuss the issue of conditions in Iraq in detail; it is not he says - using the English phrase - "my cup of tea".

PRAVO meanwhile says the families of Czech soldiers stationed in Kuwait are currently glued to their TVs, anxiously waiting to see if their loved ones do have to go into action. The father of a 33-year-old soldier from Liberec tells the daily he got up on Thursday morning at 3:30 to follow events on CNN and Czech TV.

The girlfriend of one Czech soldier says she is most worried about chemical and biological weapons, which are precisely what he and his colleagues have been specially trained to deal with. She tells PRAVO she last spoke to her boyfriend on Saturday, but they are in regular contact by mobile phone text message.

MLADA FRONTA DNES reports that key buildings and other structures in the Czech Republic are being closely guarded by the security forces. Although the government say they are unaware of any real threat, a better safe than sorry approach is being taken, with the country's two nuclear power stations, airports, reservoirs and TV transmitters among the sites being watched. And, I might add, the Czech Radio building here on Prague's Vinohradska St. When we got to work this morning there were policemen and soldiers with guns standing guard in front of the station.

Moving on to another security threat, the same daily says the police are still trying to catch the anonymous blackmailer who threatened to set off bombs if he wasn't given 10 million crowns. The extortionist demanded the money be dropped in certain places, which some police sources said had actually been done in an attempt to catch him. The fact the war has made the police more busy could help the blackmailer get away with some of the money, suggests MLADA FRONTA DNES.