Press Review
LIDOVE NOVINY writes today that Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla wants to change the Constitution to stop ethnic Germans expelled from Czechoslovakia after the war from reclaiming confiscated property. The government says it's been forced to act following a successful restitution claim from Frantisek Oldrich Kinsky, a descendant of the famous noble family of that name.
The government, writes LIDOVE NOVINY, is worried that Mr Kinsky's court victory could lead to a deluge of successful claims from Sudeten Germans who were expelled and stripped of their property after the war. The Prime Minister has assembled a team of lawyers to draw up a special constitutional amendment to ensure that the sanctity of the Benes decrees - which legitimised the expulsions - remains intact.
"Prague Wants To Host 2016 Olympics" reads the headline in MLADA FRONTA DNES today. The city is now examining whether hosting the games is at all realistic. The news was announced by the Mayor of Prague, Pavel Bem, at a press conference on Thursday.
It wouldn't be the first time the country has offered to host the Games, writes MLADA FRONTA DNES: Czechoslovakia made three unsuccessful bids before the war, and even the Communist regime had a go, bidding for the 1980 Olympics. That came to nothing, however, when the Soviet Union put its foot down to ensure Moscow won the day.
But will the mayor enjoy any support in his endeavour? asks the paper. President Vaclav Klaus - a keen tennis and basketball player - says he would be in favour, although he's also nervous at the prospect. Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla believes it's a good idea in theory, but 2016 is a long time away. And Dana Zatopkova, Olympic veteran and widow of legendary athlete Emil Zatopek, tells MLADA FRONTA DNES that the Czech Republic - a small nation which has shown so much sporting prowess over the years - certainly deserves it.
The paper also reports on a rather unorthodox translation of the latest Harry Potter book into Czech. The official Czech version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix hasn't been released yet, writes MLADA FRONTA DNES, but diehard fans of the teenage wizard who don't speak English can find an unofficial pirated version in Czech on the Internet.
The first 19 chapters of Book Five were translated by a group of Czech teenagers, no doubt inspired by Harry's ingenuity in breaking the school rules at Hogwarts. Unfortunately since posting pirated versions of copyrighted material is in fact illegal, the group of teenagers could be in big trouble. And there's no Hagrid around to save them either.
And finally PRAVO reports today how worried parents insisted on taking their kids away from a summer camp near Kolin this week amid reports that an escaped lion was on the prowl. However only one person has actually reported seeing the lion - and police say the animal could actually be a stray dog.
Local inhabitants were quick to blame a local lion-breeder, however, claiming the escaped lion was his. Police have dismissed that theory - "he's only got one lion, and it's at home," a spokesman told PRAVO.
