Svoboda calls for preservation of Czech BBC

The Czech foreign minister, Cyril Svoboda, has appealed to his British counterpart, Jack Straw, to preserve the Czech service of the BBC, which is funded by Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Czech BBC broadcasts five hours a day, but has a small audience: one survey last year suggested it had a mere 0.1 percent of the market. Mr Svoboda, speaking at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Wales, described the Czech BBC as world class.