Prunerov - Greenpeace activists are again climbing up a 300-metre high smokestack of the Prunerov II coal-fired thermal power plant in protest against its allegedly insufficient upgrading, they said in their press release today.

Prague - Czech Civic Democrat (ODS) chairman Mirek Topolanek is killing his party, his time in politics has expired, Viliam Buchert writes in daily Mlada fronta Dnes about Topolanek´s statements about homosexuality of Transport Minister Gustav Slamecka and Jewish origin of Prime Minister Jan Fischer in dsicussion with an editor of the homosexual magazine LUI.

Prague - The two strongest Czech parties, the Civic Democrats (ODS) and Social Democrats (CSSD), have so long concentrated on a possible change to the election law that would remove small praties from political competition until the small parties have become viable, Jiri Hanak writes in daily Pravo today.

Prague - The man whose "environment-hostile" name was a source of fun for many has made a reasonable and practical step, Martin Komarek writes about the resignation of Environment Minister Jan Dusik [Nitrogen in Czech] in Mlada fronta Dnes.

Prague - The man whose "environment-hostile" name was a source of fun for many has made a reasonable and practical step, Martin Komarek writes about the resignation of Environment Minister Jan Dusik [Nitrogen in Czech] in Mlada fronta Dnes.

Prague - The Czech Doctors´ Chamber (CLK) today unanimously approved its apology to Jewish doctors for the persecution they faced from October 1938 to March 1939, before Nuremberg Laws completely ousted Jews from public life, CLK spokesman Michal Sojka told CTK.

Prague - Controversial Czech businessman Jaroslav Starka has to pay a promissory note for 3.2 million crowns found in the house of fugitive billionaire Radovan Krejcir whose property was blocked, an appeals court decided today.

Prague - The Czech Police Inspection last year uncovered 264 policemen suspected of committing a crime, a 4.2 percent increase against 2008 when the then Interior Minister´s Inspection proposed that charges be brought against 253 police officers, inspection spokeswoman Martina Lidlova said today.

Brno - The lawyer of a Vietnamese family whose 31-year-old member died in Brno after a police intervention last year claims unprecedented 200 million crowns from the state in compensation for the man´s death, the regional issue of the daily Sedmicka writes today.

Prague - The start of the Czech Civic Democrats´ (ODS) election campaign on Wednesday did not chase away the party leaders´ nervousness ahead of the battle, Martin Weiss writes in the daily Lidove noviny (LN) today.

Prague - The start of the Czech Civic Democrats´ (ODS) election campaign on Wednesday did not chase away the party leaders´ nervousness ahead of the battle, Martin Weiss writes in the daily Lidove noviny (LN) today.

Prague - The Czech Civic Democrats (ODS) pledge to support part-time work, work from home, jobs for school-leavers and elderly people in its package of measures against unemployment ODS chairman Mirek Topolanek presented at the start of its election campaign today.

Prague - The rare late-15th-century Jena Codex, part of the Czech National Museum´s collections that is put on display very rarely, can be seen at the Art of the Czech Reformation exhibition at Prague Castle from today until March 30.

Prague - One in three Czech patients with flu have changed their way of tackling the disease since the law abolishing sickness benefits for the first three days of illness came into force in 2008, according to a poll the GfK Czech agency conducted in February and released today.

Prague - The Czech Education Ministry wants Romany language to be taught at primary and secondary schools as an optional subject and to include information on Romany culture and history in the regular curricula for all pupils, the daily Lidove noviny writes today.

Prague - Czech Justice Minister Daniela Kovarova has presented new rules for child support that unify the so far different alimony sums set by individual courts and that are expected to improve the situation of the divorced parents caring for their kids.

Prague - The fact that after Prime Minister Jan Fischer and Finance Minister Eduard Janota President Vaclav Klaus has warned of the Social Democrats' irresponsible approach to the state finances makes sense before the elections, Jiri Leschtina writes in Hospodarske noviny.

Prague - Czech President Vaclav Klaus today said the effort of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic (AmCham) to adopt anti-corruption measures is motivated by hopes of its higher profits rather than fight against corruption.

Prague - Allegro restaurant in Prague´s Four Seasons hotel has again defended its star in the Michelin French gastronomic guide it received in 2008 as the first restaurant in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Michelin Czech branch spokesman Daniel Cahel told CTK today.

Prageu - A state that puts emphasis on its instinct of self-preservation should investigate cases in which someone throws a Molotov cocktail in a house one year after another attack in which a small girl has only miraculously survived burns to 80 percent of her body as an attempted murder because "all of us are threatened," Zbynek Petracek writes in Lidove noviny today.

Prague - Church representatives in cooperation with theologians, psychologists and teachers should think about problems of Christian ethic and church rules for sex life, Czech Catholic priest Tomas Halik has told CTK in reaction to sexual abuse of children in church facilities.

Prague - Czech papers in unison comment on the Saturday programme conference of the Social Democrats that set out its objectives for the May general elections.

Prague - Canada granted asylum to 90 Czech citizens and turned down 76 requests last year, the Canadian embassy told CTK today.

Prague - The Czech Communist Youth Association (KSCM), dissolved in 2006 by the Interior Ministry, but permitted again by the Prague City Court this January, held its reconstituting congress on Saturday, KSM member Jakub Holas told CTK today.

Teplice - A minority cabinet of the Czech Social Democrats (CSSD) would be the best solution after the May elections if the party wins them, party leader Jiri Paroubek told CTK today.

Teplice - Czech Social Democrats (CSSD) passed their election programme for the May elections at their conference today.

Prague - The EU is facing the biggest crisis in its history after Lisbon Treaty was passed and civic and economic freedom is seriously threatened again, Czech President Vaclav Klaus said in his message to the national congress of the extra-parliamentary Free Citizens' Party (SSO) today.

Prague - Czech Social Democrats are planning a contact campaign in which they want to phone 250,000 households in Prague during the nest two months, daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes today.

Teplice - Czech environmentalists are disturbing Social Democrats' programme conference by protests against the planned cancellation of coal mining limits in North Bohemia today.

Prague - Prime Minister Jan Fischer is nothing but a ball in the political table tennis between Jiri Paroubek, leader of the Social Democrats, and Mirek Topolanek, leader of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), Martin Komarek writes in Mlada fronta Dnes.

Prague - The Vaclav Havel´s Prize at this year´s One World festival of human rights documentaries will go to The Sun Behind the Clouds, an Indian film about Tibet occupied by China, and former Czech president Havel will present it at the close of the festival on March 18, the organisers told CTK.

Prague - Jiri Dolejs remains the election leader of the Czech Communist Party (KSCM) in Prague despite his corruption scandal and objections by the KSCM Prague council, the party´s executive committee decided today.

Plzen - Plzen is the first Czech town to introduce a system of language cards facilitating communication of doctors with foreign patients, Plzen deputy mayor Marcela Krejsova has told CTK.

Pribram - A several-day-old baby girl was found by a passer-by abandoned on the snow outside a garage complex in Pribram today, wrapped only in thin cloths, local rescue service spokeswoman told CTK, adding that the baby has been rushed to hospital.

Prague - The Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) has not violated the law on personal data protection by releasing its opponents' photos on the Internet, but it must not use them for further identification of these people, the Office for Personal Data Protection (UOOU) told CTK today.

Prague - It is not at all the public´s business to study private life of Michael Kocab, minister for human rights and minorities, daily Pravo writes today in connection with the resignation Kocab offered this week after a tabloid released information about his love affair with his spokeswoman.

Prague - The Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) not only has many expensive and rather bad plans on how to spend public money but it also is the only party that talks about them, Petr Simunek writes in the daily Hospodarske noviny (HN) today.

Prague - The total of 364 town halls in the Czech Republic today hoisted Tibetan flags, one more than a year ago, the Internet information system on Tibet said.

Prague - The Czech Green (SZ) deputies today hoisted the Tibetan flag from the window of their group's office in the Chamber of Deputies to support Tibet's fight for human rights.

Prague - The core of the potential Czech Social Democrat (CSSD) government, if the party won the May elections, would include CSSD head Jiri Paroubek as PM and another six people, while former presidential candidate Jan Svejnar may also be in the cabinet, Pravo writes today.

Prague - Czech Social Democrats (CSSD) leader Jiri Paroubek is aware of that the citizens will not decide whom to vote in the May elections based on promises that can or cannot be met, Martin Komarek writes in the daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) today.

Prague - The Social Democrats (CSSD) would win the elections with 34.5 percent of votes according to the poll conducted by the polling institute Median in February and released today.

Hradec Kralove - A Czech regional court has rejected a request to interrupt a six-year prison sentence for former Communist prosecutor Ludmila Brozova-Polednova convicted of assisting in the judicial murder of Milada Horakova, court spokesman Ales Korejtko told CTK today.

Prague - The separate announcements by Transport Minister Gustav Slamecka and Czech Railways (CD) head Petr Zaluda that they are going to take legal steps against union boss Jaromir Dusek over his controversial utterances say nothing about whether their suspicions are substantiated, daily Lidove noviny (LN) writes today.

Prague - Czech service and transport workers´ union head Jaromir Dusek will no longer represent the umbrella coalition of transport workers´ unions until he explains his controversial words about a group of homosexuals controlling Czech Railways (CD), the coalition leaders decided today.

Prague - The German police must continue checking Czech drivers in Bavaria, former Bavarian prime minister Guenther Beckstein said after meeting Czech Civic Democrat (ODS) head and former PM Mirek Topolanek, but he added he would ask the Bavarian interior minister to soften the checks.

Prague - Czech Defence Minister Martin Bartak today informed President Vaclav Klaus about the NATO demand for reinforcement of the Czech military mission in Afghanistan.

Prague - Czech Social Democrat leader (CSSD) Jiri Paroubek has further developed his interest sports, Daniel Kaiser writes in the daily Lidove noviny today with irony in connection with Paroubek´s proposal that big companies should financially contribute to culture, social services and especially sports.

Prague - Czech Social Democrat leader (CSSD) Jiri Paroubek has further developed his interest sports, Daniel Kaiser writes in the daily Lidove noviny today with irony in connection with Paroubek´s proposal that big companies should financially contribute to culture, social services and especially sports.

Prague - The Czech Green Party (SZ) will focus on fight against corruption, lowering of pollution, promotion of green economy, and higher investment in education, science and culture in its election campaign, Greens head Ondrej Liska said after the party´s national council meeting today.