Press Review | All stories

All of today's papers carry articles on the upcoming presidential elections. While the front pages of MLADA FRONTA DNES and LIDOVE NOVINY speculate on the past of the Social Democrats' presidential candidate Jaroslav Bures, PRAVO writes that the parliamentary parties are busy working behind the scenes to manipulate the complex voting system in their favour. And HOSPODARSKE NOVINY asks whether the next president should break the taboo, and include the Communist Party in his dialogue with parliamentary parties.

The front pages of all of the Czech dailies carry reports on Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's criticism of the United Nations weapons inspectors. But as far as Czech affairs are concerned, they all have a different emphasis.

There was more flood misery for the residents of north and west Bohemia this weekend, as swollen rivers in the region burst their banks. MLADA FRONTA DNES carries a front-page photo of the church and cemetery of St George in the village of Doubravce, transformed into an island surrounded by a sea of muddy brown water. Worse flooding was only averted when temperatures suddenly plunged below zero over the weekend.

Wild weather makes the front pages today - all the papers report on the threat of severe flooding, as rivers become swollen after several days of rain. Meanwhile blizzards in mountainous areas of the country are also causing problems for police and drivers alike.

All today's major newspapers lead with President Havel's traditional New Year's address to the Czech people, featuring photos of Mr Havel in his office reading the speech for 2003 as well all the others during his thirteen years as President. The papers also report on New Year's celebrations around the globe which were in some cities somewhat dampened down by the fear of terrorism.

Today's newspapers contain many reviews of this year's cultural, economic, political and sporting highlights, and also take a look at what the big events may be for next year. But while it is in vogue at this time of year to look at the past and the future, there is still the present, and today's major domestic news stories include the death of the popular actor Julius Satinsky and the icy weather conditions across the country.

There are a mixed bag of stories in Friday's papers, the first since Monday. As for photos, several of the Czech dailies feature front page pictures of Pope John Paul II, saying his traditional Christmas mass at the Vatican. LIDOVE NOVINY and MLADA FRONTA DNES carry the same photo of a smiling Pope, waving to the crowd. HOSPODARSKE NOVINY's photo, meanwhile, shows the aging Pope looking frail.

Monday's papers are the last to come out before the Christmas holidays and most of them have come out in "Christmas garb" - front pages are awash with Christmas symbols - Santa Klaus, Christmas trees, Christmas decorations and a snapshot of an unhappy looking carp - the nation's Christmas dinner. Hundreds of thousands of them will end up in a frying pan caked in breadcrumbs.

Over a million tenants will most likely breathe a sigh of relief on opening today's papers - the government's decision to freeze regulated rents for a period of three months and the promise of gradual deregulation means that their landlords will not be able to demand market prices as of January 1st, says Pravo.

Today's Czech papers offer a wide variety of main stories - in international news the dailies continue to monitor the situation surrounding Iraq and the continuing possibility of US military action, while in the US architectural firms have unveiled nine new possible designs for rebuilding the World Trade Center site in New York. On the home scene all of the dailies cover Christmas preparations with the usual photo of Christmas carp and the caption "Will he end up on a plate?" More than likely, unless someone buys him with the intention of setting