Press Review | All stories

One subject may not be making front page headlines, but is perhaps the dominant issue in Wednesday's dailies. That's the tropical heat the Czech Republic is currently enjoying, or should that be suffering? While Czech trains are going slower due to warping tracks, PRAVO reports that temperatures on trams in the capital city Prague are approaching 60 degrees Celsius.

The sweltering weather across Europe continues to make headlines in all papers this Tuesday. Last-minute talks to save the failing Fischer travel agency, discussion on salaries in the public sector, and the ever-growing popularity of mobile phones are also the top stories today.

The apparent salvation of the best known travel agent in the country - Vaclav Fischer - is the big story in all of today dailies, primarily because there's nothing else happening in the Czech Republic at the moment. Yes, the silly season or "cucumber season" as the Czechs say is in full swing - and the papers are awash with the sort of stories that can only dream of making it big during the rest of the year.

The rise and fall of the prominent Czech businessman and former senator Vaclav Fischer fill the front pages of all the Czech dailies. "Fischer fighting for survival" and " More creditors clamour for their money" read some of the front page headlines.

A variety of stories make the Czech dailies today including everything from Tomas Klvana's decision to leave his post as presidential spokesman to US President George Bush's alleged disinterest in meeting Czech President Vaclav Klaus. Featured in cover photos are a troubled Tony Blair - fighting for his political future in Mlada Fronta Dnes, and the very last Volkswagen Beetle - number 21, 529, 464. It rolls out in Lidove Noviny.

All of Wednesday's Czech dailies lead with different stories, with Mlada Fronta Dnes, for instance, reporting that rents are falling in Prague and remaining static in other parts of the country. The news is especially good for those renting larger, more up-market flats, says the daily. The reason for the decline in rents in the capital is that so many new flats - around 2,000 - are being built every year. Added to that, it's now easier to get a mortgage at rates which compare favourably with monthly rent.

All the papers today are dominated by two big stories - the death of alleged StB torturer Alois Grebenicek and the fraud charges against Viktor Kozeny, the notorious "Pirate of Prague". Also making headlines today is Monday's shooting in the Prague metro, a story which receives prominent coverage in Mlada Fronta Dnes.

Today's papers belong to one person and one person only - the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger. He's pictured on every front page performing on Prague's Letna Plain, where massive crowds came to see the Stones rock out on Sunday. Even the financial daily offers a tiny picture of the performer, though in lieu of a cover splash. That daily opts instead for a photo of veterans marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

"Prime Minister Spidla wins first battle", that's how today's papers describe the approval of a package of government-proposed public finance reforms by the Lower House. The cabinet has pegged its future on parliamentary approval of the reforms. But, as the papers point out, this was only the first out of three readings.

And all of today's papers carry a photograph of US President George W. Bush giving a friendly hug to former Czech President Vaclav Havel, who was in Washington to accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom - the highest civilian award in the United States recognising exceptional meritorious service. In the domestic news, it is the threatened position of the Czech coalition government that makes the headlines.