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The head of the Czech police force says a new police report has found the amount of telephone bugging in the Czech Republic is comparable to that in other European countries. Police chief Jiri Kolar said he had not been surprised by the results of the study, which was ordered after a phone tapping scandal. But Mr Kolar's opponent on a TV debate programme, Jiri Bily of the opposition Civic Democrats, questioned the report's conclusions.

MP and priest Svatopluk Karasek was among dozens of participants in a marathon of reading from the New Testament of the Bible on a Prague street on Saturday. Organisers said the aim of the event, which was being held for the second time, was to bring the Bible closer to people.

Roman Sebrle has been named Czech Sportsperson of the Year at a ceremony in Prague. Sebrle, who took gold in the decathlon at the Athens Olympic Games, finished ahead of footballer Milan Baros and high-jumper Jaroslav Baba in the poll of Czech sports journalists.

Czech Airlines has announced an increase of over 20 percent in the number of passengers it is flying to New York, with a total of 155,000 people flying CSA to the city this year. A spokesperson for Czech Airlines said the fact more than half the tickets were sold in America meant the airline was by far the biggest Czech exporter on the US market.

Meanwhile, concerts marking the fourth Sunday of Advent have been held in Prague and elsewhere in the Czech Republic. The 19th is also Zlata nedele, or Golden Sunday, the culmination of the last shopping weekend before Christmas.

The Czech Republic have finished second in the Rosno Cup ice hockey tournament in Moscow, after losing 1:0 to hosts Russia in their last game on Sunday. The Czechs had previously beaten Sweden and lost to Finland in the competition. The results leave the Czech Republic third in the four-nation Euro Hockey Tour.

Two senior Prague police officers have been arrested by a team of inspectors from the Interior Ministry. But neither the Ministry nor the state prosecutor has revealed what crime the two are accused of. The daily Mlada fronta Dnes speculated they had been arrested in connection with an investigation into ties between the police and crime gangs.

The writer Arnost Lustig has been awarded the Vladislav Vancura Award for life-long achievement by the Czech Film and Television Union at a ceremony in the central Bohemian town of Beroun. Mr Lustig is a Holocaust survivor who studied journalism at Charles University before working for a time at Czech Radio. He has written numerous screenplays and novels and now teaches writing in the United States.

Frantisek Straka, who was dismissed this week as manager of Sparta Prague football club, has strenuously denied rumours he was fired for taking cocaine. Straka told a newspaper the allegations were nonsense, saying he was willing to undergo any kind of test to prove his innocence. His sacking came after Sparta did poorly in the European Champions League, but despite the fact the club was nine points ahead in the Czech league.

The largest party in the governing coalition, the Social Democrats, has been thrown into turmoil by the news the head of its deputies group has threatened to step down if there is not more unity in the party. Petr Ibl said he was considering resigning because of his disgust at the situation within the party and recent criticism from chairman Stanislav Gross. The Social Democrats, who have been led by Mr Gross since the summer, have suffered defeats in various elections this year.