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Czech cross-country skier, Katerina Neumannova, took the first gold medal of the Nordic Ski world championships in Oberstdorf on Thursday in the women's 10km freestyle. Neumannova, who turned 32 on Tuesday, beat Russia's Julia Tchepalova by a mere 1.2 seconds and won her first ever world title.

The country's dominant telecommunications company, Cesky Telecom, plans to expand to foreign markets, which would include capital entries in other companies, company CEO Gabriel Berdar said on Thursday. According to Mr Berdar, Cesky Telecom generated record-high consolidated revenue last year and can afford to ponder investment and possibly dividends owing to its low debt. In 2004, the company's consolidated revenue totalled 62.1 billion Czech crowns (2.5 billion US dollars), a year-on-year growth of 21 percent.

Czech Prime Minister Stanislav Gross, who has been under fire over his personal finances, has gained the support of the junior coalition Freedom Union. In recent weeks, Mr Gross has been grilled by the media and some parliamentary parties over how he had been able to afford to make a 2.5 million Czech crown (107,000 US dollars) down payment on a Prague flat in 1999. The prime minister has given various explanations and nothing to back his claims. Mr Gross has enjoyed full support of his own party, the Social Democrats, and was assured further support by Freedom Union leader Petr Nemec after a meeting on Thursday.

The Czech Foreign Ministry plans to open an embassy in Moldova. The nearest embassy is currently in Romania and the Czech Republic hopes diplomatic representation in Moldova itself could help bring the country, which is currently led by a Communist government, closer to EU states. Moldova is one of eight countries in which the Czech Republic intends to open an embassy in the near future, despite being forced to close down others due to a lack of finances.

On Thursday afternoon, underwent further grilling in the lower house, in a 45 minute question and answer session called by the opposition centre-right Civic Democrats. Mr Gross also had to answer for his wife's business activities and stressed neither he nor his wife were ever involved in any illegal business. He added that he would raise the mortgage on his flat.

A forty-member military research unit is to be deployed to Afghanistan in March to join a German-run Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in the northern region of Badakshan. The Czech Republic currently has only 15 soldiers in Afghanistan in the ISAF mission in Kabul. The NATO Provincial Reconstruction Team is a combination of international military and civilian personnel based in provincial areas of Afghanistan with the aim of extending the authority of the Afghan central government and helping to facilitate development and reconstruction.

The lower house has postponed a vote on a new anti-smoking law. After two years of debate on the issue, the bill was returned again to the second reading on Wednesday. Under the legislation smoking in restaurants would be restricted to "separate rooms", a measure owners say is unfeasible.

Cesky Telecom made a net profit of 5.6 billion crowns last year (almost 250 million US dollars). That followed losses of 1.8 billion crowns in 2003. Last year's results make Telecom - which has yet to be privatised -one of the most profitable companies in the Czech Republic.

The three-party governing coalition is in crisis, after the Christian Democrats called on the Social Democrats to replace Stanislav Gross as prime minister. Christian Democrat leader Miroslav Kalousek said at a special news conference on Wednesday such a move would allow the coalition to continue.

Earlier Mr Gross said the government - which has a majority of just one - could continue without the Christian Democrats. However, it is hard to see where a minority government could find support.

Stanislav Gross is due to hold individual talks with Mr Kalousek and Freedom Union leader Pavel Nemec on Thursday.

Mr Gross has been under fire for weeks over allegations his luxury Prague flat cost more than he had officially earned. His wife's financial dealings have also been criticised; on Wednesday the prime minister said she would cease her business activities while he was in office.

A bill aimed at ensuring that fewer children spend their childhood in institutional care has been approved by the lower house. It envisages the speeding up of the Czech Republic's adoption process and tax free benefits for certain foster parents.