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President Vaclav Klaus has said the Czech Republic does not have a shortage of judges, adding that the country had the highest number per citizen of any OECD country. Mr Klaus's remarks follow controversy over his refusal to appoint a number of judges because they were under the age of 30. Speaking on Czech Radio on Saturday, the president said the real problem was the placement of judges in different parts of the country and the way the courts were organized.

Protestors mark second anniversary of start of US-led war against Iraq

Around 200 people have held a demonstration in Prague on the second anniversary of the beginning of the United States-led war against Iraq. The demonstrators compared the US presence in Iraq to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, and called on President George Bush to withdraw US troops from the country.

Giant forward Jan Koller is likely to miss the first of two upcoming World Cup qualifying matches against Finland and Andorra. Koller, the second highest goal scorer in the history of Czech international football, sustained a muscle injury during an appearance for his club Borussia Dortmund.

Meanwhile, a Prague advertising agency is offering Czechs the chance to appear on billboards critical of the prime minister, at a special cut-price rate, the newspaper Nedelni Svet reported on Sunday. For 3,000 Czech crowns (or around 130 US dollars) people can have their own photo on the billboards, beside the slogan "I'm ashamed of my prime minister". The billboards are something of a parody of Social Democrat pre-election adverts from last year featuring Mr Gross.

The rock group Tata Bojs were named band of the year at the Czech music industry's annual Andel (Angel) awards ceremony on Saturday night. Male singer of the year was Dan Barta, while the female singer of the year award went to Aneta Langerova, the winner of a television talent contest. The late Zuzana Nazarova was inducted into the Czech music hall of fame at the ceremony in Ostrava.

Prime Minister Stanislav Gross has refused to react to a threat by the Christian Democrats to push for early elections and leave the governing coalition if Mr Gross is not replaced at a Social Democrats party conference next weekend. Christian Democrat chairman Miroslav Kalousek has been calling for Mr Gross's resignation since the prime minister and his wife became involved in a financial scandal.

Police have confirmed they have dropped an investigation into allegations of corruption by Sparta Prague football club. The Czech football association is now planning to examine the police's file on Sparta before deciding if there are any grounds for taking disciplinary action against the club.

Flood alerts have been declared in many parts of the Czech Republic due to rain and the recent thawing of snow following a sharp rise in temperature. Roads and people's homes have been flooded, and residents were evacuated in two places.

However, weather forecasters say things should improve over the next couple of days when it is expected to be dry. Temperatures will reach up to 19 degrees Celsius in the middle of next week.

The Christian Democrats have passed a resolution at a party conference in Prague, saying they will leave the governing coalition and push for early elections if Prime Minister Stanislav Gross is not replaced as head of the Social Democrats at their conference next weekend. Christian Democrat leader Miroslav Kalousek has been calling for Mr Gross's resignation since the prime minister and his wife became involved in a financial scandal.

The Czech Republic's forests are the third most damaged in Europe after those of Poland and Slovakia, says a report released by the German Statistical Office. The study found that a full 89 percent of Czech trees were damaged.

The number of Czechs taking sleeping pills has halved over the last 15 years as they have increased in price, according to a report by the national institute for the control of medicines. A spokesman said the number of sleeping pills consumed by Czechs was now around the European average.