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An Italian mafia boss on the run for six years has been arrested in the Czech Republic on the basis of an international arrest warrant, Czech police announced on Friday. Luigi Putrone, who was sentenced to life in Italy in absentia in the late 1990s, was detained near Usti nad Labem in north Bohemia on Thursday. Police said he may have been living in Usti for many years, and are now hunting for those who helped him remain there undetected.

T-Mobile has passed out Eurotel to become the leading operator on the Czech mobile telephones market in terms of the number of active SIM cards. However, Eurotel - which is owned by Cesky Telecom - is still in front in terms of profits. The country's third operator Oskar was bought by Vodaphone earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Czech athlete Vera Cechlova-Pospisilova won her first ever medal in a major competition when she took bronze in the women's discus in Helsinki on Thursday. The last great Czech medal hope is Jaroslav Baba, who will be taking part in the final of the men's high jump on Sunday.

A Czech Airlines plane en route from Madrid to Thessaloniki in Greece was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Prague on Thusday after a suspected burst tyre, a CSA spokesperson said. Shortly after takeoff the captain reported large pieces of rubber along the runway. However, no burst tyre was found and the plane carried on to Greece.

Czech athletics officials have denied any wrongdoing after Roman Sebrle and Tomas Dvorak were investigated for receiving intravenous infusions during the decathlon at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki. The Czech team's leader and doctor said the two had been given glucose, which is not a banned substance. Sebrle took silver in the decathlon, while Dvorak finished eighth.

Six smaller centre-right parties have signed an agreement to cooperate and win the local elections in Prague next year. Their aim is to offer Prague voters what they call a "liberal alternative", and their commitment to a pro-European programme that supports lower taxes, the protection of the environment, education and the fight against corruption. The parties involved include the Freedom Union, Green Party, European Democrats, and the Civic Democratic Alliance.

Some 1,200 people have signed a petition asking Parliament to pass a law permitting same-sex registered partnerships. Organised by the Czech League of Gays and Lesbians, it is the second attempt to influence deputies. Last year, the League forwarded Parliament a petition with 4,000 signatures. However, the law was not passed, missing only one vote. Lower house deputies are expected to hold another vote on the issue in the autumn, after their summer break.

Slavia Prague have been beaten 2:1 away by Belgium's Anderlecht in the first leg of the final qualifying round for football's Champions League. Slavia - whose only goal came from Karel Jarolim - performed well, and will be hopeful they can overcome Anderlecht in the second leg in Prague in two weeks' time. The Prague club have never reached the Champions League, the most prestigious club competition in world football.

Czech Police Chief Jiri Kolar, who will be leaving office next Monday, has expressed interest in a diplomatic post in Slovakia. Mr Kolar is considering taking up the post of liaison officer at the Czech Embassy in Bratislava, which opens as of January 1, 2006. Liaison officers only enjoy the diplomatic rank during their service abroad. They mainly act as mediators between the police forces of the Czech Republic and the country they are serving in, and coordinate joint operations to fight crimes such as drug trafficking, money laundering, corruption, terrorism, or organised crime. There are only three countries where the Czech Republic has liaison officers - Russia, Ukraine and Slovakia.

Mr Kolar resigned as President of the Czech Police in June, after a multi-millionaire managed to escape custody.

The Czech police say they have arrested a highly dangerous man, who has been hiding from the authorities in the Czech Republic. Refusing to disclose any other information, the spokesman for the Czech police revealed that the man is the head of an international organised crime group, who was sentenced to life for a number of murders.