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The South Korean company Hyundai is actively looking for high-quality accommodation for its managers, despite the fact a deal to open a huge car plant in north Moravia has not yet been finalised, Pravo reported on Saturday. Industry and Trade Minister Milan Urban says he expects a decision on whether the factory will be built in the Czech Republic to be made in April, several months after originally expected.

Dagmar Havlova, the actress wife of former Czech president Vaclav Havel, made her first stage appearance in almost a decade on Friday evening when she appeared in a production of Moment of Truth by US playwright Israel Horovitz. Critics have described the performance at Prague's Vinohradske Divadlo as a resounding success, while Mr Havel said he was very glad his wife had returned to her profession.

The Czech Republic may have to make a huge pay-out after losing an international arbitration case taken by the Japanese bank Nomura over the sale of IPB bank. The Czech government put IPB under forced administration when it collapsed in the year 2000 before selling it to another Czech bank, CSOB. Nomura, which owned almost half of IPB, said the Czech state had failed to protect its investment; it is now demanding over one and a half billion US dollars in compensation. The actual amount it receives will be set by a second arbitration hearing.

But Czech Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek, whose Social Democrats were in power at the time of the sale, said there was no immediate threat of the country having to pay the compensation; he said negotiations would continue and it could take years for the matter to be resolved.

Jakub Janda has become the first Czech ever to win the ski jumping World Cup. He finished just 29th in a competition in the Slovenian resort of Planica on Saturday, but a poor placing by his closest rival meant the Czech could not be overtaken on points. Janda came first in five World Cup competitions during the season, and was joint winner of the prestigious Four Hills event.

Jiri Vyvadil, who stepped down from his post as judge of the Supreme Court, after being suspended by the justice minister, has been named an honorary advisor by the Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek. Cabinet spokeswoman Lucie Orgonikova said on Friday that Mr Vyvadil would advise the prime minister on issues of law, justice, and the court system, but would not receive a salary. The move came just hours after Mr Vyvadil was suspended, following a recommendation by court chairman Josef Baxa, who has said that Mr Vyvadil had threatened the independence of the judiciary by involving himself in political affairs and meeting secretly with controversial businessman Tomas Pitr - appealing an eight-year prison sentence for tax fraud.

A new poll released by the STEM polling agency has suggested the Green Party - not in Parliament - has continued to gain ground ahead of general elections this year. The survey suggests that if elections were held tomorrow the Greens would get 9.4 percent of the vote - a marked jump from earlier polls which showed the party at around 5 or 6 percent. The right-of-centre Civic Democrats continue to top the poll at 26.7, followed by the left-of-centre Social Democrats at 21.8, and the Communists at 12.4.

According to the STEM poll the last party to cross Parliament's 5 percent threshold would be the Christian Democrats at 6.1 percent.

Pharmacy owners meeting with Health Minister David Rath and Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka on Friday reached agreement on a changing the profit margin system for medicines along two-tier lines. Until now, pharmacies and distributors have enjoyed a 29-percent margin profit on all medicines. Under the proposed system, the margin for cheaper medicines would be raised to 33 percent, but more expensive medicines would see a drop to just 6 - 10 percent. The health minister has indicated that specialists will meet to further discuss the issue next week.

Czech snowboarder Michal Novotny has become the first Czech to win on the World Cup snowboardcross circuit. The 24-year-old racer triumphed in the final in Japan's Furano on Friday, edging past Swiss competitor Marco Huser and Canadian snowboarder Jasey Jay Anderson.

The Chamber of Deputies has included provisions in a bill that should further deter the illegal importing of waste to the Czech Republic, raising the upper on fines to up to 50 million crowns - the equivalent of more than 2 million US dollars. The provisions will also allow police to check incoming transport trucks more effectively. The bill will now be discussed by the Senate and assessed by President Vaclav Klaus. According to Czech Environmental Inspection estimates, some 15,000 tonnes of waste were illegally imported from Germany into the Czech Republic in recent months.

Vaclav Cihak, the former head of the finances department at the Czech embassy in Albania has received a three year suspended sentence for financial machinations with the embassy's funds. Cihak pleaded not-guilty but admitted to having moral responsibility for the loss of 1.8 million crowns from the embassy's funds in 2002. He said he had not used the money for his own private purposes and was merely guilty of mismanaging funds. He claims to have no idea where the money went.