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The Prime Minister has decided to file a lawsuit against Jan Kubice, the head of the police organised crime squad, saying he and his wife Zuzana Paroubkova are outraged at the allegations contained in Mr Kubice's secret report that Mr Paroubek sexually abused the teenage daughter of a family friend. Mr Paroubek and his wife said on Thursday they saw behind the report the effort of the right-of-centre Civic Democratic Party to influence the forthcoming general elections.

Eleven former Carrefour supermarkets in the Czech Republic have begun trading under the name of their new owners, Tesco. France's Carrefour decided to pull out of the Czech Republic and swapped its shops here and in Slovakia for a number of outlets in Taiwan.

Vladimir Smicer has been ruled out of the Czech Republic's squad for the World Cup after failing a fitness test. Doctors found a blood clot in his thigh muscle last week. The Bordeaux midfielder, who has been capped 81 times, is likely to be replaced by Libor Sionko of Glasgow Rangers. The Czechs' opening game in Germany is against the USA on June 12th.

The supreme state attorney, Renata Vesecka, has begun an investigation into whether the leaking of a secret police report was illegal. The report, by the head of the organised crime unit Jan Kubice, accuses Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek and other senior government officials of having ties with the mafia. The confidential report appeared on the internet shortly after Mr Kubice presented it to the Chamber of Deputies defence and security committee on Monday. Police president Vladislav Husak said on Thursday a four-member group of police specialists would start checking the content of the confidential report.

Prime Minister Paroubek reacted angrily to the allegations, saying they were politically motivated and designed to damage his Social Democrats ahead of elections this weekend.

The Czech Republic's football team beat Costa Rica 1:0 in a friendly in Jablonec on Tuesday evening. The only goal of the game was scored by Vratislav Lokvenc in the 82nd minute; Lokvenc had come on as a substitute for Jan Koller, who started his first international since returning from injury. The Czechs' final warm-up before the World Cup is against Trinidad and Tobago in Prague on Saturday; coach Karel Bruckner has promised to field his strongest team for that game.

Compensation for damages suffered during the Soviet-led invasion of 1968 has been paid out to a small minority of claimants, Mlada fronta Dnes reported. A new law last year earmarked over 10 million dollars to compensate those who lost a family member or suffered serious injury or rape during the occupation. However, of almost 400 claimants, just over 50 have been granted compensation by the Interior Ministry. Many of those turned down say it was because they had received a one-off payment in 1990.

The import of cheap eggs from Poland and Lithuania is having a disastrous impact on the egg business in the Czech Republic, the Czech poultry farmers union said on Wednesday. Egg production in this country fell by one fifth in 2005; industry figures say if the current situation continues one half of Czech producers could go out of business next year.

President Vaclav Klaus has made a strong attack on Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek, accusing him of "one-man rule". Speaking in Wednesday's Mlada fronta Dnes the president said the extent of Mr Paroubek's power over both the government and his Social Democratic Party was unprecedented in the post-revolution era. For his part, Mr Paroubek said the president had broken his pledge to remain above party politics.

The right-wing Civic Democrats, founded by Mr Klaus, are narrowly in front of the Social Democrats in most polls ahead of general elections this weekend.

A convicted killer who escaped to France after breaking out of a Czech prison has been returned to the Czech Republic. Roman Cabrada was serving a 24-year sentence for the murder of a German mayor when he escaped from Bory prison in Pilsen last year.

President Vaclav Klaus has ordered the release from custody of Jiri Fiala, a candidate for the Party of Common Sense in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Fiala has been charged with attacking a public figure and questioning the independence of the court over a case involving his paternity rights. Fiala has filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds that he has been denied access to his children. President Klaus said all candidates in the elections should have an equal chance to address voters and asked the authorities to conduct the investigation without keeping Fiala in custody.