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The organisers of a conference on Iraq that is to be held in Prague next weekend have filed a criminal complaint against a Czech TV reporter. The organisers say claims by the reporter that supporters of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein would be attending the conference are false. The conference called Prague Appeal for Iraq is to be held at the Czech Chamber of Deputies. It is organised by the Czech Peace Fund and Czech-Iraqi Association.

A work by the acclaimed Czech painter Jan Zrzavy has sold for 5.5 million crowns. It is the only work by the great early twentieth century protagonist of the Czech avantgarde that has sold for a price exceeding 2 million crowns. The painting entitled "Studne Locronan III" was auctioned off in Prague on Sunday and dates to 1938. It is the last work made by Jan Zrzavy before he moved to France.

Foreign Minister Alexandr Vondra wants an official explanation from Turkmenistan why a Czech plane was grounded in the capital Ashgabat. Turkmen authorities say the plane was not authorised to enter Turkmen airspace. The aircraft was carrying a delegation returning from Afghanistan where Czechs officially took over command at the international airport in Kabul. The delegation, including chief-of-staff General Pavel Stefka and deputy defence minister Martin Bartak, were forced to spend the night in the plane. The President of Turkmenistan allowed the plane to return to Prague on Sunday morning.

Austrian opponents of the Temelin nuclear power plant are staging a blockade of the Czech-Austrian border crossing Wullowitz-Dolni Dvoriste. The activists, blocking traffic with the help of twelve tractors, are calling onto the Austrian government to oppose the operation of the Temelin plant in southern Bohemia, some 50 km from the border. Austria is a nuclear-free country.

A man has confessed to the murder of several patients at a hospital in the east Bohemian town of Havlickuv Brod. The former hospital employee injected seven patients in intensive care with heparin, a drug used to decrease the clotting ability of the blood. The man has been charged with murder as well as the attempted murder of ten more people.

Two Czech soldiers from a Prostejov Special Forces unit, who recently served in Afghanistan, have been awarded with the United States Armed Forces Bronze Star Medal. The soldiers received the military decoration for their heroic fight against the Taliban. This is the first time in modern Czech history that such a US decoration is awarded to a Czech soldier.

The deputy chairman of the Communist Party, Vaclav Exner, has been relieved of his post. Mr Exner and another party member (since deceased) were entrusted with the legal work involving the sale of the building housing party headquarters and the acquisition of new property. After deciding to stay in the old headquarters, the party will most likely lose 60 million crowns (over 2.5 million US dollars) - a 40 million fine for not going through with the sale and a 20 million deposit to guarantee the acquisition. The party holds Mr Exner responsible, saying the contracts he had closed were disadvantageous for the party.

Some forty horses, 600 guns, and 300kg of gunpowder were used in Saturday's 2-hour re-enactment of one of Napoleon's most famous victories. Visitors in the south Bohemian village of Tvarozna saw how French troops used complicated military strategy to defend Pratec hill in one of the final phases of the Battle of Three Emperors, in which Napoleon defeated the Austrian and Russian armies on December 2nd, 1805. Some 40,000 people lost their lives during the battle, which was fought in the nearby south Moravian town of Slavkov, better known by its German name, Austerlitz.

Saturday's ceremony to mark the Czech takeover of command at Kabul international airport had to be held fifty kilometres away. Due to strong invisibility, a plane carrying a Czech Army delegation to the event was rerouted to a US base in Bagram where the ceremony took place under improvised conditions.

Specialists in the Czech contingent will operate at Kabul airport for the next four months. It is the first command held by the Czechs within the ISAF. The Czech contingent is made up 47 members of the Czech Army, including specialists on air control, flight security, and logistics. In all, about 500 soldiers and specialists from about 20 NATO members and Afghanistan are serving under the command at Kabul airport.

The Social Democrats are divided over whether or not to take part in a new coalition government that is being proposed by the Civic Democrats. Social Democrat leader Jiri Paroubek says some deputies would prefer the party go into opposition - a move he strongly rejects.

The Civic Democratic Party hopes to complete its draft government programme by next Wednesday. Representatives from the parties involved in government talks, also including the Christian Democrats and the Greens, will then be given the document for assessment.