CCCCC AA RRRRR OOOO LL II NN N AA CC AA A RR R OO O LL II NNN N AA A CC AA A RRRRR OO O LL II NN N N AA A CC AAAAAA RR R OO O LL II NN NN AAAAAA CCCCC AA A RR R OOOO LLLLLL II NN N AA A STUDENTS' E-MAIL NEWS FROM CZECH REPUBLIC Faculty of Social Science of Charles University Smetanovo nabr. 6 110 01 Prague 1 Czech Republic e-mail: CAROLINA@cuni.cz tel: (+4202) 22112252, fax: (+4202) 24810987 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* C A R O L I N A No 303, Friday, October 9, 1998. FROM EVENTS OF THE LAST TWO WEEKS (September 23 - October 7) Sula Resigns as Anti-Corruption Group Chairman Jan Sula resigned October 5, 10 days after being named to his post, from the position of chairman of the coordination group which will work under the government's Committee for the Protection of Economic Interests. The committee should run the Operation Clean Hands, designed to fight economic crime and corruption. Sula said he had received death threats and threats of scandalizing his family in the media. No replacement for Sula has been named. According to some press reports, behind the threats might stand the Security Information Service (BIS). While chairman of the Service for Detecting Corruption and Serious Economic Crime, Sula's squad had some conflicts with BIS. BIS spokesman Jan Subert emphatically denied these speculations. Interior Minister Vaclav Grulich indicated Sula might be afraid of revealing some of his less transparent business activities. Grulich noted that Sula has not notified the police of the alleged threats and has not asked for protection. Sula refuses to comment on the issue. He is said to be staying somewhere in southern Bohemia until media interest in his person declines. Jan Mates/Denisa Vitkova Shadow of Zeman's Government Has Clear Outlines The Civic Democratic Party (ODS), after its Executive Council meeting September 26 in Luhacovice, announced its shadow cabinet. It amounts to 15 members, four less than in the Social Democrat government (the offices of three deputy prime ministers and one minister were not filled). The shadow government is not without a female member, whose absence has led to criticism of Prime Minister Milos Zeman's Cabinet. The shadow cabinet is led by ODS chairman and Chairman of Parliament Vaclav Klaus as prime minister, Defense Minister Petr Necas (member of Parliament and chairman of the Defense and Security Committee), Finance Minister Vlastimil Tlusty (chairman of the ODS parliamentary club and of the Budget Committee), Foreign Minister Jan Zahradil (member of Parliament), Labor Minister Libuse Benesova (ODS vice chairwoman), Interior Minister Ivan Langer (vice chairman of Parliament), Health Minister Miroslav Macek (ODS vice chairman, former deputy prime minister and labor minister in the Czechoslovak federal government), Regional Development Minister Miroslav Benes (ODS vice chairman and Housing Committee chairman), Environment Minister Vaclav Mencl (Senator), Education Minister Jaroslav Zverina (member of Parliament and sexologist), Justice Minister Eva Dundackova (new member of Parliament), Industry Minister Vladimir Budinsky (former transportation minister), Agriculture Minister Miloslav Kucera (private farmer and member of Parliament), Culture Minister Miroslava Nemcova (new member of Parliament) and Transportation Minister Martin Riman (transportation minister in Klaus' last government). This one-party shadow cabinet is completely unacceptable to the Christian Democrats and the Freedom Union. However, trade unionists and the Social Democrats called the shadow cabinet necessary for improving the quality of the real government. Pavlina Hodkova/Denisa Vitkova Kasal to Lead KDU-CSL The Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU-CSL) has a new temporary leader - Jan Kasal. Kasal, after former Chairman Josef Lux's resignation, will also lead KDU-CSL's parliamentary deputy club. For a long time Kasal was considered to be Lux's opponent, but Kasal said no great changes in party leadership should take place. During the party's committee meeting October 23 the date should be announced for a Christian Democrat party congress to elect new leadership. Apart from Kasal, former ministers Cyril Svoboda and Miloslav Vyborny are being talked about as candidates for chairman. No one is willing to comment on the position before the Senate elections. A change in KDU-CSL policy is not expected, but a cooling of the disputes between Lux and former Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus could improve relations among right-wing parties. Lux's return to the political scene should happen no earlier than a year after successful treatment of his chronic leukemia. The former deputy prime minister minister of agriculture, who unexpectedly announced his resignation September 24, remains on the political scene only as a deputy in Parliament. Petr Sladky/Sofia Karakeva Transportation Minister's Wife Named to Czech Railways Management Kvetoslava Korinkova became the new general inspector of Czech Railways September 29. There are no doubts concerning her expertise (for years Korinkova has dealt with railway problems and after the June elections was a Social Democrat candidate for the position of minister of transportation), nevertheless though she became a target of criticism because she is the wife of Antonin Peltram, the minister of transportation. According to Martin Riman (Civic Democratic Party, ODS), former minister of transportation, the general inspector has extensive powers to control Czech Railways property and family relationships between the highest executive and inspection positions means a clear degradation of the position of general inspector. Marketa Kaclova/Sofia Karakeva Justice for Vrchlabi Hygiene Commandos The closely watched case of Romany (Gypsy) Helena Bihariova's death was decided in court with the conviction of the men responsible but with absolution of racist motives. Bihariova died February 15, after a dispute with two drunk men, P. Klazar, 24, and J. Neff, 24. They accused the victim of stealing 200 crowns from them, and, after a fight, they drove her to the banks of Labe River, where they wanted her to "wash herself because she was dirty". They claim they left her when she was waist-high in the water. Bihariova, the mother of four children, was drawn in by the strong current and although Czech Radio reporter Eliska Pilarova jumped in and tried to save her, Bihariova died. From the beginning the case was closely watched by the in media. It was undoubtedly proved that the accused were in favor of the skinhead movement. But the court did not take it into consideration, deciding the incident did not occur because of racism but due to stolen money. The court sentenced Neff to 8.5 years in prison and Klazar to 6.5 years. Tomas Polacek/Sofia Karakeva Karmov Case Goes to Higher Authority The Prague City Court October 2 ended the weeklong trial of Alim Karmov, accused of embezzling 40 million crowns from the Futurum Aurum Investment Fund. Karmov used the fund's money as collateral for a loan of 38 million crowns from the Skala Banking House for his other company, the First Financial and Construction Concern. Because he did not pay back the loan, the bank took the money from the account of the Futurum Fund. Karmov, a Russian, has been in police custody since March 1996, when he admitted his activities. The court sentenced him to 5 years, although he had faced up to 12 years. The court came to the conclusion that Karmov did not embezzle the money, but wrongly invested it. The victims of the case have almost no chance to get their money back. The police failed to prove that the accused had no intention of returning shareholders' money. They can take Karmov to a civil court, but the chances of getting money back are minimal, because Karmov does not have a crown to his name. The court's decision was appealed by both sides. Pavel Novotny/Sofia Karakeva Ministr Kavan Loses Libel Case According to the September 24 verdict of Prague City Court, Foreign Minister Jan Kavan shall pay 50,000 crowns in punitive damages to British journalist Benjamin Kuras, because he called Kuras an egregious liar in an interview for the daily Lidove noviny in 1996. Kavan objected to Kuras' claims published in the weekly Respekt's story under the headline Perjury (Kriva prisaha), which pertained to the affair from the 80's when a shipment of dissident literature published abroad and sent by Kavan to Czechoslovakia was intercepted at the border. Kavan later, at hearings of the British Complaint Commission, questioned the honesty and integrity of a British journalist who made a TV documentary about the case. However, the court verdict rejected Kuras' claim for a public apology due to the vague wording of the apology. Kavan has no chance to appeal, and he said he does not want to question the verdict. Jan Mates/Milan Smid Prague Mayor Jan Koukal Not Scared of His Opponent Former Environment Minister Martin Bursik, the candidate of the four-party coalition (the Christian Democrats, the Freedom Union, the Civic Democratic Alliance and the Democratic Union) in the upcoming Senate election, will duel with Prague Mayor Jan Koukal of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS). "Of the two candidates (the other was independent Prague City Councilman and former ODS member Michael Hvizdala), whom I consider politicians - populists, the more cultivated one won," said Koukal about Bursik's candidacy. Koukal added that Czech politics does not need populism but acts. Bursik's said the "mayor of the capital should under all circumstances keep his cool, even though he is on his way out." Jan Martinek/Jan Martinek New Owner for Daily Lidove Noviny The Swiss corporation Ringier-Springer sold its majority share in the daily newspaper Lidove noviny to the German company Pressinvest September 29. Pressinvest is the publisher of two regional dailies - Rovnost and Svoboda - in the Czech Republic, and is a shareholder in the most popular Czech daily MF DNES. The new owner of Lidove noviny, a daily known mainly for its commentaries and constant, marked decline in readership, ruled out a possible merger with MF DNES. Veronica Macias/Katerina Kolarova The Merger of TV with the Internet - the Near Future Internet Television (IT) was presented during the Invex Computer Fair of information and communication technology from October 5-9. IT is a new medium using the advantages of the Internet and television. Even though it is still a very new phenomenon, its becoming a common broadcasting channel is said to be a question of a very few years. The advantage of IT is that there will not be any difficult signal required, broadcasting would be available anywhere. Internet channel TV24 broadcast experimentally during the Invex 24 hours a day at the address http://www.tv24.com. Besides this phenomenon, there were other news items from the computer world at Invex. Microsoft presented the Czech version of their new operation system Windows 98, and Novell presented a new network operation system, Netware 5. Jan Martinek/Jan Martinek NEWS IN BRIEF * September 30 marked the 60th anniversary of the Munich Agreement, awaking new discussions in the Czech media. Many Czech politicians debated whether Czechs should have defended themselves. The daily Lidove noviny published the letter in which Winston Churchill advised Czechoslovak President Edvard Benes not to accept the agreement, but to make "necessary military arrangements." Churchill believed that if Benes refused the document, there might be a change in the German government. * Karel Kuhnl was September 29 elected chairman of the Freedom Union's parliamentary deputies, replacing Vladimir Mlynar. * The government announced its agreement with the broadcasting of Radio Free Europe (RFE) into Iraq from the Czech Republic, but not from the densely populated Prague 6 neighborhood. Zuzana Janeckova/Zuzana Janeckova Biggest Sazka Win The most popular Czech lottery - Sazka - paid out the biggest jackpot in its history. A middle-aged businessman won 37 million crowns, of which he will not lose a single crown to taxes. The size of the pot caused a rash of lottery ticket purchases, with places selling tickets often crowded during the last week. The biggest jackpot to this point had been 32.5 million crowns, and there was also a single winner. Marketa Kaclova/Zuzana Janeckova FOREIGN AFFAIRS * President Vaclav Havel joined the celebrations of German unity in Hannover October 2-3. In his speech he said he considers unity "good for the whole world" and emphasized the role of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl in European integration. Havel also met new Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, who assured him about the continuity of German foreign policy. * Prime Minister Milos Zeman officially visited Brussels for the first time as leader of the Czech government September 30, when he met European Commission Chairman Jacques Santer. After a shared lunch Santer said there are no problems in negotiations for the Czech's Republic's admission to the EU. "No clouds on the horizon," said Santer. But it is a public secret that Zeman was criticized for new Czech lottery law. Deputy Prime Minister Pavel Rychetsky said the government will try to amend this law as soon as possible. * Austrian President Thomas Klestil September 23 visited the Czech Republic, meeting Czech President Vaclav Havel and Prime Minister Milos Zeman. Klestil said there are no problems between the Czech Republic and Austria. But there still are some different opinions; for example, about the Temelin nuclear power plant or Sudeten Germans. Klestil said he thinks the Czech government should make a political decision in the matter of the expulsion of Sudeten Germans. Jakub Jirovec/Jakub Jirovec FROM SLOVAKIA Slovak Political Landscape Changes General elections September 25-26 brought to an end the reign of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS). Despite remaining the strongest party with 27 per cent of the vote, HZDS has probably lost a majority in the legislature because its coalition partner Slovak National Party (SNS) controls only 9 per cent the vote and its other partner, the Association of Slovak Workers, did not receive the 5 per cent of the vote necessary to earn representation in the National Assembly. The actual winner of election was the opposition, led by the Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK), comprised of five political parties, which received 0.7 per cent less than HZDS, together with the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK 9.1 per cent), the post-Communist Party of the Democratic Left (SDL' 14.7 per cent), and the Civic Understanding Party (SOP, 8 per cent) of Kosice Mayor Rudolf Schuster. These parties together will occupy 93 of the 150 seats in the National Assembly, meaning they will have a constitutional majority of three seats. HZDS will still, according to the Constitution, have the first chance to form a government. Although the SDL' had resolutely ruled out discussions with HZDS, they changed their stance and talks are continuing. The Slovak National Bank also announced the elimination of the currency basket October 1, and within a few hours the Slovak crown had declined by 15 per cent. Premier Vladimir Meciar of HZDS, the man many hold responsible for Slovakia's international isolation, announced his surprising departure from all political functions. In a tearful farewell broadcast live on the HZDS-controlled Slovak Television, Meciar sang a refrain from a folk song: "With the Lord God I go from you, I did not harm, I did not arm any of you." Lenka Ludvikova/Michael Bluhm ECONOMY Czech Banking Crisis The global financial crisis has come to affect Czech banks as well, as the value of their shares collapsed by more than 20 per cent, forcing the Prague Stock Market to stop trading with shares of the Commerce Bank (Komercni banka) this week. During the last 12 months banks' share prices have fallen by about 60 per cent. The loss of interest in the banks stems mainly from their poor economic results. The Commerce Bank in the first half of the year reported a record loss of 9.5 billion crowns, while the Czech Savings Bank (Ceska sporitelna) was hit hard by the meltdown of the Russian economy. International rating agency Standard & Poor's expressed fears based on the difficulty in selling properties used to secure bad loans, which has made it difficult to lower chronically high interest rates. The agency moved Commerce Bank, the Czech Savings Bank and the Czechoslovkak Trade Bank (Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka) into its CreidtWatch category, meaning a rating decline is probably imminent. The banks' clients do not have to worry about their savings. "That has nothing to do with it and we have not noticed any disturbances in our branches," said Commerce Bank Deputy General Director Vladimir Sulc. The banks reduced their interest rates by an average of half a point, in reaction to the condition of the deposits market, which is influenced by the reduction of the repo rates of the Czech National Bank. Radan Dolejs/Radan Dolejs Chemapol Initiates Bankruptcy Proceedings Itself Chemapol a.s., the former flagship of the largest Czech chemical industry holding Chemapol Group (CHG), placed itself in bankruptcy due to the longterm losses and huge debts. The proposal for bankruptcy proceedings was submitted by the board of directors of the company September 25. "After negotiations with several banks concerning the revitalization of the company brought no result, Chemapol management sees no other way out," said Jan Kerbach, director of the strategy division of CHG in an interview for the radio program Radiozurnal. Kerbach refused to specify the amount of the debts. According to the daily Hospodarske noviny, several Czech banks, namely the Czechoslovak Trade Bank (Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka), and many Chemapol contractors and subcontractors are Chemapol creditors. Kerbach said Chemapol's debts are less than its receivables, and that everything depends on the quality of the receivables. The operating loss for 1997 was 136 million crowns. Chemapol's bankruptcy was no surprise to some experts, because the CHG holding had begun to transfer some business activities out of the listing Chemapol to the newly established, non-indebted company AliaChem in July. Marketa Lajdova/Milan Smid Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid October 9) country currency --------------------------------- Australia 1 AUD 17.777 Belgium 100 BEF 86.846 Great Britain 1 GBP 49.456 Denmark 1 DKK 4.732 ECU 1 XEU 35.361 Finland 1 FIM 5.885 France 1 FRF 5.348 Ireland 1 IEP 44.765 Italy 1000 ITL 18.126 Japan 100 JPY 24.482 Canada 1 CAD 18.940 Luxemburg 100 LUF 86.846 IMF 1 XDR 40.272 Hungary 100 HUF 13.525 Netherlands 1 NLG 15.899 Norway 1 NOK 3.933 New Zealand 1 NZD 14.967 Poland 1 PLN 8.132 Portugal 100 PTE 17.481 Austria 1 ATS 2.547 Greece 100 GRD 10.323 Germany 1 DEM 17.930 Slovakia 100 SKK 79.564 Slovenia 100 SIT 18.648 Spain 100 ESP 21.084 Sweden 1 SEK 3.701 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.271 USA 1 USD 28.657 CULTURE Bartoska Still in Charge of Karlovy Vary Film Festival Jiri Bartoska and his team will remain the organizers of the International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary for another five years, as decided in negotiations between the new festival foundation, set up by the City of Karlovy Vary, with the Grandhotel Pupp and Rudolf Bierman's Film Servis, which was co-founded by Bartoska. The third partner of the former Karlovy Vary Film Festival Foundation, the Czech state represented by the Ministry of Culture, decided not to participate in the new foundation, which new laws require to incorporate by January (See Carolina 302). Klara Nedvedova/Milan Smid Major Zeman to Return The Czech Television (CT) Council decided to re-broadcast the normalization TV serial The 30 Cases of Major Zeman together with the documentary How It Really Was. According to CT spokeswoman Renata Elhenicka the project is an attempt "with dignity to deal with one of the greatest ideological manipulations on the TV screen." The series was about a heroic agent of the secret police and his success in fighting the undesirable elements of communism (in one episode he takes on a rock band modeled after the Plastic People of the Universe below). The decision met with positive and negative reactions. Milos Slabak, one of the leaders of the Confederation of Political Prisoners, said "Showing the series is dangerous, CT is breaking the law, according to which media are not permitted to support movements which suppress civil rights." He said the documentaries, which are intended to bring the case into the proper light, should not be shown after the series but before, so people will perceive the shows differently. Lenka Nejezchlebova/Lenka Nejezchlebova Plastic Explosive in Prague's Akropolis The legendary group The Plastic People of the Universe appeared on the stage of Prague's Akropolis Palace September 29-30. The hall was absolutely packed as the Plastic People played all their best-known hits. The musicians were out to prove they were not just a phenomenon connected to the dissident past - they were the immediate reason for the establishment of the Committee for Defense of Unjustly Prosecuted People. Lenka Nejezchlebova/Lenka Nejezchlebova The Time of Debts Is Coming Soon Irena Pavlaskova's successful 1989 film The Time of Servants has a sequel - The Time of Debts. Except for two stars from the original, Karel Roden and Ivana Chylkova, new characters appear, namely the part of a psychiatrist played by pop singer Lucie Bila. Bila thus got the opportunity to try a new role after her debut turn in King Ubu. Pavlaskova does not concentrate only on evil, but follows mainly the fate of the protagonist and his attempt at rebellion. Klara Nedvedova/Lenka Nejezchlebova SPORTS Tennis Players Defeat South Africa, Stay among Elite Czech tennis players managed to uphold their presence in the Davis Cup World Group by defeating South Africa 5-0 during the last September weekend. The Czech squad was Dosedel, Ulihrach, Novak and Rikl. Tomas Smid returned to the post of non-playing captain after six years and with him fighting spirit and devotion to the team came back. Slava Dosedel performed with inspiration, ending his drought in the Davis Cup (four matches without win) and smashing Wayne Ferreira, the opponent's top player, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. After the second, expected win of Bohdan Ulihrach (he defeated Ondruska 6-1, 6-2, 6-1), the doubles team of Jiri Novak and David Rikl decided the victory. Ferreira and Norval lost to them 4-6, 2-6, 2-6. The Czech Republic, with Sweden and Italy, remains among the only teams which have never fallen from the elite group since 1981, when new era of Cup play began. Both final singles matches also brought points to the Czech Republic as Ulihrach beat Nainkin 6-0, 6-1 and Dosedel defeated Norval 6-1, 6-1. Robin Rohrich/Mirek Langer European Cups: Only Slavia Remains Only Slavia Prague remained after the rematches in the UEFA Cup first round. Olomouc and Sparta had to say farewell for this season. Slavia played against Germany's Schalke 04, which boasts two Czech national team members, Radoslav Latal and Jiri Nemec. Slavia had to win, which it did after Dostalek's goal in the 18th minute. Because the final score of the first match was also 1-0, the decision came down to penalty shots. All five Slavia's of players scored, while Slavia keeper Cerny caught Van Hoogdalem's shot. Prague's team will meet Italy's FC Bologna in the second round. Olomouc arrived in Marseille with a hopeful 2-2 result from the first match, but a sad debacle ensued. Olympique Marseille defeated the Moravian team 4-0 and advanced. Sparta lost its first match in Prague to San Sebastian 2-4 and so it went to Spain without much hope. It lost 0-1 in the rain. In the Cup Winners Cup Jablonec hosted Cyprus' Apollon Limassol and had to erase the Cypriots' 2-1 advantage. After two Prochazka goals Jablonec led 2-0, but after Limassol managed to score penalty shots followed. Jablonec goalkeeper Janos stopped two shots, but his opposite number was one better. Stepan Etrych/Mirek Langer Teplice Keeps Top Spot in Soccer League Standings In the seventh round of the Gambrinus Soccer League, played in four days because of the participation of Czech teams in the European cups, the match between first-place Teplice and second-place Sparta was the prime attraction. Excellent play, good weather and a sold-out house resulted in a 1-1 tie. Slavia defeated Hradec Kralove by one goal, while in the Hana regional showdown between Drnovice and Olomouc the match finished in a goalless tie. Last year's FA Cup winner Jablonec continues its suffering even after its coaching change - Jaroslav Dockal replaced Jiri Kotrba September 25, but Jablonec lost in Blsany 0-3. The eighth round was opened by the match between Zizkov and Ostrava, in which two former national team goalkeepers met, Petr Kouba for Zizkov and Pavel Srnicek. Both performed well, but each allowed one goal and the match finished in a tie. The leaders in the standings won the full three points. Teplice defeated Hradec thanks to good execution and well exploited chances, while Drnovice was not stopped by two goals by Opava's Prasek. Sparta, with some reserves in the lineup, beat Blsany, which played unexpectedly timidly. Nor did any other European Cups participants lose: Slavia led in Plzen after a quick goal, but lost the lead in the added time. Olomouc tied with Brno and Jablonec used a one-man advantage after Pribram's Macha was sent off. In this match, Jablonec's goalkeeper Zdenek Janos recorded his 100th shutout in the league, becoming the 10th goalkeeper to do so. Results of the 7th round: Teplice - Sparta 1-1, Slavia - Hradec Kralove 1-0, Drnovice - Olomouc 0-0, Ostrava - Brno 1-0, Liberec - Plzen 1-0, Opava - Karvina 2-1, Blsany - Jablonec 3-0, Pribram - Zizkov 0-1. Results of the 8th round: Zizkov - Ostrava 1-1, Plzen - Slavia 1-1, Hradec Kralove - Teplice 0-3, Karvina - Liberec 2-0, Jablonec - Pribram 3-0, Sparta - Blsany 3-0, Olomouc - Brno 1-1, Drnovice - Opava 3-2. Standings: 1. Teplice 17, 2. Drnovice 17, 3. Sparta 16, 4. Olomouc 15, 5. Zizkov 14, 6. Blsany 13, 7. Opava 13, 8. Ostrava 10, 9. Liberec 10, 10. Slavia 10, 11. Hradec Kralove 8, 12. Plzen 8, 13. Jablonec 7, 14. Karvina 7, 15. Pribram 5, 16. Brno 3. Tomas Kohout, Josef Koukolicek/Mirek Langer Vsetin Rules over Hockey Extraleague Again After 10 rounds of the Staropramen Extraleague, the leading candidate for the title, Slovnaft Vsetin, returned to the top. Two teams are just behind them, with the same number of points. In the five rounds played during the last two weeks, some surprises appeared. Sparta played a 0-0 tie in Karlovy Vary - the first goalless game this season. Plzen reaffirmed its ability always to play well against Vsetin, beating the four-time defending champs 2-1. Zlin's winning streak was broken in the 8th round in Pardubice. Slavia, with the league's most productive player Tomas Kucharcik (8 goals, 10 assists), has not lost at home. Karlovy Vary, Jihlava, Kladno and Opava remain at the bottom of the standings, just behind one of the pre-season favorites, Vitkovice. Vitkovice managed to win on its home ice in the 8th round and tried to turn its situation around by trading some players with Opava. Tomas Jelinek came to Vitkovice, his eighth team in the league. Two players from the national team are injured - Sparta's Kucera (broken jaw) and Slavia's Kacir (broken arm). Zdenek Nedved came back from the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs and will play in the extraleague for Sparta Praha. Results of the 6th round: Jihlava - Plzen 2-2, Vsetin - Ceske Budejovice 5-1, Karlovy Vary - Sparta 0-0, Kladno - Opava 0-2, Trinec - Zlin 3-3, Pardubice - Litvinov 1-4, Slavia - Vitkovice 2-2. Results of the 7th round: Litvinov - Jihlava 2-0, Plzen - Vsetin 2-1, Opava - Pardubice 1-1, Zlin - Kladno 2-1, Ceske Budejovice - Slavia 2-3, Vitkovice - Karlovy Vary 2-3, Sparta - Trinec 5-2. Results of the 8th round: Kladno - Sparta 3-2, Slavia - Plzen 3-3, Pardubice - Zlin 3-2, Karlovy Vary - Trinec 2-3, Vsetin - Litvinov 5-1, Jihlava - Opava 1-4, Vitkovice - Ceske Budejovice 4-3. Results of the 9th round: Opava - Vsetin 0-2, Ceske Budejovice - Karlovy Vary 4-2, Plzen - Vitkovice 5-1, Zlin - Jihlava 7-1, Trinec - Kladno 7-3, Litvinov - Slavia 3-0, Sparta - Pardubice 7-3. Results of the 10th round: Vitkovice - Litvinov 4-1, Jihlava - Sparta 3-3, Karlovy Vary - Kladno 2-2, Plzen - Ceske Budejovice 3-2, Pardubice - Trinec 4-5, Slavia - Opava 4-0, Vsetin - Zlin 3-3. Pre-played match of the 15th round: Vitkovice - Kladno 2-2. Standings: 1. Vsetin 15 points, 2. Zlin 15, 3. Trinec 15, 4. Sparta 13, 5. Plzen 13, 6. Slavia 12, 7. Litvinov 10, 8. Pardubice 10, 9. Ceske Budejovice 8, 10. Vitkovice 8, 11. Karlovy Vary 8, 12. Kladno 6, 13. Opava 5, 14. Jihlava 4. Stepan Etrych/Mirek Langer SPORTS IN BRIEF * European Hockey League, 2nd round: Ayr Scottish Eagles (Scotland) - Litvinov 4-3, Jokerit Helsinki - Dukla Jihlava 4-3, Sparta Prague - Fribourg (Switzerland) 5-1. * Next four top-league teams left the Czech FA Cup: Karvina, Plzen, Blsany and Dukla. * Both Czech players in the Grand Slam Cup in Munich lost their first matches - Petr Korda to American Andre Agassi and Jana Novotna to Switzerland's Patty Schnyder. Mirek Langer, Stepan Etrych/Mirek Langer WEATHER Instead of the weather, we bring you this announcement: with this issue the eighth Carolina editorial staff, consisting of first-year journalism students, begins its attempt at earning your favor. English version edited by Michael Bluhm. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with "CAROLINA" designation. The subscription is free. 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