Prague  - Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country chairs the European Union until June 30, said he hopes US President Barack Obama can be as strong as his predecessors.

"I would wish him that he is not afraid to tackle problems as forcefully as his predecessors," Topolanek said.

Topolanek's centre-right government, a close ally of outgoing US president George W Bush, is waiting to hear from Obama on plans to place a US missile defence base in the Czech Republic and Poland, former Soviet satellite states.

Prague  - Czech President Vaclav Klaus urged Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek to disavow a controversial artwork marking country's EU presidency in Brussels, which sparked a diplomatic row with Bulgaria and irritated Slovakia.

In a January 14 letter published Monday on the website of the Czech weekly business magazine Euro, Klaus called on Topolanek to join him in an apology to Bulgarian leaders.

Prague - The Czech Republic government agreed Monday to reduce its planned troop numbers in Afghanistan for 2009 in a bid to cement parliamentary support for country's military deployments abroad, officials said.

The parliament's lower house spiked an earlier cabinet proposal on this year's military deployments on December 19. The rejection has threatened troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Kosovo by March.

Cairo - Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg arrived to Cairo Saturday for talks with Egyptian officials over possible a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Schwarzenberg, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said the EU fully backed efforts for an immediate ceasefire in the strip.

Following his meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minster Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Schwarzenberg said discussions tackled "post ceasefire plans which includes rebuilding Gaza."

Prague - The European Union family faced a serious split on Friday as the bloc's justice m

Prague - European Union justice ministers were split on Friday over the question of EU rules for divorces between international couples, with 10 states pushing for closer cooperation despite the opposition of the EU executive, the European Commission.

"At this moment, we do have enough countries" to launch a system of international cooperation on divorce issues, Czech Justice Minister Jiri Pospisil, who headed the informal meeting of EU counterparts in Prague, told journalists.