Prague - Czechs began Monday two days of celebrations to mark the 90th anniversary of founding of their first independent state, the former Czechoslovakia.

As part of the commemorations, the country planned to stage its first military parade since the communist era.

On Monday, Czech and Slovak presidents, Vaclav Klaus and Ivan Gasparovic, planned to lay wreaths at the statue of former Czechoslovakia's first president, Tomas Garrigue Masaryk.

Czech and Slovak leaders were also scheduled to attend an opening of an exhibit at the country's National Museum dedicated to former Czechoslovakia's 90th birthday.

Prague - Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's party lost the Senate run-off elections Saturday in a defeat that could reshape the Czech Republic's EU presidency in the first half of next year.

The loss could topple the premier and empower vocal European Union critic President Vaclav Klaus, just weeks before the country takes over at the helm of the 
27-member EU bloc on January 1.

Analysts said a boost to the followers of the eurosceptic president could weaken the Czech presidency.

Prague - A Czech court Friday sentenced six people to prison for torturing two boys whose ordeal came to light when a neighbour accidentally tuned in to a camera trained on a naked, tied-up child.

Klara Mauerova, 31, was sentenced to nine years for the abuse of her two sons. Her sister, accused of inciting the torture, drew 10 years and four others were sentenced to up to seven years' prison.

The case came to light in the southeastern town of Kurim in May 2007, shocking Czechs much as incest father Josef Fritzl upset Austrians this spring.

The tormentors, four of whom had worked with children, beat the brothers, locked them up in cages, cut them and burned them with cigarettes.

Prague - Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has cancelled next week's four-day US trip, including a White House visit with President George W Bush, to focus on domestic politics, his spokeswoman said Friday.

Topolanek, one of the most pro-US leaders in Eastern Europe, is fighting for his political survival after his senior ruling Civic Democrats were trounced in a regional election last week.

The premier decided to stay in Prague between October 29 and November 1 to both deal with domestic political troubles and back Czech-US missile defence treaties that parliament could take up next week, his spokeswoman Jana Bartosova said.

Prague - A senior Czech government official Thursday criticized French President Nicolas Sarkozy's reported efforts to boost the eurozone's influence in 2009 at the expense of countries presiding over the larger European Union.

Sarkozy is seeking to stay in control of European economic policy for at least a year, arguing that he is the only leader suitable for the task of steering Europe through the global financial crisis, the Le Monde newspaper reported Wednesday.