Prague  - The shareholders of the Czech power giant CEZ agreed Wednesday to extend the firm's buyback programme by another 10 per cent, the company said.

The state-controlled CEZ also received shareholders' green light for cancelling 9.15 per cent of company shares that the utility had bought back previously, spokeswoman Eva Novakova said in a statement.

The power producer has said earlier it spent 67.3 billion koruny (4.22 billion dollars) on buying back roughly 9.8 per cent of its shares.

Prague  - The Czech Republic Wednesday recognized independent Kosovo, the Czech Foreign Ministry said.

Prague  - Czech generics drugs maker Zentiva reported Monday a net profit of 469.7 million korun

Prague  - An engine driver died Monday after his locomotive collided with a stationary commuter train in the eastern Czech Republic, an official said.

Dusseldorf  -  Arcandor, the big German retail group, is planning to set up department stores in Rus

Prague  - The Czech economy slowed down in the first quarter of 2008 to show 5.4 per cent year-on-year growth compared to 6.6 per cent in the previous quarter, according to preliminary government d