Prague  - A Polish woman, a Ukrainian man and three Czechs were among the seven victims of Friday's train accident in eastern Czech Republic, the worst in 13 years, police said Saturday.

Revising its earlier reports, police said that four young women and two men, one young and one middle-aged, died when a speeding international train with some 400 passengers onboard rammed into a collapsed bridge in the north-eastern town of Studenka.

Prague  - The Czech Republic's inflation rate and unemployment were up in July, according to government data released Friday.

Inflation accelerated to 6.9 per cent year-on-year in July, from 6.7 per cent year-on-year in June, mainly due to an increase in housing and tobacco prices, the Czech Statistical Office said.

The inflation rate reached a nine-year peak of 7.5 per cent in January, a hike caused both by a set of government policies and growing food and energy prices.

Prague  - Luxembourg-based real estate developer Orco Property Group S. A., which is active in Central and Eastern Europe, saw its sales drop by 9.6 per cent from
125 million euros to 113 million euros (192 to 173 million dollars) in the first half of 2008, according to non-audited results released Thursday.

The group said it expects 343 million euros in revenues in 2008, up from the January forecast for 2008 of 330 million euros.

Prague  - Two British men suspected of involvement in embezzling 1.9 million pounds (3.7 million dollars) in Britain have been detained in Prague, police disclosed Thursday, nearly two months after the fact.

The men, both aged 51, allegedly belong to a group of ten persons, consisting of one Czech and the rest mainly British nationals, being investigated in Britain for suspected fraud.

Prague  - The Czech central bank cut the key two-week repo rate by a quarter point to 3.5 per cent Thursday despite high inflation in order to halt a rapid appreciation of the Czech koruna.

"The bank is fighting against the world's most appreciating currency," said Raiffeisenbank analyst Ales Michl. "It is so important for the bank to risk inflation."

The central bankers had hiked the key rate five times between May 2007 and February 2008 to fend off growing prices but have lately signaled intention to take a reverse step aimed at cooling the strong Czech currency.

Prague  - Czech President Vaclav Klaus signed a law Tuesday that gradually raises the country's retirement age to 65, his office said.

Czech men currently retire at around 62 years of age, while women usually at around 59.

Under the new law, all men, childless women and mothers of one will retire at 65 from 2030. Mothers of two and more children will retire up to three years earlier.

The legislation also extends the period during which Czechs must work and pay their pension insurance from 25 to 35 years.