EMBASSY - Czech citizen Michal Pech, 30, who shot his British ex-girlfriend to death and then took his life inside a Harvey Nichols store in London Sept. 13, worked as a security officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bratislava before leaving for the UK in 2003 and was trained in weapons use. But a co-worker described Pech as nonviolent.

KASL - Former Prague Mayor Jan Kasl has decried conditions at the Foreigners' Police headquarters in Prague in a letter to Interior Minister František Bublan. Kasl labeled the facility "undignified" and "discriminatory" and called for easing of registration laws for foreigners living in the Czech Republic.

PRETZEL - A woman accused of bilking the Havlík Opal bakery in Bruntál out of 280 tons of cheese-flavored pretzels during a four-year period apparently worked with a delivery man who helped her steal and sell the snacks to area pub owners and residents, who always paid in cash. The bakery says it lost 13.8 million Kč ($573,694) in the scheme.

VISA - Canada may review its visa requirement for Czechs in 2007 but will only consider lifting it if the United States does the same, said Czech Senate Chairman Přemysl Sobotka Sept. 19 after meeting with Peter Milliken, speaker of the Canadian House of Commons. Czechs also require visas of Canadians.

FRAUD - Vladimír Huňek of Otrokovice, south Moravia, was charged Sept. 16 with defrauding clients by promising them well-paying work in private security in Iraq. Huňek's agency caused a stir when stories circulated that young Czechs were headed off for duty.