SACKED Prague 1 District Council sacked Mayor Vladimír Vihan Sept. 18, allegedly because he supported a controversial Louis Vuitton party that would have closed down Charles Bridge Sept. 9, had City Hall not canceled it at the last minute. Twenty-two out of 27 councilors supported Vihan's dismissal. Vihan, who left the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) recently, says he was fired for political reasons.

SLAP The Prague 2 District Authority fined former ODS Deputy Chairman Miroslav Macek 3,000 Kč ($130) Sept. 18 for slapping then-Health Minister David Rath in public May 20 onstage at a medical conference. Macek said that he was defending his wife's honor. After the slap, the two exchanged blows. Macek says he will pay the fine.

JAILED A Plzeň, west Bohemia, court sentenced 31-year-old Michal Ernat to 11 years in jail Sept. 15 for placing an advertisement on the Internet seeking a murderer for his 43-year-old wife. Ernat offered 2,000 euros ($2,540/57,000 Kč) for the murder, but a man in Slovakia reported him to the police after finding the ad.