DEFENSE

During a visit to Prague Oct. 30, the head of NATO criticized the Czech Republic for its low military spending. Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer urged Czechs to meet the NATO benchmark, set at 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The government budgeted 1.8 percent of GDP for military spending in the past two years, down from 2.35 percent in 2000.

PRESS

The Czech Republic ranks fifth in a global survey of nations with the freest press, according to a new poll released Oct. 25. The index, compiled by the Paris-based press freedom advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, compared media in 168 countries. The top five nations are all European, while the United States ranked 53rd.

NAZI

Police have been unable to shut down a Czech-run neo-Nazi Web site because the server hosting it is based in the U.S. city of Atlanta, where promoting fascism is not a crime, TV reports said Oct. 26. Czech police have filed charges against two individuals from the organization responsible for the site.

TRAFFIC

The Czech Republic is one of six countries with the lowest rates of fatal traffic accidents in the European Union during the past 12 months, Lidové noviny reported Oct. 30. EU statistics found the number of Czech traffic deaths decreased 25 percent during the past year. The EU transport commissioner said the improvements were due in part to strict traffic laws introduced this summer.

NABBED

Three young Czechs face up to 16 years in an Argentine prison if convicted of trying to smuggle more than 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) of cocaine out of the country. The men are in custody after being arrested Oct. 22 at the airport in Buenos Aires. No trial date has been set, but authorities say the men could return home after serving half of their sentences. At least 45 Czechs have been arrested abroad on drug charges since January, including 11 people in Latin America.

COMMUNISTS

American communists expressed their solidarity Oct. 30 with Czech Communist Youth (KSM), an organization of young communists banned in the Czech Republic Oct. 18 by the Interior Ministry following the group's calls to abolish private property. The Communist Party USA called the ban "an assault on democracy."