Prague - The Czech Republic Wednesday has suspended the issuance of work visas to some Eastern Europeans and Asians in response to the economic downturn that has struck the country's export-driven economy, officials said.

As of Wednesday, the Czech embassies in Moldova, Mongolia, Thailand, Ukraine and Vietnam are suspending accepting work-visa applications and scheduling work-visa interviews, the Czech Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Prague  - Rival Czech parties agreed to form jointly an interim government that is likely to replace acting Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's cabinet at the helm of the European Union.

The interim government of experts, which would not be led by Topolanek, should take over in several weeks, local reports said Wednesday citing party leaders.

Topolanek said after the meeting that his outgoing cabinet would stay in "through the whole of April," the Czech news agency CTK reported.

Prague  - The new Israeli government is prepared to respect a two-state solution in its conflict with the Palestinians, former Czech president Vaclav Havel was reported saying Tuesday after meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Havel said Peres provided the assurances after Havel expressed concerns that the new Israeli government will not support the establishment of a Palestinian state because the new Israeli government's coalition includes parties which have rejected compromises toward the Palestinians.

Prague  - Israeli President Shimon Peres after a meeting with Czech President Vaclav Klaus in Prague on Monday said he was hopeful for a successful conclusion to peace talks with the Palestinians this year.

Peres added that he expected "definite advances" in Israel's relations with its Arab neighbours.

Klaus stressed that politics was not about ideology but compromise.

Hluboka Castle, Czech Republic  - Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller on Saturday had to abandon a meeting in the Czech Republic with fellow European Union ministers after suffering from exhaustion and being rushed to hospital.

"He was not feeling well in the morning," Zuzana Opletalova, a spokeswoman for the Czech Foreign Ministry, told German Press Agency dpa.

Subsequent check-ups at the Ceske Budejovice County Hospital showed that the 66-year-old minister had "nothing serious," Opletalova said.

Hluboka Castle, Czech Republic  - Turkey and seven Western Balkan nations knocked on the European Union's door Saturday asking to be let, but found it bolted by France and Germany.

"There will be no enlargement if there is no Lisbon Treaty," said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner during an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in the Czech Republic.

That position was echoed by German foreign ministry officials, who said: "We will not be in a position to accept new member states in the EU without the Lisbon Treaty."