Czech national crest goes missing

Eyebrows were raised in the Czech parliament Wednesday when Christian Democrat minister Cyril Svoboda announced that the original Czech national emblem or coat of arms had gone missing. After MPs began to search their offices, it emerged that the seal had actually disappeared at the Czech castle. The seal, which features two birds and two lions symbolising the regions of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia was created in 1992 by the Czech heraldist Jiří Louda.