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Toys made of softened PVC, which contain the harmful chemical phtalate and can be dangerous to children, are no longer sold in Western Europe. You can find them, however, on the counters of Czech toy shops. reports:

Last night the leader of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, Miroslav Grebenicek, had dinner with the head of the ruling Social Democrats, Milos Zeman. The dinner, at the Prime Minister's residence in Prague, went on late into the night. And as reports, the menu wasn't to everyone's tastes:

Cultural links between the Czech Republic and Israel are receiving a boost this week thanks to two performances being staged by the Israeli National Theatre here in Prague. went out to find out more:

The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra leaves for a concert tour in Japan on November 15th. Just hours before their departure found the orchestra's spokesperson Jitka Malkova in her office amidst packages and boxes full of material to be taken to Japan, but Ms Malkova did find time to answer a few of Olga's questions:

Sunday's historic elections to new regional parliaments produced two major surprises: disastrous results for the ruling Social Democrats and a major success for the largely unreformed Communist Party. The Communists pushed the Social Democrats into fourth place in almost all of the 13 regions contested on Sunday, and in one of them, Usti nad Labem, they came out on top. The results have created a rather tricky problem in the new regions; nobody wants to work with the Communist Party but the only alternative is for the other parties, left and right,

Moving on to international affairs now, and the Czech Republic has just become a member of the West European Armaments Group, the European Union's armaments body. The step opens the way for the Czech defence industry to compete in European markets, and also gives the country access to the latest military technology. reports:

So just how will the new regional parliaments and governors make life easier for people in their constituencies? Well, one of the 14 new regions is Ceske Budejovice, an area which covers most of southern Bohemia. And to answer that question, Radio Prague's spoke to one of that region's successful candidates, local headmaster Jan Zahradnik:

Turning now to the Senate, and Sunday's election failed to inspire much interest there either. Nothing very surprising in that; the Senate has little real power--it can delay, amend, but not veto legislation submitted by the lower house. But the upper house does act as guardian to the Czech Constitution; parties need a three-fifths majority to make any changes, and so the outcome of these elections is being watched closely. reports:

Czechs went to the polls on Sunday, electing a third of the 81 seats in the upper house, the Senate, as well as members of 14 new regional parliaments. We'll have more on the Senate in a moment, but first the new regions. Each new regional parliament will elect a hejtman, or governor, who will enjoy sweeping powers in areas such as health and education. But while the changes amount to a revolution in the heavily centralised Czech state, providing a third tier of government between Prague and district councils, they have failed to inspire the Czech

moving away from politics now, and autumn is also open season for the nation's hunters. Each November, hunters head off into Bohemia's woods and fields in search of pheasants, ducks and rabbits. Radio Prague's joined the Korenice Hunting Club as they set off on the Upper Elbe Plain: