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According to a new poll conducted by the European Commission, the majority of EU citizens support plans for enlargement to include the Czech Republic and other former Eastern bloc countries. The survey showed that 44% of the 16,000 people polled in all 15 EU countries supported the enlargement process, while 35% were against. Many of those who didn't agree with expansion were citizens of the Union's three largest countries: Britain, France, and Germany. has the story.

Following an already prolific year of filmmaking for the Czech Republic, the first few weeks of 2001 have already seen five premieres of new Czech works. The newest release is a musical comedy called The Rebels, and opens in Prague on Thursday evening with English subtitles. Radio Prague's was at the screening and brings back the details.

The Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman visited Sweden earlier this week for talks on a number of issues, most notably EU enlargement. But there was another crucial item on Mr Zeman's agenda - persuading Swedish investors to stake their hard-earned cash on the Czech Republic, especially if Prague decides to spend some two billion dollars buying Swedish Grippen jet fighters for the Czech Air Force. has more.

A crowd cheers the return of Ivan Pilip and Jan Bubenik, two Czechs who spent three weeks in jail in Cuba after meeting dissidents opposed to the Castro regime. has more:

Those with an interest in modern architecture have a unique chance to visit a new exhibition in Prague depicting the work of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. was at the opening ceremony and has this report:

As you've just read, the Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman has spent the last few days on in Sweden, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union. Sweden is seen as firmly pro-enlargement - Prime Minister Goran Persson has made it a priority of Sweden's EU presidency to speed up the accession process. But as discovered on the icy streets of the Swedish capital Stockholm, not everyone supports Mr Persson's efforts:

A new exhibition of war photography by prominent Czech photojournalist Ladislav Sitensky began at the British Council on Monday evening. Officially opened by the British ambassador to the Czech Republic, David Broucher, this collection of black and white photographs depicts unique images of the Czechoslovak Army during the Second World War. has more details.

The European Union Commissioner for Agriculture, Franz Fischler, was in Prague on Monday to sign the two agreements aimed at bringing Czech agricultural policies in line with EU requirements. The result will be one of the biggest financial commitments thus far pledged by Brussels to the Czech Republic. has the story.

After more than three weeks spent in a Cuban jail, Czech MP Ivan Pilip and former student leader Jan Bubenik were finally released on Monday night. The two were detained in Cuba on January 12th after meeting with dissidents opposed to Fidel Castro's regime. has this report:

A three-day conference on natural childbirth called "Bringing Babies to the World" was held in Prague last week. Organised by the Czech Association of Midwifes and the Movement of Active Motherhood, the main aim of the conference was to get as much information on attitudes to natural childbirth as possible from other countries. spoke to one of the organisers, Zuzana Stromerova, and asked her for more details: