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When Czechs gather around their Christmas trees this year, many of them will find a very welcome present: a mobile phone. Mobiles are selling like hot cakes on the Christmas market. takes a look at this popular trend:

The board of directors of Czech Railways has decided not to renew the contract of its general inspector, Kvetoslava Korinkova. The board says it's been unhappy with Korinkova's performance for some time. But according to reports in the media, she's being removed because of her criticism of the prime minister's advisors and their efforts to influence lucrative public tenders for railway construction. has more:

Friday was of course International Day Against AIDS and was observed here in the Czech Republic by a number of initiatives designed to raise public awareness about the disease. One of these was held at the Prague offices of United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF, where a number of schoolchildren took part in an international Internet debate about the dangers of AIDS and HIV. Radio Prague's went along:

Members of the ruling Social Democrats gathered in Prague this weekend for some rather difficult talks on the party's future. Party leader Milos Zeman announced some time ago that he would not be putting his name forward for re-election in April, although he says he will stay on as Prime Minister until 2002. Until recently, the popular Interior Minister Stanislav Gross--who heads the party's right-wing faction--appeared to be Mr Zeman's favourite, his main rival being Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla, who's seen as belonging more to the left.

It's widely believed that a good education system is the core of every prosperous country. To get a good education, however, you need qualified teachers. In the Czech Republic, good teachers often leave schools to take better paid jobs, as they can't make ends meet on a teacher's monthly salary. More from :

The Executive Board of the European Region of the World Health Organization met in Prague on Thursday and Friday. It was the organization's first meeting here, so asked its regional director, Marc Danzon, why the Czech capital had been chosen:

The lower house of Parliament has approved the issue of state bonds worth 6 billion CZK to be paid to members of bankrupt credit unions as compensation for lost savings. This came after heated debates in the lower house, as well as demonstrations outside government headquarters. At the same time, many of the bankruptcies are being investigated by the police. reports:

The dispute between the Czech government and President Vaclav Havel continues over the appointment of the new governor of the Czech National Bank. On Wednesday, President Havel named the bank's former vice-governor, Zdenek Tuma, as the new governor. Prime Minister Milos Zeman believes the appointment to be invalid and unconstitutional; he claims that the nomination has to be countersigned by himself to become valid. President Havel, however, notes that although this practise was in the past, it is not included in the constitution, meaning that

President Havel's nomination of a new governor of the Czech National Bank has created fresh controversy on the Czech political scene. The prime minister, who is firmly opposed to the president's choice, has refused to counter-sign the appointment, and is threatening to challenge the move in the Constitutional Court. It is the first serious controversy within the executive of the Czech Republic, and legal experts are divided as to the possible outcome of a protracted legal battle. has the story:

Whole generations of Czechs, one after another, have grown up, lived and grown old in cramped living conditions. The problem of young married couples being forced to live with their parents, even after they have had children of their own, may be less frequent than it used to be, but it's still a problem. And for a solution to that problem, many are forced to rent illegally. reports: