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The world of Czech cinema has experienced a prolific year. The new Czech film, "Zacatek Sveta", or "The Beginning of the World", is to premiere in Prague this Wednesday evening, and will be playing soon throughout the Czech Republic with English subtitles. The film centers around the Moravian town of Telc and depicts the story of small-town millenium fever. has this report:

Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman and Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schussel met on Tuesday in the Moravian town of Zidlochovice, to discuss the controversial Temelin nuclear power plant in South Bohemia. Temelin has soured relations between the two countries in recent months, and Austrian protests against the plant culminated in border blockades when Temelin went on line in mid-October. The blockades brought border transport to a standstill, and led the two government leaders to meet, in an attempt to break the ice in relations. More from :

A nationwide hunt continues for Jiri Kajinek, a contract killer who managed to escape from a maximum-security prison in northern Moravia on Sunday, as speculation increases that he had outside help for his breakout. reports:

The Czech novel Babicka, meaning Grandmother, is one of the best loved in the Czech Republic today. It's author, Bozena Nemecova, has been dead for many years now, but her beloved tale has now been resurrected in another media. Richard Pachman and Hana Postranecka have made Babicka into a musical, in an attempt to blend traditional Czech folklore with contemporary music. brings this report:

The International Monetary Fund has just released the results of a detailed probe into the Czech economy. While praising economic recovery in the Czech Republic, it has identified certain problems that could jeopardize the positive developments in the future. reports:

Prince Charles arrived in Prague on Monday for his first visit to the Czech Republic in six years. During his three-day visit, the Prince of Wales will concentrate primarily on activities connected with the Prague Heritage Fund, a foundation His Royal Highness founded in conjunction with Czech President Vaclav Havel. has more:

The Czech prison service faced fresh embarrassment on Sunday, when one of the country's most notorious and dangerous prisoners escaped from a maximum security prison in northern Moravia. The hunt is now on for hired assassin Jiri Kajinek, who may well, police say, try to arm himself as soon as possible. has this report:

There have been frequent complaints from the twelve candidate countries applying for EU membership, including the Czech Republic, that the Union has consistently failed to set a date for accession. Some EU representatives say this will happen in 2003, whilst others claim that 2005 is the earliest possible date; but all member states share concerns over the candidate states readiness to join the EU. But on Sunday, European Commission President Romano Prodi noted that he believed six countries--without naming them--would be ready to join the European

The anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia on the 28th of October is always an occasion for various celebrations and ceremonies. Traditionally, fresh recruits swear their military oath on that day, some of them at Prague Castle before the president of the Czech Republic. This year was no exception. But as reports, it was somewhat different from usual:

Martin Jahn, the director of CzechInvest, the company in charge of encouraging direct foreign investment in the Czech Republic, announced on Thursday that this year his company would bring foreign investments of 1.5 billion USD to the Czech Republic, which is more than double the planned amount. While CzechInvest and the government will be delighted with figures, what do they mean for the man on the street? Radio Prague's spoke to economic analyst Petr Zahradnik of Conseq Finance, and asked him first what impact these investments will have on