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On Thursday the Czech Senate approved a constitutional amendment that sets the stage for a voter referendum on European Union membership, to be held early next year. The so called EU referendum bill was approved unanimously, after senators swept off the table a controversial bill on institutionalizing referenda as such, approved by the Lower House in February.

President Vaclav Havel is on a 6-day trip to the United States, the last one in the post of Czech President. During talks with his US counterpart George W. Bush on Wednesday the two men discussed the necessity of fighting terrorism, and president Bush thanked Mr. Havel for the Czech contribution to these efforts in the form of a field hospital in Afghanistan and an anti-chemical unit in Kuwait. Alena Skodova spoke with Czech Radio's correspondent in the United States, Miroslav Konvalina, and asked him first, what attitude Czech President Vaclav

If you live in a big city, you will know this sound all too well. With four bridges and many roads closed to car traffic and the metro only partly functioning, Prague now has to cope with a much tougher traffic situation than any time before. Several non-governmental and other organisations got together and for the 10th time in Czech history announced a car-free day, calling on people to leave their car at home on Friday and use public transport instead.

The Czech newspaper Mlada Fronta Dnes revealed recently that communist Czechoslovakia had links to the Palestinian terrorist who masterminded the 1972 Olympics massacre. A recently declassified document described a 1978 visit to Prague by Abu Daoud, a Palestinian who later admitted organising the attack against Israeli athletes that left 18 people dead. But as Rob Cameron reports now, communist support for terrorist groups was widespread, as long as they shared the same political agenda.

The Czech government crisis appears to be over. On Wednesday the leaders of the fragile governing coalition agreed on a mechanism which should, in future, ensure support for crucial government proposals from all deputies of the governing parties. The Social Democrat Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla says the mechanism provides sufficient guarantees for the government to function properly over the next four years. But political analysts and members of the opposition are far less optimistic. They call it a stop-gap measure that will not outlive the

An estimated half a million books and documents from archives and libraries were damaged around the Czech Republic during August's floods, and trying to save valuable works is proving to be an absolutely mammoth task. At a ceremony at the National Library on Tuesday, the British Ambassador, Anne Pringle, presented Czech Culture Minister Pavel Dostal with novel vacuum drying machines which will help in that task.

The Planeta Peru for Children Foundation, is holding a benefit concert this Thursday for children who have suffered as a consequence of last month's devastating floods. The concert, supported by the Office of the President, will be held at Prague Castle's Spanish Hall at 8 p.m. and tickets are still available. Dita Asiedu spoke to the foundation's director, Guillermo Parodi:

President Vaclav Havel has embarked on a six day official visit to the United States, his last before his term ends in four months' time. Commentators are describing it as a "farewell trip" packed with top level meetings, get togethers with old friends and opportunities for Mr. Havel to use his particular brand of diplomacy to promote human rights and freedom. Earlier today Daniela Lazarova spoke on the phone with Miroslav Konvalina, one of the Czech Radio journalists accompanying the president:

If you've ever been in Prague in the summer, it's extremely likely that you will have seen a man swallowing swords and banging six-inch nails into his nostrils, near the bottom of Wenceslas Square. His name is Emil Ondracek, and - incredibly - he swallows the swords over half a metre into his body. Mr Ondracek, who usually wears a t-shirt of the heavy metal band Metallica, calls himself a Czech fakir.

On Monday three armed men held up a shell-proof vehicle carrying money from a Prague bank and stole more than 100 million crowns in what is described as the biggest robbery in Czech history. There are only a few clues - but the police have immediately started an investigation to track down the robbers. Alena Skodova reports: