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As the Czech Republic aims to close remaining legislative chapters in preparation for accession to the European Union, and the accession date of 2004 looms near, Czechs, too, must prepare for changes ahead that will take some getting used to in everyday life. One of the changes coming up: new names for some traditional Czech products, such as Czech rum, a beloved domestic product that has been a staple of Czech baking, festivities, and pub-life for well over a hundred years. As of January 1st, 2003 it will still be possible to buy the beverage,

Over the past ten years the United Nations Children's Fund has been involved in a number of projects aimed at securing full implementation of child rights in the Czech Republic. This week Mrs. Marty Rajandran UNICEF project officer for Central and Eastern Europe, visited the Czech Republic to assess the outcome of these projects and outline areas that still require attention. Although work in the sphere of child rights is far from over, Mrs. Rajandran told Czech government officials that the country had made significant progress in the past few

The British Museum said on Wednesday that it may return four Old Masters drawings confiscated by the Nazis from a Jewish collector, one of the first such claims against an art collection in Britain. The 16th and 18th century artworks were said to have belonged to the collection of Dr Arthur Feldmann, a collector from Brno who died at the hands of the Nazis in 1941. Dr Feldmann's family has spent years searching for his collection of more than 750 drawings, which was seized by the Gestapo. Rob Cameron reports.

As of this week Czech teenagers have one more forum where they can air their views on any subject under the sun. The latest internet magazine on the Czech scene is called JUNIORPRESS and it is expected to bring a whole new dimension to the Czech media scene - the world as seen through the eyes of Czech teenagers. Daniela Lazarova has the story:

Two weeks ago the Czech racing driver Tomas Enge must have been feeling on top of the world, when he achieved the greatest success of his career by winning the Formula 3000 world championship. Now, however, Mr Enge has been stripped of his title, and his motor racing career may never recover. The reason - a drug test which revealed the prescence of cannabis in his blood.

The political fallout continues in neighbouring Austria over a report commissioned by the European Parliament, which found that the post-war Benes decrees pose no barrier to the Czech Republic's entry to the European Union. The report, released on Monday, endorsed the European Commission's view that Prague does not need to scrap the decrees, under which some two and a half million ethnic Germans were expelled from Czechoslovakia, before joining the EU. The report has evoked a furious response from Austria's far-right Freedom Party, which repeated

This week the Czech media have reported on a unique radio station which is to emerge soon in the Czech Republic. The new project will kick off on the 8th of October and will compete with the 84 radio stations currently operating in the country.

After 12 years as president, Vaclav Havel's final term ends in January. This week the race to succeed Mr Havel has grown more intense, with Monday the deadline for the registration of candidates to become the Social Democrats' candidate for president. In a move which even Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla has described as "very unusual", his party are holding a public vote to choose their candidate.

It's just over two months to go before a crucial date on the calendar of European Union enlargement - December 12th, when leaders of the EU and the 13 candidate countries gather in the Danish capital Copenhagen. By that date up to ten candidates - including the Czech Republic - are expected to have closed all thirty chapters of legislation required for accession to the EU. The Czechs still have five chapters to go - one of them being agriculture. Daniela Lazarova spoke to the country's chief EU negotiator Pavel Telicka, and began by asking him

September 30th - this Monday, 52 years after it came into existence, the Czech section of Radio Free Europe shall broadcast for the very last time. Broadcasting began May 1st 1951...