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On the 5th of October, President Vaclav Havel celebrated his 66th birthday. On the occasion the Vision 97 Foundation, established by President Havel and his wife Dagmar, awarded an annual prize that is given to outstanding scientists and thinkers whose work has significantly helped to broaden peoples' horizons while addressing the fundamental questions of human existence. This year the prize went to the German-born American computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum. Pavla Horakova was at the ceremony.

On Monday, Britain unveiled tougher immigration measures aimed at making the country a less attractive destination for economic migrants who claim refugee status. Over the past few years, dozens of Roma families from the Czech Republic have set for a journey to Britain in the hopes of receiving asylum there. Although the majority of them have been turned down, Czech Roma keep leaving the country. Under the new immigration measures in Britain, ten countries aiming to join the European Union by 2004, including the Czech Republic, will be given 'safe'

One of Prague's most dominant historic buildings, the Jindrich Tower, on the edge of Senovazne Square in the city centre, will soon be reopened to the public. Most unusually, after extensive, and careful reconstruction, the historic structure, which dates back to the late 1500s, will house exclusive new shops, a restaurant and cafe, which will almost certainly be welcomed by both locals and tourists. The reopened tower will also make one of the best views of the old city available again. Jan Velinger

When the Civic Democrats (ODS) were left out in the cold after June's elections, the party's founder and leader Vaclav Klaus refused to stand down, saying the party would decide on its future at a conference in December. Two weeks ago the first open move within the ODS against Mr Klaus came when the governor of Moravia and Silesia, Evzen Tosenovsky, announced he would stand for the post of party leader in December. Perhaps more damaging for Vaclav Klaus was deputy party leader Ivan Langer's subsequent declaration of support for Mr Tosenovsky. Now,

A number of names may spring to mind in connection with the Czech Republic and Vaclav Havel is certainly one of them. The former dissident has become a symbol of post-communist Czech statehood. At first president of Czechoslovakia and then twice re-elected as president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel will soon be succeeded in his post after having served for 13 years. By whom that's hard to guess. Pavla Horakova went out to the streets of Prague to ask people whom they would like to see as the next head of state.

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

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,

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:

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.

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