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Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has been refused an entry visa to the Czech Republic in view of attending the upcoming NATO summit in Prague. The Czech foreign ministry announced on Friday that the move was not directed against the people of Belarus but against the country's authoritarian leader. The rest of the Belarussian delegation have been granted entry visas.

It's one of the most beautiful regions in the Czech Republic, dubbed the Czech Switzerland, an area of extensive quiet forestland, hilly countryside and unique sandstone cliffs and river gorges that were captured by Romantic painters in the 19th century. Two years ago the region was officially declared a national park, and, as Jan Velinger reports, it is an area that has been much enjoyed by tourists from all over the world.

November 16th marks 'Poetry Day' in the Czech Republic, held on the anniversary of the birth in 1810 of the great Czech Romantic poet, Karel Hynek Macha. This year, it's the 4th time the 'Poetry Day' is being held, and as we hear from Alena Skodova, it has been expanding with each new year:

Drinkers of Czech Budweiser beer in Great Britain have nothing to fear as the brewery gets the go ahead from a British court to continue selling the famous Czech lager. The Budweiser Budvar brewery in South Bohemia, has been locked in a lengthy battle with Anheuser-Busch, the world's largest brewer, over the well-established Budweiser name. The trademark dispute has been going on for almost a hundred years and continues to be fought in courtrooms throughout the world.

The Czech government on Wednesday approved the Defense Ministry's plans to reform the Czech Armed Forces. The plan envisages a highly specialized and fully professional army by 2006.

Over recent weeks we've heard a great deal about the security fears around next week's Prague NATO summit, with talk of street violence, and even possible terrorist attacks. But we've heard rather less about the summit itself, and why it is so important. On Tuesday Radio Prague's David Vaughan took part in a satellite press conference with a senior official from the United States State Department, Robert Bradtke. At the conference the main themes of the summit were outlines. David joins me now in the studio now. David, what is going to be the key

There are currently some 11 million children dying around the world every year because they fail to get vaccinations that are necessary for them to grow into healthy adults and survive the harsh conditions they have been born into. The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, vaccinates 500 million children against the most threatening diseases annually. Its branch in Prague has launched a new project that allows children and adults help combat mortal diseases. More from Dita Asiedu:

While the Czech Republic is hoping to benefit financially from membership of the European Union, accession will also mean the Czechs will have to pull their weight when it comes to donating aid to the developing world. The EU's commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Poul Nielson has just been in Prague to explain what exactly EU membership will entail in this respect.

Forum 2000 may be the Czech Republic's best known annual conference on international affairs, but it is by no means the only "forum" to take place in the country. Last weekend a group of over twenty local and international students studying in the Czech Republic participated in the annual Vilemov Forum, an initiative of New York University in Prague. There they discussed and debated contemporary issues of global importance with leading figures from the Czech political and media scene.

Next week's NATO summit in Prague will be a major international event, with 46 heads of state planning to attend. However, one particular head of state, the autocratic president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, may not be given the chance to rub shoulders with the likes of George Bush and Jacques Chirac. Though the Belarussian delegation applied for visas to come to Prague for the summit almost two weeks ago, the Czech Foreign Ministry is still considering whether to grant them permission to enter the country.