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According to latest opinion polls almost fifty percent of Czechs would like to see Civic Democrat Vaclav Klaus as the new Czech president. The second largest share of public support is enjoyed by Social Democrat Milos Zeman with 36 percent and the third candidate, Senator Jaroslava Moserova enjoys the support of 16 percent of the population. These figures however do not signify much, as it is not the public who decides about the new head of state anyway. But they are interesting from another point of view. Milos Zeman and Vaclav Klaus seem to raise

Over the last few days the former leader of the Social Democrats, Milos Zeman, held extensive negotiations with all the major players on the Czech political scene, and before the first round of voting in the presidential election on Friday morning it appeared he had some chance of winning. Dita Asiedu reports:

The Czech parliament meets for a second time on Friday to try and choose a successor to President Vaclav Havel, in the wake of last week's inconclusive vote. Three candidates are standing in tomorrow's election - two former prime ministers - Social Democrat Milos Zeman and Civic Democrat Vaclav Klaus - and one senator - Jaroslava Moserova. But with the parties deeply divided, do any of them have any chance of becoming the next head of state? Rob Cameron spoke earlier to analyst Jiri Pehe, and he began by asking him whether this protracted election

While the robbery of churches is sadly common in the Czech Republic, an especially shocking case has recently come to light. A priest and twelve other people have been accused of being involved in the theft of a gothic bell and other items from a Catholic church in a village in north Moravia.

There are many renowned universities around the Czech Republic, but none of them can have as intriguing a name as Prague's University of Free Time, which is this week marking the 10th anniversary of its foundation. Unlike most universities, the University of Free Time does not have strict entrance criteria and caters to some of the less fortunate members of Czech society. Dita Asiedu spoke to one of its founders, Dana Steinova, and asked her what was unique about the institution:

A total of 27 members of the Czech anti-chemical and nuclear warfare unit who are deployed in Kuwait as part of the 'Enduring Freedom' operation along side the United States have asked their superiors to return home early.

A week ago we brought you a report on the performing arts with 'Czech Season In Canada', an exciting programme of theatre and dance events now underway in the Great White North. Now we bring you an update on the latest in cutting-edge theatre. Radio Prague spoke to Ondrej Hrab, the artistic director of Prague's Archa Theatre, planning several performances at Montreal's centre for intercultural arts.

The global music industry has experienced a slump in sales in recent years, and the situation for its Czech component is no different. One of the major threats to the music industry is piracy, and last year there was a record number of piracy cases discovered in the Czech Republic.

The Czech Statistics Office has been hit by a scandal that has shaken the institution's otherwise spotless reputation. Some heads in management have fallen and more may follow. The reason: a mistake in the country's GDP result announced for the third quarter of 2002 - so wide of the mark it was believed the Czech Republic was entering a period of economic slowdown, instead of moderate growth.

The junior governing coalition partner, the Freedom Union, made two important decisions over the weekend. During its party conference in the Moravian capital of Brno, it elected Petr Mares as its new leader and voted to stay in the ruling coalition with the senior Social Democrats and another small party, the Christian Democrats. But what chances does the party have to improve its standing during this electoral term? Dita Asiedu looks into the future of the Freedom Union: