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Last month one of the Social Democrats' candidates for president, the popular Ombudsman Otakar Motejl, suffered a minor PR disaster when a newspaper revealed he had accidentally killed a pedestrian in a road accident in the late 1970s. Mr Motejl was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving, although he never served a prison sentence and was later pardoned. One of the many people who said Mr Motejl should have told the public about the accident was rival Social Democrat candidate Jaroslav Bures, the man later chosen by his party as their

Throughout the years, the number of cases of tuberculosis recorded among the Czech population has decreased significantly. One exception, however, is the so-called risk group, among which homeless people are the most affected. In order to attend to this problem, Czech doctors specialising in tuberculosis have been working on a project, which is to help the homeless fight infectious diseases. Dita Asiedu spoke to Ludek Trnka of the tuberculosis unit at Prague's Bulovka hospital who has been leading the project since its launch in March 2002:

The Czech government announced on Wednesday evening that Washington had formally asked for support in any military action against Iraq. Following a three-hour meeting of the National Security Council, Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla said the cabinet would discuss the request in detail next week before presenting it to parliament for approval.

President Vaclav Havel might be stepping down next month, and parliament is still divided as to just who should succeed him. But does the Czech Republic need a president in the first place? No, says the country's tiny monarchist lobby. It's time to do away with the republic, they say, and install a king at Prague Castle. And as Rob Cameron reports, they're taking to the streets to make their voice heard.

Vaclav Havel has been saying a lot of goodbyes lately, as he prepares to step down on February 2nd after 13 momentous years as president. It is expected that he and his wife Dagmar will spend a lot of time at their holiday home in Portugal, where Mr Havel has said he plans to write again, read a lot and enjoy a climate relatively favourable to his chronic breathing problems. But won't it be hard for President Havel to give up the reins of power after such a long period in office? I asked Jiri Pehe, who has been an advisor to Mr Havel for some years,

The Czech music scene has lost a remarkable personality. Pavel Kuhn, the founder and long-time conductor of the Kuhn Mixed Choir, died last Sunday at the age of 64. During four decades as choirmaster, Pavel Kuhn recorded more than 30 albums and film soundtracks and his choirs performed successfully around the world under the batons of a number of world-renowned conductors.

Some commentators have been suggesting lately that Social Democrat Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla has mishandled the presidential elections. In an attempt to stamp his authority on the party and prevent his larger-than-life predecessor Milos Zeman becoming president, Mr Spidla came up with a public poll to choose the Social Democrats' candidate. It did not go as he had wished. With the prime minister's choice to succeed Vaclav Havel - ombudsman Otakar Motejl - coming third, Vladimir Spidla is now having to back second place Jaroslav Bures, who

In the days of the Velvet Revolution in the autumn of 1989, crowds in the streets chanted "Havel na Hrad!" or "Havel to the castle", expressing their wish that the dissident playwright become President of Czechoslovakia. The opinion of the public - at least of those who let themselves be heard - was strongly in favour of one candidate. Now thirteen years on, Czechs don't seem to be willing to take to the streets again to express support their favourite candidate and the public is quite divided in their opinion on who should succeed Vaclav Havel

Communities across Europe have recently been facing the threat of floods. Among them, towns and villages in the Czech Republic this weekend again faced the danger of flooding, only months after the country experienced its worst floods in centuries. While water levels are expected to decrease within hours - therefore averting a greater catastrophe - the psychological impact on citizens is a matter of much concern.

The famous Czech author of 'The Good Soldier Svejk and his Fortunes in the World War', Jaroslav Hasek, died 80 years ago at the early age of 39 - and it was to his genius that a special commemorative gathering was held last week in Lipnice nad Sazavou in south-east Bohemia, where Hasek spent the last few years of his life, and wrote much of his famous opus.