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Outgoing Czech President Vaclav Havel on Thursday played host to his last official visitor, the Irish taoiseach, or prime minister, Bertie Aherne. Mr Aherne's visit came three months after Ireland voted Yes (at the second attempt) to the Nice Treaty, clearing the way for the Czech Republic and nine other countries to join the European Union. The Czechs are now facing a referendum of their own - the first vote of its kind in the country's history - on whether to accept the invitation to join the EU in May next year. Czech Radio's Vit Pohanka spoke

On Thursday night a gala performance in honour of President Vaclav Havel took place at the National Theatre in Prague. The event was organised by First Lady Dagmar Havlova as a goodbye tribute to the outgoing president, who leaves office on Sunday, February 2.

The current division within Europe over possible US military intervention against Iraq became more marked on Thursday with the publication of an open letter by eight European leaders showing support for the US. Contrasting Germany and France's growing opposition to the US stance on Iraq, the letter was signed by statesmen including Britain's Tony Blair, Spain's Jose Maria Aznar, and also Czech President Vaclav Havel. They called for 'unity' and 'cohesion' in a post-9/11 world, in the aims of maintaining world security. At stake: the need for Iraq

Vaclav Havel paid a one-day visit to Bratislava on Wednesday, his last foreign engagement as president of the Czech Republic. The trip was certainly steeped in significance - Slovakia was Mr Havel's first destination after he was elected Czech president in January 1993, and - as he put it - Wednesday's visit had "closed the circle." Rob Cameron travelled with President Havel to Bratislava, and has this report.

It has been slated as the first outstanding cultural event of 2003 - the first public performance in Prague by Argentinean tenor José Cura. The so-called 'Fourth Tenor', who is often compared to Carerras, Domingo, and Pavarotti, will perform arias by great Italian composers at Prague's Municipal House this coming Friday - and Czechs are anticipating a wonderful concert.

Prague's airport - officially called Ruzyne Airport - has experienced huge growth in the past decade, and its expansion is symbolic of the Czech Republic's increasing economic and political significance in Europe. And with entry into the European Union the airport will only get bigger...

I'm sure many of you have seen it - the Australian anti-smoking TV advertisement that has created enormous controversy and been shown on TV stations around the world. Czech public television, which recently carried the story in its prime time news programme, is now trying to acquire the right to run this TV ad on a regular basis. Daniela Lazarova has the story:

Czech senators deprived their colleague, Vladimir Zelezny, of parliamentary immunity last Thursday, making it possible for the police to investigate him on fraud charges. The Zelezny case has highlighted flaws in the Czech immunity law, which gives members of parliament stronger protection from prosecution than that enjoyed by legislators in other European countries. The Czech government wants to change the situation.

As the possibility of war in Iraq increases Europe has become increasingly divided over the use of force. Over the weekend a couple hundred people marched through the streets of Prague to protest the use of force in Iraq and delivered a letter to the US ambassador in Prague.

As in many other countries around the world, Holocaust Remembrance Day was yesterday commemorated in the Czech Republic. In recent years the day has been marked in a different way here, where it is now characterised by special cooperation between the Jewish and Roman communities.