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The Cabinet on Monday approved a humanitarian-evacuations plan for seriously sick Iraqi children. Although the motto of the day is "save wherever possible" the government voted unanimously in favour of a plan which would allow doctors working in the Czech field hospital in Basra, southern Iraq, to select some of the most seriously ill children for specialized long-term care in the Czech Republic.

The cabinet at its Monday meeting rejected an anti-abortion bill put forward by a group of Christian Democrat and Civic Democrat deputies. Under the bill, abortions would be a criminal offence and doctors could face up to five years in prison for performing them. The authors of the bill say they expected it to be rebuffed by the government, but in their words, they wanted to stir up a debate on the issue in Czech society.

The President's decision to veto an amendment to the law which would have raised value added tax on some goods and services to 22 percent has met with mixed reactions: applause from Czech entrepreneurs and anger from the governing coalition for whom this is another hurdle on the road to pressing budget reforms.

Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla met with representatives of Cuban dissidents in Florida during his official week-long visit to the United States. His meeting with the Cubans, who were political prisoners under Fidel Castro, is a continuation of official Czech support for human rights in Cuba and Cuban political exiles.

The government is facing the second personal change in less than two months. Defence Minister Tvrdik resigned in June over cuts in defence spending, and Justice Minister Pavel Rychetsky is exchanging his ministerial seat for a judge's robe. Pavel Rychetsky's nomination for the post of a Constitutional Court judge has been approved by the Senate and Mr Rychetsky plans to hand in his resignation on Monday. Before leaving office, the outgoing Justice Minister presented his proposal of a comprehensive reform of the Czech justice system.

Czech Radio correspondent Vit Pohanka has been in Washington this week covering Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla's visit to the US. On Thursday he contributed to Radio Prague on Mr Spidla's meeting with US President George W Bush. Today we bring you parts of a short interview Vit Pohanka conducted with Jan Kavan, the president of the UN General Assembly and former minister of foreign affairs. The Czech journalist began by asking Mr Kavan how he viewed relations between the Czech Republic and the Czech community abroad.

Czech farmers may face loses amounting to billions of crowns due to the current drought and the Agrarian Chamber is talking about the likely loss of many jobs. The unfavourable weather has only added to other problems, such as the continuing decline in prices that has caused the deepest financial crisis in the agriculture sector in the past 40 years.

Indiana Jones look out! Eight young Czechs will be the first people in the world to explore the upper 80 km long part of the Ganges river in India. The adventure on the river which rises high up in the Himalayan mountains, and has a central spiritual meaning in Hinduism, began a week ago. The whole expedition was welcomed by the local inhabitants, and certainly will be a great cultural experience for the kayakers from Prague. Mirna Solic reports:

Earlier this week Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla and a delegation including the foreign minister and the minister of industry and trade, began a week-long official visit to the US. On Tuesday Mr Spidla met with US President George W Bush at a highly-touted meeting at the White House to discuss international relations. Jan Velinger spoke to Czech Radio correspondent Vit Pohanka, - currently in Washington. He began by asking him what had been the dominant issue on the table...

For many tourists, visiting a castle or chateau is an essential part of a trip to the Czech Republic. But some visitors may be disappointed this year, as castle wardens around the country are warning that they might have to close their doors earlier than usual. The reason: a lack of money. On Tuesday castle wardens from around the country handed in a petition to the Senate, drawing attention to their plight. I discussed the issue with Jana Sedlackova, a conservationist at the popular Konopiště castle near Prague.