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"One of the greatest stage designers of the planet called 'Theatre'", "a magician of the theatre", "a real master, craftsman and artist of theatre" - those are just a few the tributes paid to the world-renowned Czech stage designer and architect Josef Svoboda, who passed away last week. Pavla Horakova has more.

The European Union's Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen paid a visit to Prague on Thursday, to reassure the Czechs over the post-war Benes decrees. The decrees sanctioned the expulsion of Czechoslovakia's German population after the war, and representatives of German expellees are now clamouring for compensation. Some Austrian and German politicians, meanwhile, are trying to link the issue with the Czech Republic's accession to the EU. But as Rob Cameron reports, Mr Verheugen made it quite clear to reporters that the dispute was a storm

A permanent International Criminal Court - the ICC - to try crimes against humanity became a reality earlier this week after several more countries ratified the treaty which sets it up. But the Czech Republic is not among them. Alena Skodova has more:

A financial dispute pitting the Social Democrat government against parliament has raised questions about the Czech Republic's ability to finance its contribution to the U.S.-led "war on terrorism." The government is asking parliament to approve a 35 million-dollar funding package to pay for deploying a Czech army field hospital in Afghanistan and a chemical warfare unit in Kuwait, as requested by the United States and Britain. But earlier this week the lower house rejected the plan to finance the missions through the issuing of state-backed bonds.

A festival of blues music will be held on the last weekend of May in Revnice near Prague. The festival is being held for the third time this year, and it's becoming more and more popular, especially among those who do not like to go to concerts in large venues. Alena Skodova has more:

The tiny central Bohemian village of Kacov can hardly lay claim to fame exactly, but it has received a fair bit of attention in the past six years. Not so long ago NATO officials allegedly zeroed in on a bizarre looking unidentified object near Kacov on their satellite maps of central Europe and asked the Czech defence ministry for an explanation. As it turned out, the bizarre looking object had nothing to do with the Czech Republic's military arsenal - it was the biggest collection of used refrigerators in the world - over 1,800 of

How much advertising can one stand? Advertising has permeated our daily lives to such an extent that it is virtually impossible to avoid. The Prague authorities have now put their foot down and banned what Czechs have come to call "walking" ads - on the grounds that this form of advertising in the streets of the Czech capital is a nuisance which irritates both the locals and foreign visitors. Daniela Lazarova has the story:

Last week, a legend of modern Czech sculpture, Karel Nepras, died of a stroke in a Prague hospital. It seems like a trick of fate that a man who had always mocked absurd things died just two days after his 70th birthday, at a time, when a retrospective exhibition of his life-long work is being prepared.

The British Prime Minister Tony Blair touched down in Prague on Monday for a brief visit to the Czech Republic, holding talks with Czech officials on his way home from the United States. Top of the agenda in Prague was the crisis in the Middle East - a Czech anti-chemical unit was recently deployed in Kuwait to protect the U.S. command headquarters in Kuwait City. But Mr Blair also found time to praise the Czech Republic for progress towards joining the EU, adding there was still room for co-operation within Europe on a "nation state"

The Czech Technical University, which celebrated the 295th anniversary of its foundation earlier this year, hosted the 64th meeting of the Czech Conference of Rectors on Friday. Coincidentally, the oldest Czech university, Charles University, remembered 654 years of its existence last week. Pavla Horakova has more.