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A military band played outside the Czech Radio building on Thursday morning, as politicians lined up to lay wreaths at the plaque to those who lost their lives defending the station in August 1968. It's thirty-five years to the day since the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia, a day of reflection and remembrance for the Czech people. Czechoslovak Radio played a particularly important role in the hours that followed the invasion, as besieged reporters broadcast desperate appeals for help to the outside world.

"From the Microphone to the Listeners" is the name of a new book that's just hit the shelves on the eighty-year history of Czech Radio. While providing a detailed description of the station's role in shaping the country from 1923-2003, the seven-hundred page publication also includes photographs, eye-witness accounts, and the development of radio technology. It also introduces the different departments and important personalities at Czech Radio. Eva Jesutova was one of the main initiators behind the book's production:

At least 20 people are known to have been killed in Tuesday's truck bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, and many more bodies are still buried in the rubble. Tuesday's suspected suicide bombing was the most devastating attack on a UN civilian complex in the organisation's 58-year history, and has left many UN personnel in Iraq - including a team of Czech officials - contemplating their future in the country. Rob Cameron reports.

The Japanese prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, arrives in Prague on Wednesday afternoon on a three-day visit, as part of a trip aimed at strengthening his country's ties with Europe. But it would be fair to say Japanese relations with the Czech Republic are already on a high level, with Japanese investment on the increase and Japanese tourists a common sight in Prague and castles near the city.

One of the most popular destinations for visitors to the Czech Republic who venture outside Prague is the town of Kutna Hora, famous for its ossuary, or bone depository, in which thousands upon thousands of human bones are arranged into various shapes, including a chandelier. Now the Moravian capital Brno is planning to offer visitors a similar macabre treat.

It seems that once or twice a year a lottery jackpot so high comes along that it sways the country completely with jackpot fever, and now is such a time once again in the Czech Republic. As Radio Prague reports, Czechs will have till Wednesday to stock up on tickets. All it will take are six very lucky numbers to win, for someone to become very, very rich.

The town of Kyjov, Moravia, celebrates the traditions of the surrounding region of Moravian Slovakia every four years with a folk festival. Thousands of people flocked to the town from August 14 - 17 to watch traditional folk bands perform, dress in colourful embroidered costumes, and enjoy what is called the King's Ride. Dita Asiedu tells us more about the festival:

The Prague Castle Guard is in dire need of reform and its transformation process needs to be sped up. Czech President Vaclav Klaus made the call on Sunday, after a guardsman died from multiple gunshots to his head. Dita Asiedu reports:

A recent case in which a mother abandoned her baby boy in a public place a few days after the birth, has reopened debate on the need for legislation which would enable pregnant women to give birth anonymously.

August 15 - 18 2002 are days that will remain in the minds of the people of Terezin for many years to come. Not only because they still have vivid memories of the horrors they endured when water from the Elbe and Ohre rivers swept through their property, but also because many are still living in temporary housing, waiting for their homes to dry out.