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In neighbouring Slovakia several hundred Romanies clashed with police in the Eastern town of Trebisov Monday evening. Rocks and empty bottles were thrown, and several shops were looted. The incident was part of a chain of protests following the Slovak government's decision to cut back social welfare. The story has also hit the headlines in the Czech papers, as this country also has a large Roma minority. As in Slovakia Czech Roma are among the poorest in society, and the great majority of them have their roots in Slovakia. Could the same kind of

Until now the importation of foreign waste for disposal to the Czech Republic has been strictly banned - though there was an appeal to change the law on waste disposal before. In 1999 it was MP Jiri Drda, of the centre-right Civic Democrats, who put forward a proposal in Parliament recommending the Czech Republic make an exception in the import of waste, a proposal that was overwhelmingly voted down. The result was not entirely a surprise. At the time Mr Drda was not only a member of Parliament - he was also the chairman of the local incineration

After the surprise resignation of the man chosen to be the Czech Republic's first ever European Commissioner, Milos Kuzvart, the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, insisted that the Czech government find a suitable replacement by Wednesday at the latest. At 11 o'clock on Monday night the government announced that it had chosen Pavel Telicka, an experienced diplomat who was the Czech Republic's chief negotiator during the country's EU accession talks.

Last Friday was an extremely dramatic day in Czech politics: first it was announced that Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla had collapsed, and had been rushed to hospital. Then the man who was to be country's first ever European commissioner, Social Democrat MP Milos Kuzvart, stunned many by announcing he was no longer interested in the post. To add to the day's drama, it emerged that Mr Spidla had collapsed during a heated discussion about Mr Kuzvart's "resignation". Mr Kuzvart said he had not had the support of the foreign minister or the Czech embassy

A new book has gone on sale in both a Czech and an English version, that tells the deeply moving story of the little village of Lidice, just outside Prague. Over the years a great deal has been written about the village, which the Nazis singled out in June 1942 to wipe off the map in revenge for the assassination of the man they had put in charge of occupied Bohemia and Moravia, Reinhard Heydrich. But this new book is unusual.

Since the Velvet Revolution the Czech real estate market has experienced enormous development. Now experts claim that all major changes are over and prices of new apartments should stay stable. Even Czech accession to the European Union, they say, should not bring anything new.

The Prague City Court on Thursday ruled on the biggest case of fraud in the country's history. The judge sent the founder of the bankrupt construction company H-system Petr Smetka to 12 years in prison for defrauding some 1,200 clients of 1.2 billion crowns - leaving them penniless and without a roof over their heads.

Mild weather and perfect conditions over the past few days have brought renewed opportunity for professional and amateur bird-watchers in the Czech Republic to observe an incredible sight: thousands of wild northern geese that have been wintering at the extensive Nove Mlyny reservoir. Found in the Breclav region in southern Moravia, the site has become a traditional home away from home for geese from all over northern Europe and northern Russia. An added attraction this year has been an increased count of an amazing 34, 000 birds.

In the last couple of years increasing numbers of ambulance workers and doctors in the Czech Republic have been physically attacked by aggressive patients. In an effort to combat this disturbing phenomenon, Czech hospitals have begun introducing special measures to prevent such attacks. On Thursday, Prague's Vinohrady hospital presented a model of a new type of high-security doctor's consulting room.

Since the fall of communism in 1989 the Czech Republic has enjoyed an inflow of tourists from all over the world. Even so, it has taken the country a long time to develop a unified concept on promoting tourism. The Ministry for Regional Development is now trying to improve the situation. On Wednesday, the Ministry's Czech Tourist Authority helped nine Czech towns to introduce their brand new project luring tourists to visit fortified towns.