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The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate are currently holding a joint session at Prague castle, in a second attempt to elect a successor to President Vaclav Havel. The opposition Civic Democrats have chosen to once again put forward Vaclav Klaus, who won most votes during the first, inconclusive elections on January 15th. Following the failure of their candidate Jaroslav Bures in the first election, members of the senior coalition Social Democrats have nominated former leader Milos Zeman, while the two junior coalition parties - the Christian Democrats

There are many renowned universities around the Czech Republic, but none of them can have as intriguing a name as Prague's University of Free Time, which is this week marking the 10th anniversary of its foundation. Unlike most universities, the University of Free Time does not have strict entrance criteria and caters to some of the less fortunate members of Czech society. Dita Asiedu spoke to one of its founders, Dana Steinova, and asked her what was unique about the institution:

The Czech parliament meets for a second time on Friday to try and choose a successor to President Vaclav Havel, in the wake of last week's inconclusive vote. Three candidates are standing in tomorrow's election - two former prime ministers - Social Democrat Milos Zeman and Civic Democrat Vaclav Klaus - and one senator - Jaroslava Moserova. But with the parties deeply divided, do any of them have any chance of becoming the next head of state? Rob Cameron spoke earlier to analyst Jiri Pehe, and he began by asking him whether this protracted election

While the robbery of churches is sadly common in the Czech Republic, an especially shocking case has recently come to light. A priest and twelve other people have been accused of being involved in the theft of a gothic bell and other items from a Catholic church in a village in north Moravia.

A week ago we brought you a report on the performing arts with 'Czech Season In Canada', an exciting programme of theatre and dance events now underway in the Great White North. Now we bring you an update on the latest in cutting-edge theatre. Radio Prague spoke to Ondrej Hrab, the artistic director of Prague's Archa Theatre, planning several performances at Montreal's centre for intercultural arts.

The global music industry has experienced a slump in sales in recent years, and the situation for its Czech component is no different. One of the major threats to the music industry is piracy, and last year there was a record number of piracy cases discovered in the Czech Republic.

A total of 27 members of the Czech anti-chemical and nuclear warfare unit who are deployed in Kuwait as part of the 'Enduring Freedom' operation along side the United States have asked their superiors to return home early.

The junior governing coalition partner, the Freedom Union, made two important decisions over the weekend. During its party conference in the Moravian capital of Brno, it elected Petr Mares as its new leader and voted to stay in the ruling coalition with the senior Social Democrats and another small party, the Christian Democrats. But what chances does the party have to improve its standing during this electoral term? Dita Asiedu looks into the future of the Freedom Union:

The Czech Statistics Office has been hit by a scandal that has shaken the institution's otherwise spotless reputation. Some heads in management have fallen and more may follow. The reason: a mistake in the country's GDP result announced for the third quarter of 2002 - so wide of the mark it was believed the Czech Republic was entering a period of economic slowdown, instead of moderate growth.

One of the less publicised effects of last summer's devastating floods was a sharp fall in the country's hare population. Thousands of hares - as well as rabbits - fled from the floods, which hit large parts of Bohemia in August. And believe it or not the government is taking the matter seriously: the agricultural ministry is to spend millions to make up the shortfall. But not everyone's happy with the plan, as Rob Cameron reports.