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As in other parts of Central and Eastern Europe referendums will be held on European Union accession in the coming months. The Czech Republic is of course one of those countries, with a referendum scheduled for June. The government has been slowly working on an information campaign to educate the Czech public on the pros and cons of EU membership. Recently, organizers of the campaign have said their goal is to target older people and those living in the countryside. Compared to other candidate countries, support for joining the EU is quite low

A Czech municipal court ruled on Thursday that suspected IRA member Michael Dickson should be extradited to Germany to face charges linked to a 1996 grenade attack on a British army barracks in the German town of Osnabrueck. Dickson, who denies any ties to the IRA and says he was in the Czech Republic as a tourist, has appealed to the country's High Court.

February 14th marks St. Valentine's Day around the world and the Czech Republic is no exception. Florists across the country are doing brisk business, while pubs and clubs are offering special Valentine's Day menus. Regarded as a western holiday, Valentine's Day was not celebrated during the days of Communism. Now, though, it's becoming increasingly popular - and of course lucrative for shops and businesses. But as we found out when we took to the streets of Prague, many Czechs are far from enthusiastic...

On Tuesday the United States Congress adopted a resolution in which it paid tribute to the former Czech president Vaclav Havel. This was the result of an initiative led by one American congressman who was honoured to meet Mr Havel at a rock concert in the 1980s - and then wanted to honour the former Czech president in the United States Congress.

Amid a deep crisis in NATO over plans to protect Turkey in the event of a US-led war on Iraq, the Czech Republic has expressed support for the United States and Great Britain, pledging military assistance to Turkey. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla announced the Czech Republic would back its NATO ally in case of an attack by Iraq.

When the Office for Personal Data Protection was established three years ago few Czechs had a clear idea as to its activities and raison d'etre. Now, the office has established itself as a respected independent body which supervises the processing of personal data and deals with people's grievances regarding infringements on their right to privacy. Many people call to inquire whether their employer has a right to read their e-mail, to be informed about their state of health or how their ID number could be misused if it falls into the wrong hands.

A recently published book in the Czech Republic titled "Tabu" has attracted strong criticism from the leaders of the country's Jewish community. Written by Petr Bakalar, the release "Tabu" has been described by Tomas Jelinek, the chairperson of the Jewish community in Prague, as being more dangerous than when Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" came out. These comments were made by Mr Jelinek to the Czech newspaper Mlada fronta Dnes today, as a debate raged on its front pages between the book's critics and its author.

It's just over two weeks to go before parliament tries for the third and probably the last time to elect a successor to President Vaclav Havel. It's still unclear whether this third attempt will be any more successful than the first two. But what we do know for certain is that once again former prime minister Vaclav Klaus looks to be the strongest candidate, and once again it's the Communist Party which could hold the key to victory. Rob Cameron joins me in the studio now, Rob where do we stand with just over two weeks to go?

Almost six months after last August's devastating floods, the Prague metro system is still not fully functional, with only two of the three underground lines in full operation. Travellers along the B line of the system often find themselves having to transfer to buses or trams, which take them to the next operational metro station. Passengers sometimes even find that some days the trains on line B have ceased to operate at some stations - even though they were running at those same stations the day before. The journey may finally become less complicated...

The Czech Police have joined forces with the National Anti-Drug Bureau and the Prison Services to crack down on drug dealers and stop drugs getting into the hands of prison inmates. Two operations code-named Gaston and Motylek, or Butterfly, appear to have brought real results. Dita Asiedu reports: