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Some 50 Iraqi judges came to Prague this September for a two-week seminar on the work of judges in a democratic society. Run by the Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative, the seminar was largely funded by the British government, with assistance from the Czech government, as part of the Czech Foreign Ministry's involvement in aiding the transition in Iraq. Due to security concerns, the timing of the seminars was kept quiet and the media asked to keep news of the visit under embargo.

The Melantrich building on Prague's Wenceslas Square will forever be associated with one of the most significant periods in Czech history. Leading figures in the Velvet Revolution, such as Vaclav Havel and Alexander Dubcek, addressed delirious crowds from one of its balconies in November 1989 on a day that will be remembered by Czechs for generations to come.

A book entitled "We're In Europe: What Next?" has just been published, featuring essays from a variety of politicians and commentators, all of them in favour of European integration. It has been brought out by the group Ano pro Evropu, or Yes for Europe. At the launch on Wednesday evening, I met one of the editors, Monika McDonagh-Pajerova, and asked her why - over a year after Czechs voted to join the EU, and almost six months after they actually became members - the group Yes for Europe still exists.

The 1960s Czech movie Sky Riders, the story of the lives, loves and deaths of Czech and Slovak pilots in the Second World War, became a legend. The movie was based on a book of the same name by Filip Jansky and was directed by Filip Polak 36 years ago. Now this movie is the focal point of an exhibition dedicated to Czechoslovak pilots who flew for Britain's Royal Air Force during the war.

Next week Prague movie-goers will have the chance to see a forgotten film by the Oscar winning directors Jan Kadar and Elmar Klos, who were legends of the Czechoslovak cinema of the 1960s. But this is a film that most would prefer to forget. "Unos" - or "Hijack" - from 1952 is Stalinist propaganda at its most crass - telling the story of two wicked imperialists, who decide to escape from communist Czechoslovakia to the West by hijacking a passenger plane, only to be "swallowed up in the mud of the émigré camp".

A number highly publicised dog attacks has put the spotlight on canine behaviour in the Czech Republic. On Tuesday, a special seminar on the subject was held in Prague, which brought together a number of experts, including vets and psychologists, to discuss how Czechs could enjoy their pets whilst ensuring that their dogs' behaviour did not cause problems for others.

The Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka announced late on Tuesday night that the government had unanimously approved the state budget proposal for 2005, setting the way for it to be put forward to parliament. Although individual ministries had to make some last minute savings, the overall budget proposal still counts on a deficit of some 84 billion crowns (3 billion US dollars).

Every year 200 children come out of orphanages and institutionalized care having come of age. At 18 they suddenly find themselves out on the street, without a job, without a place to live and with very little money. Although there are a number of charities working to help them, many of these young people get caught up in the vicious circle of drugs and crime. This week two Prague based charities Vhled and the Centre for Foster Care opened a new community centre in Prague which is to give these young people shelter and guidance.

The government debate over next year's state budget has turned into a battle over wages. The news that police officers can expect a significant pay rise next year has set off an avalanche of protests from teachers, doctors and nurses who are all demanding their share of the pie, reminding the Prime Minister of broken promises.

Next week Radio Prague is going to be broadcasting a world premiere - a radio play by this country's greatest living playwright, former president Vaclav Havel. It is called "Guardian Angel", and although Havel wrote the play in 1968 at the height of the Prague Spring, until this year it had never been translated into English. Radio Prague commissioned a translation and made a recording of the play with two British actors living in Prague.