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The Czech Prime Minister and head of the Social Democratic Party Stanislav Gross has found himself in a predicament that has broken many a politician's back in the democratic world. He is either unable or unwilling to explain the source of the money with which he bought a luxury flat in Prague.

This Monday marks the 220th anniversary of the birth of one of the great daughters of the Czech nation. Magdalena Dobromila Rettigova was a woman of many talents and interests but today she is perhaps best-known for her famous cookery book, which can still be found on many a bookshelf in the Czech Republic.

Following the revolution, Czech society went through a whirlwind of change. Jiri Svoboda's new film Sametove Vrazi, Velvet Murderers, examines the shadow of the post-revolutionary euphoria. The film is based on the true story of five men whose drive to take advantage of the new market opportunities spun out of control and led them to commit a series of unprecedented gruesome murders for relatively insignificant amounts of money.

After five years of field studies in Roma settlements in Eastern Slovakia, cultural anthropologist, Marek Jakoubek has sparked controversy. He claims that the Roma are not an ethnic group, arguing that they do not identify themselves as such. Jakoubek's claims have caused fury in some circles. He presented his ideas at a conference about multiculturalism in Prague this week.

Iraqis living abroad have begun casting their votes in the country's landmark general election, two days before polling stations open in Iraq. Members of the Iraqi community living in the Czech Republic registered for the vote last week in neighbouring Germany and most of them are going to the polls on Saturday, to join what is probably the largest ever out-of-country voting programme.

In Brno's National Theatre last week 'the halls were alive' with the sound of Britain's Royal Opera. Under the direction of David Pountney, and the baton of Christian von Gehren, members of the Royal Opera were in the Czech Republic's second city to perform the lesser-known first version of Bohuslav Martinu's 'Greek Passion'. Some 48 years after its completion, this was its Czech premiere. Rosie Johnston explains exactly what took so long...

A special "People-to-People" cultural exchange project between the EU and Japan was launched in Prague this week. It is an initiative which hopes to raise awareness of Japanese culture in the countries of the European Union. Various events will be held in the Czech Republic over the coming year within the framework of the project.

A week of commemorative ceremonies remembering the Holocaust reaches a climax on Thursday, with special events on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the Nazi death camps, where over 1.5 million Jews lost their lives. Six million Jews were murdered in Europe as part of Hitler's so-called "final solution".

The internationally renowned Czech mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozena this week released a gorgeous new album of arias and cantonatos. Entitled Lamento, it features little-known music by the Bach family; in many ways it allows Kozena to take up and explore the themes of a successful earlier CD, a selection of arias by Johann Sebastian Bach which was her debut on the Deutsche Grammophon label in 1999.

Prague Castle is more than just a pretty place - it also plays host to a wide array of cultural events, including this year some 18 exhibitions, 30 musical events and almost 100 theatre performances. The Castle authorities have just presented their rich cultural programme for 2005, and visitors won't be disappointed; they can look forward to everything from Charles IV's burial shroud to theatre from the Japanese Imperial court.