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British stag parties careering noisily through the streets have become an increasingly common sight in Prague. These male drinking groups are evidently attracted by the cheap beer on sale in the Czech capital, among other things. We have a look at this growing phenomenon.

A new book called "Can You Hear Us?" is about to hit book shelves in the Czech Republic. Its author Pavla Gomba, head of the Czech branch of UNICEF, has lent her voice to those who have trouble making themselves heard: victims of famine, AIDS and poverty in Africa and Asia. In the book Mrs. Gomba tells the life stories of 3 people whom she encountered during her working visits to this part of the world. It is a book that portrays not only the suffering but also the hope and courage of those for whom life is a daily fight for survival. At the book

Last week, the Governmental Board on Coordination of Drug Policy in the Czech Republic published data from the European School Survey on Alcohol and Other Drugs, revealing that every second Czech sixteen-year-old has got some experience with drugs. Not much to be proud of. Even so there are some positive improvements.

Last week we reported from the Czech Republic's second city of Brno on a major festival devoted to the Czech composer, Leos Janacek. But the festival isn't the only event under way in the city related to the Moravian capital's greatest musical son. This year is the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth, and on Friday two new exhibitions opened in Brno, devoted to Leos Janacek. David Vaughan spoke with the director of Brno's House of the Arts, Jitka Vitaskova.

The Czech Republic is no longer considered a transit country by illegal migrants. Statistics released by the Czech Foreign Police earlier this week, suggest that the number of people attempting to cross the borders into Germany and Austria illegally has decreased, while the number of foreigners staying in the country without residence permits is on the rise. Dita Asiedu has more:

The well-known polling agency TNS Factum recently completed the latest chapter in an on-going study mapping Czechs' relationship to advertising in the media. The poll, which began over a decade ago, traditionally asks how Czechs feel about ads - whether they feel there is over-saturation in the media, what standards they expect, how they feel about the display of sex, and whether or not they are ultimately influenced by the ads when they go to the store.

The third year of the Make a Connection program was officially launched this week. The programme aims to help instil civic values in young people by supporting youth development projects. The programme also hopes to help youngsters learn valuable life skills.

What is your opinion of modern architecture? Geometric slabs of concrete, white stuccoed flat-roofed buildings that go mouldy after a decade. Wherever you are in the world you may have formed your opinion on the architectural movement that was later deemed "the international style". Its practical advantages prompted its rapid development worldwide, although it was certainly not to everyone's liking. Today, the Prague Castle Imperial Stables are opening their exhibit of Stuttgart 1927 - A Vision of Modern Style.

An inspection by the health ministry at a psychiatric children's ward in the town of Bites has revealed gross malpractice: unnecessarily large amounts of tranquilizers to pacify distraught patients, injections being used as a form of punishment, children being placed in isolation and left there for much too long -even restrictions on taking a shower. As one of the inspectors put it "the place looked as if time had stood still for forty years and more" The results of the inspection -which was made on the grounds of a complaint from the Children

Janacek fever has hit the Czech Republic's second city, the Moravian capital, Brno. This year sees two major anniversaries in connection with Leos Janacek, one of the giants in the history of Czech music and perhaps Moravia's greatest son. It's the 150th anniversary of his birth, and this week is the 100th anniversary of the premiere in Brno of one of Janacek's greatest works, the opera, Jenufa. The Moravian capital is marking the event in style, as David Vaughan reports from Brno.