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The beginning of December saw the formal launching of NATO's new multi-national Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Defence Battalion in the town of Liberec. It is undeniably a moment of primary importance for the Czech Republic, assigned to lead the 500 member battalion which includes members from twelve other NATO countries including Canada, Great Britain, Turkey, Spain, and Italy. The core of the Czech team ranks some 160 NBC specialists, who have built a strong reputation in the field, in peace and wartime, in their ability to defend and

If you don't have any plans for 2005 yet, we suggest you to visit the world EXPO exhibition in Aichi, Japan. The organizers recently introduced a virtual model of the exhibition area. And the Czech Republic is getting ready, too.

Every summer, at the height of the holiday season, it is sometimes hard to hear Czech spoken on the streets of Prague. This is because the city is so full of visitors coming to look at the glories of the place that was once considered to be a "jewel in the Habsburg crown". Despite, the huge numbers coming to visit this country, however, a professional association has recently announced that the Czech Republic could be doing more to reap the benefits of tourism.

With the magic of Christmas right around the corner, children and adults alike are getting into the spirit of the season, not just by scouring the shopping malls. Outside of Prague below the Medieval Karlstein Castle, lies the Karlstein Nativity Museum. The museum specializes in authentic old Czech Nativity scenes dating as far back as the end of the 18th century crafted from the materials of wood, paper and sugar.

Within the framework of a humanitarian aid project 18 seriously ill Iraqi children were flown from Basra to Prague in recent months to receive specialized medical care unavailable in their homeland. Thirteen of them had serious heart defects the rest had severe burns and injuries. This week cardio specialists at Prague's Motol hospital met with the press to report on their progress. Dr. Jan Skovranek is head of the Motol cardio centre for young children:

The Czech Republic seems to be experiencing one weather extreme after another. Last year, the country saw the worst flooding in 500 years. This year a long and very hot summer combined with lower rainfall than usual to make 2003 one of the driest years in recent memory.

All eyes will be on Brussels in the next couple of days, as the European Union's current members and the ten new countries joining in May attempt to hammer out an agreement on the EU's first constitution. Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla arrived at the inter-governmental conference, or IGC, on Wednesday with one of the Czech Republic's main demands - a voting member of the European Commission for all 25 states - evidently agreed on. Ivo Slosarcik of the think tank Europeum told me other key issues could be harder to resolve.

According to the latest data, the Czech economy grew by 3.4 percent in the third quarter, which exceeded all expectations. The consumption-driven growth, however, is closely linked with a worrying increase in household indebtedness.

The independent Prague cinema Aero is this week showing a series of films under the title "Censorship and Obscenity in Film". The festival's special guest is American director Paul Morrissey, who is introducing films he made when he was one of artist Andy Warhol's closest associates. Featuring drug addicts, homosexuals and prostitutes, films like "Flesh" and "Heat" document the seedy side of late-1960s/early-1970s New York. Despite the fact that Paul Morrissey wrote and directed all of his films, they are often credited to Warhol: I asked Mr Morrissey

With many well known supermodels such as Eva Herzigova and Karolina Kurkova, the Czech Republic has more than its fair share of high-profile figures in the fashion industry. However, a recent incident in Mexico, which resulted in a Czech model being very badly beaten, has brought the potential downside of this business into focus.