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It's not just the general public that have been raising money to help the flood victims. Many well-known public figures have also been doing their bit. Among them is the famous jazzman and flute player Jiri Stivin, who had a special reason for helping. Mr Stivin was among the Czechs who returned from the disaster-affected regions in recent days. He had planned a long Christmas holiday in Sri Lanka with his girlfriend, but the tsunami disaster brought all that to an end. I met Jiri Stivin after his return and asked him about his personal experience

In terms of its architecture Prague has long ranked as one of the most beautiful capitals in the world, but fifteen years ago it was also a site of devastation: a city full of crumbling facades and long-neglected, run-down buildings. Today it is unrecognisable. Every year since 1989 the city has seen millions of crowns of private investment pour into the restoration of the fabric of the old city, under the cautious supervision of conservation officers. Now the work of Prague's conservation office, as well as some of its successes, and some of the

The Czech Republic has pledged over 300 million crowns in aid to the tsunami devastated region. Over 200 million crowns will come from state coffers, the rest from public donations to humanitarian aid organizations. Several planeloads of emergency supplies have already been flown to the region and now the government and charities are busy outlining longer-term projects. We called Vojtech Ralek of the Czech Catholic Charity to find out how their plans are taking shape.

Jiri Jarosik is not one of the biggest stars in Czech football. Indeed, he didn't even make it to the Czech squad for the European Championships in Portugal last summer. But now the 27-year-old has been handed what he calls the greatest chance of his life - a move to England's Chelsea, possibly the most talked about club in the world at the moment.

Across Europe, Wednesday was a day of mourning for the victims of the tsunami disaster in south-east Asia. As sirens sounded across the country, Czechs observed three minutes of silence as a mark of respect for the dead. A wave of public sympathy for the plight of the afflicted region has resulted in the biggest public collection since the devastating floods of 2002 which left thousands of people in central Europe homeless.

With the New Year thousands of Czechs found themselves having to dig deeper into their pockets. Under a new health ministry regulation, they have to pay up to twenty times more for many prescription drugs, ranging from blood pressure regulators to anti-depressants. In order to cover a wider range of drugs, health insurance companies have reduced their subsidies on others, forcing Czechs dependent on them either to pay more or settle for less.

Some of those who have their heart in the right place are musicians on the Czech Pop scene, not least the country's first Pop Idol, Aneta Lanegrova. Aneta, just 19, will lead a gala benefit concert this coming Sunday to raise proceeds for Indonesia, the country worst hit by the tsunami disaster.

Staked out by paparazzi, the Czech supermodel Petra Nemcova, who was seriously injured when deadly tsunamis struck southeast Asia last month — and whose boyfriend is among those still missing — has agreed to be photographed from her hospital bed in Thailand to raise money for a children's charity.

Over a week after the Indian Ocean disaster, 23 Czechs are still missing with one confirmed dead and seven more unlikely to have survived. Most of the survivors who have returned to the Czech Republic have been reunited with their families, though three people have been put in quarantine at Prague's Bulovka hospital.

As every year after the Christmas and New Year's holidays, this Monday most of the retailers in the Czech Republic opened their stores with huge seasonal sales. But this time the discounts were much higher than in previous years. The general shopping binge was so big that it even caused long queues and traffic jams in several Czech cities.