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There are few Czech politicians who have left such a mark on Czech society as President Vaclav Klaus. He has been in high politics for more than 15 years non-stop and there is hardly anyone who has so many devoted followers and staunch critics at the same time. With a manner that some describe as authoritative and others as unbearably arrogant, Vaclav Klaus leaves few people indifferent and that may be one of the reasons why he is the target of so many jokes. A collection of these jokes has just been published in Prague.

Even though the most famous film festival in the Czech Republic takes place in Karlovy Vary, Prague film fans also have their own chance for an annual taste of the best of world cinema - Febiofest. The Prague part of the festival ended last Friday, but the event now continues in other Czech towns and will later move on to Slovakia.

As in many countries around the world, Friday 8th April was declared a day of mourning in the Czech Republic. It is a sign of just how important the pope's legacy was felt to be - in this most secular of states - that even here flags flew at half mast on public buildings across the country, a very official acknowledgement of the pope's significance to Czechs.

Thursday finally brought a breakthrough in the long drawn-out government crisis: the embattled Czech Prime Minister Stanislav Gross made a shock announcement: he said he was ready to step down and allow a new government to form under a different leader from his own party.

International and national experts came together at Prague's Charles University this week to discuss the legal aspects of counter-terrorism. Besides political, technical, and human rights issues, the conference also focused on inter-state cooperation. Washington and Brussels have clear-cut ways of dealing with terrorism but what about smaller individual countries, such as the Czech Republic, where the threat of a terrorist attack is far smaller?

On Wednesday the Czech government confirmed that it is selling its 51-percent stake in Cesky Telecom to Spain's Telefonica. The price - 82.6 billion crowns, or around 3.5 billion US dollars - was considerably higher than expected, and the sell-off is the last major privatisation of the post-communist era. But who are Telefonica? And what impact will this huge investment have on the Czech telecoms market? I discussed the sell-off with Emir Halilovic, senior analyst at communications group IDC CEMA.

Amidst the drawn out government crisis in the Czech Republic, tax reform has suddenly become the battlefield on which the ailing ruling Social Democrats and the opposition Civic Democrats are fighting for supporters and potential voters. Indeed, the embattled Prime Minister Stanislav Gross wants to link a confidence vote in his Cabinet to a proposed bill on lower taxes. It's an attempt to show the Social Democrats as the party of fiscal reform, and put pressure on the party's partners in the rapidly unravelling coalition to rally again behind

This year the Czech equivalent of 'Pop idol', 'Cesko hleda superstar' celebrates its second birthday. With a third of the adult Czech population following the show - appearing in, let alone winning the competition, guarantees contestants enough exposure to become a star. The media is currently ablaze with talk of the final twelve competitors, and with the fact that a third of them come from Czech minority groups - although they make up just a tiny fraction of the total population. Rosie Johnston has more...

As you are probably well aware by now, a number of events are being held here this year to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. But while many of these commemorations focus on the liberation of Czechoslovakia by foreign armies, some events are also acknowledging the contribution of homegrown anti-Nazi resistance movements. One such event was a commemorative evening held in Prague on Tuesday to acknowledge the contribution of the Czech "partisans" in helping defeat Nazi Germany.

The famous Czech composer Bedrich Smetana was born in the East-Bohemian town of Litomysl. To commemorate the composers' great heritage, every year the city organizes an opera festival that over 47 years has gained great popularity in the Czech Republic. This year the festival takes place between June 17th and July 4th. And of course, visitors from abroad are widely welcome.