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Schools across the country have held a day of mourning for the teacher who was stabbed to death by one of his own students in the east Bohemian town of Svitavy last week. Schools hoisted black flags in honour of his memory and teachers abandoned regular classes in favour of a debate on violence and aggression in schools.

The Czech Republic's unemployment rate reached nearly 11 percent of the workforce at the end of February. The figure has beaten all expectations and further fuelled the debate about measures to tackle long-term problems on the Czech labour market.

The Czech Republic has overcome a past "boom" in drug abuse and the situation is now far more stable. The government now wants to focus more on the prevention of organised crime, illegal drugs sales and distribution, as well as the negative health impacts on continuing drug abusers.

Last week, an amendment to the Czech Labour Code, which includes a precise reference to "sexual harassment" for the first time, finally took legal effect. The amendment brings the Labour Code into line with that of other EU nations, and it is hoped that it will give more rights to working women. Nevertheless the law is not without its critics.

The right-of-centre Freedom Union, the smallest party in the ruling coalition, held a five-hour emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss how to deal with the departure of two of the party's MPs. The two men's decision to leave the party has called into question the stability of the coalition, which has a fragile majority of just one seat in the lower house.

March 7th marked a very important day in Czech history as it was the 154th anniversary of the birth of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, the founder and first president of an independent Czechoslovakia following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. To commemorate the occasion the current Czech President Vaclav Klaus and Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla paid a visit to his grave. Both consider his legacy to be the most significant in recent Czech history.

Vaclav Klaus made his maiden voyage to Brussels as Czech President on Thursday, for talks with the head of the European Commission Romano Prodi and other senior officials. Mr Klaus - described by some as Eurosceptic and by himself as Eurorealist - used the occasion to air his strident views on EU integration, although he did tone them down somewhat for his European audience.

A breach of security at Prague's Ruzyne Airport has once again alerted officials to the need for constant vigilance. On Thursday a homeless man managed to slip past customs officials and board a plane with no trouble at all -showing just how easy it could be for a potential terrorist to bypass safety checks.

The tragic classroom killing of a teacher in Svitavy this week has received widespread coverage in the media here. It has also engendered much speculation about rising levels of violence in Czech society, particularly among the young.

Mount Everest - the world's highest peak: many skilled mountaineers have strived to conquer its height, but have been forced to turn back short of the summit because of illness or dangerous conditions. Still, for the most intrepid it remains a dream to return to again and again: at 8,850 metres Everest is quite simply the ultimate challenge. As we now report a new Czech team of just three men is setting its sights on Everest with an added challenge: reaching the top without the help of bottled oxygen. Jan Velinger has more.