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It's that time of year again. Saturday, in case you didn't know, is St. Valentine's Day. Although the origins of this tradition are uncertain, it has long been customary for people in the Anglo-Saxon world to give their lovers a small token of appreciation such as flowers or cards on this day. In recent years, St. Valentine's Day has also been establishing itself as a tradition in the Czech Republic.

The Czech public transport system often comes in for praise: tickets are affordable and there are few places in the country that are inaccessible without a car. The national rail operator, Ceske Drahy, or Czech Railways, carries half a million passengers a day, a huge figure in a country of only ten million. But a dispute between Czech Railways management and its drivers could leave hundreds of thousands of people stranded for two days.

This week, the Society for Czech Landscape and the Czech Chamber of Architects announced that preparations were underway for their third conference on the state of both the urban and rural environment in the Czech Republic. The conference, which was first held on the initiative of former President Václav Havel, provides a discussion platform for those who have a professional or personal interest in the Czech landscape.

Following the recent passing in the Senate of a bill on improving air quality, the government on Wednesday approved a further plan to cut emission levels from over a hundred major polluters, to meet European criteria. Zuzana Vesela has more.

Fourteen years after the end of communist rule the Czechs are still not living in a free market economy. One of the relics of the communist state controlled economy that previous governments did not have the courage to do away with, has come back to haunt the current ruling coalition. It is called "regulated rents". A measure which guarantees about a third of Czech households stable, low rents, often in areas where unfortunate tenants pay several times more for similar flats. While the parties in the governing coalition are haggling over a ten

Many well known personalities from the world of Czech culture gathered on Tuesday to denounce government plans to increase VAT on cultural events from 5 percent to 19 percent. Among them were actresses Jirina Bohdalova and Jirina Jiraskova, actors Rudolf Hrusinsky and Tomas Topfer and the Oscar-nominated director Ondrej Trojan. The venue was provided by the culture minister, Pavel Dostal, who describes the proposed tax hike as "nonsense", and has said he will break cabinet ranks and vote against it.

Recent outbreaks of tuberculosis in the North-Bohemian towns of Chabarovice and Dolni Poustevna, which resulted in the death of one 52-year-old man, have caused some alarm among the local population. Against a background of regular reports from the former Soviet Union that the illness is on the increase there, there are fears that this disease, which many thought was no longer a threat, is making a bit of a comeback. We take a closer look at the measures in place for tackling TB in the Czech Republic.

President Vaclav Klaus is soaring in the popularity ratings. A year into office, he seems to be relishing his role as head of state. A new poll suggests he has hit the pulse of public opinion, with the trust of over two-thirds of Czechs, well ahead of his nearest rivals. Mr Klaus has never been a stranger to controversy, and when he was prime minister, public opinion about him was deeply divided. So what has led to President Klaus winning the hearts of so many Czechs, even many who don't share his political views? Dita Asiedu reports:

This coming Sunday, February 15th, marks the 80th anniversary of the birth of Jiri Slitr near the town of Semily in north Bohemia. Slitr was a man of many talents: he was a singer, pianist, composer and actor, as well as a qualified lawyer. His main love was jazz, and in his mid 20s he helped set up a group called the Czechoslovak Dixieland Jazz Band.

The 54th Berlin International Film Festival, the Berlinale, is currently underway in the German capital. Dita Asiedu spoke to Jana Cernik from the Czech Film Centre early on Monday morning, to find out how the centre is promoting Czech cinematography at the festival this year: