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Thanks to a programme organized by Prague's Charles University and the Foreign Ministry, Czech emigres, expatriates and their descendants can come the Czech Republic to study Czech language and culture. For more that ten years every August, the summer school has been held in Dobruska a small town in eastern Bohemia nestled in the Orlicke Mountains. Heather Bowne went along.

The weekly The Economist has called it one of the funniest European films of the year and the most successful spoof in Czech history: we are of course talking about Vit Klusak and Filip Remunda's "Czech Dream" - a new documentary showing how two film students fooled hundreds of Czech shoppers to believe in a non-existent new mall - with extraordinarily funny results. Following initial success at home, the film went on to its international premiere at Locarno last week and we caught up with one of the filmmakers, Filip Remunda, via telephone to get

The Czech Republic is mourning the death of a great hockey player and coach, Ivan Hlinka, who passed away Monday. He died when his car collided with a truck just outside Karlovy Vary in Western Bohemia.

Esmeralda, Vanessa, Antonio. After a decade in which Czechs experimented with every name under the sun, including Vinetou and Midnight Storm, parents are coming to appreciate traditional Czech names again. Today's maternity wards are full of babies called Tereza, Eliska, Jan and Tomas.

The Czech Cabinet has barely been in office for a fortnight and it is already facing its first big scandal - the head of the Office of the Government, Pavel Pribyl, is reported to have a shady past. It emerged shortly after he took office last week that Mr. Pribyl allegedly headed a communist riot police unit that was sent to break up anti-communist protests in the streets of Prague in January 1989, on the anniversary of the death of Jan Palach.

Cultural heritage and tolerance: those were the issues discussed by a varied group of 32 young people, who have just spent two weeks at a disused mill in a village called Vrsovice in north Bohemia. The participants - from all over the world - explored their cultural heritage, and how it is presented in their everyday life. Radio Prague visited the camp as the group put on various types of performances, reflecting what they had learned by spending so much time together. Jana Tikalova is from the group OPIM, which supports the integration of minorities

Czech insurance companies and global re-insurers were hit hard by claims in the wake of the 2002 floods. Insurers have since invested heavily into computerised assessment tools.

August 13th of 2002 is a day that remains firmly etched into people's minds. Exactly two years ago the Czech Republic - and indeed large parts of central Europe - were hit by devastating floods. Here in the Czech Republic 17 people lost their lives, 50, 000 Prague residents were evacuated from their homes, hundreds of people were left homeless and in some cases entire villages lay in ruins.

Covering an event as extensive as the summer Olympic Games can only be described a dream come true for a young sports journalist - though certainly no walk in the park. With dozens of venues to visit, intense heat, the crush of the crowds, as well as the excitement of the games themselves, it can all be a little overwhelming. No sweat, though for our Czech colleagues in Athens. We'll go over now to Czech Radio's Tomas Kohout as he talks to Czech TV reporter Lukas Pribyl ahead of the games. They enjoy the calm before the storm, relaxing by the

The incoming European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso on Thursday unveiled the line-up of the new EU executive, which will take office in November. The former Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla will be responsible for the employment, social affairs and equal opportunities portfolio. Pavla Horakova spoke to the head of the Brussels based think tank, the Centre for European Policy studies, Karel Lannoo, to ask how important Mr Spidla's new portfolio will be in the EU administration.