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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.

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.

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:

Over the weekend, following calls of support from party members from his constituency in Central Bohemia, Interior Minister and Social Democrat deputy chairman Stanislav Gross admitted he might run against current party chairman and Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla for the reigns of his party's leadership next year. Calls for Mr Spidla's unseating have dogged the prime minister for over a year, but until now Stanislav Gross - long considered his party's crown prince - has backed away from any such challenge. Could that all be about to change? Jan

The public administration has become more acutely aware of the value of cooperation with the NGO sector. Such co-operation is vital for the democratic development of institutions in the Czech Republic. It was not like this, however, at the beginning of the 90s. Now, though, the Ministry of Justice along with Transparency International have just published a database, which they hope will speed up business registration in the Czech Republic.

The Czech Republic has always enjoyed a good reputation thanks to its beautiful women and its delicious brew. But if Czechs continue to live the comfortable life-style they adopted after the fall of the totalitarian regime, they may soon make headlines for a different reason - representing the fattest nation in Europe. Czech doctors have been recording a growing number of overweight and obese patients, not only among adults but with children too. Some five percent of Czech minors are obese. Due to this alarming growth, the Czech weight watcher

For seven years the annual campaign "Thirty Days for the Civic Sector" has been trying to promote non governmental organisations in the Czech Republic. Since Czech NGOs still don't enjoy as much support as their European colleagues, this year's campaign is focused on giving people more information.

Not only is Sir Charles Mackerras one of the world's great conductors, but he has also done more than anyone else to draw international attention to Czech music. Leos Janacek, who was born 150 years ago this year, is Sir Charles's great musical passion, and it was rather apt that a major festival of Janacek's music in the composer's home town of Brno should have culminated in an honorary doctorate being awarded to Sir Charles by the city's Janacek Academy of Musical Arts. Radio Prague's Jaromir Marek was there, and took the opportunity to talk

The Czech parliament is preparing for a heated debate on the adoption of a European arrest warrant in this country. The measure is intended to help counteract terrorism and organised crime, and is also necessary for EU membership. Nevertheless, because the implementation of a European arrest warrant requires countries to change their own national legislation, some people fear that it will lead to a loss of sovereignty.

When the European Union enlarges on May 1 several of the EU's bigger countries - such as France, Italy and Germany - will restrict access to migration from the ten new member countries. One of the few countries which will not place such restrictions is Great Britain. In recent days there have been press reports in the UK that Tony Blair's government plans to tighten welfare regulations before May 1, fearing an influx of Romany welfare claimants from the Czech Republic and other former Eastern Bloc states.