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The deadly H5N1 virus - bird flu - has made all the headlines in the Czech Republic in recent days and it is safe to say it is only a matter of time before a positive case is confirmed here. Every neighbouring country - the latest, Poland - has already found evidence. Czech poultry farmers as well as regular inhabitants are of course being informed on how to proceed in the event that bird flu is verified - but we wanted to get a sense of the mood outside of Prague.

Three months ahead of parliamentary elections, the ruling Social Democrats are facing a serious dilemma over a proposed new Penal Code. The much needed bill, which among other things reduces sentences for euthanasia, bans the cloning of humans, and introduces higher sentences for murder, lacks an important article against large-scale fraud. The Senate has rejected the bill and deputies are now in two minds over whether or not to support it in its current form. Dita Asiedu reports:

Financial incompetence has been a perennial theme in the Czech Republic in the 16 years since the fall of Communism. The latest news - splashed over the front pages this morning - suggests that little has changed. According to new statistics released by the European Commission, the Czech Republic has little idea how to access the billions of euros allocated to the country by the EU.

March 7th is Tomas Garrigue Masaryk Day in the Czech Republic. It's a day which marks the birthday of Czechoslovakia's first president, and gives many a chance to remember his role in this country's history.

As the Czech tourist industry grows more successful by the year, the air transport business is likewise becoming all the more lucrative. Low-cost airlines are now operating from Prague International Airport in increasing numbers, and with this rise in popularity comes the inevitable competition for customers, with companies drastically reducing air ticket prices in an attempt to entice clients to their airlines. Chris Jarrett takes a closer look at Prague's airfare battle.

General elections are less than three months away and the current state of voter preferences indicates that neither the ruling Social Democrats nor the opposition Civic Democrats may be in a position to form a majority government. Yet, the very idea of a grand coalition remains taboo. The suggestion that the Civic and Social Democrats could enter into a grand coalition in order to change the electoral system from proportional to majority - made by MEP Jan Zahradil last week - sparked heated denials from both parties.

The Czech Republic's art and antique auction houses certainly have a season to look forward to if this year's opening auction at the Dorotheum auction house in Prague is anything to go by. Three records were broken on Saturday. Items valued at 14 million crowns (a little over half a million US dollars) were sold for 22 million (around 900,000 US dollars), the best turnover that the country's established houses have ever witnessed.

The Cold War held the political world on edge until its end in 1991, when the Soviet Union fell. This significant rift in international relations overshadowed world politics for over 45 years. Now, 60 years have passed since Winston Churchill delivered his famous "Iron Curtain" speech, which is widely regarded as the beginning of the Cold War. Chris Jarrett takes a look at the impact of the Iron Curtain on Czechoslovak borders.

Czech demographers have been saying it for years and now it has been confirmed by the EU as well: Czechs are dying out. A population forecast released this week by the EU statistics office Eurostat predicts that by the year 2050 the number of Czechs will drop from 10 million to 8,800,000. Without immigration, the population might plummet to 8.1 million.

Czech efforts to get the EU to take a united stand in condemning Islamic violence in the wake of the controversy over caricatures of the prophet Mohammed have failed to bear fruit - only increasing tension between the Czech Republic and Arab states. Moreover, a number of Arab countries have protested against a documentary on the life of Moslems featured on Czech television, which they say shows Moslems as dangerous radicals.