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December 8th is the anniversary of the death of John Lennon, who was a powerful symbol of non-conformity for young people throughout Communist-ruled Europe. On the anniversary of his death, the annual underground memorials at Prague's "John Lennon wall" during the 1980s are recalled by somebody who was there.

Some time ago 250 thousand students from 41 countries around the world were given identical exam papers - nothing unusual in that - except that in this case the idea was to grade education systems rather than individuals. The results of this OECD study came out this week and gave the Czech education authorities plenty of food for thought. Daniela Lazarova has been following the story. So, Daniela how did Czech kids do?

Czech music fans and musicians were deeply saddened on Tuesday by the news that the singer-songwriter Zuzana Navarova has died of cancer at the age of just 45. Her death came as a shock to many: she appeared in concert only last month, and received a gold record for 10,000 sales of her 2001 CD Barvy vsecky.

A small porcelain plate featuring a blackberry motif and made in Bohemia in 1911, has been offered for auction on the internet for an opening bid of just under 50, 000 U.S. dollars, and could conceivably go for a lot more. The reason? The plate is a one-of-a-kind memento taken from the doomed RMS Titanic as it sank on its maiden voyage on April 14th 1912. Only around 700 of more than 2,000 passengers survived, and, as Jan Velinger reports, one of them held on to this small plate.

The Czech architect Jan Kaplicky is the man behind Future Systems, one of the most innovative design offices in the world. He is perhaps best known for the futuristic Selfridges building in the English city of Birmingham and the remarkable media centre at Lord's cricket ground in London. Mr Kaplicky, 67, is now the subject of a documentary entitled Profil, or Profile.

The Civic Democrats, the right wing opposition party widely tipped to win the next parliamentary elections, have officially adopted a policy rejecting the planned European Constitution outright. This puts the party in line with the most firmly Euro-sceptic forces in the EU, such as the British Conservatives. Although the Civic Democrat's honorary chairman, President Vaclav Klaus, has never hidden his strongly Euro-sceptic views, this is the first time that the whole party leadership has come down behind him. But at the same time polls suggest that

Two years ago when Mirek Topolanek was first elected to head the country's main opposition party, the right-of-centre Civic Democrats, he was an untried entity. Many observers felt the Czech senator would have a difficult time filling the shoes of his well-known and charismatic predecessor Vaclav Klaus. But since then Mirek Topolanek has proven he's the man for the job, and from his perspective things have gone swimmingly. At least, so far.

Those are the footsteps, voices and rattling chains of a memorable trio who visited children all across the Czech Republic on Sunday night. This was the annual celebration of St. Nicholas's Day or "Mikulas", commemorating the third century saint who was persecuted for his beliefs as Bishop of Myra in today's Turkey. St. Nicholas was known for his zealous defense and advancing of Christianity, and a host of holy deeds, such as helping sailors and fishermen in distress, ensuring people had enough food in times of famine and defending widows, children

An old saying goes, "in Prague is bliss" but a recent study shows that in fact, Hradec Kralove is the place to live in the Czech Republic. This town located about 100 km east of Prague scored very well on ten quality of life indicators including employment, housing, crime and quality of the environment. In contrast, the city of Louny, placed 60 km north-west of Prague was dubbed the worst place to live.

The 2005 World Exposition in Aichi, Japan is expected to be something of a revelation. The organizers have moved away from the traditional concept of "trademark" goods and have chosen a theme that will inspire participants to make a unique and imaginative presentation: Nature's Wisdom. This week, Daniela Lazarova got a small preview of what the Czech Republic will bring to Expo 2005.