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The European Union recently gave the green light for Slovenia to adopt the common European currency the euro in 2007. Slovenia therefore becomes the first of the ten states who joined the EU in 2004 to also join the eurozone. But when will the Czech Republic be ready for adoption? And in any case how enthusiastic are Czechs about the euro?

Rents on around 750,000 flats in the Czech Republic are still regulated by the state. But following years of restitution and privatisation, many apartment buildings are now owned by private landlords who say they cannot cover maintenance costs. A law was approved this year aimed at gradually adjusting rents to their market values. The plan was to increase rents by just over 14 percent a year over the next four years. Until Tuesday that is, when the Local Development Ministry said new figures on market values mean rents will have to rise by just

Tom Stoppard, one of the greatest living playwrights, has written a new play called Rock 'n' Roll and it includes some serious Czech content. Set in two locations—Prague and Cambridge—the scenes shift from those taking place in Czechoslovakia between 1968 and 1989, to those in England which revolve around the family of an academic Marxist, Max Morrow. The connecting point is a Czech student studying at Cambridge, Jan, who falls in love with Max's daughter. Described as a tragicomic family saga intertwined with a political drama set in Normalization-era Czechoslovakia,

Sales of condoms in the Czech Republic have fallen quite dramatically, according to figures just released: around ten percent fewer condoms were sold between May 2005 and April 2006 than in the same period two years earlier. What are the reasons for this evident fall in condom use? And what are the possible consequences? Dr Petr Weiss, one of the country's leading sex therapists, elaborates on the issue:

It began as a rumour, but is now beginning to take shape. The United States, it seems, is serious about plans to build controversial new missile bases in Central Europe. The Americans reportedly have their eyes on a number of potential locations, and several Czech politicians have already given the idea their support. But the timing of the project could not be less fortunate - with so much uncertainty over the future government.

Fifteen years ago, on June 27th, 1991, commander general Eduard Vorobyev headed east from Prague to Kyiv. A year and a half after the Velvet Revolution, he was the last Soviet soldier to leave Czechoslovak territory after 23 years of military occupation.

How healthy is the Czech Republic's health care system? Not very, according to a new Europe-wide study by a consumer body called the Health Consumer Powerhouse. It ranks the Czech Republic 22nd in the 25-member European Union. The study takes into account five areas - patients' rights and information, waiting time for treatment, results of health care, the "generosity" of public healthcare systems, and access to medicines. Dita Asiedu reports:

The Czech Republic regularly criticizes human rights abuses in places like Cuba and Belarus. However the Czechs now find themselves the subject of criticism: the United States says some North Koreans in the Czech Republic are being exploited by Czech employers - in tandem with the North Korean embassy - and are forced to work in slave-like conditions.

After three long weeks of negotiations, the Civic Democrats, the Christian Democrats and the Greens have just signed an agreement to form a government. But the centre-right coalition faces an uphill battle; one seat short of a majority, it cannot win a vote of confidence without the support of the Social Democrats. So, does the coalition agreed on Monday have a real chance of governing? Dita Asiedu reports:

The streets and squares of Prague were turned into temporary laboratories and research centres this weekend for a project called "Science in the Streets." Organised for the second year running by the Czech scientific body Ceska Hlava, or Czech Brain, it's an attempt to attract more young people to scientific careers.