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The leading British insurance company Norwich Union has carried out a survey of theft and personal safety in various holiday destinations around the globe. It doesn't make very positive reading for the Czech authorities: according to Norwich Union, you're more likely to have your pocket picked in the Czech Republic than anywhere else in the world. Dawn McMullan is the company's travel project manager:

There aren't many places in the Czech Republic where you would find orchids growing in the wild. A protected nature reserve in Orlicke hory is one of them. It boasts two meadows of broad-leaved march orchids (Dactylorhiza majalis) which create a purple haze every summer. Last weekend they were the target of thieves, who uprooted more than 600 bulbs of these precious flowers.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus is visiting Romania this week to meet the country's top officials as it gears up to join the European Union, together with its neighbour Bulgaria. EU membership has been high on the agenda of talks with Romania's top officials, as well as the United States visa requirements, a concern shared by both countries.

Czechs drink an average 161 litres of beer annually, about thirty percent more than their German neighbours. But surveys suggest that the number of women partaking of "liquid bread" is slowly decreasing. That's because they aren't aware that beer is actually good for them, says the Czech Research Institute for Brewing and Malting.

Visitors to the Czech Republic may have noticed that their dollars or euros don't go as far as they did even a year or two ago, as the Czech currency - the crown - gets stronger. In fact, says a new report by Bloomberg, the crown has gained the most strength compared to all other currencies in the world over the last year. Financial analyst David Marek of Patria Finance explains why the Czech crown is enjoying such success:

The 41st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival came to an end on Saturday and its organisers certainly have cause for celebration. By Wednesday, the number of accredited visitors had surpassed that for the entire festival last year. Overall close to 136,000 viewers attended the screenings of 268 feature films and documentaries.

The outgoing Czech prime minister and Social Democrat leader Jiri Paroubek has shocked many European Social Democrats -including Czech MEPs - by openly supporting Slovakia's leftist Prime Minister Robert Fico despite the fact that he had formed a coalition with a far-right nationalist party. The Strasbourg-based assembly's Socialist caucus is demanding that Mr. Fico's Smer party be excluded from the Party of European Socialists, an umbrella organization for left wing parties in the 25-nation European Union. The Czech prime minister insists that

The Czech Pop Idol Aneta Langerova has been enjoying quite a bit of success here in the Czech Republic and she's been using it for a good cause. She staged an open air concert during the Karlovy Vary film festival to which she invited a number of special guests - young and talented singers, who have not been able to make it in the music scene because they are blind. The concert was in support of a Czech Radio project called Svetluska, which organized a number of events at the festival to bring people who do not have visual disabilities closer to

Rarely does a new law cause so much controversy and yet have so much of an impact. A new points system for driving offences went into effect at the weekend with stunning results - the lowest number of deaths on the road since 1988, and the lowest number of accidents in ten years. That is clearly good news. But, despite this, the new transport law which has caused a minor revolution of Czech roads may not survive in its present form.

The Czechs may be out of the World Cup and the ice hockey season is long over - but fans can still take heart in at least one world class sporting event and that is none other than the Wimbledon tennis championships, where one Czech player at least is so far enjoying success.