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This past Sunday, Ludvik Vaculik celebrated his 80th birthday. One of the Czech Republic's most well-known and respected writers, Ludvik Vaculik has been part of the Czech literary scene since the 1950s. He has written several novels, literally hundreds of essays, not to mention some of the most important political texts of twentieth century Czechoslovak history.

The current hot and dry weather is causing many problems - from increased fire hazard to crops withering in the fields. Those who can use the opportunity to cool down in the country's numerous lakes. But the quality of the water there can also be gravely affected by the heat-wave, which increases the growth of micro-organisms known as cyanobacteria. They produce poisons which can be dangerous for people and therefore a number of lakes have been closed to visitors.

There's been a noticeable improvement in driving standards in the three weeks since the introduction of a controversial points system, with most drivers showing far more respect for the rules of the road, most noticeably the speed limit. Unfortunately the head of the Czech police force, Vladislav Husak, is not among them. Mr Husak has surrendered his driving licence after being caught by a newspaper doing 190 km an hour on a motorway.

This week marks the 20th anniversary of one of the most dramatic escapes from communist Czechoslovakia, when two men crossed the border into Austria on home-made chairs hanging from electrical power lines.

The new transport law is also tougher when it comes to punishments for drunk drivers. Although officially, alcohol behind the wheel was not allowed before either, police often found their hands tied when it came to enforcing the law. Czechs are known to be a nation of beer-lovers and with the tough new law in place they seem to be turning towards alcohol-free varieties of beer. In July, several Czech breweries have reported increased orders.

About 100 metres from our studios here at Radio Prague - at the top of Wenceslas Square - runs a very noisy road, the Magistrala. It's bad enough working near it but hard to imagine living beside it. Close to 3,000 people from a residential area adjoining it say Prague City Hall has done little to curb the noise pollution caused by the road. They are now taking their case to court and filed a joint lawsuit against City Hall on Wednesday. Dita Asiedu reports.

The Czech Republic inched its way closer to a way out of the political stalemate on Wednesday, a stalemate which has gripped the country since inconclusive parliamentary elections seven weeks ago. There are now increasing signs the two main parties are reconciled to reaching some sort of deal on sharing power.

Many parts of Europe have been hit by a heat wave and the Czech Republic is no exception, with record temperatures recorded in different parts of the country this week. How are people coping with the extreme heat? Praguers who can get away from their jobs are fleeing to the countryside. But tourists and those who must work in the scorching city are not so lucky.

The height of the summer tourist season in the Czech capital comes with a sharp increase of tourists in the streets, as well as an increase in crime. Signs in trams and the subway system—written in both Czech and English—warn people to keep a close eye on their belongings. Pickpockets are everywhere. Still, in search of a better deal, some people enter the trap of con artists operating in the tourist zones.

The Czech Republic has a brand new official website www.czech.cz which features information on everything from castles and chateaux to how to find a job in this country. The site has over 1,500 pages of text and is currently available in English, German and Czech versions. Jana Adamcova is the head of the Foreign Ministry's department of foreign presentation; she explained the aims of czech.cz at its official launch.