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Just days ahead of the country's senate and local elections yet another corruption scandal has exploded on the Czech political scene. Jana Hybaskova, leader of the European Democrats, a small centre-right party has accused two Civic Democratic Party ministers and a deputy for the governing party of corruption.

On Wednesday October 18th, the Czech-born tennis legend, Martina Navratilova, celebrates her 50th birthday. Just a few weeks ago, she finally announced her retirement after winning the mixed doubles final with Bob Bryan at the US Open, bringing her Grand Slam titles tally to an incredible 59. But Martina is involved in many other activities, including arts. An exhibition titled Art Grand Slam is now underway in the Czech capital, featuring paintings co-created by the legendary tennis player and a Slovak artist.

Earlier this week Antonin Charouz - the controversial Czech businessman and former race car driver - proposed a new project for Prague that has apparently gained backing of a number of city officials, including Mayor Pavel Bem: that Prague see the construction of a prestigious new racing circuit. On Monday Mr Bem attended a presentation by the businessman at city hall, the new track in Prague but also a hockey arena, a hotel, shopping venues, and more. Could it become a reality?

A growing number of Czech children are at risk from their own parents or guardians. According to a report just released by the Social Affairs Ministry an increasing number of Czech children suffer physical, sexual and psychological abuse in their own homes.

Not only Czech football fans but fans of football from around the world will no doubt welcome news that Chelsea keeper Petr Cech's condition has reportedly improved following surgery in Oxford. At the weekend the star keeper underwent emergency surgery after suffering a skull fracture from a collision between Cech and Reading's Stephen Hunt in the English Premiership. Fans are wishing the keeper a speedy and full recovery.

One of the legends of the Czech underground, Ivan Martin Jirous (1944), has been awarded the 2006 Jaroslav Seifert Prize for literary achievement. The moment that many thought would never come was made official on Monday evening, when Ivan Jirous stood on stage inside Prague's St. Anne's church amongst a crowd of well-wishers and supporters, to accept official recognition for his poetry, and a recently published 500-page collection of his letters from prison.

After four months of futile negotiations, talks on forming a new Czech government are back to square one. President Klaus on Monday started a new round of talks with all parliamentary parties on the options that remain open.

Reports came from Sweden that a Czech air force's fighter jet seriously threatened another aircraft during a joint military exercise last week. The exercise nearly ended in tragedy, when a Czech pilot aimed at the wrong target using live ammunition, only narrowly missing another aircraft in the exercise.

When the former Social Democrat government introduced European Union food hygiene guidelines none protested more loudly than Czech pub owners. They said the strict new standards would bring them to bankruptcy and the ban on serving cooked food which was two days old interfered with the country's "traditions". The Civic Democratic Party - critical of what it called "the government's conformist attitude" towards EU rules and regulations - promised to change things when it came to power. It is now making good that promise. But will the government's

New figures released by the EU statistics office Eurostat this week show that the Czech Republic attracted 8.8 billion euros in foreign direct investment (FDI) last year. This is 5.2 billion euros more than two years previously and higher than foreign direct investment in any other new EU member state. Overall, the Czech Republic ranked eighth among the Union's 25 members.