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January marks two important anniversaries. It's 30 years since the release of the Charter 77 human rights declaration, and also the 30th anniversary of the so-called "anti-Charter"- the response of the communist regime. Thousands of artists, musicians and writers signed a petition dismissing the Charter 77 signatories as "drop-outs" and "traitors". So many signed - so how do they feel thirty years on?

Many Czechs catch their television news in the early evening, between 7 and 8 o'clock. But which particular news programmes they choose to watch has changed somewhat since the New Year, when Czech Television brought its main evening news forward by 15 minutes. The change also affects hundreds of thousands of Czech children, as a popular animated programme also starts earlier.

On Tuesday, President Vaclav Klaus appointed the second government of Mirek Topolanek, which has yet to ask for a confidence vote in the lower house of parliament. One of the changes compared to his previous cabinet is that the number of women ministers has doubled - from two to four. An opposite trend, however, can be seen in parliament, where the number of women actually dropped after last year's elections. That despite the fact that opinion polls suggest Czechs would like to see more women in politics.

According to the European Union's Statistical Office Eurostat Czechs are at the top end of the European divorce ladder - second only to Belgians and Estonians. At the same time a change of lifestyle after 1989 has resulted in fewer young people tying the knot. So - with the number of divorces on the rise and the number of marriages on the decline - does the institution of marriage have a future in this country?

The disruption of oil supplies to Poland and Germany due to Russia's closure of a pipeline after of a price dispute with Belarus has sent shockwaves through Europe. Although immediate supplies to countries like the Czech Republic are not under threat, the situation has once again raised uncomfortable questions about Europe and the Czech Republic's increasing reliance on Russia as an energy supplier.

Two beer brands both lay claim to the name Budweiser. For decades, an American company, Anheuser-Busch, has been locked in fierce legal battles with a Czech company, Budvar, over who makes the real Budweiser beer. On Monday the two breweries announced a surprise agreement.

On Tuesday politicians, dignitaries and journalists gathered at Prague Castle to witness yet another change of guard. At midday on Tuesday President Vaclav Klaus appointed a new centre-right government made up of the Civic Democrats, the Christian Democrats and the Green Party.

Recently the papers here have been full of alarming reports concerning listeria infection in the Czech Republic. So far this year, there have been a number of highly publicised cases of poisoning with the listeria bacteria, which is often found in certain types of readymade salads and ripe cheeses.

Faced with the task of having to appoint a government he does not approve of, President Klaus on Monday sharply criticized the Civic Democrat party he founded in 1991 and of which he is honorary chairman to this day. In an interview for the weekly Tyden he suggested the time may have come for the birth of a new party which would better represent right-wing voters.

Poland was rocked to its foundations this weekend, when the newly-appointed Archbishop of Warsaw Stanislaw Wielgus was forced to resign after admitting he knowingly collaborated with the communist secret police. Poland is of course a staunchly Catholic nation, but the shockwaves of the Wielgus case can be felt throughout the former communist bloc.