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The Czech football goalkeeper Petr Cech made headlines around the world when he suffered a potentially life-threatening injury during a game with his club Chelsea in October. There were fears that the injury, a skull fracture, could keep him out of action for the rest of the season, and even worries he might never regain his world's-best form. But Cech has made a fantastic recovery - and a speedy return. He conceded two goals in his first game back on January 20, but since then has kept several clean sheets. I asked Petr Cech how satisfied he was

The sentencing of the chairman of Hyundai Motors has rocked South Korea and sent shockwaves through the car world. Chung Mong-koo was sentenced to three years in prison on Monday for embezzlement and breach of trust. Mr Chung - who vowed to appeal - is accused of feathering his nest with a multi-million dollar slush fund, which was also used to bribe politicians. The case is being keenly watched here in the Czech Republic, where work has begun on a huge Hyundai car plant.

The head of the Czech branch of Interpol has been revealed to be a former StB secret police agent. The interior minister has confirmed that Pavol Mihal used a false name when he applied for security screening. Now his days at Interpol look numbered. But is it possible other former agents pulled off a similar trick?

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which met in Paris last week, sent its gravest message yet regarding global warming on Friday. This group of scientists and climate experts concluded with at least 90 percent certainty that greenhouse gas emissions from human activity as opposed to natural processes were warming the planet. These threaten drastic changes, which could have far-reaching consequences for the future of mankind. Czech delegates also took part in the meeting and have stated that they hope this will spur further discussion

Although talks on a possible US anti-missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland have barely begun the idea has already met with plenty of controversy. Russian President Vladimir Putin last week slammed the plan as an attempt to change the strategic balance in Europe, saying that Russia would come up with a "highly effective" response. Many Czechs consider it a threat to national security and some EU members have unofficially criticized the fact that the US missile base would be part of a bilateral defense agreement. Czech MEP Libor

When Karel Capek's play Bila Nemoc or The White Plague first came out in 1937, it was seen as a warning against the dangers of fascism, which was sweeping through Europe at that time. It turned out to be a very prophetic play, as German Nazi forces overran Czechoslovakia the following year, paving the way for a conflict that rocked the world.

Saturday is the tenth anniversary of the death of acclaimed Czech author Bohumil Hrabal. Although he published his first major work well into his forties, Hrabal soon achieved great fame. The film adaptation of his "Closely Observed Trains" won an Oscar only three years after the book's publication. Banned for several years by the communist authorities, for some Hrabal had the status of a cult writer. Others preferred the film adaptations of his works to his books. In any case, for decades Bohumil Hrabal was a legend in this country.

President Vaclav Klaus has made no attempt to hide his lack of enthusiasm for the new coalition government. In the months of political deadlock that preceded the appointment of the new administration, the president and Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek clashed on a number of occasions over the president's reluctance to appoint a government supported by rebel MPs. This has led to speculation that support for the president within his own party may have suffered as a result. Some analysts even say this could have an impact on his re-election next

Rolling hills and coniferous forests are what you would call typical Czech landscape, but with the climatic changes affecting central Europe that may be about to change. In the wake of devastating gale-force winds, environmental experts are advising forest owners to think about mixed forests instead.

Thousands of public officials have had their pasts scrutinised under a lustration or screening law adopted two years after the fall of communism. It aims to stop former senior officials, agents and collaborators reaching high office today. Now, a full decade and a half later, the Czech Republic's Roman Catholic Church is also beginning to screen its priests for evidence of collaboration with the communist-era secret police, the StB.