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Being the parent of a small child while making one's living at the same time is not an easy thing to do in the Czech Republic, as there is a serious shortage of day nurseries and crèches in this country. Now, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has criticized the Czech Republic for the low number of child care centres in the Czech Republic. According to the OECD, the lack of childcare facilities here could have serious consequences for the careers of women who have children, which could in turn have an impact on the competitive

Prague is not known as a city of fashion. However, the country's most important event in this field - the twice-annual Prague Fashion Week - is getting more popular every year. The tenth Prague Fashion Week opened on Monday night with a show presenting the latest outfits in black and white by top Czech fashion designers, such as Tatiana Kovarikova, Jaroslava Prochazkova or E.daniely.

The Czech Republic could get a tiny bit smaller in the next few years, if it hands almost 400 hectares of its territory over to Poland. There has been a disagreement about the two states' border for almost half a century - but that dispute could come to an end under the current Czech government.

It's being billed as the most expensive film ever made in Central Europe, so reports that a working copy was stolen from an editing room caused something of a stir. The working version of Juraj Jakubisko's new film Bathory - about the legendary 16th century "blood countess" Elizabeth Bathory - has now been recovered, and the case will now go to court.

Around 30 Czech soldiers left Prague on Monday to join up with their colleagues in the Afghan capital Kabul where a Czech military field hospital is being set up. The hospital with around 100 staff will begin operations in April, providing surgical, post-op and dental care to NATO's ISAF forces fighting Taliban militants in the country.

According to press reports, the right-of-centre Czech government is planning to introduce a 15-percent flat income tax at the start of next year. That would be the lowest in Europe, and the idea does seem radical. But just how revolutionary is it? And who would really benefit?

The little village of Trokavec, nestling on the edge of the Brdy Hills, found itself in the eyes of the world's media on Saturday, as local people voted in a referendum on plans to place part of the U.S. missile defence shield in its backyard. Trokavec lies less than two kilometres from the site of a planned radar station, and the inhabitants are almost unanimously opposed to the idea.

It is estimated that in Prague, every sixth couple who are trying to have a baby need to seek help from fertility clinics. The last eighty years have seen the male sperm count decreased by half and the main external factors that are believed to be responsible are cigarettes, a lack of exercise, and an unhealthy diet. But scientists at the Academy of Science's Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine (IKEM) say there is another important factor that needs to be taken into account. Their study suggests that a polluted environment seriously

There was an odd sight waiting for passers-by on Prague's Wenceslas Square on Friday - a jail cell, complete with prisoners wearing striped fatigues. It was put there by the Czech NGO People in Need, to remind people of the imprisonment of 75 Cuban dissidents on March 16th, 2003.

The Temelin nuclear power plant in South Bohemia never seems to leave the front pages. It is criticised on a regular basis by the Czech Republic's fiercely anti-nuclear neighbour Austria as well as domestic opponents of atomic energy. They say it's dangerous because it combines western operating technology with old Soviet design. Two leaks of slightly radioactive cooling liquid in recent weeks prompted Industry Minister Martin Riman to call for a personal meeting with the heads of Temelin's operator CEZ and the State Authority for Nuclear