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The Czech Republic seems to have been hit by a wave of brand nostalgia. If you owned a car before 1989, it was most probably a Skoda, you wore Botas shoes, a Prim watch, cooked your dinner in a Remoska portable oven, chewed on Pedro chewing gum and did your washing with the so-called Stag soap. Skoda is one of only a few traditional trademarks that have successfully survived the influx of western brands and products after the fall of communism. Many other household names succumbed to the tough competition, but in recent years old brands have been

After witnessing Israel's wave of attacks against the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, a small of group Czechs were happy to return to safety on Sunday. Dozens of Czechs are now being evacuated from Beirut by the Czech government; first by bus to Syria and then by plane back to the Czech Republic. Czech Airlines has grounded all return flights from Prague to Beirut until July 23.

As we reported last week, the largest European festival of chess and board games is currently underway in the town of Pardubice in East Bohemia. Czechs in general are known to be great puzzle enthusiasts and according to surveys crosswords are the second most common hobby in this country. And that may be why Czechs also do very well in international competitions.

Civic Democrat leader Mirek Topolanek may be deeply embroiled in talks on forming a new government, but he still found time this week for a major international political initiative - the founding of a new faction in the European Parliament. The Civic Democrats met Britain's Conservatives in London on Thursday, and agreed to leave the European People's Party in 2009 and form a new alliance called the Movement for European Reform. Attending the talks was the Civic Democrat MEP Jan Zahradil.

The dramatic arrest on Thursday of three men who were allegedly trying to sell a ten-month-old baby girl to Great Britain has shocked the nation. Child activists have called for greater vigilance and tougher legislation, while the Czech branch of UNICEF says this particular case is no exception.

Thirty-two teams were in action at the World Cup in Germany, accompanied by millions of fans. Keeping an eye on them were the German police and officers from many other participating nations, including the Czech Republic. Some of the Czech police officers at the World Cup are what are called "spotters" - in plain clothing, they monitored potentially troublesome fans, who they know from the domestic football league. Pavel Reich, an expert on extremism in the Czech Republic, was among them.

If you are visiting Prague over the summer and would like to try something different than the usual sightseeing routes, here is a tip for you. The Stefanik Observatory on Petrin Hill is holding an exhibition on Prague monuments connected to astronomy.

A team of U.S. military experts arrives in the Czech Republic next week to examine potential sites for a new missile defence base. The United States is said to be considering either the Czech Republic, Poland or Hungary for the new facility, but a Polish newspaper reports that Washington has already reached agreement with Warsaw. Rob Cameron has the following report.

Virgin - or primeval - forests are rare in this part of the world where logging and tourism have taxed Nature to a considerable extent. Now there are efforts to try and restore Nature's bounty for future generations. In addition to protecting existing nature reserves Czech environmentalists are trying to create new ones. If all goes well in several hundred years' time there should be new primeval forests in the north and eastern parts of the country.

The east Bohemian town of Pardubice will host a two-week festival of chess, bridge and board games, starting on Thursday. Organisers say it is the biggest European event of its kind, as they are expecting some several thousand participants from all over the world to take part in tournaments and contests in different games.