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It improved dramatically after the fall of Communism, so why is the quality of the air suddenly getting worse? A new study carried out by the Environment Ministry's department of air protection suggests that in 2005 around two thirds of the Czech population lived in areas with serious air pollution, opposed to just a third in the previous year.

Around 200 Czechs from around the world are currently meeting in Prague at the Tyden zahranicnich Cechu (Week of Czechs Living Abroad), which is taking place at Prague's Charles University. The event, which was first held in 1998, provides a unique forum for Czechs abroad to discuss everything from their position as minorities in European Union states to the Czech language publications they produce. On Wednesday I discussed the meeting with one of its delegates, Dr Mila Saskova-Pierce from the University of Nebraska.

Public broadcaster Czech Radio and a number of professional institutions like the Jewish Museum in Prague and Prague's Institute of Contemporary History recently signed a new agreement to cooperate on mapping and preserving important stories and oral histories from 20th century Czechoslovakia. Reporters Mikulas Kroupa and Adam Drda initiated the project, explaining to journalists that the main aim was to record lasting and complete testimonies by witnesses who survived some of history's most difficult periods: the Second World War, the Holocaust,

When the King of Cambodia Norodom Sihamoni arrived in Prague this week the media was out in force for the event. And unlike with other royal visitors they were allowed close up - jostling to put questions to him in the Czech language. The King of Cambodia answered them in fluent Czech saying he was delighted to be back in what he considered to be his "second homeland".

The 1860s and 1870s saw a boom of railway construction in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the city of Prague was no exception. 135 years ago this week, the first train went through a newly built railway tunnel which actually runs right underneath the Czech Radio building here in the Prague district of Vinohrady. On the day of the anniversary, a historic train complete with a steam engine went in the same route to mark the occasion.

Starting a new life in a foreign country is never easy. For immigrants from countries such as Chechnya, Armenia or Afghanistan who arrive in the Czech Republic with little money, no knowledge of the language and no prospects of finding a job - things are even more difficult. Now there's someone they can turn to for more than just the basics. Six months ago the Berkat InBaze centre opened its doors to foreign migrants in need of help. Over that period it has helped close to 200 foreigners to make a home, find a job and make friends in the Czech

In a around thirty days time the Czech Republic's weary electorate will be asked to go to the polls, four months after June's inconclusive parliamentary elections. This time it's local and Senate elections, and the capital Prague, of course, is of great importance. Mayor Pavel Bem - a member of the governing Civic Democrats - has been in the post for the last four years, but the Social Democrats are rolling out the big guns in a bid to unseat him.

The European red squirrel used to be plentiful in the Czech lands, to the extent that they were seen as a menace: hunters were allowed to shoot them as they caused damage to vegetation. In the 1970s experts noticed that the numbers of squirrels in the countryside had dropped. Since then it appears that the species converged on towns where they adapted to life in parks and are often fed by people.

This week hundreds of thousands of Czech Americans will open envelopes from the Czech Embassy in Washington asking them to join a campaign to abolish US visas for Czech citizens. For years the Czech Republic has striven to be included in the US waiver programme, which would put relations on an equal footing, but so far in vain. Now it is asking Czech ex-pats in the United States to bring the matter to the attention of their congressmen. Jakub Skalinik of the Czech Foreign Ministry explains what the campaign aims to achieve:

The presidents of the four Visegrad Group countries - Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic - met for their annual meeting at Lany Chateau, west of Prague, this weekend. The group was formed after the fall of the countries' communist regimes in order to increase their strength on the international stage. Since their accession to NATO and the European Union, however, many have questioned the need for such an alliance today. But after their meeting near Prague, the countries' presidents now say the group has regained impetus. Dita Asiedu