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Only the Roman Catholic Church is authorized to decide what wine can be labelled sacramental, the Supreme Administrative Court ruled on Tuesday. In a lawsuit filed by a wine-producing company against the Church, the court said that the Church has autonomy to decide which wine may be used in Catholic worship.

President Klaus is famous for his views on Co2 emissions – namely that they are not responsible for climate change. Now, he has shifted his gaze to smoking, and angered other elements of the scientific community, suggesting that passive smoking might not be the health risk that it’s made out to be. As Czech MPs start debating whether smoking should be banned in the country’s restaurants, Mr Klaus has told the press that such a ban would deny smokers their rights, and that the effects of passive smoking are less dangerous than people say.

It’s something of a Czech tradition: fans of Czech beer Plzeňský Prazdroj (Pilsner Urquell) debating which pubs have the best Pilsner on tap. Now the debate may see a little “closure”. On Monday the famous brewer launched a flashy new guidebook ranking the best Pilsner-serving establishments. Interestingly, the book is based on rankings not by professional critics but by regular pub-goers.

In March of 2006 Czech homosexuals celebrated an important victory. After seven years of intensive lobbying the Czech Parliament finally passed a law on same-sex partnerships or so called gay-marriages, overriding president Klaus’s veto by a narrow majority. A year and a half later the number of registered partnerships between same-sex couples in the Czech Republic has reached nearly five hundred. Ruth Fraňková spoke to Slavomír Goga from the Gay and Lesbian League and started by asking whether the new law had made a significant difference to the

The tick season here in the Czech Republic only starts in spring but the campaign against the tick-borne encephalitis has already been launched, urging people to get vaccinated on time. However, ticks also transmit another disease – Lyme disease – which can seriously harm people’s health, especially joints and the nervous system, if untreated, and no vaccine has been available so far. However, this may be about to change. A Moravian company Bioveta in cooperation with Palacký University in Olomouc has just completed the development of a vaccine

All eyes on Tuesday afternoon were on the Czech Senate, where the two candidates in Friday week’s presidential election were taking part in a Q and A-session-cum-debate. For over an hour, the incumbent Václav Klaus and the challenger Jan Švejnar sat opposite each other before senators from the opposition Social Democrats in what was a strictly controlled exchange, with a maximum one minute allowed for questions, and three for replies. I spoke to my colleague Jan Richter who was at the Senate and first asked him how he would characterise the

The figure skater Tomáš Verner has been all over the Czech media since last week taking the Czech Republic’s first European men’s gold medal in 16 years. A year ago he had led the field in the European Figure Skating Championships after the short programme on day one, but ended up finishing second after surrendering his lead on day two. When I spoke to Tomáš Verner (21) on his return to Prague, he told me what the difference had been this time out.

There’s a rather unusual film festival underway at Prague’s Ořechovka cinema at the moment. Called “The Magic Eights”, it examines the strange significance of the number "8" in modern Czech history. The festival features around a dozen films either made in or about the crucial moments in this country’s recent past, most of which occurred in a year ending in "8".

On February 8th the two houses of Parliament will convene to elect a new head of state and the days leading up to the vote are marked by increased tension on the Czech political scene as deputies and senators make up their minds who they are going to support – the current president Václav Klaus or his sole rival, Czech-American economics professor Jan Švejnar. Moreover political parties are now caught up in a heated debate as to whether the vote should take place by secret ballot or by the open raising of hands.

The 2008/2009 National Hockey League season will open in Prague and Stockholm next October. While the Swedish capital will see two games between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Ottawa Senators, hockey fans in Prague are in for a one-off treat. Jaromír Jágr, the most brilliant Czech star in the NHL and the captain of the New York Rangers, will lead his team in two matches against Tampa Bay at Prague’s Sazka Arena.