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The acrimonious collapse of European Union budget talks in Brussels on Friday night is being variously interpreted as a disaster and an opportunity for the union. It revealed the depth of divisions between countries, but it was also the first time that the ten new members were out in force.

Many fans of world music will already be familiar with the work of Vera Bila - one of the Czech Republic's finest Romany singers - who regularly tours major venues around the world: classic concerts have included Paris, New York, and Singapore. Now, Bila - and her group Kale - have released a new album. It has the French title "c'est comme ca" - "that's how it is" and from the first notes there is no mistaking the deep and earthy voice that made this Gypsy diva known worldwide.

The EU Constitution which many considered to be dead has received a new lease on life. On the first day of their summit in Brussels, European leaders agreed to extend the ratification deadline beyond November 2006 in order to give member states more time for reflection and debate.

The Slovenian marathon swimmer Martin Strel who is known for having swum the length of a number of great rivers started a long swim all the way down the Czech Republic's River Vltava on Friday morning. He set off from South Bohemia at a point close to the river's source, and if everything goes well he will arrive next Thursday at Melnik - about 30 km north of Prague - where the Vltava flows into the Elbe River. Why does he do it? And who is Martin Strel?

Jiri Paroubek's trip to the EU summit is his first official visit to Brussels as Czech Prime Minister and it appears that he has made quite a good impression on his fellow EU leaders. Pavla Horakova has been watching Mr Paroubek closely, ever since he arrived in Brussels on Thursday:

According to recent study by the OECD only four percent of Czechs live below the official poverty threshold. This ranks the Czech Republic as the country with the lowest number of poor relative to the general standard of living in the whole organisation, which includes nearly all developed countries. Only Denmark and Sweden come close to the Czech figures. The Czech welfare system is also considered the most efficient - on a par with the Scandinavian countries, although at a far lower cost. Radio Prague's Martin Mikule called earlier Martin Kreidl

Leaders from the 25 European Union member countries have gathered in Brussels with the hope of resolving two outstanding questions: what to do with the battered EU Constitution and how to resolve the deadlock over the budget for 2007-2013. Not many are optimistic: for good reason the meeting has already been dubbed the "Crisis Summit" and many fear that - at least for the moment - differences within the EU are insurmountable.

This year's international festival of Contemporary Dance and Movement Theatre Tanec Praha or Dance Prague is living up to the great reputation it's built up in the last sixteen previous years. Throughout this month it is introducing some fine world dancers, and it has a clear aim - to revive forgotten or suppressed emotions.

A recent study by the United Nations suggests that the Czech population could shrink by an astonishing fifteen percent over the next half century. This could translate to a shortage of over 420,000 workers on the Czech labour market by the year 2030. One way the government is looking to diffuse this pension "time bomb" is by creating a targeted immigration policy. Brian Kenety has more.

The Czech football star, Juventus midfielder and captain of the Czech National Team in Euro-2004, Pavel Nedved, is back in the Czech Republic for a few days. On Tuesday he displayed his skills to fans in an exhibition match and for many of his fans it was a unique chance to see their hero playing at home again.