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A protracted and bitterly-fought first attempt to choose a new Czech president ended in failure on Saturday afternoon. Václav Klaus, just one vote short of re-election, remains the favourite, while his challenger Jan Švejnar will also throw his hat into the ring again. A third, Communist-backed nominee is also a possibility, though a great deal remains unclear ahead of next Friday’s second presidential election.

We’ve heard a lot over the last couple of days about the presidential candidates Jan Svejnar and Vaclav Klaus, but you know what they say - behind every great man, there’s a great woman. Here is a profile of the lives and achievements of the Czech Republic’s two current candidates for the first-lady post.

Czechs may not be able to vote in Fridays presidential election but many have placed a bet on their outcome. All three of the major Czech betting shops have presented odds for either a Klaus or a Švejnar victory. Despite candidate Jan Švejnar’s recent rise in popularity, the odds still firmly remain in president Klaus’ favour.

Who will be the country’s next president – incumbent Václav Klaus- challenger Jan Švejnar or someone altogether different? A two-day election marathon at Prague Castle failed to produce a winner. Ian Willoughby spent two days at the Castle watching the drama unfold close up. Ian - this has indisputably been the longest and most difficult presidential election in the country’s history – what happened?

Czechs may not be able to vote in Fridays presidential election but many have placed a bet on their outcome. All three of the major Czech betting shops have presented odds for either a Klaus or a Švejnar victory. Despite candidate Jan Švejnar’s recent rise in popularity, the odds still firmly remain in president Klaus’ favour.

It’s been a long day at Prague Castle. After hours of deadlock, Czech lawmakers finally started voting on who should be the country’s next president. The Czech Republic’s 200 deputies and 81 senators spent over ten hours trying to agree on how the elections should be conducted. After deciding that it was to be by public vote, and not secret ballot, at around 8pm on Friday evening, voting for the country’s next president got underway. Two rounds of voting on Friday night failed to produce a president, with neither candidate clinching a sufficient

We’ve heard a lot over the last couple of days about the presidential candidates Jan Svejnar and Vaclav Klaus, but you know what they say - behind every great man, there’s a great woman. Here is a profile of the lives and achievements of the Czech Republic’s two current candidates for the first-lady post.

Twenty years after the fall of communism Czechs are on the verge of being included on a list of countries in the US visa-waiver programme. It allows tourists and businesspeople from abroad to travel visa-free to the US. Although the move was expected, a US senior official in Prague on Wednesday, confirmed it could come sooner: as early as this autumn. A bilateral agreement still needs to be signed, as well as a new electronic system implemented, before the change takes place, but essentially there is nothing that should now prevent the move from

We’ve been talking all week about Friday’s presidential election, when Czech American economist Jan Švejnar will challenge incumbent Václav Klaus for the post. But with hours to go until MPs and senators gather at Prague Castle, a dispute over how to elect the president is threatening to overshadow the entire process, with some talking of a looming constitutional crisis.

Friends of Mike Murray, an American citizen who was stabbed to death in Prague last week, have been petitioning against the release of the suspect – a 27-year-old police officer - from custody. After the suspect was charged with murder on Thursday, a court in Prague released him, pending investigation, claiming it had found no reason why the suspect should await trial behind bars.