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In 2002, the Prague district of Karlin was one of the worst-affected by flooding on the Vltava river. Restoration of damaged buildings continues to this day, but Prague planners see a bright future for the area, including parks, new office and residential buildings, and two new islands.

The deep forests of the Sumava Mountains in South Bohemia used to abound in spruce trees whose wood was of such high quality that it was used for the production of musical instruments in workshops around Europe. But these legendary tone spruce trees are becoming increasingly rare owing to changes in the environment and forest management.

Someone has damaged a valuable historical artifact on Prague's Charles Bridge. While the sculpture itself remains intact, the golden lettering surrounding the figure was partly destroyed. The police are investigating, but the incident is raising questions about how best to protect the historical treasures of Prague's streets.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Prague on Friday to try and revive talks on the European Constitution agreement. The ratification process was put on hold after the document was rejected in referendums in France and the Netherlands. Germany now holds the EU's rotating presidency and its main goal is to resume discussion. But Ms Merkel did not get the support she needed in the Czech capital:

Czechs were shocked on Sunday night to hear of the death of Karel Svoboda, one of the country's most popular songwriters. Svoboda - who had written hundreds of hits and film scores - was found dead in the garden of his villa outside Prague. A police investigation into his death suggests he took his own life.

This week the United States officially petitioned the Czech Republic for authorization to operate a radar base about 35 kilometers southwest of Prague. Today the American ambassador, William Graber, is meeting with mayors from the communities in the vicinity of the planned installation. It's the first chance the local authorities have had to ask the Americans about their plans.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel paid a brief visit to the Czech Republic on Friday to discuss the future of the EU constitution and other issues with Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek and president Vaclav Klaus. The German Chancellor's visit also coincided with the tenth anniversary of the so-called Czech-German Declaration. This document was signed in Prague ten years ago this week and was drafted to help lay the foundation for modern German-Czech relations.

Every year new meteorites are found on different parts of planet Earth. They travel for millions of years and it is usually impossible to say where they came from - but in just one case Czech geologists think they know - North-East Africa 003 is believed to have originally come from the Sea of Rains on the moon.

Everyone knows the basic ingredients of pizza are dough, tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese. But a new study has found that much of the pizza being served in the Czech Republic is made with so-called "fake cheeses", that aren't really cheese at all. Ilya Marritz has more.

Medecins Sans Frontieres the Nobel-prize-winning humanitarian relief organisation has just opened an office in Prague, a move it hopes will see an upsurge in the number of skilled Czech and Slovak volunteers it can recruit for its missions.