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Over 20,000 East Germans escaped to freedom via the West German Embassy in Prague in mid-to-late 1989, as the communist edifice started to crumble after four long decades. Their exodus is now recalled in a new exhibition entitled "Cesta za svobodou" or "Journey to Freedom" at Prague's Police Museum.

Echoes of the cold war: that is how some observers characterised Russian President Vladimir Putin recent reaction to US plans to expand its missile defence system in Europe. At a conference in Munich Mr Putin attacked the idea of the missile defence system (which includes a proposed interceptor rocket base in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic), saying such a move could not go unanswered. But what kind of answer might we see?

Austrian police this week busted a huge international pornography network involving more than 2,360 suspects from 77 countries. Sixty-three Czechs were among those who downloaded child-porn from paid-web sites but shockingly enough the Austrians can expect little cooperation from the Czech police. The Czech Republic is one of the few countries in Europe where it is not a criminal offence to download or possess child pornography which means that the suspects will get off scot-free.

In 2008 Zdenek Macal will cease to be the Czech Philharmonic's Chief Conductor. For the first time in its history the orchestra will not assign this position to anyone else, as it has decided to keep looking for an ideal candidate. As a result, the incoming Principal Guest Conductor, Manfred Honeck will play a more important role than normal in terms of leaving his mark on the ensemble and influencing its sound.

For four years now, the Prague Daily Monitor has been gathering news in English about the Czech Republic on one useful website. It groups stories thematically, with headlines followed by links to a variety of sources, such as the Czech Press Agency and Radio Prague. But since Thursday the Prague Daily Monitor has a new form, including original content for the first time. I spoke to its publisher Bryn Perkins and asked him: what exactly is new?

Specialists have revealed that there was a sharp rise in the incidence in tick-borne encephalitis, or TBE, in the Czech Republic last year. Some 1000 people contracted the potentially deadly disease which is transmitted by deer ticks: 60 percent more than in 2005. Earlier Jan Velinger spoke to Roman Prymula, the dean of the Military Medical Academy at the University of Defence in Hradec Kralove, and asked him about the reasons behind the sudden jump.

A year ago we reported on a Czech expedition exploring the world's largest salt cave in Iran. As a matter of fact, Czech explorers have also been to the deepest cave in the world. Two speleologists from the city of Brno have just returned from Abkhazia where an international expedition increased the penetrated depth to 2,170 metres, firmly establishing the Krubera-Voronya as the deepest cave on earth.

Christian Democrat Senator Jiri Cunek has been stripped of his parliamentary immunity. The Senate, on Wednesday, made the decision following a request by the Czech Police, who are investigating charges of corruption. This makes Mr Cunek, who is also Regional Development Minister, the first member of government in the country's history to face a criminal investigation.

Concertino Praga - Czech Radio's prestigious international competition for young musicians - has just announced the winners of this year's contest. Ever since this special event for up and coming musicians was established 41 years ago, it has become a conveyer belt for young talent in the world of classical music.

A statue by Wilhelm Lehmbruck, which used to stand in the functionalist Tugendhat Villa in the Moravian capital of Brno, was sold to an anonymous bidder for one million pounds on Monday. The "Torso of a Walking Woman" was auctioned off at Sotheby's. But the decision to sell the art in London is now influencing decision-making in the Czech Republic, where Brno city councillors fear the Tugendhat Villa would face a similar fate if it were returned to its original owners.