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A team of Czech experts are currently in Vietnam to plan one of the biggest clean-up operations in the Southeast Asian country’s history. The Czech Development Agency has been awarded millions of crowns by the government to decontaminate some of the areas worst polluted by the highly toxic herbicide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. Michal Procházka is from the development agency and overseeing the clean-up. I spoke to him earlier today and asked first about the sort of problems Agent Orange was causing in the north of the country where the

In the first verdict of its kind in this country, a court has ruled that Support Lesbiens’ 2002 hit ‘In Da Yard’ plagiarised a song written by singer Jan Kalousek nearly a decade earlier. Support Lesbiens – one of the biggest bands in this country – say that they are dismayed by the verdict, but that the song in question will continue to be played.

The Czech Republic is now beginning to be more affected by the world financial crisis. After a number of industrial companies announced cutting thousands of jobs, the government has, for the first time, admitted taking action to help the economy.

Supporters of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty were given cause for celebration on Wednesday morning as the Constitutional Court ruled that the treaty does not violate the Czech Constitution. This landmark ruling paves the way for the Czech parliament to begin the process of ratifying the treaty. The Czech Republic is the only EU member which has not voted on Lisbon, amid a dispute over sovereignty that has pitted the government against president Václav Klaus. But Mr Klaus isn’t giving up yet.

All eyes were on the Czech Constitutional Court on Tuesday, where a verdict was expected on whether the EU’s Lisbon treaty is in line with the Czech constitution. If the court had rejected Lisbon, it could well have thrown the EU into disarray. The opposite verdict would have paved the way for the Czech Parliament to vote on ratification. As it happened, the ruling has been postponed until Wednesday.

The Postal Museum in Prague is celebrating its 90th anniversary. The museum, which was founded very soon after the establishment of Czechoslovakia, has just launched a special exhibition focused on some of the highlights of its history.

The government is seeking the banning of the Workers’ Party, the far-right grouping who made international headlines after trying to attack a largely Romany estate in a north Bohemian town last week. At the same time, the party’s leader has already said that if they are banned they will simply come back under a different name.

A rare collection of stamps bearing the likeness of French Emperor Napoleon has gone on exhibit at the Slavkov (or Austerlitz) Chateau on the anniversary of the Battle of the Three Emperors. In 1805 Napoleon routed Russian and Austrian forces at Austerlitz, cementing what is regarded as Napoleon’s greatest triumph. The collection, which features some 1,000 stamps from around the world, was bought by the chateau following the death of the collection’s original owner.

Just a week ago Czech neo-Nazis fought a pitched battle with police who prevented them from marching through a Romany neighbourhood of a north Bohemian town. With the extremists threatening more of the same, one Romany group has issued a stark warning to the government – if far-right extremism is not addressed, there could be mass emigration among the country’s Romany population.

One of the key issues of the upcoming Czech EU presidency will be the future of the Lisbon treaty, but the Czech Republic is the only EU country that has yet not voted on the reform document. Six weeks before the Czechs take over, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek has moved to deal with his party rivals and get the treaty out of the way.