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An historic moment: that is how Justice Minister Jiří Pospíšil described a vote in the lower house on Tuesday approving the country’s new criminal code, which will fully overhaul existing legislation from 1961. Over the last 47 years the existing code was only partially amended but its replacement will see major changes in how crimes are assessed.

Substitution treatment for hard drug users in the Czech Republic may become more widely available in the future. For instance, methadone, a substitute drug used to break heroin addiction, is so far available only in 13 specialised centres in the Czech Republic. The National Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Use now wants to make the substance accessible to addicts around the country. If it gains approval from the State Institute for Drug Control, methadone could in future be prescribed by GPs and available on prescription from chemists. I asked

After a whitewash for the Civic Democrats in regional and Senate elections, Mirek Topolánek’s days as party leader appeared to be numbered. Now, however, as a leadership vote draws ever nearer, it seems that every other day another local Civic Democrats organisation pledges to back the prime minister. So can Mr Topolánek win the toughest battle of his political career and retain the post of party chairman?

The renowned Czech geologist Josef Sekyra – the first Czech to reach the South Pole – has died at the age of 80. In December 1969, Sekyra was part of the American operation Deep Freeze which studied conditions in Antarctica, but that was just one of his many different accomplishments: from extensive travels to hundreds of published scientific papers.

The country’s top electricity producer ČEZ has been accused of bullying and blackmailing customers who it said had been tapping electricity illegally. If convicted, 32 of the energy giant’s employees may face up to 12 years in jail for forcing these clients to pay disproportionately high sums of money in damages.

November 11th is St Martin’s Day, a day traditionally associated – in the Czech Republic at least – with wine. All over the country people will be popping the corks on bottles of young wine from South Moravia, and the purists will be serving it with the traditional Czech St Martin’s Day feast of roast goose with red and white cabbage. Rob Cameron has been sampling a few glasses, and has this report.

The Czech president Václav Klaus is no stranger to controversy. A long-time opponent of EU integration, the president has signalled his opposition to many of the pillars that make up this organization – from the euro to the hotly debated Lisbon Treaty. On Monday, during a visit to Ireland, the rhetoric was upped a notch, with the president openly labelling himself as an “EU dissident.” But the comparison to the 1989 anti-communist dissident movement is likely to strike a chord with many.

A recent Austrian TV production depicting the aftermath of a fictional accident at a Czech nuclear power plant has touched a raw nerve in relations between the two countries, strained over the Czech use of nuclear energy. This time, the fictional movie even made Czech President Václav Klaus pick up the phone to complain to his Austrian counterpart.

Planning permission has been granted for a massive new office and commercial development at Prague’s Národní Třida metro station, which promises to change the face of this busy central intersection. The architects behind the plan promise to revitalize a location which has in recent years become associated with pickpockets and the homeless – but their plans have far from won universal approval. It looks likely that thousands of angry commuters whose journeys would be disrupted by the project will appeal against the construction.

Reform in the health sector has proven one of toughest challenges since the fall of communism, with the post of health minister held by 13 people since 1993. The current minister, Tomáš Julínek, came out with far-reaching reforms, but his plans have since hit increased opposition. And, his days too as health minister may be numbered. Although the prime minister has again backed the embattled Mr Julínek, the Czech Medical Chamber sent a clear signal, opposing reform plans to be submitted to the government this week and calling for his