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Paper is plentiful and most of it is worth next to nothing. But like paper money, postage stamps can be incredibly valuable. One postage stamp that is considered the most unique, and possibly the most valuable in Czechoslovak history, has just been shown to the public for the first time in decades.

On Wednesday the government backed a plan long prepared by the ruling Civic Democrats to found a new Institute for National Memory - covering the legacy of Communism in Czechoslovakia from 1948 to 1989. It is not the first time the creation of such an institute has been discussed, but not all are in favour. As the Czech Republic already has an Office for the Investigation of Crimes under Communism, some have questioned whether an additional institute would be needed at all.

The Constitutional Court on Tuesday set an important precedent when it invalidated President Klaus' decision to sack Iva Brozova as head of the Supreme Court in February of this year. The judge ruled that in dismissing Brozova the president had violated the independence of the judiciary. The president in turn accused the judiciary of wanting to usurp political power.

Over the last half decade or so there has been a dramatic fall in the number of old-fashioned, fixed line telephones here in the Czech Republic. Telefonica O2 (formerly Cesky Telecom) says there are now 2.84 million fixed line phones in this country - that's close to a million less than in the year 2000. What has led to this sharp decline? And will services like TV over the phone persuade Czechs to keep their fixed lines? I spoke to Emir Halilovic, senior analyst at communications group IDC CEMA.

Fourteen years after it was founded, a key asylum facility for the homeless in Prague was closed at the beginning of September, sparking fears of a negative impact on the city's homeless community. Until now, the centre - which is run by the Nadeje (Hope) charity and civic association - served countless clients by providing shower facilities as well as professional and medical assistance. Jan Velinger found out how the charity was coping, as well as what kind of help it can expect.

On the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, some attention in the Czech Republic has focused on special emergency parachutes originally developed by a Czech firm that could save lives under horrifying and hopeless conditions like those witnessed on September 11th at the World Trade Center.

The Czech Republic suffered another loss on Monday in its highly-publicised dispute with the Japanese investment group Nomura. The group is suing the Czech state for failing to protect its investment in the bank IPB, which was placed under forced administration and sold off in 2000.

This week, the world is remembering the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. To mark the anniversary, a book was launched in Prague on Monday, written by Czech journalist Veronika Bednarova, who actually was very close to the World Trade Center at the time of the tragedy. In her book, whose title translates as "My American Beauty" she gives her personal account of the tragedy but also much more.

The Czech Republic and the other nine countries which joined the European Union in 2004 may not be able to join the Schengen zone as originally planned in October 2007. EU officials are making no secret of the fact that the planned entry date will be almost impossible to meet, due to technical and legal problems in building a new police database for the extended alliance. The newcomers have been warned to expect a delay of a year or more.

Five years after 9/11 and roughly a month after British intelligence thwarted an alleged plot by terrorists to blow up US airliners over the Atlantic, the Czech Republic is still undecided over how to further improve and streamline its own communication and data sharing between the police and intelligence services. Shortly before leaving office, former Interior Minister Frantisek Bublan advocated founding a special centre that would improve the chances of preventing potential attacks on European soil, by working more closely with BIS counter-intelligence,