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Czech customs officials have concluded an ongoing international operation designed to bust drugs networks smuggling cocaine to Europe. They have hailed the action as a success, with 31 people arrested for serious drug-related offenses. The police now view the Czech Republic as not only a transit country, but increasingly also as a final destination for many of the world’s illegal narcotics.

Last month the Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Džamila Stehlíková proposed legislation which would ban the spanking or smacking of children on the grounds that in some cases such treatment can border on child abuse. The introduction of such legislation would see the Czech Republic join other EU countries, including neighbouring Germany. But so far, a majority of ordinary Czechs have said they are against such a move.

What is more important: protecting nature or protecting municipal property? This question is at the heart of a dispute between the Ministry of Environment and municipalities bordering on the Šumava National Park. Environment Minister Martin Bursík this week confirmed his decision to keep the most valuable parts of the Šumava National Park untouched, declining an appeal filed by 15 local municipalities for him to allow trees to be cut down and other measures. They argue that leaving the forest untouched may cause an epidemic of bark-beetle.

One community that’s borne the brunt of skinhead attacks are the country’s Romanies, 250,000 of whom live in a state of uneasy cohabitation with their white neighbours. Romanies make up half of the three dozen people killed in racially-motivated attacks since the fall of communism. April 8th is International Roma Day, which was first marked in 1971 and has been celebrated here in the Czech Republic since 1990. We spoke to Ivan Vesely, head of the Roma organisation Dzeno.

This week saw the launch of a new campaign aimed at raising awareness of the growing problem of right-wing extremism and neo-Nazism in the Czech Republic. The scheme, organised by the Czech based NGO People in Need and various partners, is called NeoNácek Chcete Ho?, which translates as Who wants a Neo Nazi? It involves several innovative initiatives as Jamie Brindley explains:

Soccer star Petr Čech is the best paid Czech sports person ever, and is surely the most successful Czech of his generation. But the Chelsea goalkeeper is no stranger to bad luck either. After a life-threatening head injury last season, Čech is now in the wars again – he needed 50 stitches and had to undergo plastic surgery after a collision in training left him with a deep cut in his face.

Following the country’s entry into the Schengen border-free zone Czechs can now travel around much of the European Union without having to show their passport. At least, that is how things are supposed to work. But last week Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek complained that the German police were harassing Czechs with unnecessary ID checks on the other side of the border, claims which the German Embassy has strongly denied.

It was smiles and handshakes all round at the NATO summit in Bucharest last Thursday when the United States and the Czech Republic announced they had reached agreement on building a radar base on Czech territory as part of the U.S. missile defence shield. But it was clear to all that the road to implementing the agreement would be long and difficult. The past weekend has indicted possible pitfalls for Czech diplomacy as the U.S. and Russian presidents strove to find common ground on missile defense.

At the weekend two Czech pilots made history by flying a vintage Czech aircraft to the North Pole. The small twin-engine plane known as the Morava L-200 flew first took flight 50 years ago and the duo of Petr Bold and Richard Santus wanted to mark the anniversary by flying to the pole, stopping off for refuelling at the Russian base of Barneo. Preparing for the 11-hour journey meant preparing for the dangers of poor visibility, buffeting winds and even the possibility of an emergency landing among polar bears. Luckily, everything went off without

Monday marks 660 years since the founding of Charles University, the oldest university in Central Europe. On this day back in 1348 Emperor Charles IV issued an edict calling for the founding of a university in Prague bearing his name. Politicians, cultural figures and academics gathered in Prague’s Carolinum, the university’s historic building, on Monday to commemorate the anniversary. Related events are scheduled to take place throughout the year. Ruth Fraňková spoke to Jan Škrha, the vice-rector of Charles University about the history and reputation