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Politicians from across the Czech political scene have expressed concerns about the lack of democratic principles employed during Russia’s presidential election. While the Czech Foreign Ministry ‘regrets’ that Russian authorities didn’t allow for an open race of all the candidates, the opposition also share the concern for the future of Russian democracy.

Meteorologists warned the country would be hard hit by hurricane-force winds on Saturday and in the end, when the windstorm hit, the damages were extensive. Downed high-voltage wires, fallen trees, even some roofs torn from buildings. As well: almost a million people without power and a toll of several injured and two dead. The storm, dubbed “Emma”, struck just 13 months after similar hurricane force winds hit the country last year.

Saturday night saw the Czech Republic host its annual national film awards, known as the Český Lev, or Czech Lion. No single film swept the board, but director Alice Nellis’s film Tajnosti, or Little Girl Blue came away with best film.

The Czech Republic has three provinces: Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the east, and little Silesia in the north east. Many from Moravia were hoping the next national census would explicitly include the option of choosing the ethnicity Moravian – but the Czech Statistical Office has denied their wishes.

The Czech health system continues to be a political hot potato. The recent controversial introduction of fees for doctor’s visits by the government is just one in a series of proposed reforms to the healthcare system in the country. However, as new figures from pharmacies are released, showing a sharp drop in sales, these measures are again coming under scrutiny.

For the second time this year, the city of Plzeň in West Bohemia is bracing itself for a march by neo-Nazi skinheads. As many as 400 skinheads will march down a route that takes them past Plzeň’s Great Synagogue, the second largest in Europe. Efforts to ban the march have exhausted all legal avenues; the authorities are now concentrating on keeping groups of skinheads and anti-Nazi protestors apart. And politicians are looking to how future marches can be avoided without curtailing the freedom of speech. Rob Cameron has more.

The Czech Republic and the United States are just “three words away” from a treaty on basing a U.S. anti-missile radar facility in Central Bohemia, according to the leaders of the two countries. Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek met U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House on Wednesday, and while a final treaty was not agreed, they seemed confident it would be soon. But the path to expanding missile defence to Central Europe does not appear smooth.

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek has surprised many by honouring the anti-communist fighter Josef Mašín. Mr Topolánek was due to present the US resident with a prime minister’s medal at the Czech Embassy in Washington on Thursday – the first ever official recognition of the controversial actions of Mr Mašín, his brother and the other men who employed violence before and during a dramatic bid to escape to the West in 1953.

A replica of the Czech made Tatra aero sledge, which was produced for the Germans during the Second World War, has recently been made for a collector in the United States. The little car with skis instead of wheels and a large propeller at the back was intended to serve the German Army in Russia. On Tuesday the replica was successfully tested on the snow of Jeseníky Mountains.

“The fulfillment of a dream for a generation of Czechs” is how Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek described the signing on Tuesday of a document that paves the way for Czechs to visit the United States without a visa. However, Czech citizens will have to provide detailed information to US officials prior to travelling, and Prague’s go-it-alone approach to visa negotiations has ruffled feathers in Brussels.