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Four years ago, three friends including well-known Czech golf pro Alan Babický got it into their heads to bring Extreme Golf to the Czech Republic, a sport which, as you may have guessed is not played on traditional greens but on truly rough terrain in this case mowed trails on the Špindlerův Mlýn ski resort. The rules are fairly straightforward: players have three clubs and play 12 holes which are circles drawn on the ground. Sound fun?

The recent weeks of political turmoil in the Czech Republic have left many questions unanswered – primarily what kind of government will rule the country until regular elections in the spring of next year. Prime Minister Jan Fischer, who heads a caretaker government which was meant to lead the country to early elections in October, has said he is waiting to hear from the country’s political leaders as to whether they want personnel changes, a government of technocrats, a political government or something in-between. He has also said he cannot continue

The US has decided that it will not now site an anti-missile radar in the Czech Republic as part of its plans for a Central European extension of its shield against rocket attacks. The decision has been greeted with enthusiasm by some of the leading local opponents of the controversial radar, even if they have almost given up on the government cash bonanza promised to accompany it.

Jánošík: A True Story is the title of a new film about the 17th century highwayman Juraj Jánošík, a Robin Hood-like figure who is a national hero in Slovakia. However, despite the huge importance of the Jánošík story to Slovaks, the movie stars a Czech actor, and was made by a Polish director.

Emotions ran high and politicians traded insults on Tuesday, after the Social Democrats unexpectedly pulled the plug on early elections, deepening uncertainty over the country’s future. The move has left the Czech Republic in the hands of a caretaker government which is now demanding a new mandate and consensus on next year’s budget.

On Tuesday the Czech Health Ministry released information on swine flu vaccines ahead of an expected surge in the epidemic in the Czech Republic this autumn, revealing just who in the population of 10 million will receive vaccines.

The Czech budget has taken centre stage in political discussions after Tuesday’s surprise retreat from early October elections. Caretaker Prime Minister Jan Fischer has said he will only stay on until elections in the middle of next year if politicians agree a 2010 budget where the deficit is kept below 170 billion crowns, or around 5.0 percent of Gross Domestic Product.

The move by the Social Democrats to renege on an earlier decision and say it was now not backing the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, caught most observers by surprise on Tuesday. The question is what will be the impact on the country?

What a difference a day makes – especially in Czech politics. Few would have thought much stood in the way of the dissolution of parliament and early elections after what looked like agreement between the two largest parties – the Civic Democrats and the Social Democrats. But the Social Democrats performed an abrupt U-turn on Tuesday – early elections are now off, and Czechs will have to wait until next year to cast their vote.

A high profile Prague clash between squatters and their supporters and police has highlighted the number of empty and deteriorating buildings in the capital. It has also put the spotlight on the powerlessness of local councils and authorities to force reluctant owners to take action.