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As we spend more and more of our lives online, we’re exposing ourselves to the more nefarious aspects of the internet – spam, viruses, phishing, extremist websites, even cyber warfare. How to fight such threats is no longer the domain of computer geeks – governments around the world have whole departments to tackle the issue. The problem of cyber terrorism and cyber crime is being discussed this week at the Cyter 2009 conference in Prague, as part of the Czech EU Presidency.

In a week and a half’s time the red carpet will be rolled out at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. There are no Czech pictures in the main competition this year, though visitors can look forward to a whopping 65 world, international and European premieres. But many will be just as interested in who they can see on that red carpet. So, who are the big stars this year? That’s a question I put to Karel Och of Karlovy Vary’s programming department.

A survey of Czech mothers with young children has found that many of them would like to combine childcare with work but cannot. Most are thwarted by a lack of childcare facilities and lack of interest from their former employers in finding ways how they can keep employed. Many just simply face outright discrimination when seeking work.

On Monday, the Civic Democrats announced that they had formed a new ‘anti-federalist’ European Parliament bloc with the British Conservatives and Poland’s Law and Justice Party. Fans of the new European Conservatives and Reformists Group say that it will enhance democracy in Europe, while its detractors call it a motley mix of parties - some with views verging on the extreme. The Czech Civic Democrats are the third biggest party in the grouping, which consists of 55 MEPs from eight different European states. Adéla Kadlecová is the Civic Democrats’ foreign

Part of a large art collection that once belonged to the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler is dispersed in several Czech museums – often without their curators being aware of it. That’s what researcher Jiří Kuchař discovered after three years of investigation. Following last week’s TV report on the case, a gallery in south Bohemia even removed three statues from public display, citing security reasons.

There were sighs of relief on Friday after European Union leaders agreed legal guarantees to Ireland, seen as crucial if Irish ratification of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty is to succeed in a second referendum. But they haven’t counted on Czech President Václav Klaus, who’s so far refused to sign the document despite approval in both chambers of parliament and now says the Irish guarantees amount to new legal arrangements that require separate ratification in the Czech parliament.

In the early morning of June 21, 1949, General Heliodor Píka, a hero of World Wars I and II, became the first Czechoslovak to be executed by the new communist regime. Today, almost 60 years to the date, the Czech Republic honoured the memory of one of the greatest of heroes and most profound of victims.

The Czech government has taken another step to meet its pledge of clamping down on ever bolder manifestations of extremism in the country. The latest move is a guide for town and city halls how to recognise extremist meetings and either refuse them permission to take place from the outset or ban them once they are underway. The ministry of interior hopes the initiative will help clear Czech streets of extremists.

The final summit of the Czech Republic’s six-month presidency of the European Union has just come to an end. Among the main issues on the agenda at the two-day meeting of Europe’s leaders in Brussels: the appointment of the next president of the Commission, new rules to oversee the financial sector, and - first and foremost - the future of the Lisbon treaty.

The Czech EU presidency has voiced its concern about alleged irregularities in last week’s Iranian elections, and has said it is ‘alarmed’ by the street violence which has ensued in the country. Back in the Czech capital, members of the Iranian community are nervous about speaking openly, but Radio Prague met Iranian journalist Omid to discuss the current situation.