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The United States is rolling out the big guns as it tries to persuade those opposed to placing part of its missile defence system in Europe. On Monday the head of the Missile Defence Agency is due to meet Czech officials and MPs in Prague, while the Czech government has confirmed that US President George W. Bush will also visit the country in June. So will these high-profile visits allay Czech fears over missile defence?

The legendary automobile constructor Ferdinand Porsche is not the only world-renowned personality connected with the automotive industry to have been born in what is now the Czech Republic. Alfred Karl Neubauer was a race driver and a racing manager with the Mercedes Grand Prix Team for thirty years. Sources differed as to where exactly he was born in North Moravia. Recently, local historians traced his roots back to the town of Novy Jicin which is now immensely proud of its newly-found great son.

The police and the Brno-based Centre for Traffic Research are currently working on a unique project - the evaluation of so-called accident "black spots" or hazardous locations on roads in the entire Czech Republic. The resulting "black spot locations" map should not only serve drivers but also road maintenance in view of taking preventive measures.

The threat of further strike action at the Skoda Auto car plant in Mlada Boleslav has been averted after management and unions agreed a deal on pay. Most of Skoda's 24,000 workers took part in a day-long staggered strike on Wednesday, after months of inconclusive talks. That led to fresh negotiations which produced a compromise, under which wages will rise by 12.7 percent until the end of 2008. The crisis at Skoda Auto - owned by Germany's Volkswagen - has been resolved, but what does it mean for the Czech economy? We asked Ales Michl, an analyst

The Codex Gigas, also known as the Devil's Bible, is the biggest book in the world. Made at the start of the 13th century in a Bohemian monastery, it was one of the country's most prized works of art. In medieval times, its uniqueness was even put on a par with the wonders of the world. But at the end of the Thirty Years' War, it was taken by the Swedes and has been Swedish property since then. The National Library in Prague has now been allowed to borrow it for an exhibition that opens later this year.

Excess noise pollution by countless vehicles twenty-four hours a day: that is what thousands of Prague residents in apartment buildings along Prague's "magistrala" highway have been putting up with for years. In an unprecedented case 3,000 local residents filed a joint lawsuit against city hall for failing to deal with the problem. But a Prague court has now dismissed the claim.

Recent press reports revealed that home prices have risen considerably here in the Czech Republic in the last year, with increases of over 10 percent in some sections of the market. Why are flat prices going up so much - and how does the future look? I discussed those issues and more with Arnost Hejduk of real estate marketing company Rooney and Bennett.

The Czech Republic has made the most progress in reducing drink-driving deaths in Europe, according to a report just published by the Brussels-based European Transport Safety Council. This is the first sign of real improvement on Czech roads, which many people consider to be among the most dangerous in Europe.

This Thursday, 14 Czech actors will give public readings of international works of literature at various places around Prague. The event is organised by the Czech Centre in Prague, in cooperation with the Museum of Czech Literature. What makes it unusual is that it will take place in the evening - from 6pm to 11pm - in the form of a literature marathon. Dita Asiedu reports:

Former communist prime minister of Czechoslovakia, Ladislav Adamec, died at the weekend at the age of 80. A noted pragmatist, Mr Adamec headed the Czechoslovak government from 1988 up until December 1989 when he negotiated the eventual handing over of power with members of the opposition Civic Forum, which included future president Vaclav Havel. Although he tried to retain a place in politics even after the Velvet Revolution, Mr Adamec's later role was ultimately short-lived.