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Around 2,500 Romanies took to the streets in 13 towns and cities around the Czech Republic on Sunday to protest against the growing threat of racism and extremism. In their first-ever nationwide protest, members of the country’s largest minority accused the government of not doing enough to protect them.

This Wednesday the Lisbon treaty, aimed at reforming the workings of the 27-member European Union, faces a key vote in the Czech Senate, one which has many in Brussels worried. Although observers remain optimistic, the Senate could potentially scuttle the document, amounting to a serious setback en par with last year’s No vote in the Irish referendum. Could it happen?

A caretaker cabinet to tide the Czech Republic to early elections is supposed to be formally appointed on Friday, but there’s still no agreement on who will be in it. Last week interim Prime Minister Jan Fischer said he was ‘unconvinced’ by several candidates nominated by the Green Party, Civic Democrats and Social Democrats, and suggested a few ministers of his own. Mr Fischer’s suggestions came as a shock to deputies in the Czech lower house, who threatened to withdraw their support for the caretaker cabinet.

For just under 15 years, from 1928 until 1941, a monument to the American president Woodrow Wilson stood in front of Prague’s main railway station. It was a mark of gratitude to the man who played a crucial role in the country’s independence – it’s hard to imagine the creation of an independent Czechoslovakia in 1918 without Wilson and his commitment to self-determination. In 1941, Wilson’s statue was torn down by the Nazis after Germany declared war on America. Now, almost 70 years later, a group called the American Friends of the Czech Republic

Research conducted by the Czech charity People in Need two years ago suggested that nearly three-quarters of school-age boys in this country had a ‘negative attitude’ towards homosexuality. A recently published European study indicates that that situation is not improving, and that homophobia is still a widespread problem in Czech schools. In light of the findings, the Czech government is producing a teachers’ manual to tackle the problem. Earlier, I spoke to Lucie Otáhalová who is behind the project. I asked her first about the scale of the problem

The Czech national football team remains without a manager, following the sacking of Petr Rada three weeks ago after only nine months at the helm. A number of names, both Czech and foreign, have been bandied about in the media as a possible replacement. Meanwhile, the results of a big public vote on who should manage the Czech team have just been revealed.

Fat cat wages at Czech state controlled companies during the economic crisis have been pushed into the limelight by the main opposition party, the Social Democrats. Party bosses say some of the pay packets now being admitted by top managers of state firms are excessive and have called for the incoming caretaker government of Prime Minister Jan Fischer to tackle them. Chris Johnstone has the details.

Just hours after the Czech health authorities ruled out the presence of the swine flu virus in the first three suspected cases, five more were reported. Press agencies brought news of the first swine flu related death in the US and several confirmed cases of swine flu in neighbouring Germany and Austria, increasing public concern about a possible pandemic.

As news emerges that the swine flu virus has hit Europe, with cases confirmed in both Britain and Spain, three Czechs remain under surveillance after displaying symptoms of illness upon return from Mexico. Prague’s Ruzyně Airport has implemented a system of medical-checks for passengers returning from Northern and Central America, while the government has urged Czechs to avoid all non-essential travel to the region.

One of the highlights of the Czech cultural calendar, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, gets underway in the west Bohemian spa town on July 3. While the list of special guests this year has not been completed, some names were revealed – along with the programme highlights – at a news conference in Prague on Tuesday morning. I spoke there to KVIFF’s programme director Julietta Sichel.