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Diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks reportedly show that the Czech Republic was warned by the United States against selling machine tools they feared could find their way to use in the Iranian nuclear programme. Specifically, it claims that in the search for weapons-making machinery, Iranian companies have attempted to bypass Czech export controls by buying through a Turkish partner.

The Czech Foreign Ministry has launched a far reaching review of what its future priorities should be and how it can achieve them. The review is aimed at adapting policy to global changes over the last few years and also the ministry’s stretched resources.

Home births are currently under the spotlight in the Czech Republic; a trial began in Prague last week involving the chairwoman of the country’s Union of Midwives. Ivana Königsmarková, one of the very few Czech midwives qualified to deliver babies at home, faces up to four years in prison after overseeing a botched delivery that left a baby boy severely brain damaged. She denies any wrongdoing.

Czechs are marking the 42nd anniversary of the death of student martyr Jan Palach. He set himself on fire and later died in protest against the Soviet led invasion of 1968 and retreat from the reforms, the so-called ‘normalisation’ that followed. The anniversary has relaunched hopes and promises that Prague could finally get a statue to mark the self sacrifice of the 20-year-old student.

Czech roads finally became safer last year. According to police statistics released on Thursday, 2010 saw the lowest number of road deaths in five decades, despite a slight surge in the overall number of accidents. The police say greater awareness among drivers, together with a better approach by traffic police themselves, were among the principle causes.

Thursday evening saw the awarding of the first-ever Czech Film Critics Awards at Prague’s Archa Theatre. The awards are meant as a dignified alternative to the more commercial Czech Lions, which are given by the Czech TV & Film Academy.

They started out with dreams of positions on the winners’ podium but for many the most tangible souvenirs are broken bones and trips to the hospital. Many Czech competitors in the gruelling Dakar rally went out with a bang. But for one of the best hopes of a winning place, Tatra lorry driver Aleš Loprais, it was more like a whimper.

The Czech government on Wednesday moved to soften the controversial “muzzle” law that strictly prohibits journalists from revealing information about individuals involved in a criminal investigation, under threat of up to 5 years in prison. The proposed amendment introduces a “public interest” clause which would allow the release of such information if it pertains to politicians and other public officials.

Czech authorities have for the first time released a list of gas stations that were penalized last year for selling low-quality fuel. The index shows that around 50 filling stations landed fines for breaching Czech fuel standards in 2010. Experts have long been calling for the release of the data. But some of them criticized the fact that the list does make a clear enough distinction between serious violators and those who only committed minor offences.

Czech Internet search engine Seznam has long been a rarity on the world wide web by beating global leader Google into second place on the local market. But figures just out suggest that the US giant could have overtaken the Czech company at the start of the year. We look at those statistics and the battle to be the favourite on the local internet search market.