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An official history of the British counter intelligence and security service MI5 has come up with some revelations about the work of the Communist Czechoslovak secret police. One of them is how it recruited agents among British Labour Party MPs. One of its biggest catches was a colourful and ambitious junior minister.

The EU’s Lisbon treaty has inched a step closer towards ratification following a decision by the Czech Constitutional Court. On Tuesday, the court threw out a secondary challenge put forward by a group of eurosceptic senators. On the other hand, arguably more serious obstacles remain: a complaint on the document as a whole, as well as continued opposition by the country’s President Václav Klaus.

The Czech Republic has five years left on its lease of 14 Gripen fighter jets from the British-Swedish consortium BAE Systems-SAAB, but already, say some observers, the government should be thinking about next steps: a tender preparing the ground for the Czech Republic to either buy the existing planes or to opt for new fighter jets.

A new exhibition entitled Čerstvé! or Fresh! has just got underway at Prague’s Museum of Decorative Arts. It showcases recent acquisitions of the Museum, including glass, china, fashion, jewelry, furniture and graphic collections by prominent Czech designers and manufacturers. The exhibition is part of a larger event annual Designblok festival, which also starts today.

2009 marks several important anniversaries for the Czech Republic; one we have not heard so much about is the 100th anniversary of the cinema house. The place in question is Prague’s Lucerna Palace, which screened its first film on December 3rd, 1909, and is still today the most popular single-screen cinema in the country.

The eyes of Europe are on Czech President Václav Klaus – a fierce Eurosceptic who now holds the key to the ratification of the Lisbon treaty. After the Irish “yes” to Lisbon on Friday, the Czech Republic and Poland are the only remaining EU countries not to have ratified the EU’s reform document. The Polish head of state is expected to sign it in a matter of days, but Mr Klaus has shown no intention of breathing life into the document he’s so vigorously opposed to. On Saturday, a group of Euro-sceptics marched to his seat at Prague Castle with

Every year, the Czech Foreign Ministry presents Gratias Agit awards to those who have helped promote the good name of the Czech Republic abroad. Recipients include individuals and institutions from all over the world; this year, the list of laureates ranges from Marius Sczygiel, a Polish journalist, who published a best-selling book about the Czech Republic, to Pontifical College Nepomucenum, an educational institution for Czech clergy in the Vatican.

Will he sign or won’t he – and what’s to be done if he doesn’t – that is the question politicians across Europe are asking themselves. President Klaus is keeping everyone in suspense, but political analyst Jiří Pehe thinks the Eurosceptic Czech president will soon have to concede defeat.

Concerns regarding a possible swine flu epidemic in the Czech Republic have taken a new turn. Fears that there would not be enough vaccines for people at risk have been replaced by concerns about the possible side effects of the new flu jab. In addition to that, a Canadian study released last week suggests that across the board vaccination against the seasonal flu could only make matters worse.

Humanitarian workers from around the world are rushing to Western Sumatra where Wednesday’s earthquake has left over a thousand people dead and likely several thousand more trapped beneath the rubble. Among those involved in the relief effort are Czech charity workers based in Aceh, northern Sumatra, where they have been working throughout the numerous disasters that have afflicted the island since 2005.