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In recent days the Education Minister Dana Kuchtova has come under fire for failing to secure the drawing of around 60 billion crowns in EU funds for research and educational programmes. On Sunday Martin Bursik - the head of the Green party of which Ms Kuchtova is a member - conceded she might have to resign. For now, the minister has stuck to her guns, hoping to turn the situation around in time. So far, she has succeeded.

All of this week, the University of Nebraska is celebrating 100 years of Czech teaching on campus. The language course was set up by Nebraska's large expatriate Czech community at the turn of the 20th century, with emigrants wanting to ensure that their descendants received schooling in their own mother tongue. A century on, and the Czech language is still thriving in the American Midwest. Between lectures, I spoke to the university's Czech professor Mila Saskova-Pierce, who has also been organizing the centenary celebrations. I started by asking

In recent weeks, two high-profile cases of art theft have struck the Czech Republic. Both homegrown talent Jiri David and the Zimbabwean artist Gladios Mohumba have fallen victim to the sculpture thieves. With both sculptures disappearing while on public display, will this have an effect on sculptors' willingness to show their work out of doors? Rosie Johnston reports:

President Vaclav Klaus has been criticised by a number of Czech politicians for a speech he is going to deliver at a conference on climate change held by the Secretary General of the U.N. in New York. While some say Mr Klaus should not express his personal opinions on the matter but rather the official position of the Czech Republic, others fear that his speech might harm Czech prospects of securing a non-permanent seat in the U.N.'s Security Council.

On Friday September 14th Czechs marked the 70th anniversary of the death of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk - the first and best-loved president in the country's history, fondly referred to as "the father of the nation". The man who stood at the cradle of Czechoslovakia and who taught Czechs and Slovaks the principles of freedom and democracy still commands enormous respect. During his life-time Masaryk was a cult figure. Seventy years after his death Czechs say they still have a lot to learn from him.

The Prague district of Smichov is enjoying an eventful month. Friday sees the start of its second festival in just two weeks. Lightheartedly named 'Happy Beer Days', it is to take place under the patronage of two Prague 5 councilors and has as its main sponsor the prestigious beer producer Staropramen, whose brewery is in the area. If the festival is successful, the organizers hope it will become an annual occurrence, attracting more and more visitors. Joshua Singer has the story.

Milena Vicenova, former agriculture minister, was been appointed by the Czech government on Wednesday to become the new Czech ambassador to EU. She will replace current ambassador Jan Kohout at the beginning of 2008, a year before the Czech Republic will assume the presidency.

Even before the first whistle in Wednesday evening's football Euro qualifier between the Czech Republic and Ireland, the game was being described as autumn's big event. There was no question that the Czechs - who had been suffering from poor form and had come under heaps of criticism of late - needed to win against Ireland to keep them in qualifying contention. They succeeded: on the night the Czechs played their most inspired game in months, just edging their opponents.

Czech president Vaclav Klaus has become the face of a media campaign questioning the impact of global warming. The campaign is run by the free-market think-tank Heartland Institute. It features pictures of Vaclav Klaus and former US vice-president Al Gore under the headline "Global Warming Is No Crisis". It also draws attention to Mr Klaus' speech that is to take place in two week's time at the UN conference on global warming. I spoke to Tom Swiss of the Heartland Institute and started by asking about the campaign's aim.

The Dvorak hall of Prague's Rudolfinum will open its doors on Wednesday for the first concert of this year's international music festival 'Prague Autumn'. Taking place under the patronage of Czech President Vaclav Klaus and the Ministry of Culture, the prestigious annual festival will consist of a series of twenty-two concerts, and features an international lineup of performers.