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US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are set to sign a landmark nuclear arms control treaty in the Czech capital on Thursday. But some Czechs are concerned that Barack Obama’s effort to engage Russia could undermine the security of their own country. Radio Prague spoke to Daniel Anýž, a foreign policy commentator for a leading Czech daily, Hospodářské noviny, and asked him whether he thought these concerns were justified.

Several Czech brewers, including the makers of Pilsner Urquell, are calling for tightening of the rules for using an industry quality control label named České Pivo (Czech Beer). The move comes in reaction to a recent consumer test of several Czech beers. It revealed that some brewers are using a chemically modified hops extract – a substance that purists say has no place in Czech beers, which are known around the world for their high quality.

Prague will be in the world spotlight for the historic signature of a new nuclear arms control agreement between US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. That centrepiece event takes places at noon on Thursday in Prague Castle’s magnificent Spanish Hall. But the Czech capital is playing host to the leaders over three days in total.

Prague’s Libuš district is home to a sprawling Vietnamese market called Sapa and is one of the main centres of the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic. The local town hall has recently complained of growing tension between the Czech and Vietnamese communities in the area, where they say the latter is forming a ghetto. Although the police have noted no significant increase in crime, the district mayor has warned of problems on the horizon.

At the weekend, two Molotov cocktails (containing a liquid that is yet to be identified by the police) were thrown into the doorway of a block of flats inhabited by Romany families in the north Moravian town of Opava. The incident, which is being investigated as a threat to public safety, comes just a few weeks after a similar attack on a Romany family in Ostrava. Sarah Borufka reports.

Mirek Topolánek finally bowed to the inevitable on Thursday, and bowed out of Czech politics. He announced he would relinquish his post of leader of the Civic Democrats on April 12th, following the uproar over unfortunate remarks made last month. He passes the reins to deputy chairman Petr Nečas, viewed as a safe pair of hands to restore stability to the Civic Democrats after passing through the recent political storm. But who is Petr Nečas?

For Christians, Good Friday is one of the most important holidays of the year – and in many countries of the world, it is observed as a public holiday. In the Czech Republic, the holiday was scrapped by the communists in the 1950s. A group of senators has been trying for years to reinstate the holiday in the Czech calendar. But the way things look, it seems that Czechs will go to work for many Good Fridays to come.

Almost exactly a year after US President Barrack Obama declared his commitment to seeking a world free of nuclear weapons in a keynote speech in Prague – he is due to return to the Czech capital to sign a landmark nuclear disarmament treaty with his Russian counterpart, Dimitry Medvedev. Mr. Obama will also meet with a number of European leaders in the course of his two day visit. The Czech capital is gearing up for a massive security effort for what is shaping up to be a historic event.

This Thursday saw the opening of a new exhibition in Prague focusing on the benefits of recycling. The Czechs are among the best in Europe when it comes to the recovery and recycling of many plastics, but more progress can still be made on the recycling of other items, including PET bottles, paper and glass.

The Czech Foreign Ministry this week put to work an extensive cost-cutting plan, and closed down the embassy in Angola, the consulate in Montreal and the cultural Czech Centre in the German city of Dresden. Later this year, the ministry is also planning to close more embassies in several other countries. Earlier I spoke to deputy foreign minister Hynek Kmoníček and asked him which embassies will be affected by the ministry’s saving measures.