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The social networking website facebook has both its fans and its critics, but there is no denying that it can bring people together. One person who could testify to that is Czech woman Ladislava Schröderová; through facebook she was able to re-establish contact after over two decades with a son who was living in Canada and believed she was no longer alive.

The first year of what looks set to become the biggest annual theatrical event in the country launched at the weekend. The nine-day Theatre World Festival in Brno will feature ensembles from a dozen countries. However, the main attraction comes from the Czech Republic, in the form of the complete works of playwright-president Václav Havel, some of which will receive their world premiere.

Three weeks after general elections, three centre-right parties are still holding talks on forming a coalition government. On Friday, the leader of the strongest party, the Civic Democrats, is set to inform President Václav Klaus on the progress made so for, and might even leave those talks as prime minister designate. But the Civic Democrats are holding a crucial congress over the weekend that could change everything.

President Václav Klaus surprised many earlier this week when he vetoed an amendment to the Lottery Act that was intended to further regulate the gambling industry. What’s more, the timing of the veto, just after the dissolution of parliament, sends the bill back to the very beginning of the legislative process. Now parliamentarians and mayors from both the right and the left are upset over a long process for an important change going back to the drawing board.

The three parties who are in the process of forming a centre-right government have agreed to try to change the Czech constitution in a way that would allow the president to be elected in a direct vote. In line with the country’s legislation, the head of state has always been elected by the two houses of Parliament in a process that involves a great deal of horse-trading. Although opinion surveys suggest that the public would prefer a direct vote all previous attempts to change the system have failed. Is a different outcome likely this time and

The Czech Republic’s soccer players failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup, and, like Czech fans, will be watching the football extravaganza on television. But with their own team not there, who will Czechs be supporting in South Africa? Well, Slovakia has finished top of a poll asking just that question: that despite the facts the Slovaks perhaps don’t always cheer for their one-time fellow citizens.

The Czech pension system is to undergo a major overhaul in the coming years. On Wednesday, government appointed experts unveiled a pension reform draft that would enhance the current pay-as-you-go system with individual savings accounts. If approved, the plan will be in effect when today’s generation in their 20s and early 30s reach retirement age.

The floodwaters have receded in Moravia, but now many parts of the region are inundated with mosquitoes. Various sources have reported as many as 60 bites a minute in places – not necessarily a danger, but a definite inconvenience as the summer tourist season begins.

This week, an art piece exhibited in front of Czech government headquarters caused a bit of a stir. An ice sculpture of the head of President Václav Klaus that slowly melted in the sun did not amuse officials, who had commissioned students to create artworks for a nearby garden. The offending artist, sculpting student Markéta Jáchimová, decided to display her piece despite orders not to.

Thursday is the anniversary of the razing the village of Lidice by the Nazis in 1942, without doubt one of the darkest moments in modern Czech history. A planned film about the massacre has been delayed for some years due to funding problems. Now the film’s producer has been forced to announce yet another piece of bad news. Alice Nellis, who was originally meant to direct the film, has had to step back from the project due to illness.