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Doctors in the Czech Republic are ringing alarm bells: medical statistics show that the health of the nation is rapidly deteriorating in the wake of short-lived improvement in the early 90s. Over half of the population is overweight. High cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, stress and a sedentary lifestyle are responsible for the fact that one in two Czechs die of cardio-vascular diseases. One in four die of cancer and one in five as a result of heavy smoking.

At the start of the tournament some may have questioned the Czechs' ability to overcome some very big teams at this year's Ice Hockey World Championship but they did it and cast aside all doubt. After edging the U.S. in penalty shots and eliminating last year's runner-up Sweden in extra time, the Czechs faced Canada in the final on Sunday and came out on top. Jan Velinger has more on an unforgettable game.

The coalition government of Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek won a confidence vote in the lower house of parliament on Friday, a move set to end once and for all months of political crisis in the Czech Republic. Mr Paroubek replaced Stanislav Gross, who had been forced to step down amid a row over his personal finances. All 101 MPs in the ruling coalition voted for Mr Paroubek's government, while the remaining 99 opposition deputies all voted against.

An ancient Klingon proverb has it that "Revenge is a dish best eaten cold" - and when it comes to ice hockey that applies two-fold: exactly a year ago Team USA knocked the Czechs out of the World Ice Hockey Championship in a famous penalty shoot-out in Prague. This year, in Vienna, things were a little different. Once again it was the quarter-finals; once again it came down to the goalies. But this time the Czechs prevailed.

One of the country's most influential men is in hot water after he shot at two men, who he believed attacked him minutes earlier. This is the latest of a number of incidents in which licensed gun owners have used their firearms supposedly in self-defence, and has left people asking whether Czech law makes it too easy for irresponsible citizens to hold guns legally.

On Wednesday morning the Czech President Vaclav Klaus was among a small group of people who gathered at the Russian Orthodox memorial chapel in Prague's Olsany Cemetery. They were there to remember a tragic and long forgotten episode that began just days after the liberation of Prague sixty years ago in May 1945. David Vaughan reports.

While one important music festival - the Prague Spring - begins on Thursday night, another one - Golden Prague - ended on Wednesday. But Golden Prague, although it has a musical theme, is a very different event. It is an international television festival which specializes in TV programs focused on music. On Wednesday night at the Prague Zofin Palace the festival jury announced the winner of the 42nd year of festival.

The eyes of ice hockey fans worldwide are focused on Vienna where the Ice Hockey World Championships are underway. As the NHL season was cancelled in the United States, national teams this year feature their strongest players and true stars. But perhaps the most important and yet the humblest participant in the games is - the puck. It may come as a surprise that at this year's championships as well as in previous years, all the pucks have been produced in the Czech Republic.

Bystrice nad Pernstejnem made headlines in February, for being the only town in the Czech Republic where smoking was banned at all places owned by the municipality. But in the four months since the ban was introduced, there has been a surprising development.

On Thursday night Bedrich Smetana's "Ma Vlast" or "My Country" played by the London Symphony Orchestra will open the 60th Prague Spring Festival. The biggest and oldest classical music festival in Czech Lands, the Prague Spring has earned a reputation as one of the best in Europe.