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Police in a number of Czech towns and cities are gearing up for more anti-Romany protests at the weekend. Marches by the ultra-right in troubled areas will aim to tap into growing anti-Roma sentiment. Extremists are also trying to increase anger through slanderous articles on the internet.

Czech President Miloš Zeman is due to formally dissolve the lower house of Parliament on August 28, with an early general election likely to take place by the end of October. That gives political parties two months to reach their voters. Some of them are wasting no time and have already begun campaigning.

On Wednesday, Czechs marked the 45th anniversary of the Soviet-led invasion that crushed the period of reforms known as the Prague Spring. They weren’t alone: reaction also came from Sofia, where artists overnight anonymously sprayed an infamous Soviet-era monument pink. With the words ‘Bulharsko se omlouvá’, they apologised for Bulgaria’s role in the 1968 invasion, a gesture that did not go unnoticed and made world headlines.

MPs on Tuesday voted to dissolve the lower house of Parliament for the first time in the Czech Republic’s history. With 140 votes supporting the motion lawmakers opened the door to early elections, following months of political crisis.

Wednesday marks the 45th anniversary of the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the armies of the Soviet Union and other communist countries. The invasion shocked the nation, and ushered in a long period of political and moral decline. More than a hundred people died during the invasion, some of whom were killed in defence of Czechoslovak Radio. On Wednesday, several Czech top officials, witnesses and dozens of guests marked the anniversary outside the Czech Radio building in central Prague.

A number of Czech travel agencies have sped up the return of clients from Egypt, cutting vacation stays short for fear that growing violence and unrest in Cairo and other cities could spread. Although life at seaside resorts in Hurghada and Sharm el Sheikh has continued as normal, the majority of Czech tourists are to return this week. Not all understand why their vacation was cut short.

The dissolution of the lower house of Parliament would leave the country without a Chamber of Deputies for the first time in its modern history. Under the Constitution this would mean a shift of power to the country’s caretaker government, the Senate and the president who would jointly have the right to pass provisional legislation in running the country.

With the lower house due to vote on its dissolution on Tuesday, there has been a great deal of speculation regarding how this development will affect given political parties and who may or may not support the motion. But how does the public feel about early elections, the rule of the caretaker government and the highly publicized possibility of ex-president Vaclav Klaus returning to active politics. A flash poll conducted jointly by the Agencies Median and STEM/MARK indicates that above all Czechs want change and they want it fast. I called the

Burmese opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi will visit Prague in mid-September, where she has accepted an invitation to address Forum 2000, a conference bringing together leading world thinkers and freedom fighters in support of democracy and civil society. Forum 2,000, established by the late Czech president Vaclav Havel, consistently invited the Burmese dissident leader to its meetings as a show of support in the years when she was under house arrest and did what it could to highlight her fight for democracy. Forum

This week half a dozen pianos have appeared at squares, train stations and other locations in Prague. Some passers-by have been taking the opportunity to tinkle the ivories themselves, while their random, impromptu performances have been bringing smiles to the faces of many more. And the organisers of the latest attempt to liven up Prague’s public spaces are already planning to expand the project.