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Two weeks after regional elections which saw a landslide victory for the opposition Social Democrats, governments in all of the Czech Republic’s 13 regions are now being formed by the wining party. In six of them, the governments are most likely to rely on the support of the Communist Party. They will either enter straightforward coalitions with the Social Democrats, or support Social Democrat minority governments. This represents a significant advance for the Communists in the post-1989 period.

Most Czechs agree there is no other pop singer like Karel Gott, the famous Czech crooner known as the Sinatra of the East, who has won the country’s Cesky slavik (Czech Nightingale award) a remarkable 31 times. At 69, the singer is showing no signs of letting up. In fact, to mark his 50th anniversary in show business, he just kicked off a new tour in the Czech Republic this week.

President Václav Klaus makes a three-day state visit to Ireland next week, where he’s to meet his Irish counterpart Mary McAleese and other senior officials. But it’s his plans to attend a private dinner with leading Irish euro-sceptic Declan Ganley that has ruffled feathers, with some Irish politicians complaining that Mr Klaus is meddling in Ireland’s internal affairs. The Czech Republic takes over the revolving presidency of the EU on January 1st, and one of its tasks will be trying to resuscitate the EU’s Lisbon Treaty – rejected by Irish voters

The Czech government and Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek in particular have signaled their intention to invite Barack Obama - the new President-elect of the United States - to the Czech Republic in early 2009. The purpose: to attend an informal EU summit to be held in Prague in the spring. The visit would coincide with the Czech Republic’s term presiding over the EU, which begins on January 1. Dominik Jun spoke to political commentator Erik Best and asked him how important a visit by the newly sworn-in President Barack Obama would be:

The whole world was watching on Tuesday night as American voters cast their ballots in one of the most heated US presidential campaigns – including Prague’s American expat community. Several election night parties were held around the city where supporters of both camps stayed up all night, awaiting the results.

The Czech Republic will not, after all, ratify the Lisbon treaty before it takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union in just eight weeks’ time. Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, who only a fortnight ago gave assurances that Prague would ratify the document by January 1, now says Parliament will not vote on it until next year.

Barack Obama has been congratulated on his election victory by President Václav Klaus, opposition Social Democrat leader Jiří Paroubek and Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek. But what does Obama's victory mean for the controversial missile defence project, a subject that has so divided Czech politicians? Is the new U.S. president for missile defence, or against?

Charles Bridge, Prague’s most famous landmark, which last year celebrated its 650th anniversary, has been undergoing a major reconstruction since August. The Czech Culture Ministry’s heritage inspection team has now come to a shocking conclusion: the ongoing repairs have done the bridge more harm than good. The report, published on the ministry’s website, claims that the reconstruction has allegedly harmed the aesthetic and artistic value of the bridge.

Transcripts of police wiretaps are regular fodder for the Czech media, but perhaps not for much longer. On Friday MPs in the lower house approved a bill that would outlaw publishing transcripts or broadcasting recordings of phone calls intercepted by the police without the consent of the person concerned. If the bill becomes law, newspapers, broadcasters and internet sites would face heavy sanctions, including – in extreme cases - prison sentences.

Tuesday is a real red letter day for Czech sports fans, as a number of special events are being held to mark the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Czech Ice Hockey Association. The celebrations include the induction of dozens of people into the Czech hockey Hall of Fame, and culminate with a friendly game between the Czech Republic and Slovakia in Prague.