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Czech Muslims are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the first mosque ever built in the Czech Republic which opened in 1998 in the city of Brno. While ten years ago, the Islamic Foundation in Brno had to face protests and their mosque had to do without a minaret, today the community is thriving and even planning to build a new, greater mosque in the Moravian capital.

Lenka Šmídová became the first Czech ever to win an Olympic medal in sailing, taking a silver medal in Athens four years ago. This time around, however, even qualifying to compete in the Olympic Games in Beijing has been tough. A change of category and numerous combinations of sailing partners along the way have meant her route to the games in China has been less than straightforward. I spoke to Lenka Šmídová at the Czech Yacht Club in Prague as she prepares to leave for China later this month.

France took up the rotating EU presidency on Tuesday amidst increasing concerns over the fate of the Lisbon Treaty. Polish President Lech Kaczynski unexpectedly announced he would not sign the treaty following its rejection by Ireland and there is concern over the stands of Germany and the Czech Republic where lawmakers have asked their constitutional courts to review the document, delaying its ratification. President Sarkozy pulled out the big guns on Monday night, saying that France would make the treaty’s ratification its top priority and dealing

Prague City Hall has taken its toughest measures yet to clamp down on the capital’s litter problem. As of this Tuesday, those caught dropping litter could face a fine of up to 30,000 crowns (nearly 2,000 USD).

Tuesday saw the visit of Andrew Cahn, the Chief Executive of UK Trade and Investment to Prague. The visit comes amidst increasing economic co-operation between Britain and the Czech Republic. Dominik Jun met Mr Cahn whilst he was conducting a tour of the reconstruction of Charles Bridge – itself a project contracted out to a British firm. He began by asking Mr Cahn to explain the work of UK Trade and Investment and the reasons for his visit here.

Statistics suggest that the number of asthma-sufferers among children in the Czech Republic has doubled over the past ten years. Every seventh Czech child currently suffers from breathing problems related to asthma and specialists say the number will most likely keep growing in the coming years.

The first-ever gay parade in the Czech Republic took to the streets of Brno on Saturday, despite threats by neo-Nazi and other extremist groups. Even a heavy police presence at the march failed to prevent attacks by anti-gay protesters who shouted insults and even threw tear gas at marching gay rights activists.

Prague has lost one of its best-known and best-loved literary figures. The writer Lenka Reinerová died on Friday at the age of 92. Her novels and stories, which drew richly from her adventurous life, were written in her native German, and she was often described as Prague’s last German writer. Lenka Reinerová was one of few surviving witnesses of the rich German speaking literary world of Prague between the wars, and she knew many of its best known figures, including Max Brod and the famous „roving reporter“, Egon Erwin Kisch. David Vaughan looks

The Old Royal Palace at Prague Castle is currently hosting an exhibition of photographs by Jiří Všetečka, a photographer who is best known for his pictures of the Czech capital. The exhibition entitled Pražský chodec or Prague Walker takes place on the occasion of the photographer’s 70th birthday. It looks back at his career, spanning more than 50 years.

The Czech Republic is set to join the European Space Agency, after its council approved Czech membership this week. Once that is ratified by the Czech Parliament, the country will become the first post-communist state to join the prestigious space research institution. But what will membership mean for the Czech Republic? That’s a question Radio Prague put to the director of Czech Space Office Jan Kolář.