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Czech health care is once again in the spotlight, after the country’s Medical Chamber called on hospital physicians to quit their jobs by the end of the year if they don’t get a substantial pay raise. The appeal is unlikely to leave patients in Czech hospitals without treatment, but will put more pressure on the potential government coalition which plans to introduce a major overhaul of the system.

Czech outdoors lovers have been warned to brace for the coming peak in tick season at the end of June/early July, a little later than usual after this year’s long winter. Like in previous years, there is a risk from ticks carrying the potentially deadly infection encephalitis, and as many as one in five can carry the bacterial infection borreliosis or Lyme disease. In 2009, more than 4,000 Czechs were infected with the latter, a disease which can have a long-term negative impact on health if not detected and treated quickly. As a result, specialists

A new report by the Czech National Bank warns that flats in the Czech Republic are overpriced in spite of recent falls and prices could slide still further. The report says rent and wage rises failed to keep pace with that price explosion, which started to put flats out of reach of ordinary earners.

The wind of change has been blowing across Central Europe this spring, with elections in Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and most recently Slovakia significantly altering the political landscape. Commentators have been struck by the parallels between the latter two elections, especially the apparent failure of the countries’ two Social Democratic parties to form a government despite winning the most votes. But do the parallels end there?

Tour operators have registered between a 10 – 15 percent decrease in the number of Czech vacationers buying package tours in normally popular destinations such as Egypt or Tunisia. Vacationers are choosing to save more in lean economic times, and are apparently being more selective in how they spend their funds: either opting for cheaper destinations by plane, or by vacationing by car or bus a little closer to home.

Now in its 52nd year, Smetana’s Litomyšl International Opera Festival transforms composer Bedřich Smetana’s home town in east Bohemia into a paradise for music lovers. The music festival, which is the country’s second oldest, kicked off on Friday and will run until July 5. What can visitors expect this year?

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.

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.

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 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