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Now, a rather depressing topic to address today: suicide. Last year some one and a half thousand Czechs chose to end their lives, usually because of health or family problems. Newly-released figures show most people take their lives at home, more suicides occur in the month of May, and Monday appears to be a particular grim day for people suffering from severe depression. For more on this sad issue spoke to psychologist Petr Weiss.

A rather unique construction project took place in Prague on Tuesday when a Mongolian yurt, or tent, was built in front of a museum in the Old Town. Sounds a bit strange? Well, was there.

When the ruling Social Democrats came to power in the summer of 1998, it was amid a climate of public disgust with politicians their shady links with big business. The centre-right government of Vaclav Klaus had collapsed six months earlier, largely thanks to allegations that his Civic Democratic Party had taken bribes in exchange for lucrative privatisation deals. But the Social Democrats, who promised to sever the links between politics and business, are now themselves fighting allegations of conflict of interest. Regional Development Minister

Women in senior positions are something of a rare species in the Czech Republic, and top female managers are sometimes interviewed in the press as a unique curiosity. There are, of course, exceptions, but these only seem to illustrate the discriminatory approach of Czech employers to female employees. But the labour and social affairs minister says he's not happy with the situation, and has recently come up with an initiative to change it. How? reports.

The sound of Vera Bila, the queen of Czech gypsy music. Last week, Bila and her band Kale sang in New York's Central Park, as part of a popular open-air music festival called Central Park Summer Stage. The singer drew a crowd of several thousand as she took to the stage to entertain a rather damp audience, and by all accounts the concert was a huge success. is here with more:

The number of crimes uncovered involving police officers has grown by nearly a half as compared to the first six months of 1999. The Interior Ministry has a special department devoted to investigating police crime, and so far this year, it has brought 181 Czech police officers to court, suspected of no less than 285 criminal offences. has the details:

The row over the medieval Jewish cemetery in Prague's Vladislavova Street is still making the headlines. After coming to an agreement with the insurance company Ceska Pojistovna, which wants to build its new headquarters on the site, the Jewish Committee for the Preservation of Cemeteries in Europe has complained to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, claiming that the insurance company is not respecting the terms of the agreement. Radio Prague's has more.

Up to now would-be Czech writers and journalists have honed their skills at the faculties of philosophy or journalism of Charles University. As of this autumn they finally have an alternative. In a groundbreaking initiative, the internationally renowned Czech-born writer Josef Skvorecky has set up an Academy of Creative Writing, the first institution of higher learning of this type in the Czech Republic. has more

Hundreds of Czech citizens from the border region, near the north Moravian city of Ostrava, have discovered a new way to get a job. They are applying for German citizenship, which will enable them to live and work in Germany. In an area where the unemployment rate exceeds 16 percent, this comes as no surprise, especially when the average German wage greatly exceeds that in the Czech Republic. For more here's .

The third European congress of the International Confederation of Christian Family Movements opened on Wednesday at the Roman Catholic Archbishop's Seminary in Prague. Till Sunday, some 130 delegates, mostly married couples from more than 20 countries and from various different world churches, will be discussing issues under one main theme - "The Significance of the family in the new millenium." has the details: