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Apart from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia also have soldiers in Iraq and the Hungarian parliament has just extended the mandate of Hungarian troops serving there until the end of 2004. Against growing public opposition - will they be able to stay the distance in Iraq? Heinz Schulte is defence analyst from Janes Defence Weekly.

The European "Union of Jewish Students" has been building new bridges in Budapest. At least that's what they called their seminar. The idea was to bring together young Roma and Jews from all over Europe to learn about the past, present and future relationships between these two major European minorities... and of course make new friends. But as Petra Hajdu of Radio Budapest reports there were hardly any Romany participants present....

Over the past ten years Slovene pop culture has been moving away from western influences and returning to more traditional roots. - It's a phenomenon examined in the novels of Slovene writer Andrej Blatnik.

At this year's Vienna International Film Festival, or Viennale, there were 300 films from all over the world - many of them big productions. But the Viennale is also a forum for unusual documentaries, and this year included films by directors from Central and Eastern Europe who've examined history through a personal perspective. Astrid Nolte takes a look at two unusual films

European integration is doing its bit for cross-cultural experience - this time with rebirth of polish Health Spas. The small southwestern town of Swieradow was a luxurious German upper class spa before World War Two. Under communism, it declined to a dowdy, cheap, health resort. Today, Swieradów is finding a new prosperous era as western tourists, especially Germans, rediscover its charms

Music by musicians such as the Beatles, The Who, Bob Dylan, Hendrix and others moved a generation of Central Europeans to end oppression - according to Hungary's ambassador to the United States, Andras Simonyi. He told the Rock and Roll hall of fame in the US that as a fourteen year old in Budapest it was that kind of music, which drew his generation to the west and eventually helped end communism. Andras Simonyi - a rock guitarist as well as Hungary's ambassador in Washington - talks about how he got access to the music and what it meant.

This week visitors to Prague's Svanda Theatre are being treated to a feast of Balkan music, with the launch of a new CD by the band Gothart. It's a sound associated more with sand and sea and summer holidays on the Adriatic than Prague's grey winter. But what's unusual about this recording is that all the musicians are Czech. Radio Prague's David Vaughan asked world music expert Petr Doruzka for his impressions of the new CD - starting with the rather eccentric title "Rakija 'n' Roll".

Vienna is the city, which witnessed the birth of the singing career of the Slovak born Soprano Diva, Edita Gruberova. She emigrated to Austria in 1970 when she was 24 and was hired on the spot at the Vienna State Opera. She became world famous and is now considered the best bel canto or coloratura singer.

In Hungary the early onset of winter has already claimed 11 lives. Those most exposed to the elements and the hardships of the winter to come are of course the homeless. To help the many thousands of people without a roof over their head - telephone hotlines have been set up across the country. They are collecting reports on the whereabouts of the needy and send social workers where possible. Petra Hajdu reports.

Most foreign visitors associate the Czech capital with the city's 14th century architectural jewel - Charles Bridge. But a mile away is another, rather newer structure - the massive Nusle Bridge. Opened in 1973, it plays a crucial role in the capital's transport system: almost all north-south traffic flowing through Prague is carried across it. But as Radio Prague's Rob Cameron reports, the gargantuan bridge fell victim to Cold War politics, and unfortunately seems to have a hypnotic attraction for suicidal Czechs.