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Police in Prague are investigating two separate incidents of petrol attacks against homeless people sleeping on night trams. In one incident a man ended up in hospital with second degree burns - and a tram driver was arrested and charged with attempted murder. The attacks have raised awareness of the plight of homeless people in the Czech Republic.

Pop group U2 is currently touring Europe in support of their new album "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." But in Slovenia, U2 entered the headlines for an entirely different reason.

The countries most concerned about what is called the 'framework budget' are the new member states, which fear that delays will lead to the postponement of EU funded programmes due to start in their countries in January 2007. That's why some are looking towards a suggestion from Hungary.

The Mafia is big news in Slovakia at the moment. Recently a list of names was leaked into the public arena - firstly on the internet and then into the general media. Allegedly it was a police list of people connected with the underworld. There is no clear evidence as to the authenticity of the list; however, it has made the mafia the hottest topic in town.

After the rejection of the European Constitution there's concern that planned EU enlargement to take in Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia may be delayed. The Ljubljana-based Centre for Strategic Studies recently gathered together experts to look at the risks to further enlargement along with the ongoing crisis over the constitution.

"Journeys in a New Homeland" is the title of a play written by a Cameroonian refugee, Simon Mol, and shown to Polish audiences by a team of refugee-actors seeking asylum in Poland.

For a country of ten million, the Czech Republic can boast many world famous football stars, from Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech to Pavel Nedved of Juventus. What's more, the country currently stands at second in the world rankings. Now, reflecting the Czech Republic's status as a "world power", the Czech Football Association is about to become involved in an international aid project for the first time - linking up with an NGO in Africa. Radio Prague's Ian Willoughby has the story.

European Union leaders and the Bush administration wrapped up a summit in Washington this week at which they emphasised their friendship and common goals. President Bush said the United States supports a strong European Union and EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said relations had improved markedly in recent months. The EU-US summit occurred against the backdrop of a crisis in the European Union over its constitution and it was a much more conciliatory tone between Washington and European capitals than we've been used to

Slovenia has come out on top in a survey that looked at economic performance in the eight East and Central European countries which joined the EU last year. The Performance Index was prepared by the World Economy Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

United Nations' World Refugee Day was marked this past week. Since 1992 Slovakia has hosted around 45,000 refugees from all around the world. As a member of the EU it's possible that the flow of refugees into and through Slovakia will increase.