ICE - special | All stories

One of the last decisions of the Polish Parliament in its current term of office was the election of a new Ombudsman. He is 55 year old lawyer Professor Andrzej Rzeplinski, associated for many years with the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. Radio Polonia spoke to Professor Rzeplinski about the tasks he'll have to tackle during his five-year term and the sort of complaints that Poles lodge against the public administration and the courts.

The international Radovljica Festival has, since its renewal in 1997, presented chamber music of past eras on authentic historical instruments and stylistically as close as possible to historical performance practices. The contrasted concert programmes also include contemporary music and new commissions by Slovene and other composers for period instruments.

For a long time now most Slovaks have had a high opinion of their high school education system. But this view is being challenged by the introduction of a new type of secondary school leaving examination which has been getting poor reports from people who say this type of testing puts unnecessary pressure on the students. Others say the new exams will gradually win over the sceptics.

Three or four years ago Bratislava airport's terminal building was just like a big empty hall. Each day there were only one or two plane loads of passengers echoing through its generous spaces. Today though, the departures and arrivals board seems too small to display all the daily flights. In the first five months of this year, Bratislava airport saw a 66% year on year increase in passenger numbers. It expects to reach 1.5 million travelers by the end of this year and the government now plans to privatise it.

The four countries of the Visegrad Group - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, feature high in a new survey on their capacity to attract foreign capital. This Annual Attractiveness Survey was compiled by the international consultancy firm Ernst and Young.

The 150-member Boston Gay Men's Chorus (BGMC) is one of New England's largest and most successful choirs. It has broken ground in affirming the positive image of the gay community in the United States, and is now on a tour of Europe. In Prague, the BGMC held a gala concert at one of the city's great concert venues last week. Radio Prague's David Vaughan met up with the chorus's executive director, Steven Smith, before the performance.

Three months before the presidential elections in Poland, the campaign has been given a kick-start with the announcement by the speaker of Parliament that he's joining the race and that Poland's current First Lady will be his campaign chief.

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.