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Poles last weekend elected the conservative candidate Lech Kaczynski as their new President. If his campaign is any indication, Mr Kaczynski's Presidency looks like setting itself apart from those of his predecessors. He says post communist Poland is tainted by corruption and by economic reforms that benefit only elites and promises a clean break with the past.

Despite Hungary's economic growth over the last decade, poverty - especially child poverty - is a burning issue. The socialist-liberal government says it is now declaring war on poverty, and is commissioning a group of experts to tell it how to fight it. Radio Budapest spoke to the head of the group, sociologist Zsuzsa Ferge:

The Borstnik theatre festival held in the city of Maribor is the main theatre festival of its kind in Slovenia. Ignacij Borstnik, whose name the festival bears is considered the founder of artistic theatre in Slovenia. Around the turn of the century he was a master of the most demanding theatre roles at the turn of the century.

The Visegrad four, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia are worried about their borders. The question is can they put up a friendly fence towards their Eastern neighbours and at the same time be the eastern bastion for what many call fortress Europe?

This coming week marks the 50th anniversary of Hungary's 1956 revolution. The heroism and tragedy of that time has been captured in a new book by British writer and researcher, Bob Dent.

A couple of years ago, allegations that Roma women in Slovakia were being sterilised against their will created a storm of controversy and gave Slovakia negative press around the world. As a result Bratislava ordered a major investigation and two years on the country's general prosecutor has handed down a verdict.

Hungarian film has a rich tradition, but in recent years the country's cinematography - mainly due to a lack of funding and a lack of inspiring subject matter - has failed to impress film critics. But those days appear to be over. Hungarian films seem to have regained a voice of their own and are becoming increasingly popular with Hungarians and festival audiences abroad.

Poland's two right-wing presidential candidates will square it off in a second round of elections in a week's time. The first round proved inconclusive with front runner liberal Donald Tusk gaining a slim lead over his rival conservative Lech Kaczynski. There is mounting concern that the final leg of the presidential contest may be brutal, with both candidates slinging mud at each other.

Central Europe has been gripped by reality show fever - primarily by the show Big Brother, where a selected number of people with very different personalities spend a few months in a luxurious villa and have to get along. But in Slovakia, people were glued to their TV screens last week to follow the life of a businessman turned homeless.

Prague Castle dominates the sky-line of the Czech capital and is one of the most potent symbols of the Czech Republic's culture and history. A new exhibition, at the Castle, features haunting and intriguing photographs of the former seat of Czech kings - from the days when the art of photography was very much in its infancy. Radio Prague's Ian Willoughby reports from the exhibition.