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Hungary is getting involved in the reconstruction of war-torn Afghanistan. It commands the provincial reconstruction team in the northern province of Baghlan and gives aid to the civilian population there. The Foreign Ministry in Budapest has also linked up with Hungarian Inter Church Aid for some new programs in Afghanistan.

The U.S. President George W. Bush visited Prague and Warsaw this week, either side of his talks at the G8 summit in Germany. His trip to Europe has been overshadowed by a row with Russia over the missile defence shield - Washington wants to build a radar base in the Czech Republic and an interceptor station in Poland. It's meant to counter threats against both America and Europe from so-called "rogue states" such as Iran, however the plan doesn't seem too popular with the locals.

When Slovenia takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union next year it will be the first former communist country to do so. It's a heady responsibility for a young democracy - and a country which has been independent for just 15 years. But the ideas of democracy and independence have a longer histroy and the magazine Nova Revija is intimately linked to them. It played an imporant role in Slovenia's struggle for independence from Yugoslavia and embodied many of its democratic aspirations. Nova Revija is celebrating its quarter

Poland's former royal capital of Krakow is marking its 750th anniversary this month. The historic city is enjoying something of a new golden era as it attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors.

The U.S. President George W. Bush visited Prague and Warsaw this week, either side of his talks at the G8 summit in Germany. His trip to Europe has been overshadowed by a row with Russia over the missile defence shield - Washington wants to build a radar base in the Czech Republic and an interceptor station in Poland. It's meant to counter threats against both America and Europe from so-called "rogue states" such as Iran, however the plan doesn't seem too popular with the locals.

Many in Slovakia are asking - are we a European dumping ground? Last month two trucks carrying over 40 tons of dangerous waste were caught trying to illegally ship the waste from Austria to Slovakia. The cost of waste disposal in old EU member states is several times higher than in new member states and crime experts believe an illegal international trade is developing around the illegal shipment of toxic waste.

In a number of Central European countries there's been a difficult transition from centrally funded state health care to a system where health insurance is provided, either by state or private insurance companies. In Slovakia a row has developed over state versus private health insurance. Slovaks have been switching from state to private in fairly large numbers - now the Prime Minister says he wants private health insurance companies to make less profit and has suggested they could be pushed out of the market. The Health Minister is currently working

You may have heard of the 100 dollar laptop - an initiative by The American Nicholas Negroponte to put comoputers at the finger tips of children in developing countries. Well Hungary has come up with a similar and perhaps complementary concept - the 80 euro PC. The 'Login Initiative' was launched by Hungarian electronic media expert András Nyiro and a group of social workers in an eastern Hungarian village, Tomor, where the population is mostly Roma.

And now to Slovenia for yet another festival. The Druga Godba Festival began in 1984 as an alternative festival focussin on rock, contemporary jazz and experimental music. It also re-established Slovene traditional music. Over the years the festival has changed and now it attracts world music artists from all over the world.

Each week relations between Russia and the west seem to take another dive. Let's recount some of the events of this past week. Russia tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile and said it was a response to US plans for anti-missile bases in Central Europe. The US said Russia was acting as if it were in another era - presumably the Cold War era. Russia accused the US of starting another arms race and President Putin repeated his warning that Russia could pull out of the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty. In fact Russia has called for an