ICE - special | All stories

Health officials says obesity is one of the most serious public health problems in Europe - It increases the risk of many chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. The increase of childhood obesity is particularly worrying - it's estimated that one in five children living in the EU is overweight. The European Commission has been pressing member states to do something about it so the Slovak government is setting up a national plan to fight child obesity. So how serious is child obesity in Slovakia?

Budget airlines have been opening and closing routes across Europe for years now, as they scramble for new destinations and connections. After months of wrangling, Slovenia is set to open another airport (its second) to the budget carriers.

Visitors to the town of Lezajsk in south eastern Poland these days are taken on a sentimental journey into the past. Some 2 000 Chassidic Jews from all over the world have made their annual pilgrimage to the place. It coincides with preparations for the opening of what is to be The Chassidic Route, a major tourist attraction for visitors to Poland and Ukraine, and eventually also to Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.

The EU wants to be a world leader in reducing CO2 emissions and fighting climate change. And it's agreed on a target of 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by the year 2020 - but the 27 membes have had difficulty agreeing on how to get to that target. Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic argue they do not have money to invest in costly alternatives and prefer to stay with cheaper options including coal, oil and nuclear energy. They do however agree with the EU's targets.

A new report says Hungary is a dark spot on the map of Europe when it comes to the effects of climate change. The United Nations Sustainable Development Commission examined unavoidable consequences of climate change and found Hungary very vulnerable.

In Slovenia data gathered by police suggests the number of domestic violence cases has increased by 73% over the past decade. Other official statistics support that trend, indicating one in four women has suffered domestic violence.

The agreement thrashed out among EU leaders in Brussels promises "solidarity" in the event of an energy supply crisis - something Poland was looking for, and, in wording important for Czechs, Slovaks and Hungarians noted that "nuclear energy meets growing concerns about safety of supply." It also allowed some wriggle room when it came to meeting the 20 percent target for renewable energy saying "this should take account of different national starting points."

March 8th was International Women's Day but there's little to show for it in the Czech Republic. Most Czechs' memories of International Women's Day are restricted to folk songs, drink, red carnations and communist rhetoric. As a result, it has been discarded as a remnant of the past and few people today even notice its existence. The Czech Women's Lobby is now trying to change that and get Czechs to re-embrace the original idea behind International Women's Day.

US plans to base parts of its anti-missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic is being hotly debated around Europe at the moment. Not least in the two countries involved. In Warsaw an event organized by the Center for European Strategy highlighted the differences between Germany and Poland over the issue. Germany has repeatedly expressed reservations concerning Poland's close relationship with the US, which some EU countries see as taking precedence over relations with Europe.

In Slovakia last week, air traffic controllers left their work stations and as result Slovak skies were inaccessible for most commercial aircraft. For six days, a fiery debate was conducted between management of the state-owned Air Traffic Control Company along with the Ministry of Transport against the striking controllers. The dispute seems to have been ended by an agreement for an audit.