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Slovakia's number two tennis player, Karol Beck has been given a two year ban for testing positive for clenbuterol. The prohibited substance was found in a urine specimen taken last September during the semi-final of the Davis Cup between Slovakia and Argentina in Bratislava.

Central Europe is caught up in the debate over press freedom and religious sensitivities after papers in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria and Poland re-printed caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. The caricatures were first printed in a Danish newspaper sparking protests around the world. In Poland the debate has led to questioning of the extent of media freedoms and there's been an apology by Polish authorities to the Arab world.

Slovakia is heading for elections 3 months ahead of schedule after a junior coalition party pulled out and the minority government of Mikulas Dzurinda came close to collapse. Mr Dzurinda asked Parliament for early elections and all parties agreed on June 17th. The centre right government is credited with economic reforms creating strong economic growth but which were not always popular with Slovaks.

February 8th is a national holiday in Slovenia, honoring the great national poet France Preseren. During the holiday, museums and cultural institutions traditionally offer free admittance. Cultural awards are also conferred on outstanding Slovenian artists.

The massive protests against the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed have rocked the world. Buildings have been burnt down; people have died at demonstrations. To avoid further offence to the Muslim community, the mayor of a little Belgian coastal town recently banned a local exhibition from displaying a sculpture of Saddam Hussein, made by the Czech artist David Cerny.

Fancy a weekend getaway in a five-star hotel? Most of us do from time to time and of those who can afford it a surprising number spend that indulgent weekend in Budapest. A survey by a worldwide reservation system ranks Budapest the third most popular destination in the world for luxury weekend getaways.

This past week Poland has been in mourning, remembering the victims of the country's worst tragedy in twenty years: the collapse of a trade fair centre in the southern city of Katowice. The roof of the packed building where a trade show was underway caved in, apparently under the weight of uncleared snow. 64 people were killed including eight foreigners. Czechs and Slovaks were among them.

Europe's already congested land routes are expected to see a 70% increase in traffic by 2020. For this reason, shifting more of the burden to the sea has become important for both landlocked as well as coastal nations in Europe. The European Commission conducted feasibility studies about sea motorways last year, and has allocated funds for their construction in the 2007 to 2013 budget. Plans are now underway for their realization.

The Czech theatre group Vlastenecka Omladina, or Patriotic Youth, was founded 120 years ago in Vienna. It performs two productions annually for the Czech-speaking minority in Austria. But this week audiences in Prague also have the chance to enjoy its work, as the group takes part in a mini-festival entitled Open Arms 2006.

January 19th 2006 will be a dark date in Slovak history. A military plane traveling from Pristina in Kosovo to the Slovak city of Kosice crashed just near the Slovak-Hungarian border, claiming the lives of 42 Slovaks. They were members of a NATO peacekeeping mission. It was the most serious air crash in Slovakia's history and investigators have recently recovered the aircraft's flight recorder.