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Last Sunday Slovenians went to the polls to elect their third president since independence. Voters could choose from seven candidates seeking to succeed the incumbent Janez Drnovsek. The first round of the presidential polls in Slovenia brought some surprises. Lojze Peterle, a former Slovenian prime minister and a member of the European Parliament, was the winner with 27.5%, well short of the 50% needed for an outright win. The two left-leaning candidates Danilo Türk and Mitja Gaspari fought it out for second place. While Peterle is a sure contender

A list of great Czech inventions could include everything from the contact lens to lager beer and now...the beer vending machine can be added to the list. After a six-month trial, the world famous brewer, Pilsner Urquell, has just announced it's launching more of its new beer vending machines which are similar to soft drinks machines, although they read customer ID's and its claimed they only sell to people over 18. With the network expanding a beer vending machine could soon be coming to a location near you.

Last weekend's snap parliamentary election in Poland has brought about far-reaching changes in the country's political scene. "Out" is the conservative government of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, whose Law and Justice Party suffered a crushing defeat. "In" is the liberal Civic Platform. But, as you will hear in this report from Polish Radio's Michal Kubicki, this does not mark the end of the Kaczynski era in Polish politics.

On Tuesday a court in Prague began hearing the case against Ludmila Brozova-Polednova, the last living participant in one of the most notorious show trials of communist-era Czechoslovakia. In 1950, Mrs Brozova-Polednova was a 29-year-old prosecutor who helped condemn the democratic politician Milada Horakova to death. Now 86, she is being tried as an accomplice to murder. Radio Prague's Rob Cameron has this report.

Slovenia and Hungary share only a short border. But both countries are linked by their minorities within each other's borders, with most living near the line where the two states meet. Last week Hungary and Slovenia made history, when for the first time ever their governments held a joint working meeting. The conference is being seen as a success, as Radio Slovenia International's Ksenija Samardzija Matul reports.

For the seventh time since the collapse of communism in 1989, Poles are electing a new parliament. The vote comes two years ahead of schedule and as two years ago the electorate seems to be split between supporters of the ruling conservative Law and Justice and the liberal, more pro-European Civic Platform. Over to Michal Kubicki of Polish Radio's External Service.

The internet is such a huge part of our daily lives today that it's now impossible to imagine living without it. But not all countries are equal when it comes to internet access - or the skills to make the best use of the world wide web. Slovakia's Institute for Public Affairs recently published a report called Digital Literacy 2007. Its verdict: Slovaks could do a lot better when it comes to the Internet. Radio Slovakia International's Michal Groch has more.

The recently released EuroHealth Consumer Index had bad news for Slovenia. Although regularly cited as a poster child of new Europe, the country finished in the lower half of the European Union.

In a week's time Poles will be electing a new parliament. They will be choosing between seven parties and blocks. Who are the main players and what is the real choice facing the Polish man-in-the-street?

A number of Austrian medical companies are trying to solve a shortage of blood plasma - that's the yellowish liquid in which blood cells are suspended - in their country by bringing in donors from across the border in Slovakia. Not surprisingly, the scheme - under which Slovak donors receive money for making the trip - is proving controversial.