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Last week we followed in the footsteps, and coffee cups, of Kafka and co, into the cafes of Prague. This week Michal Kubicki of Polish Radio's External Service reckons he can go one better in the atmospheric cafe competition. He takes us to a newly-opened cafe in which you can breathe the atmosphere of pre-war Warsaw. The name of the place is, rather appropriately, Cafe Fogg. But as Michal reports it has nothing to do with mist.

Amid the debate on whether to boycott the Olympic Games in China, the Slovenian Athletics Association recently confirmed that one of the country's star athletes will not be going. But her being grounded at home has nothing to do with troubles in Tibet, and everything to do with a failed drug test. Michael Manske of Radio Slovenia International has the story of a star athlete's fall from grace.

European Union foreign ministers were meeting in the Slovene town of Brdo on the weekend to discuss the situation in Tibet as well as on their doorstep in the Balkans. Ahead of the meeting Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Czech President Vaclav Klaus said they would not travel to Beijing for the Olympic opening ceremony as a protest against China's crackdown on Tibetan protesters. They were hoping to start something of an EU pro-Tibet protest. Kerry Skyring spoke to Austrian Radio's Raimund Löw who was in Brdo with the foreign ministers

An Austrian group has won a major recording contract with Universal Music. The group was selected after a world-wide competition and their first recording is expected to be an instant hit. But this is no new-wave band - in fact it can claim an 800 year old tradition - because it's the monks of Heiligenkreuz Abbey who've been chosen by Universal to record their Gregorian chants. The contract is coming their way after one of their number sent Universal an mp3 recording and a link to a youtube clip. Kerry Skyring has been speaking to Father Philip

The unemployment rate in Slovakia has been coming down in recent years as the country enjoys an investment driven boom. But unemployment among women remains stubbornly high and many women have trouble getting back into the workforce after maternity leave. Employers apprently fear a mother with a young child may not provide the commitment and flexibility they demand. But help is at hand from an NGO called Integra which has been helping women set up their own businesses. Anna Rajska is the head of Integra in the city of Ruzomberok and she's been

Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev has come out strongly against plans by the US to site a radar base in the Czech Republic – as part of a broader missile defense system in Europe. In an interview for public broadcaster Czech TV on Monday, the former Soviet leader questioned whether the system was in fact being planned against rogue states like Iran, saying on the contrary it was aimed against Russia and China. His views contrasted with those of former Czech president Vaclav Havel who appeared on the same show. He defended the project –

In picture postcards from Slovenia, pretty painted beehives are a common motif. But Slovenia is worried about the occupants of those hives. They're disappearing amid a dispute over why and where they're going. The Slovenian Beekeepers' Association is warning between 50 and 70% of bee families are already gone from some parts of the country.

In Poland a group of parents and radio professionals have launched a novel media outlet. They call it Baby Radio. A radio station for babies, toddlers and small children.

The United States says it will allow Russia to monitor the missile defence bases it's planning for Central Europe. Moscow and Washington are engaged in a deep diplomatc row over the bases which will see missile insterceptors deployed in Poland and radar bases built in the Czech Republic. Russia has even threatened to aim its missile at the Central European bases if they go ahead. Talks underway in Washington may have found a way to take the heat out of the dispute by allowing Russian monitors inside the bases.

Slovakia has made dramatic economic progress in recent years. In fact a report from the OECD describes it as "stellar". GDP growth rates have hit 9 percent at times and unemployment has fallen dramatically. But as Ivan Basnak reports from Bratislava not all sectors of Slovak society are seeing the benefits - among them the scientists.