Talking Point | All stories

In today's Talking Point discusses the upcoming census, a highly controversial and much-discussed issue of the day.

Last Monday the Czech Prime Minister, Milos Zeman, boarded an official government plane for the Swedish city of Gothenburg. Mr Zeman - flanked by a small army of civil servants and businessmen - was visiting Sweden at a crucial time for his country: Stockholm currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, and there is a small but realistic chance that the Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson will announce a concrete date for enlargement when EU members meet in Gothenburg in June. followed the Czech Prime Minister from shipyard to car factory to audience with the King of Sweden, and brings back the following report for this week's Talking Point.

The Czech Republic is well-known for being a nation of dog-lovers, but over the past month there has been much debate over proposed Bill Number 805. This bill is meant to restrict and institutionalise the breeding of so-called "dangerous dogs," but would also affect the handling of all dogs. On the 22nd of January, a protest took place on Wencenslas Square where more than 41,000 signatures were collected in support of the so-called "One Meter Petition," the primary focus of which is to publicize what organizers call the "stupidity" of the bill. In this week's Talking Point, looks at this proposed bill and the influence that dogs have on people's lives here in the Czech Republic.

Time for Talking Point, and today looks at one of the many problems connected with housing, the future of the prefabricated apartment buildings scattered throughout the Czech Republic. They're all alike, all of them ugly and all of them are starting to fall apart.

Time for this week's edition of Talking Point. Today looks at a hobby that has been spreading fast in this country - namely, the interest in medieval dancing. There are many groups studying and performing old dances, finding the appropriate music and making their own costumes for the performances. Dr. Martina Olejarova, Olga's guest in today's program, is a founding member of one of these groups, called Ballata.