Talking Point | All stories

A recent headline in the Czech newspaper Mlada Fronta Dnes put it succinctly: "More hotels than streets" indicating the number of hotels in Prague 1. Shortly afterwards, numbers released by the Czech Statistical Office confirmed that the number of guests staying in hotels in 2006 - especially four- or five-star establishments - went up year-on-year. In short, there is now more demand for luxury hotels in the Czech capital than ever.

In this week's Talking Point, Rob Cameron examines why the Czech Republic - alone in the European Union and virtually alone in the whole of continental Europe - has failed to ratify the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court.

For Czechs, extensive medical care has been the norm for generations. Healthcare was free for all in this country under communism. Since the Velvet Revolution, Czechs have continued to have easy and cheap access to medical services after the national health system was changed to a social-insurance model similar to that which operates in other European countries such as Germany. This means that Czechs pay obligatory contributions to state health insurers, which are proportionate to their earnings. This entitles them to the same level of health coverage regardless

Six year old Sara Barao is home from Portugal. She arrived as she left - followed at every step by photographers and television crews honing in on a personal tragedy. At four Sara's childhood turned into a nightmare as her Portuguese father and Czech mother broke up and fought a stormy battle over custody rights. When her mother lost the court case two years ago - she and Sara went into hiding. But, at the end of 2006 the authorities caught up with them and Sara underwent the traumatic experience of having her parents physically fight over her

There are hundreds of North Korean women working in the Czech Republic under a system in which half of the money they earn is said to go straight to Pyongyang. They have even been described as modern day slaves. After several years of controversy the women will be soon be going home - thanks to international politics, not the Czech authorities.

There are around 130 casinos in the Czech Republic. Alongside them, there are hundreds more arcades known as herna - gaming - bars. In fact, there are over 50,000 slot machines in the country. That equals roughly one machine per 200 Czechs, over twice the number per capita as in Germany. Adding lotteries and other forms of gambling, Czechs bet a whopping 90 billion crowns last year (over 4 billion USD).

Some economists say it's time for the Czech Republic to cash in by allowing hospitals to treat more patients from Germany, Austria, and the UK.

Given the Czech Republic's location in the heart of Europe, it has always been a major transit point for business. Naturally, the volume of traffic going through the Czech Republic has also increased exponentially since it joined the EU a few years ago. So much so that there are those who feel the country's transport infrastructure is creaking at the seams.

After seventeen years in the movement, Jiri Hromada is moving on. Last week he announced that Gay Iniciativa, the lesbian and gay rights group he has led for the past seven years, is closing down. Already, the little alcove off of his bedroom, which once served as Gay Iniciativa's main office, has been tidied up and is beginning to look more like an ordinary study.

In Communist times it was illegal to be homeless. Today the Czech capital has a homeless population in the thousands. Why is the problem so difficult to address? And could a novel idea - a shelter on a boat - be the solution?