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The Czech beer Gambrinus has come third in the Brewers Association World Beer Cup in San Diego, it was announced on Tuesday. Gambrinus, the most popular beer in the Czech Republic, brewed by Plzeňský Prazdroj, won a bronze in the pilsner beer category of the competition. Over 2800 different beers brewed by nearly 650 different breweries were entered into the competition. The winners were decided by a jury of 129 judges from 21 countries.

Want to buy a luxury flat in Prague? It could cost you as much as 400 million crowns. Now you can place a bet on whether the US radar base is coming to the country. An artist defaces traffic lights and gets in trouble with the law and police hunt a man who is impersonating a waiter. And find out why Japanese rats love Czech beer.

Visitors to Prague will soon get another chance to view the Czech coronation jewels. A 19-year old Czech girl has won the Czech speed beer drinking contest. The first-ever specialized mushroom store is to open in Prague. Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.

Jalta Hotel celebrates its 50th birthday in communist style, the first space travel agency opens in Prague and, that’s not a helicopeter – its a snowglider! Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarová.

In Business News this week: The prime minister suggests that next year’s public finance deficit could be lower than expected; the Czech Finance Ministry says it has won its court case against ArcelorMittal; Dutch brewer Heineken is set to take over north Bohemian beer producer Drinks Union; Prague’s Ruzyně ayirport is bracing itself for a record number of passengers in 2008, and one in five Czech managers take ‘smart’ drugs to help them up their energy levels.

Now, you might not think of beer drinking as a particularly strenuous thing to do, but the brewer Pilsner Urquell has just unveiled a new glass which, it says, makes the whole activity even easier. Over the next couple of years, the brewery expects to distribute more than one million of its streamline new glasses to restaurants and bars throughout the country. Radio Prague was at the launch:

The production of beer in the Czech Republic rose by 0.5 percent in 2007, the news website ihned.cz reported on Thursday. Czech breweries made 19.9 million hectolitres of beer last year, breaking the record in the production of the ever-more popular non-alcoholic beer brands. Last years also saw an increase in the exports of Czech beer; local brewers shipped 3.6 million hectolitres of beer abroad, which was 3.6 percent more than in the previous year.

The Czech Republic has long been world famous for its plentiful choice of quality beer. Indeed, beer is famously often cheaper than mineral water. However, Czechs may be surprised to find that one of their most popular beers can actually be bought for less in neighbouring Germany.

Today in Mailbox: the first state visit by President Václav Klaus in 2003, Czech kosher beer, nasal spray relieving the symptoms of common colds, announcements on Prague public transport. Listeners quoted: Jonathan Murphy, Howard Barnett, Steve Price.

In Business News this week: the Czech Republic has posted record trade surplus in 2007; shopping space in the country is expected to expand by 50 percent; Czechs want to include Olomoucké tvarůžky on EU’s list of protected foods; a pint of Pilsner Urquell beer is cheaper in Germany than in the Czech Republic and Czech soft-drinks producer has launched a sugar-free version of Kofola.