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Cabinet rejects Civic Democrats' proposal for 15 pct corporate tax rate; Mittal Steel, blocked from Vitkovice tender, threatens to renew claims against the steelworks, launch arbitration against the state; Ireland's Markland has bought Kotva; IT Minister may face charges over establishment of private company Testcom Servis; Czech breweries, malt houses, post record export sales

Czech Rep got more out of EU than it paid in; Slovak gov't promises to pay CSOB debt; Jobless rate at 10-month high; Five preliminary bids made for Cesky Telecom; Budweiser battle may go to Human Rights court; Cash registers to become mandatory; Jablotron's oversize mobile phone a huge success

Former Finance Minister off to prison; Minimum Social benefits to be cut in 2006; Prague richest 'region' in 'new Europe'; World Bank predicts less inflationary pressure for 2005; Beer union asks AgMin to axe Budvar ad campaign; TCPA to begin production at Kolin this month; Germany's Aral to quit check market

In this week's edition: the quality of Czech beer, "commercialisation" of Prague, bounced e-mail messages sent to Radio Prague. Listeners quoted: Lindley Becker, USA; Colin Rose, UK.

EU wants Czechs to give up 'golden shares'; State budget for 2005 signed into law; Eurotel ordered to pay 48m crown fine; Eurotel ordered to pay 48m crown fine; Record-high Czech beer exports in 2004

Budejovicky Budvar, the only major brewery still in the hands of the Czech state, has been locked in a lengthy battle with the world's largest brewer — Anheuser-Busch of the U.S. — over the Budweiser name for nearly a hundred years.

Czech breweries expect to export a record 2.4 million hectolitres of beer this year. The Chairman of the Czech Beer and Malt Association, Jan Vesely, said on Wednesday this would be up by 12 per cent from 2003, adding that breweries are preparing a campaign to promote their beer abroad. Germany, Slovakia, Great Britain and the USA, are the main importers of Czech beer. On average, exports rise by between five and twenty percent year- on-year.

Rob Cameron's guest in One on One is Jan Vesely, chairman of the Czech Beer and Malt Association. Czech beer has been very much in the news recently, after a British group called the Campaign for Real Ale or CAMRA warned that the world-famous Czech brew could be in danger of losing its taste. CAMRA says the modern production methods used by the big multinational brewers that control much of the Czech beer industry are threatening the unique quality of this country's beers - charges that have infuriated Czech brewers and Czech beer lovers.

Fiercely proud of their centuries-old brewing tradition, Czech beermeisters have reacted angrily to claims by the world's largest consumer advocacy group, the U.K.-based 'Campaign for Real Ale,' that the quality of Czech beer is going down the tubes.

Bursting to share your views? Head for Palacky Square - the site of Prague's newly inaugurated Speakers' Corner. Hockey star Jaromir Jagr may be in far away Siberia but he can still enjoy Czech beer and dumplings at a local Czech restaurant. And, the Czech Army is being accused of discrimination after turning away a transsexual. Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.