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The Czech branch of Transparency International says that the roots of corruption in the Czech Republic are embedded in the workings of Czech political parties. In a study published on Tuesday the Czech branch of the international watchdog criticizes the lack of transparency in the system of funding of political parties, the high level of immunity which parliament deputies and senators benefit from and the low effectiveness of criminal investigations against politicians. Transparency claims that Czech law-makers can often influence the investigation into their own criminal activities.

Tougher security measures remain in place around key sites in Prague as the country's intelligence services investigate the heightened treat of a terrorist attack. The government introduced the measures on Saturday night on the grounds of what it said was "the most serious threat of a terrorist attack the country had ever faced". Prague's mayor Pavel Bem told the press on Tuesday that the extraordinary measures would last for at least one week. There is speculation that the terrorist threat is linked to the arrest of four men in Norway who are suspected of planning terrorist attacks on the US and Izraeli embassies in Oslo.

The Interior Ministry has for the first time admitted that some 800 agents of the former communist secret service are still working in the country's police force. The new interior minister Ivan Langer said that he wants all former StB officers to leave the police as soon as possible. He plans to use a new civil service law which is to take effect on January 1 2007 to carry out the planned personnel changes. The former interior minister Frantisek Bublan has criticized Mr. Langer's plan saying that the people in question had been given a chance to serve the new democracy and that sacking them 17 years after the collapse of the communist regime seemed unjust.

Jan Kohout, the Czech Republic's ambasador to the EU, accused the European Commission on Tuesday of deceiving the bloc's 10 new member states over the timing of their entry into the EU's Schengen border free zone. The Commission said earlier this month that the 10 new states' entry into the Schengen area, originally scheduled for October 2007, would be delayed by at least a year. Mr. Kohout rejected the Commission's argument that the delay was due to technical difficulties in setting up a new police data base, saying opening borders was a political issue and the delay reflected "the political views in some member states." The Czech diplomat said the EU must keep the October 2007 date or risk losing public confidence among people in the new EU states.

President Vaclav Klaus has met his Mongolian counterpart Nambaryn Enchbayar in Ulaanbaatar to discuss amongst others the Czech development aid to Mongolia. President Klaus' three day visit to Mongolia is part of his 12-day Asian tour which started in the Russian city of Omsk and will continue on to China, Vietnam and Singapore. The President is accompanied by his wife, Livia, and about 40 representatives of Czech firms looking to do business in Asia. The trip is one of the most extensive that Mr. Klaus has undertaken as President. He is expected to return to Prague on October 5.

Austrian opponents of the Temelin nuclear power plant have threatened with repeated blockades of the Czech-Austrian border in case the plant has another defect. About 20 activists gathered on Monday near the Wullowitz-Dolni Dvoriste border crossing. The Austrians blocked the border about half a year ago for the last time. The Upper Austrian activists accused Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel of failing to push through adequate safety measures in Temelin, about 60 km away from the Austrian border. The opponents of Temelin say the plant is unsafe because it combines the original Soviet design with western operating technology.

The opposition Social Democrats have said that the Civic Democrat minority cabinet of Mirek Topolanek jeopardised the country's security when it recalled Karel Randak from the post of civil intelligence service director last week. The Social Democrats say that the government destabilised the whole intelligence system in a situation when the country is facing a terrorist threat. Social Democrat chairman Jiri Paroubek said on Monday that his party's deputies would demand explanation at Wednesday's lower house session.

The Czech capital, Prague, is in its third day of a high-alert security watch. Special security measures were enacted on Saturday, after the Czech cabinet decided to increase security measures in the capital because of a possible terrorist threat. Prague's Ruzyne airport has implemented special security measures and the city centre and other possible targets are also being patrolled by additional specialised police units.

According to data released on Monday by the Czech Statistical Office, the number of babies born in the first half of the year has for the first time since 1993 exceeded the number of deaths. The number of the Czech Republic's citizens rose by 17,500 in the first six months of 2006 but still mostly owing to immigration. The Czech Republic currently has 10,268,607 inhabitants.

A new poll suggests that Vlasta Parkanova, the chairwoman of the Christian Democrat parliamentary party, is the most popular Czech politician. The poll, carried out by the STEM agency suggests that Ms Parkanova is followed by Prague Mayor Pavel Bem of the Civic Democrats and the chairman of the Green Party, Martin Bursik, in the third place. Civic Democrat head Mirek Topolanek came fourth and Social Democrat chairman and ex-PM Jiri Paroubek ended in sixth place.

The government has approved a state budget proposal for 2007 with a deficit of 91.3 billion crowns, Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek told reporters on Monday afternoon after an extraordinary meeting of the cabinet at Kolodeje Chateau outside Prague. The budget has yet to be approved by the lower house of parliament.