PROSTITUTES - The Cabinet agreed July 20 to propose a parliamentary bill that would legalize, regulate and tax prostitutes. The bill faces considerable opposition from deputies, including some within the government coalition led by the Social Democrats, who say they don't want the state to become a pimp.

GERMANS - Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka praised as "courageous" a proposal by his Czech counterpart, Jiří Paroubek, to recognize ethnic Germans in Czechoslovakia who stood up against fascism during World War II. Unlike Belka, who made his comment during a visit to Prague July 21, Slovak Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda and Czech President Václav Klaus have not backed Paroubek.

IRAQ - A July 21 attack on a Czech armored car in Baghdad does not appear to have been intended as a strike against the Czech Republic, Interior Minister František Bublan said. Gunmen fired on a Toyota belonging to the Czech Embassy as it carried policemen from the Baghdad airport. They escaped uninjured. Bublan pointed out that attacks on foreign armored vehicles are not unusual.

FACELIFT - Prague 1 Mayor Vladimír Vihan is planning a facelift for Wenceslas Square with more trees and benches, fewer stalls, wider pavements and no parking except by delivery vans. An open competition will be launched in August inviting architects to submit proposals. The best design will be chosen in November but it is not yet known when reconstruction will start.