PUTIN - Talks have begun for Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit the Czech Republic later this year, thanks to steadily improving relations, according to Jaroslav Basta, outgoing Czech ambassador to Russia. Basta, whose term ends this month when he becomes deputy foreign minister, said that when he first arrived in Russia, relations were "on the level of a diplomatic Cold War. ... They could only improve."

COURT - The Senate has approved Vlasta Formánková to the Czech Constitutional Court to fill a long-vacant seat on the judicial body. Formánková overcame questions about a ruling she had issued 25 years ago, in which she jailed a man for speaking out against communism.

POLICE - A 70-year-old German sex tourist has accused two Czech police officers of attempting to blackmail him after they found him with a young Romany prostitute in the border town of Chomutov. The officers face up to three years in prison on charges of abuse of power and blackmail, though the pair say the man fabricated the accusations.

ARCHEOLOGY - Three medieval houses dating from the 12th century, unearthed at a construction site in namestí Republiky, will become part of an exhibit in the Palladium shopping center, officials said. Developers will help preserve the archeological find, which includes a great hall with remnants of three sandstone pillars — part of a former Romanesque palace — as well as the remains of a medieval toilet.

KULćNSKY´ - Authorities have expanded the indictment against Bohumil Kulínsky´, the celebrated choirmaster of the Bambini di Praga children's choir charged with sexually abusing underage girls, after evaluations by psychiatrists asserted that two of the accusers have suffered serious psychological trauma from the alleged incidents. As a result, police have requalified the charges as public abuse, raising the potential penalty to five to 12 years if convicted. Kulínsky´ maintains his innocence in the case.