EU - Support for the European Union among Czechs has risen by 14 percent since last fall; it now stands at 56 percent one year after the nation entered the EU, according to a new independent national poll. Analysts said the increase comes largely from unfulfilled negative expectations, such as an increase in prices and unemployment.

BBC - The Foreign Affairs Ministry has urged the BBC to continue its Czech-language broadcasts, which includes five hours of programming a day from Prague as part of the BBC World Service. The BBC, which may also discontinue broadcasts in other Central European languages, may replace them with broadcasts in the Arabic and Muslim world.

SKINHEADS - Police have arrested three skinheads for allegedly attacking a pregnant Romany, or Gypsy, 18-year-old and her 21-year-old boyfriend in the center of Prague, authorities said. Police said the victims suffered light injuries and received treatment at a local hospital. The skinheads now face charges of inflicting bodily harm and supporting movements aimed at repressing rights and freedom.

KLAUS - President Václav Klaus, unable to keep the EU from his nation's borders, now intends to keep it from his own property: He has mounted signs in Czech and English, featuring a Czech coat of arms and a crossed-out EU symbol, warning that the EU borders do not extend inside the perimeter of his private estate.

CLOCK - Prague's celebrated Orloj has shut down for two months to undergo its first repairs in more than a decade. Workers will restore the parts of the Orloj, the astronomical clock in Old Town Square created by Mikuláš of Kadaň in 1410, that move the sun, star and month dials, as well as some of the statues that make hourly appearances before throngs of tourists.