PAGEANT Taťána Kuchařová, an 18-year-old from Opočno, east Bohemia, became the first Czech to win the Miss World beauty pageant Sept. 30. The 56th annual competition, which was held in Warsaw, pitted 104 beauty queens from around the world against one another. Television viewers in some 200 countries watched the event that has become nearly as popular as the World Cup and the Olympics.

CATHEDRAL The state appealed to the country's highest court Sept. 27 against a ruling stating that St. Vitus Cathedral, one of Prague's most popular landmarks, belongs to the Catholic Church. The Prague Municipal Court has already ruled in favor of the church. The state first appealed that ruling last October, but the appeal was rejected June 16. The state handed over the cathedral to the church Sept. 5.

CONSTITUTION Former President Václav Havel said in an Oct. 1 television interview that the political chaos following June's general election shows that the country needs a new constitution. Havel also criticized President Václav Klaus for taking so long to name Civic Democratic Party leader Mirek Topolánek as the new prime minister.

ANNIVERSARY Prague Zoo celebrated its 75th anniversary Sept. 28 with a ceremony that attracted some 15,000 people, including Prague Mayor Pavel Bém. More than 46 million people have visited the zoo since its founding in 1931. Today, the zoo has 630 animal species and more than 1 million visitors each year.

ALERT Prague remains on high alert following Sept. 22 warnings from several intelligence services that the city faces a potential terrorist attack. Police continue to patrol dozens of buildings, Jewish landmarks and Ruzyně Airport, as well as dams, bridges and the public transportation system. No further details on the threat have been provided.

OUSTED Private television station TV Nova pulled one of its reporters off the air Sept. 27 after finding out that the reporter, Jan Tuna, wrote a letter to then-Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek following the June general election calling on him to resign. Reporters shouldn't involve themselves in politics, the station's General News Editor Martin Ondráček said.

FROST Meteorologists have announced that this year's unusually long Indian summer has come to an end. October will see a significant drop in temperatures, with plenty of rain, fog and overnight frost. Almanacs show that this September was uncharacteristically warm and the driest since 1966.

ACCIDENTS Seventy-four people died on roads in September, which suggests that drivers are back to their old ways and no longer fear the harsher traffic law introduced July 1, Mladá fronta Dnes reports. The number of traffic casualties dropped dramatically following the law's introduction. This July, with 63 road-related deaths, saw the lowest number of accidents in 36 years.