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The American Federal Aviation Administration, responsible for the safety of air traffic in the United States, has reportedly been looking into an unmanned flights system designed by the cybernetics department at the Czech Technical University. The system, called AGENTFLY, has been designed to programme pilotless aircraft to react independently in unexpected situations.

The Vietnamese make up one of the largest ethnic minorities in this country, many of them running clothes markets and more recently grocery stores in Czech towns and cities. According to the statistics there are just over 55,000 Vietnamese living in the Czech Republic, and by all accounts it’s a very harmonious relationship – Vietnamese are regarded by Czechs as hard-working, law-abiding and possessing a high regard for education, even if it’s a community that keeps very much to itself.

The popular Czech folk singer Radůza has just released a new CD for children entitled O Mourince a Lojzíkovi. The album combines stories with songs and is part of a project which also includes a nicely illustrated book. Radůza told me how it came about.

In recent days, an unusual story has emerged about a man allegedly trying to sell the Czech president’s removed hipbone on an online auction site. Now, in the latest twist, President Václav Klaus has decided to pardon the man at the centre of the storm.

Few sports fans in the Czech Republic will forget the recent Beijing Olympics, where the country notched up six medals, three silver and three gold. The games featured a number of gripping stories, including the very first gold medal win of the games by shooter Kateřina Emmons as well as Barbora Špotáková’s stunning last-minute win in the javelin. Yet days since the Olympics ended, the country’s prime minister, Mirek Topolánek, has now expressed disappointment. On Wednesday, Mladá fronta Dnes writes, he stated flatly that Czechs should have won

A new proposal by the Czech Health Minister Tomáš Julínek will see some Czech patients having to pay for ambulance trips. At present, such journeys are covered by health insurance, but if the changes are approved, come next January, patients may have to pay for ambulances the same way they pay for taxis.

Maintaining Georgia’s territorial integrity and helping the reconstruction of the country following the recent armed conflict with Russia: those are priorities outlined on Wednesday by the Czech government ahead of next week’s EU summit.

Dagmar Damková, the first woman to referee at the highest level in Czech men’s football, recently reached another career milestone, when she officiated in the women’s football final at the Beijing Olympics. The USA beat Brazil 1:0 in that game, and though the ref herself obviously wasn’t up for a medal, her performance was highly praised by Olympic officials. Dagmar Damková described the experience of refereeing the final:

The United Kingdom was one of only three countries to open its doors to workers from the Czech Republic and other new member states when the EU enlarged in 2004. Since that time, an average of 3,000 Czechs have moved to the UK every three months. But, according to the British Home Office, that figure plummeted by nearly 50 percent in the second quarter of this year. The drop is being attributed to the strength of the crown, and changing trends in Czechs’ migration habits.

The Czech branch of the environmental organisation Friends of the Earth has filed a formal complaint with the European Union over logging practices just outside the Czech border in the southern Šumava region. They say that logging efforts both in Germany and Austria are threatening forests within the Czech Republic’s famous national park.