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Trade union members from around the Czech Republic gathered in Prague on Tuesday to demonstrate against planned public sector pay cuts. But what can such a protest achieve, given that the government says the cuts simply have to be implemented? And what will the unions do if their demands go unheeded? Radio Prague discussed those questions on Tuesday morning with union leader Josef Středula at the headquarters of the Czech confederation of trades unions.

An estimated 40,000 trade union members took to the streets of Prague on Tuesday to protest against public sector pay cuts planned by the recently appointed Czech government. Turnout at the first major rally against the austerity measures was double that expected, but the government has made it clear that it is not ready to give in to the pressure.

One aspect of campaigning for local elections this autumn has been a noticeably aggressive tone against groups on the margins of society. While a right-wing proposal to move homeless people to a camp on the outskirts of Prague has drawn a great deal of comment, posters for left-wing parties declare “zero tolerance for junkies” or “get rid of the homeless”. But is this just the kind of tough talk characteristic of politicians ahead of elections? That’s a question we put to political analyst Jiří Pehe.

There were the usual smiles and handshakes as President Vaclav Klaus, Prague Mayor Pavel Bém and other top officials cut the ribbon at the opening of a long-awaited new bypass on the south-western outskirts of Prague on Monday morning. But behind the scenes the mood was far less optimistic. Even before it officially opened the bypass, which links the D1 and D5 highways from Plzen to Brno, evoked plenty of controversy.

Israel’s foreign minister and deputy prime minister Avigdor Lieberman started an official round of talks in Prague on Monday starting with his Czech counterpart Karel Schwarzenberg and later meeting with Prime Minister Petr Necas. While the launch of new Middle East peace talks form the backdrop to the talks, they also dealt with specific Czech-Israeli issues.

Czech fans of the queen of crime writing have been marking the 120th anniversary of her birth. English novelist Agatha Christie has an enthusiastic following in the Czech Republic and a club dedicated to her has been leading the tributes.

A month ahead of local elections, Prague officials have revived efforts to legalize prostitution. City Hall has come up with a bill that would grant prostitutes the status of self-employed workers, and give the authorities the power to regulate the oldest profession. But passing the bill would require the Czech Republic to pull out of a convention on human trafficking, a move rejected by MPs in the past.

The reigning Olympic javelin champion Barbora Špotáková came first in the international Diamond League this year, but could only manage bronze at the European Championships in Barcelona. Following a season blighted by injuries, the 29-year-old announced last month she was parting company with her trainer – and planning to work with javelin legend Jan Železný. When I spoke to Špotáková this week, I asked the athletics star if it was true there had been a link between her training schedule and her injury problems.

Unscrupulous taxi-drivers have plagued the Czech capital for years, charging unsuspecting tourists outrageous amounts of money, taking passengers via the longest possible routes and refusing to produce receipts. Now a Czech firm has offered Prague City Hall a mobile phone application that could help curb the practice. Ondřej Čihař of Et netera explains how the “virtual meter” would work.

Czech leader Petr Nečas is no stranger to EU summits, but Thursday’s which got underway in Brussels is his first as prime minister. Ahead of the summit, the PM made clear he would defend Czech interests and press two key issues: the need for automatic sanctions for the breach of EU budgetary regulations (which the summit aims to address) and to raise the pressure over Canadian visas which were reinstated for Czechs last year.