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The wheels of Czech justice are famously slow to turn, with court cases dragging on for what seems like – and often is – years. But how about this one for size: in the early days of the Velvet Revolution, in November 1989, three students of architecture described their Communist professor as an arrogant careerist and demagogue. He later demanded an apology, and took them to court. Twenty years on, and the case is still unresolved.

Forget Becherovka or even slivovice, it’s Czech rum – tuzemák – which is the biggest selling spirit in this country. Despite its popularity here, however, the drink remains virtually unknown abroad. Now though, one south Bohemian distillery has started selling its product in North America and is hoping that Canadians will develop a taste for tuzemák as well. Earlier today, I spoke to Tomáš Petrů from the Fruko-Schulz distillery, and started by asking him what the difference was between tuzemák and better-known rums from the Caribbean:

The Czech Trade Inspectorate has revealed the results of testing at Czech solariums which some will find more than a little disquieting. A week after the World Health Organisation declared the use of tanning beds a significant cancer hazard, the Czech Trade Inspectorate revealed that tanning beds in eight out of ten facilities in parts of the Czech Republic failed to meet current safety norms.

There was a sad end to the story of a Romani “prince” from Romania on Monday when the 17-year-old boy died at Prague’s Vinohrady hospital. The boy – heir to the ‘throne’ of a Romani Olach clan – spent two weeks on a life support machine after almost drowning in a lake near Prague. Czech officials seemed at a loss on how to deal with the dozens of relatives who descended on Prague to be near him, and there’s now some confusion over who will pay for his body to be returned to his homeland.

The Czech daily Právo on Monday reported that used-car dealers have been feeling the crunch of the continuing economic crisis. Overall, sales of cars (both new and old) in the country have slumped, and those still in the market for a new vehicle now appear more likely to buy new smaller vehicles than a used car for about the same price.

There’s usually at least one big news story that breaks the torpid waters of the so-called “cucumber” or silly season, that time of year when Czech editors and reporters are desperate for stories because the country’s political and social elite are all off on holiday. Well, this year, ironically, the holiday is the story – the holiday taken by Civic Democrat leader Mirek Topolánek at a villa in Tuscany. So what’s so controversial about it?

Pavel Nedvěd has just picked up the Golden Ball award for Czech footballer of the season, a prize decided by sports journalists. The 2008-2009 season was Nedvěd’s last: he retired after his final game for Juventus in May. But has he really hung up his boots? The veteran midfielder says he is still mulling over his future – and even hinted on Thursday that he could play for the Czech national team again.

Engineering students at Prague’s ČVUT – the Czech Technical University – are completing testing on a single-seater racing car they built together over endless hours over the last 18 months. Next week, their efforts will come to fruition: the car will compete in Germany’s Formula Student - a competition gauging the overall quality of design, engineering and performance.

The peaceable Czechs don’t seem like a nation of trigger-happy gun-lovers, but there are actually 650,000 registered gun-owners in this country, and perhaps as many as another half a million who own weapons illegally - that’s a lot for a nation of 10 million people. Police say that more than 6,000 unlicensed guns have so far been handed in in an amnesty that comes to an end at midnight on Friday.

The number of confirmed cases of swine flu in the Czech Republic has almost doubled in the last few days with the total climbing to over 70. The Ministry of Health is meanwhile boosting its preparations for a worse case scenario. There are fears that a much a more virulent and serious form of swine flu could spread during the autumn.