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A recently-agreed coalition between the Civic and Social Democrats at Prague City Hall is only a few days old but almost from the get-go the deal has been seen critically by many voters. On Wednesday, some two thousand let their dissatisfaction be known. While not a huge number, protestors hope the demonstration will give the Prague Civic and Social Democrats at least some food for thought.

Czech scientists have launched an unusual project that might lead them to the descendants of a medieval “vampire”. On Tuesday, they collected DNA samples from around a dozen inhabitants of Hrádek nad Nisou, where a 14th century grave had been found with a body buried in a way typical for outcasts. But the main purpose of the project is to draw attention to science, and to a new town museum that should open next year.

Twenty-one years after the Velvet Revolution there is now a generation of young Czechs for whom the communist era is little more than a chapter in their history books. A Czech NGO has now launched a school project which should portray the communist years through the fate of individuals and entire families.

The prime minister of Serbia is on an official visit to Prague with the aim of boosting diplomatic and business ties. The Czech Republic is one of the most enthusiastic backers of Serbia’s ambition to join the 27-strong European Union. But Serbia is still being held back by its recent troubled past.

The deal for control of Prague City Hall has been made and the result is a grand coalition between the rival Civic Democrat and Social Democrat parties. The controversial outcome means that the centre-right TOP 09 party will now go into opposition, in spite of having won a strong majority at the polls last month, and the Civic Democrats will retain their 20-year hold on power in the capital, despite losing public support in the wake of corruption scandals. Earlier today, Prague-based journalist Erik Best told Radio Prague that the deal carried serious

The Czech Republic joined the world at the weekend in welcoming the release of Burmese dissident leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest. In that time, Prague has pressed hard for her release and done much at both state and non-governmental level to promote democracy in the country.

Danish and Czech archaeologists have been working to open the tomb of the 16th century Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, who spent the last years of his life in Prague and is buried in a church in the city’s Old Town. The experts plan to analyze his remains to see if they can throw more light on his mysterious death.

The Czech Senate met for the final session in its present formation on Friday with one all-important item on the agenda: approving the government’s austerity measures before the Civic Democrats lose their majority in the wake of recent elections for one third of the seats in the upper house. The opposition Social Democrats say the fast-tracked vote was unconstitutional, while a group of protesters briefly held up proceedings by blocking the Senate’s entrance.

Former US ambassador to the Czech Republic William Cabaniss has accused Czech ex-deputy defence minister Martin Barták of soliciting a bribe. The daily Mladá fronta Dnes quoted Mr Cabaniss on Friday as saying that in 2008, Mr Barták asked for “millions of dollars” for his assistance in solving problems the Czech truck maker Tatra had with a commission for the Czech army. Mr Barták, who now serves as deputy finance minister, has denied any wrongdoing.

After a first leg in the Moravian capital Brno, the Mezipatra Queer Film Festival opens in Prague on Thursday with a programme that combines movies exploring gender and sexual identity with a series of other cultural and social events. Mezipatra, the biggest event of its kind in the Czech Republic, has been going since the year 2000; on the eve of the Prague opening, I asked director Aleš Rumpel how the festival had changed over the years.