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A recent discovery by Czech scientists promises to provide a cure for one of deadliest killers of the present day – AIDS. Working together with a team from the university in Heidelberg in Germany, they discovered a means which should prevent the HIV virus from spreading. Radio Prague talked to the head of the Czech research team, Pavlína Řezáčová, from the Czech Academy of Sciences, and asked her to explain the new finding and how soon it could be put into use.

The streets of Prague are currently packed with people going about their Christmas shopping. Many head for the nearest shopping mall, but those who want something special – a designer article – need no longer run from one boutique to another in search of just the right present. Young Czech designers who don’t have an outlet for their products have joined forces to open up a temporary arts and crafts “supermarket” in the centre of Prague. Earlier today I met up with Jan Plecháč, one of the organizers of the event, to find out what had led him and

Svoboda? Svoboda! (Freedom? Freedom!) is the name of an international theatre project that culminates at Prague’s Archa theatre on Friday night. Involving theatre groups and contemporary history institutes from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany, the show provides a forum for examination of the states’ recent communist past, and asks – what kind of freedom did they achieve in 20 years? Ahead of Friday’s event, I found out more from the director of Divadlo Archa, Ondřej Hrab.

It is well known that the Czech Republic’s Roma minority suffer from a wide variety of social problems, including relatively high levels of unemployment and low levels of educational attainment. Many say they are frequently the victims of discrimination – a claim that has now been borne out by a new European Union study. In fact, it found that Czech Roma suffer more discrimination than any other ethnic minority in the whole of the EU.

After a day of drama and bitter wrangling on Wednesday, the Czech parliament approved a budget for next year. But it was not the budget that the caretaker government had banked on. Left-wing parties led a last minute revolt and pushed through a series of new spending measures. We look at the final result and the likely fall out for what looks like a humbled and weakened government.

The hugely successful Prague Zoo is undergoing a change of management. As the director credited with revitalising the zoo over the last 12 years, Petr Fejk, departs for a position in New York, a lot of expectations will be put on his successor, Miroslav Bobek, who was named on Tuesday.

Preparations are being completed across the Czech Republic for what will undoubtedly be one of the biggest cultural events of the year. Next year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of perhaps the country’s greatest poet, Karel Hynek Mácha. We take a look at the dozens of international, national and regional events being planned.

Czech police demonstrated on Wednesday to protest wage cuts affecting civil servants under the government’s austerity measures aimed at helping lower the deficit. Several thousand gathered not far from the office of the government, waving placards and blowing sirens in protest before heading to an area near the country’s Chamber of Deputies.

A new campaign meant to encourage consumers to buy products grown locally will come to Czech supermarkets next year. Funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, this campaign will support Czech farmers and help consumers discover the best of what their region has got to offer.

What exactly is “more than a small amount of drugs”? It’s a question that has plagued Czech drug users, policemen and judges alike for several years. The answer can mean the difference between a prison term and a slap on the wrist, but there are no black and white rules for everybody to follow, so confusion reigns. But not for long.