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The Czech Republic released its latest figures to coincide with world HIV/AIDS day on Tuesday. In spite of the steady climb in new cases, the country still stands out as a low infection zone compared with Western Europe and some states of the former Soviet Union such as Ukraine. But there is a real fear that complacency and indifference over infection twinned with greater exposure to risk are storing up a potential explosion.

This year marks the 60 year anniversary of the famous children’s books publisher Albatros, which had a monopoly on the market before the end of communism in 1989 and remains to this day the publisher of the most popular titles in children’s literature. As part of the anniversary, an exhibition in the Prague National Library gives children a chance to experience the adventurous world of their favorite cartoon characters firsthand.

It was the literary sensation of the season, but now it has turned out to be little more than a hoax. The novel ‘Bílej kůň, žlutej drak’ (‘White Horse, Yellow Dragon’) by a young Vietnamese girl living in the Czech Republic won a prestigious literary prize for first-time authors and was hailed by the critics as the first testimony of her generation. But in fact the first Vietnamese novel was written by a middle-aged Czech man. Ruth Fraňková has more:

Security experts and the public alike were left reeling on Sunday after a Czech TV station revealed that Iraqi intelligence agents working for Saddam Hussein plotted an attack on the Prague headquarters of Radio Free Europe. Spokesman Jan Šubert of the Czech intelligence service told TV Nova that the agents planned a machine gun and rocket propelled grenade attack on the building in a plot ordered by Saddam Hussein.

The new Czech political party TOP 09 held its first ever conference in Prague over the weekend, formally establishing itself on the country’s political scene. Senator and former foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg was unanimously voted in as party head, while former finance minister and the key figure behind the party’s foundation became its first deputy chair.

The H1N1 virus continues to spread through the Czech Republic with three regions now battling an epidemic. The Czech health authorities reported on Thursday that the death toll had risen to 8, with close to 800 cases registered. It has also become clear that the swine flu is a more serious threat than previously thought.

In the Czech Republic there is no other fair like it: mmotion, now in its fifth year, highlighting luxury items, everything from diamonds to interior design to performance cars. Over four days, the fair is first open to invited guests – and then to members of the general public to view the best technology and design that money can buy.

This Sunday, the Czech Republic will see the arrival of MTV Czech, a local version of the worldwide music network MTV. The channel will be operated by the international company CME. Its directors are confident MTV Czech will quickly become the most watched channel for viewers aged 15 through 24.

Last month Prague’s famous Semafor Theatre, which launched the careers of numerous Czech performers, celebrated its 50th birthday. Now a new compilation album featuring remakes of original songs by Semafor’s classic singing/song-writing duo of Jiří Suchý and the late Jiří Šlitr is set to be released. The CD features contemporary musicians popular on today’s music scene, including Tata Bojs, Jiří Burian, and the electronic trio MIDI LIDI. The latter worked on a re-make of 1965 hit “What I had for Dinner Today”.

Just a few days after the Czech film Protektor took a prize at a festival in Denver, another ambitious project is just entering the cinemas across the country. Thursday night will see the official premiere of 3 sezóny v pekle or 3 Seasons in Hell. The feature debut by Tomáš Mašín, a Czech, Slovak and German co-production, has already received praise by Czech reviewers.