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Parliament’s Mandate and Immunity Committee has advised deputies in the lower house to strip coalition MP Vlasta Parkanová of immunity. The former defence minister is suspected of abuse of public office and breach of trust in connection with a 3.5 billion crown purchase of military planes during her term in office.

Czech scientists have found unique specimens of trilobites that suggest something thought to be impossible – something was eating them. The small animals were amongst the most successful in history, crawling along the seabed for more than 270 million years. But during the Cambrian era, 500 million years ago, when neither fish nor cephalopods had developed, there should have been nothing capable of sinking its teeth into their hard shells. At a recent conference of international palaeontologists in Prague, Dr Oldřich Fatka of the Institute of Geology

Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas on Monday attended a commemorative ceremony for the victims of the Romany Holocaust. At the site of a former concentration camp in Lety, Mr Nečas admitted the Czech responsibility for the murder of over 5,000 Romanies during the war. But the official event sparked controversy among the Romany community which says the government should first make sure the victims were giving a dignified memorial.

Prague is hosting the 15th festival of the Sokol athletics movement, a gathering of around 20,000 members and supporters from at home and abroad. In the past, Sokol played an important role in the Czech nation’s emancipation, and its festivals, held every six years, were huge demonstrations of national unity. But today, the Sokols come to manifest their love for sports and exercise. Jan Richter reports.

As the annual celebrations of the legacy of St. Cyril and Methodius approach many believers are undertaking a religious pilgrimage to the historic town of Velehrad, where the missionary brothers Cyril and Methodius arrived in 863 to preach the Gospel in the Slavonic language. One of these walking pilgrimages is on its way now, having set off from the town of St Hostýn on Monday.

Innovative! Refreshing! Cool! But also: Shallow, Dumb, and an outright travesty! Since its release roughly a week ago, the new logo of CzechTourism has almost become a sort of Czech Marmite. Receiving, both very positive, as well as mocking remarks from critics and the wider public.

New Justice Minister Pavel Blažek was sworn in by President Klaus on Tuesday at 10am in a ceremony at Prague Castle also attended by Prime Minister Petr Nečas. The relationship between Blažek and fellow Civic Democrat Nečas, and the ability of the former to carry out his job independently will undoubtedly be at the heart of assessments of the new justice minister’s performance.

The 47th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival kicked off in the west Bohemian spa town on Friday. At the opening ceremony, the British actress Helen Mirren was honoured for her contribution to world cinema. The festival, which this year again features a Czech film in the main competition, will conclude next Sunday with the handing out of the Crystal Globe awards. Radio Prague’s former reporter, Ian Willoughby is at the festival, and we asked him for an account of the happenings so far.

At a two-day summit in Brussels which ends on Friday, EU leaders agreed to set up a joint banking supervisory body to oversee banks in eurozone member states. They also approved a plan to boost growth in the bloc and agreed on a roadmap towards fiscal union in the euro zone. Czech officials, who initially expressed concern over proposals that the new banking authority should also supervise banks in countries outside the monetary union, seem content with the summit’s outcome.

The sudden dismissal of one of the most popular members of the Czech government, Justice Minister Jiří Pospíšil gave rise to intense speculation about the real motivation of the move. Prime Minister Petr Nečas reiterated on Thursday he had fired Mr Pospíšil over poor management of the ministry. However, few believe this was the real reason behind the fall of the justice minister.