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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.

President Václav Klaus dismissed Justice Minister Jiří Pospíšil on Wednesday following a surprisingly rapid recommendation by the country’s prime minister, Petr Nečas. The sacking of one of the most popular Czech politicians came a day after the government discussed budget plans for next year. Mr Nečas said that the minister had been sacked for failing to meet austerity targets. Critics, though, charge there is another reason the politician was shown the door.

The death of Lonesome George, the last remaining Pinta island giant tortoise recently saddened legions of nature and reptile lovers around the world. His unexpected demise in a reservation on the Galapagos Islands came at the estimated age of 100 years or more. For quite some time, tortoise experts believed that George might not be as ‘lonesome’ as previously assumed: a Prague Zoo tortoise bore such close resemblance to George that even reptile experts thought he might too be a member of the Pinta species.

Former defense minister Vlasta Parkanová, who has come under suspicion of abusing her position in an overpriced military aircraft deal, has a loyal defender in Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek. The finance minister, who previously served in the same cabinet in which Mrs Parkanová had the defense portfolio, has called her possible prosecution unconstitutional. He is basing his criticism on a statement from the Czech Institute of State and Law.

The European Commission has asked the Czech government to halt logging in the Šumava National Park. Czech authorities resumed felling bark-beetle infested trees in Šumava this week to prevent the spreading of the beetle infestation. But the European Commissioner for the Environment says logging should cease until the government justifies the move.

For 51 Czech passengers aboard a bus chartered by the Brno travel agency Atlas Adria, a summer holiday turned into a nightmare on Saturday. En route to the popular Croatian holiday destination Makarska Riviera, the bus swerved off the road and overturned. Eight passengers were killed in the accident and more than 40 injured. Some have since returned to the Czech Republic via military aircraft.

The Czech national football team lost 1:0 to Portugal in the quarterfinals of EURO 2012 in Warsaw on Thursday and was knocked out of the tournament. In the game, the Czechs delivered their best performance at the championships but failed to stop Portugal’s star Ronaldo from sending them home. Thursday’s match was also the Czech striker Milan Baroš’s last appearance for the national side.

Czech police have busted the largest marihuana grow operation ever discovered in the country. Last month, officers from the national anti-drug unit found nearly 6,000 cannabis plants at four different sites in western Bohemia, and arrested 13 members of a Czech-Vietnamese gang, the police said on Thursday. The police also detained a Vietnamese man who was sealed in at one of the facilities and forced to care for the plants.

The Week of Freedom, a project established in Prague last year on the twentieth anniversary of the withdrawal of Russian troops from Czechoslovakia is both a celebration of the return of democracy to the Czech lands and a means of highlighting common values. This year’s event centres around freedom of speech and has been dominated by support for the jailed members of the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot.

Who is the greatest Czech living abroad? As part of the “Czechs abroad” project, the Foreign Ministry, together with Czech Radio and Czech TV, is finding the answer to that question. The ambitious initiative also seeks to paint a more vivid picture of those Czechs who do not live in their native country – through reports, conferences and discussions. Sarah Borufka has more.