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The Czech Republic’s entry into the European Union facilitated free trade with other members of the bloc. That was good news for Czech businesses, though it can result in paradoxical developments. One of the best known Czech beers Pilsner Urquell often retails at lower prices in Germany than in the Czech Republic - leading Czech wholesalers to re-import one of their country’s most famous brews.

President Václav Klaus says that this term of office will be his last, even if the country introduces direct election of the head of state by 2013, when his current term ends. Few can imagine Czech politics without a man who has been one of its central figures, for better and for worse, for 20 years. To discuss the statement and the possible future of the president’s political career, I spoke with political analyst Petr Just, who I began by asking if he was surprised that the president doesn’t harbour ambitions for a third term.

Recent statistics have suggested that in the Czech Republic, pedestrians are almost twice as likely to die on Czech roads and streets as in other countries in the European Union. This year alone, 125 Czech pedestrians were killed after being hit by vehicles failing to stop. But why is the situation worse in the Czech Republic than in other European countries?

The Šumava National Park and the Bavarian National Forest Park have begun a unique project to map the lives of elusive lynx inhabiting nature reserves on both sides of the border. Using special cameras, zoologists hope to learn more about the animals’ migration habits and other behaviour. The lynx is famously difficult to photograph up close; one reason why cameras at stations set up throughout the parks react to the slightest movement.

The Czech government has taken a cue from the European Union and backed a school fruit & veg scheme to try and get schoolchildren to eat healthier, more balanced diets. Under the programme, largely funded by the EU, students can receive fruit or vegetables at least once a month.

The cabinet on Monday unanimously approved a long-term government strategy for the integration of the Romany minority up until 2013. The first leg of a long-distance run, it aims to create equal work and education opportunities and reverse the ongoing ghettoisation of Czech Romanies.

The number of foreigners moving to the Czech Republic has been steadily on the rise for years. The number of people applying for permanent residence here has declined over the last year however, and one of the main reasons for that decline it seems are the Czech language exams imposed at the end of 2008 for residence applicants from non-EU countries.

A photograph taken from Prague’s landmark Žižkov TV tower has set a new record for the largest known spherical panoramic photograph in the world. The picture offers a rare 360 degree view over the city and measures 18 Gigapixels, obliterating a record from 2007 - a shot taken in Harlem that measured 13 Gigapixels. The photographer of the record shot, Jeffrey Martin, at an interview at Žižkov TV tower talked about how this idea was first born.

There are just eight Northern White Rhinos in the world, and until last weekend the only ones capable of reproducing were here in the Czech Republic. However, while they were able to reproduce, they were not willing, and they have now been moved to the wild in Africa, where it is hoped they will mate and save their subspecies.

Record cold temperatures in the Czech Republic have taken a severe toll, with nine deaths from exposure recorded by the end of the weekend. Most of those who died were homeless, among them three people in Prague and four in Ostrava. Michael Raymond Stannett is the head of the Salvation Army in the Czech Republic; he described the situation on the ground.