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A new rap video exhorting Roma parents not to allow their kids to be sent to special schools for the mentally handicapped is currently doing the rounds on YouTube. So far it’s been seen over 25,000 times, a respectable number for the Czech Republic, and has several hundred ‘likes’. It’s the work of a Czech NGO involved in the decade-long struggle to get Roma kids into regular primary schools.

The Czech Republic is one of three countries in the world that allows companies to issue anonymous bearer shares which has long been considered a major hurdle in the fight against corruption. Czech lawmakers have now moved to end the practice – but draft legislation that would reveal bearer shares’ owners was stalled in the lower house this week when it ran into subtle opposition by a group of Civic Democrat deputies. MV has the details.

From March 1, the on-farm slaughter of crocodiles – and the processing of crocodile meat for sale to consumers – will be allowed in the Czech Republic. The Agriculture Ministry approved the regulation change following consultation with Brussels when it became apparent that a crocodile farm in southern Moravia housing more than 200 specimens had no legal way of culling its crocs.

The lower house of Parliament on Wednesday approved a bill which would abolish lawmakers’ lifelong immunity from prosecution. Under the present amendment deputies and senators would only have immunity for the duration of their mandate, unless their peers vote to strip them of it. Although the bill’s approval is seen as a step in the right direction, its fate in the Senate is far from certain.

The news of Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to step down has surprised the world. Here in the Czech Republic, church leaders have praised his courage and recalled his visit to the country in 2009. However, Pope Benedict’s retirement for health reasons raises questions over whether his successor will attend a huge Catholic celebration in Velehrad planned for later this year.

Traditional carnival celebrations preceding the beginning of lent are taking place all over the Czech capital, with many neighborhoods organizing their own celebrations. Prague’s Žižkov district holds the claim to the longest running post-communist tradition of Masopust festivities, as they are called in Czech. This year, Žižkov celebrates the twentieth Masopust in the neighborhood.

The incoming president of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman, has unveiled his official portrait. The photo will hang in state offices and some classrooms after he takes office. In the Czech Republic, as in other countries, the official portrait is something of an institution; but the new official photograph, at least in several respects, breaks with tradition.

The number of the unemployed in the Czech Republic reached a record high in January. Nearly 590,000 people were out of work last month, which is the highest number since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Compared to December, the unemployment rate jumped by 0.6 percent to 8 percent according to the latest government figures. But the jobless rate would exceed 10 percent if calculated using methodology employed by government statisticians until last year. I discussed the surge in unemployment with economist Daniel Münich from the Prague-based institute

A recent survey conducted by the LMC agency, which operates the website jobs.cz, has found that roughly half of Czech firms turn down job applicants with criminal records. The survey covered approached 151 different firms and the results following the presidential amnesty (which saw more than 6,000 inmates released in January) are far from encouraging.

The Czech Republic is to send troops to Mali as part of a group of European Union military trainers due to be deployed in the West African state, where an offensive against Islamist militants in the north has been taking place. Prime Minister Petr Nečas announced the decision after winning backing from the opposition.