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The Czech Health Ministry on Wednesday presented a national strategy to improve public health, which has in some respects deteriorated over the past decades. The document entitled Health 2020 addresses 16 areas, from lack of physical exercise to better institutional health care.

The Czech Republic is one of the last remaining EU states which does not have a children’s Ombudsman, according to a government report on the state of human rights in the Czech Republic. The report says that while cases relating to minors can be dealt with by the Ombudsman’s Office, the institution lacks the staff and money needed to properly address problem areas deserving of attention.

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka on Monday continued his tour of government ministries, this time focusing on Černín Palace and results over the last half year by the country’s foreign minister, Lubomír Zaorálek. Mr Sobotka and the foreign minister discussed economic diplomacy as well as developments in Israel and in eastern Ukraine.

The Czech coalition parties have nominated Regional Development Minister Věra Jourová as the country’s candidate for the European Commission. The Czech government hopes she could take over one of the economic portfolios in the commission. Ms Jourová, of the ANO party, meanwhile, has vowed to raise the EU’s prestige with Czechs.

Defence Minister Martin Stropnický on Thursday paid a morale-boosting visit to Czech troops in Afghanistan, following last week’s suicide bomb attack which killed five servicemen. The visit took place in the midst of a security scare at the Czech embassy in Kabul and a pre-dawn attack on Kabul International Airport.

Czech pop singer Michal Hrůza was taken to hospital in critical condition early on Thursday after sustaining a serious brain injury in a pub fight in the eastern Czech city of Ostrava. The 43-year-old musician has undergone brain surgery, but doctors say the prognosis is uncertain.

Only three months after the Temelin nuclear tender was scrapped, chances that the Czech Republic will swiftly restart preparations to build new reactors have revived with one of the main critics of the former Temelin tender now backing nuclear expansion.

The Czech odyssey in search of a European Commission candidate continues with Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka now departing for Brussels to get a better idea of what jobs could be filled by the possible Czech candidates. He is likely to be told that a woman candidate would be more than welcome, but such a move could create problems within his own party.

This Wednesday saw the launch of the new Prague USE.IT map, the fourth edition of a map which takes visitors off the beaten path. USE.IT, with a history dating back to the late 1960s, represents “no nonsense” tourism for young people interested in getting closer to the heart of the city and real life.

The Czech national anthem which opens with the line “Where is my home?” inspired the creation of a new spot intended to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless. A homeless man at Prague’s main railway station shouts the question and starts singing the anthem as others walk up and join in – directing the question at largely disinterested passers-by. The spot made by the Czech Salvation Army in cooperation with the Scottish director Callum Ferguson aims to break down existing prejudices and raise more public support for those without a roof