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At the end of 2004 the Czech Republic ended compulsory military service after over six and a half decades. Now, however, there are plans to introduce what is being billed as “conscription”. Under legislation just approved by the government, from 2017 all Czechs will have to report to the army when they turn 18 – and declare whether they would be willing to serve their country.

Verdicts have been delivered in one of the most closely watched court cases in recent Czech history, with nine found guilty of corruption in a case linked to David Rath. The erstwhile politician is being tried separately – but seems set to also spend many years behind bars.

Hockey fans are fast looking forward to the upcoming Ice Hockey World Championships which begin in May, held this year in the Czech cities of Prague and Ostrava. Hosting a championship means added anticipation over how the home squad will do. Many hope that legendary forward Jaromír Jágr, who is taking part in training camp, will play, and if possible, lead the Czechs to a medal on home ice.

Czech President Miloš Zeman at the weekend made headlines when he told the online Parlamentní listy that the current ambassador to Prague was no longer welcome at Prague Castle. The president told the news site the door was closed, after the US ambassador raised doubts last week about the president’s planned visit to Russia. Although Ambassador Andrew Schapiro said no one could presume to tell the president what to do, he suggested that attending a military parade in Moscow on May 9 was unfortunate.

The Czech Health Ministry is pushing a proposed amendment to the law on public health which would make HIV testing compulsory for some people in high risk groups. While the ministry argues that this is to curb the spread of the disease and ensure early treatment, human rights advocates say it would mean a serious breach of human rights.

Around twenty homeless people will get a chance to work in the Siemens engineering company. The firm on Thursday announced its plan to employ the homeless within its new programme Restart@Siemens, which has just got underway. The project is sponsored by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and Siemens will also collaborate with a number of charities.

The Christian Democrats are pushing to make Good Friday a state holiday in the Czech Republic, as it is in several European states. Previous attempts to give workers a day off on the religious holiday have failed. However, a senior party figure says the Christian Democrats are now hopeful of finding support for the revival of a tradition ended by the Communists.

The law on church restitutions approved by the Czech Parliament in 2012 should enable churches active in the Czech Republic to gain full independence from the state by 2030. However, changing an order that’s been in place for decades is not proving easy. In an Easter interview for Czech Radio Cardinal Miloslav Vlk slammed Czech officials for mentoring the Catholic Church and reminded them that the communist days are over.

A shiny new Metro station will from Monday serve travellers using Prague’s Václav Havel Airport. However, the Nádraží Veleslavín station has not been fitted with escalators leading to street level. To get around the problem, porters will be employed to help people with heavy luggage in what is said to be a unique service in Europe.

The Czech company Nafigate Corporation has just been awarded a prestigious award for innovation in technology by Frost & Sullivan. Several years ago the firm licensed a patent developed by the Technological University in Brno for turning used cooking oil into bioplastic. The company is continuing to develop the system for large-scale commercial use, beneficial not only in cutting waste buts also for providing biodegradable plastic in a number of fields.