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The Czech government has just approved legislation that will make it illegal for shops to give customers free plastic bags from the year after next. Small clear bags to hold the likes of fruit or bread rolls will not be affected by the new EU-required norm. Will Czechs mind having to pay for plastic bags? And what will the benefits of the move be? I discussed those issues with environmentalist Vojtěch Kotecký.

Unknown diaries by playwright and dissident Václav Havel, kept when he was jailed by the Communist regime in 1977 will be published later this year by the Václav Havel Library on the occasion of what would have been the late Czech president’s 80th birthday. The recently discovered entries were written over a period of several months following the release of the Charter 77 manifesto in January 1977. I asked Michael Žantovský, the head of Václav Havel Library, to tell me more about their origin:

Wednesday is the last day of campaigning in the British referendum over whether to remain or quit the European Union, the so-called ‘Brexit’ option. The vote is being closely followed in the Czech Republic with emotions high among local backers of both the remain and leave camps. They perhaps agree on one thing: that the vote will be decisive for the future of Czechs as well.

The Czech Republic’s footballers have been packing their bags after a hugely disappointing European Championship in France. Pavel Vrba’s men exited the competition on Tuesday night following a 2:0 defeat to Turkey left them with just one point from three group games. Where did it all go wrong for the Czechs at the Euros? And what does the future hold for the team’s manager? I put those questions to soccer journalist Michal Petrák on the line from France.

The planned merger of two elite police units has caused a rift in the ruling coalition and triggered an open war in the ranks of the police force. The outgoing head of the squad for fighting organized crime Robert Šlachta, who resigned in protest of the planned changes, has requested a hearing before Parliament’s Security Committee saying he has evidence of links between the police and the criminal underworld.

An estimated 900,000 people in the Czech Republic suffer from diabetes. What is even more alarming, the incidence of diabetes keeps increasing especially among younger people around the age of 30. This week, the Czech Diabetes Association announced its plan to launch a National Diabetes Register that would help improve the situation, allowing doctors to have a better overview of patients suffering from diabetes and prescribe medicine more effectively.

The Czech government is intensifying its drive to help Czech producers establish and boost their presence on the Chinese market. On a five day working trip and trade mission to China, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka pushed ahead with lucrative deals in the fields of aviation, agriculture, finance and health care.

Czech scientists believe they have taken a significant step in coming up with possible treatments for both tick borne encephalitis and its near relation, the Zika virus, which has already been declared a global public health threat by the World Health Organisation after the infection took off in Latin America at the end of last year.

It has been estimated that an enormous amount of food - 88 million tonnes is wasted in the European Union annually. A new campaign by the Zachraň Jidlo initiative wants to make a small dent in food waste the Czech Republic, reporting that up to one-fifth of fruit and vegetables is thrown away without ever making it to the store, for strictly cosmetic reasons.

If you’re in Prague on Thursday night and see a lot of serious discussions and gesticulations, it might not just be about Czech football chances in Euro 2016. There is a French connection though, and the Czech capital is in fact hosting its first ever philosophy night with events and discussions planned until the very early hours.