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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.

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.

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.

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.

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

MPs returned to their seats on Tuesday to debate, above all, a much-needed civil service bill, designed to reform the civil service along apolitical lines, cutting out cronyism and corruption to which it was susceptible in the past. The Czech Republic, to its embarrassment, is the only remaining EU member without such legislation already in place.

Czech soldiers guarding the Bagram military base in Parwan Province, Afghanistan, are repelling an increasing number of attacks from Taliban insurgents. Tuesday’ terrorist attack in the close vicinity of the base killed four Czech servicemen and a fifth, who was gravely injured in the blast, died in Prague’s military hospital on Monday. In the meantime an attack on a night patrol is reported to have injured yet another Czech soldier on Sunday night.