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Commemorative events are being held around the Czech Republic on Friday and at the weekend to honour the late president Václav Havel on the fifth anniversary of his death. The former dissident, playwright and one of the first spokesmen of Charter 77 died on December 18, 2011, at the age of 75. One of the main events, a two-day screening of films related to Václav Havel, gets underway in Prague on Friday afternoon:

A group of Czech senators have backed a formal legal complaint to the country’s Constitutional Court challenging recently enacted legislation mandating large stores to close on public holidays.

Czech scientists have recently discovered what is believed to be the world’s highest growing plant. While carrying out research in the Ladakh region of the Himalayas, they came across six species of a tiny plant, no bigger than a coin, clinging to a gravel on Mount Shukule, at an elevation 6,150 metres above sea level.

The fate of two Czechs detained in Turkey last month, facing potential terrorism charges, is far from certain but Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek, on an official visit to Ankara has indicated there is reason for cautious optimism. Following talks with his Turkish counterpart, the minister said he saw a willingness on the part of the local authorities to accommodate the Czech Republic.

A tapestry bound for a new Václav Havel building in Strasbourg has just been placed on display at the DOX art centre in Prague. A smaller version of the French-made artwork – based on a pictorial tribute to the late Czech president by artist Petr Sís – hangs at Václav Havel Airport. The man behind both is Art for Amnesty founder Bill Shipsey, who has raised funds for numerous memorials linked to Havel over the years. The Irishman explained that the tapestry is currently half-way through an international “tour”.

Japan’s biggest brewery group, Asahi Group Holdings, has won the bidding competition to acquire Plzeňský Prazdroj, the biggest Czech beer producer with an internationally recognised brand name.

The world-renowned Czech mezzo soprano Magdalena Kožená has been nominated for this year’s Grammy Awards, along with such stars as Beyonce or Rihanna. Kožená received the nomination in the Best Classical Vocal Album category for her album of works by Claudio Monteverdi, which was released this spring under the label Deutsche Grammophon.

In the Czech Republic, smokers, roughly a quarter of the population, burn through 21 billion cigarettes each year; but after last Friday, they are likely to soon no longer be able to smoke in restaurants or pubs. Lawmakers in the lower house of parliament passed a long-awaited anti-smoking bill.

Following the end of most sanctions earlier this year, Iran is one of the most courted countries in the world due to its booming economic prospects. The Czech Republic is seeking a piece of the prospective action with a top level Iranian delegation in Prague on Friday to chart how bilateral economic ties can develop further.

A new scientific study has found that new-born babies in Moravia’s industrial north-east are significantly more prone to illness than in the rest of the country. The joint study by the Czech Institute of Experimental Medicine and the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague focuses on the notorious Karviná district, which suffers from severe smog as a result of copious coal-burning by homes and power plants, pollution from local steelworks, and proximity to a similarly industrial area of Poland.