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Celebrated Czech rock guitarist Radim Hladík has died just a few days short of his 70th birthday. He had been battling pulmonary fibrosis for a number of years and passed away on Sunday morning. Figures in the world of Czech music have been paying tribute to the beloved musician.

The Czech Republic has been selected for a corruption fighting pilot project which could have a major impact if it eventually expands to cover the massive public sector tenders market.

The Czechoslovak communist-era secret police took an active interest in the Czech born first wife of US president-elect Donald Trump back in the late 1970s and 80s, according to newly examined archive materials. The StB kept an eye on Ivana Zelníčková after she immigrated to Canada in 1971, and later during her marriage to the American real estate mogul, who was apparently already revealing his presidential ambitions.

Some probably thought it would never happen but their doubts have been confounded in a textbook example proving that where there’s a political will there is a way. And on Thursday electronic cash registers, the flagship measure to combat tax dodging of ANO leader and finance minister Andrej Babiš, started to take effect on the ground in the Czech Republic.

French President Francois Hollande met with Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and President Miloš Zeman during a one-day visit to the Czech Republic on Wednesday. Twice before Hollande has had to cancel visits to the country after terrorist incidents back home, and not surprisingly security and European unity topped the agenda of the talks.

A majority of MPs in the Czech lower house of parliament have approved a new tougher version of legislation designed to rein in potential conflicts of interests among public officials. The legislation is set to have a major impact on finance minister and ANO leader Andrej Babiš, whose many business and media interests have long come under fire from opponents and anti-corruption activists.

A growing number of rich Czechs appear to be building private underground shelters for protection in an ever more uncertain world. The rush to build shelters, which could be used in an atomic war or other types of emergency, already started last year in the midst of the immigration crisis and shows no sign of waning with the ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine and success of populist politicians.

The Czech Republic is for the first time fully taking part in Giving Tuesday, a global event created back in 2012 to promote charitable and philanthropic acts. Countless Czech charities are on board, including Doctors Without Borders and People in Need. Giving Tuesday is designed to serve as a counter-weight to the consumerism of Black Friday, a custom which has also made its way to the Czech Republic. Markéta Šetinová is a coordinator at the Association of Social Responsibility, a Czech corporate and social responsibility NGO serving as official

The daily bread of Brussels officials is often associated with bureaucracy and senseless regulations. But a group of Czechs working in European institutions in Brussels decided to challenge this notion and show that there is more to life in the European capital. They teamed up with professional singers to stage a performance of Rusalka, perhaps the best-known opera by Antonín Dvořák.

Czech humanitarian organisation People in Need has been stripped of its accreditation to work in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, an area of eastern Ukraine presently under the control of Kremlin-backed pro-Russian separatists. People in Need – or Člověk v tísni – has been working in the war-torn area since 2014, distributing tonnes of food as well as assisting with health, hygiene and other matters related to day-to-day survival. No reason has been given for the accreditation withdrawal, says the NGO. Šimon Pánek is the director of People