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Thursday saw the ceremonial opening in Prague of a new branch of the US-based Aspen Institute. The ceremony was attended by numerous former foreign ministers from around the globe, including former us Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

The corruption scandal surrounding David Rath took another set of twists and turns this week as police accused the former Social Democrat health minister and Central Bohemian governor of taking an additional nine million crowns in bribes. Mr Rath is already remanded in custody as police investigate his involvement in a prior affair.

The singer of the US heavy metal band Lamb of God, Randy Blythe, who was arrested in Prague last month on manslaughter charges, is awaiting release from prison. On Wednesday, the Prague Municipal Court doubled Mr Blythe’s original bail of 200,000 US dollars, which has already been raised by the band. The singer faces accusations that during the band’s 2010 Prague concert, he pushed a 19-year-old fan off the stage who later succumbed to his injuries. Mr Blythe’s Czech attorney, Martin Radvan, says the heavy metal singer should be out of jail any

Differences between police president Petr Lessy, Prime Minister Petr Nečas and the country’s finance minister, Miroslav Kalousek, reached boiling point this week, leading the country’s head-of-state, Vaclav Klaus, to weigh in. On Wednesday Mr Klaus met the police president at Prague Castle, expressed full support for him and clearly stated that attacks against the police official had to stop.

On June 10th, a new consumer protection website was launched by the Czech Ministry of Agriculture designed to significantly aid in consumer protection. The site is named “potraviny na pranýři” – or “groceries on the stocks” (official translation: “food pillory”), meaning the old-fashioned wooden kind used to publically humiliate wrongdoers. The project has been a huge hit with consumers, while many leading supermarket chains are less than thrilled.

As is often the case in science, you may not know the name of the Dr. Antonín Holý even if your life depends on it. The work of the acclaimed Czech chemist has extended or improved the lives of millions suffering from HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and many other viral diseases. His theoretical work on the genetic code in the 1960s preceded any practical application by decades. And his meticulous and principled approach to scientific processes, and more than 400 discoveries, made him a role model for many and one of the most outstanding modern Czech scientists.

Want to try out some “Kafkarate”? Or compete in “Freestyle Kissing”, followed up by some “High Heel gymnastics”? The witty new campaign by Prague City Hall to attract Londoners, trying to escape the stress of the Olympics this year, is based on paraphrasing many Olympic disciplines.

The lower house of the Czech Parliament has passed a controversial bill on the restitution of church property. Under the draft legislation, 17 Czech churches and religious groups would get tens of billions of crowns worth of physical property confiscated by the communist regime, plus financial compensation. The bill will now be put to vote in the opposition-controlled Senate which is likely to turn it down, and send it back to the lower house for final approval.

Police president Petr Lessy dropped a political bombshell on Thursday, revealing that over a week ago he was repeatedly called by the finance minister over an ongoing police investigation into the CASA military plane purchase. Speaking before the Security Committee on Thursday, Mr Lessy made clear he considered the calls at best highly inappropriate, if not a direct attempt at intimidation. The minister himself has denied any wrongdoing, while the opposition has already called for his head.

Parliament on Wednesday voted to revoke the immunity of its deputy chairwoman, Vlasta Parkanová, who police suspect of having made a highly disadvantageous military purchase when she was defence minister in 2009. While the case has been a matter of huge debate in recent weeks, the fact that the current lower house has now given up more of its members than any other has lead to a broader discussion on whether parliamentary immunity serves any useful purpose.