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Just one year ago, a photographer snapped the first-ever photo of a golden jackal on Czech soil. This week, a camera trap in the Milovice area in central Bohemia documented the fact that the species has settled down and started breeding in the Czech Republic. I discussed the latest discovery with Miloslav Jirků of the Czech Academy of Sciences:

Animal rights activists have reason to celebrate. After years of controversy, both houses of the Czech Parliament have approved a ban on fur farms that should take effect in January 2019. According to the bill, which was approved by the Senate on Thursday, the owners of fur farms will be able to claim compensation from the state. Opinion polls suggest that over 80 percent of Czechs support the move. I called animal rights activist Lucie Moravcová from the NGO Freedom for Animals to get her reaction to the news.

At the moment the Vltava river in Prague is mainly used by tourists but the state waterways authority and city council are looking seriously at the possibility of making it once again a working waterway that could ease traffic and noise in the centre.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu caused a stir at a Visegrad Group summit in Budapest on Wednesday, slamming the EU for what he described as its “crazy” approach in dealing with his country. He urged Visegrad leaders to lobby for a change of attitude in the interest of all parties.

The annual international music festival Colours of Ostrava, one of the biggest events of its kind in Central Europe, kicks off in the North Moravian city on Wednesday night. Among the biggest highlights of this year’s edition is the US rock band Imagine Dragons or the nine Grammy awards winner Norah Jones.

A video released in May attempted to cast a newly-emerging coalition between the Christian Democrats and the STAN Party of mayors and independents as a friendship built on courage, dedication and trust. Idyllic scenes showed boys cooperating together growing up to be the leaders of their respective parties – pledging to run together in the upcoming election. That all changed on Tuesday: although the parties still aim to cooperate closely, the coalition, formally-speaking, is dust.

Double standards in food products, sold by multinational companies across the EU, have long been a sticking point not only for the Czech Republic but also other countries in the Visegrad 4. Over the years, studies found that products sold by multinationals under identical brand names differed considerably, which Czechs and others say is unethical. Now, the ground has begun to shift.

Just like every summer, Czechs are setting off to forests all around the country armed with baskets and knives in their annual hunt for mushrooms, one of the most popular national pastimes. This season, recognition of the various fungi species may be easier than ever, thanks to a new mobile app which has recently been launched by a team of Czech developers.

Nový prostor, a Czech street magazine recently saw the publication of its jubilee 500th issue. For more than 15 years, the Czech equivalent of Britain’s The Big Issue, has given sellers, who are homeless, an employment opportunity, a voice and a chance to re-connect with broader society.

Special measures have come into force in the Zlín region and other parts of Moravia in response to the first outbreak of African swine fever in the Czech Republic. Hunters are allowed to shoot all wild boar throughout the country and pig breeders will have to meet strict hygiene guidelines or else slaughter their animals by the end of July.