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The Czech Catholic Church says that it is near to sealing an agreement with the Vatican for the return of the remains of Cardinal Josef Beran back to his homeland. Cardinal Beran was persecuted by the communist regime when it came to power in 1948 but eventually left for Rome, where he ended his days.

Slovak born billionaire businessman Andrej Babiš has been appointed Czech prime minister by the country’s president.

The Czech Centre in London has in recent years devoted a lot of its energies to bringing cutting edge Czech art and design to the UK capital. Now it’s able to do so on its own premises, after relocating to the same building as the country’s embassy and other institutions in the Notting Hill district. I recently stopped by to discuss the Czech Centre’s new location, and some of its projects, with director Tereza Porybná.

In the New Year, Czech TV will broadcast one of its most ambitious projects to date and its biggest co-production ever: a two-part miniseries about 18th century Habsburg ruler, the Empress Maria Theresa.

The newly-elected lower house of Parliament has started debating the most important bill of the year – the state budget for 2018. Although the time-frame for its approval is tight, observers predict a tough battle ahead, not only as regards the allocation of funds but the size of next year’s state deficit.

The collapse of a footbridge across the Vltava River which left four injured on Saturday, has raised concerns regarding the state of the city‘s other bridges. Prague City Hall has now said it may close some of them for safety reasons.

December 1 is World AIDS Day, dedicated to raising awareness of the worldwide AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of the HIV virus. In the Czech Republic the number of people infected with HIV has steadily been going up, according to the country’s National Institute for Public Health.

Dlouhá cesta or Long Journey is the title of a new book by the Czech UK-based author Petr Horáček. The talented illustrator has published dozens of children’s books in Britain, wining a number of awards around the world, but Dlouhá cesta is his first title written in Czech for Czech children. Radio Prague went to the book launch.

The environment in the Czech Republic remained unchanged in 2016, despite continuous economic and industrial growth, suggests the annual report on the state of Czech environment, which was debated by the government this week. The report also points out that despite growing public funding on environment protection, there have been no significant improvements.

Among the Advent events that reflect the true spirit of Christmas is the annual Charity Advent Market organized by the Fund Act For Others. Now in its fourth year, the market is organized by international team of dedicated enthusiasts who give it a multicultural flair. A visit to the three day-event at Prague’s Mala Strana will bring you joy ahead of Christmas and enable the fund to help the needy. I spoke to founder and event manager of Act for Others Melanie Schilling about what the market, which opens at the Maltese Palace on Friday, will offer