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British Prime Minister David Cameron flies into Prague on Friday with the main target to firm up his hopes of sealing a deal on European Union reforms which can be put to British voters in a referendum on whether to stay in or out of the 28-country political and economic bloc.

“Better late than never” – that was the reaction of former chess master and Russian political activist Garry Kasparov to the verdict of a UK inquiry Thursday on the death of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian spy poisoned in 2006 via a lethal dose of polonium-210 placed in his tea. According to British authorities, the murder was carried out by the Russian FSB security services, probably on the orders of Vladimir Putin.

Not only religion, but also freedom of conscience in the broadest sense can be a reason for parents to refuse the mandatory inoculation of their child, the Czech Republic’s Constitutional Court said in a ground-breaking ruling on Wednesday. The decision concerned parents who were recently fined for having refused to inoculate their child on the ground of possible health complications.

Swollen feet and leg cramps are common side effects of pregnancy that tend to get worse with increasing weight gain. Now scientists at Brno’s Masaryk University have developed a line of shoes that alleviate these symptoms and prevent chronic joint problems.

Last year the EU launched hotspots, reception centres to register the migrants arriving in the bloc in enormous numbers. Now the Visegrad Four countries are calling for them to also be used as detention centres. At the same time, the Czech prime minister has proposed another way to deal with the migration crisis: moving the outer border of Schengen.

Nikas, the winner of the Czech Republic’s prestigious Velká pardubická steeplechase last year, faces disqualification after a second drug test confirmed the presence of banned alkaloids in the animal’s blood. The Czech Jockey Club is set to issue a final ruling.

The government led by Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka backed a European Commission proposal on Monday to tighten security at the EU’s outer borders. The Czech Republic has been pushing for increased border protection for the better part of a year.

Prague's Václav Havel Airport handled a record number of passengers last year. The airport registered over 12 million arrivals and departures, an increase by 7.9 percent compared to 2014 and the highest increase in the past decade. The numbers are expected to increase even further this year with the introduction of new regular long-distance flights. Ruth Fraňková has more.

A major Czech business delegation is currently in Iran as some of the most significant trade sanctions against the country start to tumble. Czech companies have high hopes of cashing in on the opportunities now opening up.

Commemorative events are being held around the country to honour the memory of Jan Palach, a Charles University student who set himself ablaze on Wenceslas Square 47 years ago to protest against growing public apathy to the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia. His act rekindled the desire for freedom in the nation and was a powerful motivating force behind the 1989 protests that toppled communism.