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In an exclusive interview for Czech Television, President Miloš Zeman on Monday announced his intention to appoint ANO leader Andrej Babiš prime minister for a second time, even before the outcome of a referendum on whether the Social Democrats will enter into a coalition with his party. Although the move was expected, its timing is seen as heightened pressure from the head of state for the parties to deliver what he considers “the only viable scenario” in government talks.

400 years ago this May, Bohemian noblemen threw a pair of Hapsburg officials out a Prague Castle window. That act of rebellion, known as the “Defenestration of Prague”, sparked a revolt in the Czech lands. It was also a catalyst for the outbreak of the “30 Years’ War” in Europe – one of the longest, most destructive conflicts in human history, waged in the name of religion.

Private owners of historic buildings in the Czech Republic have opened their doors to the public and organised special events for their visitors as part of European Private Heritage Week, which takes place until Sunday. The aim of the event, which takes place under the banner ‘Our House, Your Heritage’ is to raise awareness about the contribution private owners of heritage buildings make to society as a whole.

Czech Radio has managed to save material from recently discovered audio reels of one of the Czechoslovak Communist era’s biggest show trials – that of top party leader Rudolf Slánský and 13 co-accused. The salvaged sound has now been made public.

The 10th annual Church Night gets underway in the Czech Republic on Friday and it’s bigger than ever before. The event, which offers visitors a rare opportunity to get a glimpse of places usually closed to the public, started in 2009 with 25 churches. This year, more than 1,300 churches from all around the country are taking part.

With the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation due to come into force on May 25th individual member states are scrambling to comply with the new directive. The Czech Republic has a lot of catching up to do – national data protection laws supplementing the GDPR are still not in place and a flash poll has revealed that a fifth of Czech firms are unaware of the existence of the new EU data protection rules.

Towering Jewish-American author Philip Roth has died at the age of 85. And while most of the tributes will rightly focus on his many prize winning works over 60 years, there was another aspect to his life as well: the timely help he gave to dissident Czechoslovak writers after 1968 and the crushing of the so-called Prague Spring.

Several hundred protesters with taped mouths gathered on Prague’s Old Town Square on Tuesday for a silent protest against Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. They accuse him of lying, undermining the independence of the police, conducting a purge in the state administration and cooperating with extremist parties.

The Czech Foreign Ministry has expressed deep concern over the re-election of leftist authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela’s presidential election at the weekend. The ministry joined widespread international condemnation of election irregularities, intimidation of political opponents and violations of human rights.

The National Gallery in Prague has launched its first mobile application, called Hidden Secrets of Medieval Paintings. It offers visitors an interactive viewing of selected panel paintings, which are on display in the Convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia, and uncovers some interesting facts about their origin as well as some secrets hidden under the top layer.