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Czech scientist Antonín Holý, who played an important role in creating drugs to treat HIV and AIDS, died five years ago this week -on July 17, 2012. Among his biggest achievements was the drug Tenofovir used to treat HIV sufferers that has helped millions of people the world over. In developing the drug Holý worked closely with the Belgian virologist Erik De Clercq. Prof. De Clercq gave Czech Radio’s correspondent in Brussels Filip Nerad an interview recalling his collaboration and personal friendship with Antonín Holý.

You’ll find them in Kosovo, Ukraine, Afghanistan or Iraq – Czech experts have been involved in civilian missions the world over for 15 years now. They help in war-torn countries and countries struggling to make a transition to democracy as the Czechs themselves did more than 25 years ago. The Czech Foreign Ministry recently organized a conference to mark 15 years of the country’s participation in civilian missions, assess the contribution made and chart a strategy for the future. Petr Gajdušek, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

The Czech Development Agency, set up in 2008 to help eradicate poverty and contribute to sustainable development, currently operates in over a dozen countries in different parts of the world. One of these long-term projects is in aid of the picturesque Tusheti protected landscape area in the north of Georgia where Czechs have been active since 2013. Michael Hošek, an expert on protected landscape area management and a member of the team currently there, came to Radio Prague’s studio to talk about the agency’s work.

Everyone knows how it feels to be under stress. Talking with students of Prague College, you realize that they all have to deal with stress on a daily basis. This led a Prague College student to create a rather unusual anti-stress campaign including all sorts of objects to help people relieve their stress.

Andor Šándor, former head of the Czech Military Intelligence, is a respected security expert. In connection with the growing security threat he makes frequent appearances on radio and television and lectures on what to do in the event of a crisis. Mr. Šándor has just published a book sharing some of his know-how. In an interview for Radio Prague he explained what led him to do so.

An ambitious floating exhibition has opened in Prague with the target of at least equalling some of the new style of shows devoted to rock and pop greats such as the Rolling Stones and David Bowie. And who else could be the focus for such a Czech show other than the so-called Golden Voice of Prague or the Sinatra of the East – Karel Gott. The exhibition understandably puts the onus on Gott’s success but also covers some stardom’s costs.

It’s been a year since the word Czechia, a shorter version of the name Czech Republic, was entered in the UN database of geographical names of countries. To mark the occasion, the geographical department of the Faculty of Sciences in Prague organised a special conference, assessing how successful the process of adopting the name Czechia has been so far.

Africa Day, celebrated both on the African continent and around the world on May 25, is an opportunity to take stock of the continent’s development, achievements and problems. Today Africa is frequently mentioned in connection with the migrant crisis and the need to help the hundreds of thousands of people who are displaced or leave their homes due to military conflicts, drought or extreme poverty. I spoke to Lenka Pešková about how the Czech branch of ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) is helping in Ethiopia, presently the biggest host

The Czech Development Agency was set up in 2008, under the Czech Foreign Affairs Ministry, with the aim to help eradicate poverty in the world and contribute to sustainable development. Where is it helping today, how much money is it distributing and how successful is it in improving the lives of people in different parts of the world? Those are just some of the questions I discussed with the head of the agency Michal Kaplan.

The general director of the Czech National Museum has just signed an agreement committing the institution to helping Syria save, preserve and conserve much of its cultural and historical heritage damaged by six years of war. At the Prague signing, Michal Lukeš and his Syrian counterpart were on hand to describe the task they face.