Half tram, half train. Engineers in the village of Dětenice, in the Jičín region, are testing a vehicle that could make regional rail transport more efficient. Powered by onboard batteries, the prototype could begin carrying passengers within two years if everything goes according to plan.

The network of Czech Centres is heading for its biggest transformation in years. Newly appointed director Ivan Jukl says the goal is not to shrink the organisation but to strengthen its presence abroad while making it more efficient at home.

During the communist era Radio Prague functioned as a highly effective Cold War propaganda tool, tailoring communist messaging to audiences around the world, while operating under strict censorship and centralized control. Yet amid the ideological campaigns and bureaucratic machinery, occasional human moments and the haunting sound of a Slovak fujara closing the day's broadcast offered rare glimpses of authenticity behind the propaganda.

Longer and more intense heat waves are becoming a growing challenge for Prague, where the urban landscape traps heat long after sunset. City officials are responding with a range of adaptation measures, including an interactive map of cooling locations and plans to expand the network of public "cool zones."

The opposition Civic Democrats said this week that they were prepared to take a Czech government plan to loosen rules on fiscal responsibility to the Constitutional Court. For their part, the coalition say they will overturn a presidential veto of the relevant bill in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, 20 economists have called on the government to drop the whole idea. One of them, Daniel Münich, explained the reasons for this appeal.

A hospital in the south Bohemian city of České Budějovice has become the first in Czechia to perform brain surgery using a system that combines augmented reality, artificial intelligence and 3D glasses. The technology, currently used at only three centres worldwide, is designed to help neurosurgeons perform procedures with greater precision.

One of Prague’s lesser-known but all the more fascinating libraries is the Jiřina Šiklová Library, hidden in the city centre on the banks of the Vltava. Although it is one of the smaller libraries, it has something to offer even the most demanding readers and researchers.

The tragic death of the Irish rock musician Glen Hansard on Wednesday made headlines around the world. There has also been an outpouring of grief here in the Czech Republic, where Hansard touched countless lives on many visits over a 30-year period.

Czechs are among Europe's least mobile workers. OECD and Eurostat data show they are far less likely than many other Europeans to relocate for work, often preferring to commute instead. Regional geographer and university president Jaroslav Koutský believes geography, family ties and long-standing habits all help explain why.

Anyone visiting Charles Bridge recently may have noticed workers suspended from ropes high above the Vltava or operating from boats below. They are carrying out regular maintenance to help keep one of Prague's most iconic landmarks in good condition.