Earlier this month the Czech Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the ordinances adopted by towns in North Bohemia banning people from sitting outdoors on anything other than a bench. The decision has sparked many reactions of disagreement.

A recent edition of the Apel ("Appeal") program broadcast by the Czech Internet television station DVTV has been dedicated to the existence of the pig farm at Lety u Písku that stands at the location of a former concentration camp for Romani people. Renata Berkyová was featured and news server Romea.cz publishes her words in full translation here.

News server Plus JEDEN DEŇ reported on 28 July that police in Slovakia have charged Marian Kotleba, the head of the ultra-right party "Kotleba-People's Party Our Slovakia" (LSNS), with extremism. In March he gave a socially vulnerable family a check for EUR 1 488, which is a number with a neo-Nazi code meaning.

Deník Referendum reports that Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) has met with Czech Culture Minister Daniel Herman (Christian Democrats - KDU-ČSL) as part of his regular performance reviews of all cabinet members. Sobotka said he is satisfied with how Herman is drawing from EU funds for his ministry and that the average wages paid to persons working in culture have risen.

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) called "standard procedure" the step taken by the European Commission on 26 July to send the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland its "reasoned opinions" about the fact that those countries are not meeting their obligations with respect to the program for redistributing asylum-seekers according to established quotas. In a press release addressing the issue, the PM repeated the Czech Republic's refusal to redistribute the asylum-seekers and the Government's reasons for refusing.

In Poland the first-ever travelling exhibition of objects from the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz has been created. Organizers say its aim is to familiarize the broader public with the horrors of the Holocaust and to send a warning signal to the next generation.

A call has been newly announced in the Czech Republic and is being repeated in Romania for nonprofit organizations to join the Romani Early Years Network (REYN) 2017. This is a preschool education initiative that aims to develop the professional knowledge of Romani staffers and others working with Romani communities across Europe in the area of preschool education.