Czech state prosecutors have accused a prominent Prague doctor of rape and other crimes stemming from his having allegedly abused a dozen women, mainly female personal assistants, the news server iDnes.cz reported Tuesday. If convicted, he faces up to 12 years in prison.

David Rath, the former Social Democrat health minister and governor of Central Bohemia accused of taking a Kč 7 million bribe in a far reaching corruption scandal, has appeared before a parliamentary committee which is expected to recommend his immunity is lifted for further criminal proceedings.

The challenge of turning unsightly parts of the cityscape into small oases of greenery and community in the Czech capital has been taken up for the first time by a Prague architect and his project to launch an urban allotment in the industrial district of Holešovíce. While the urban gardening concept is already mature in cities as far apart as Melbourne, New York and London, Matěj Petránek’s inspiration came from photographs of the phenomenon in Helsinki.

A number of Czech ministries and state entities such as the scandal-ridden Roads and Motorways Directorate (ŘSD) may begin publishing all contracts with third parties on the internet as of September as part of an anti-corruption drive, public broadcaster ČT reported Monday.