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Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka has raised eyebrows by entering into a dispute over wages between trade unions and the Dutch retailer Ahold which owns the Albert supermarket chain in the Czech Republic. The prime minister took the unusual step of discussing the issue with the Dutch ambassador to Prague, whom he asked to intervene on behalf of Czech employees.

The government has moved to ease conditions for foreigners working in the Czech Republic. An amendment to the foreigners’ law approved by the cabinet on Monday should enable foreign nationals to work in the country for a longer period before needing to extend their visas.

Just days before the full launch of a new system linking cash registers in the Czech Republic to a central database, the scheme is back in the headlines. Its architect, the minister of finance, is proposing last-minute changes that he says will benefit small businesspeople. However, his opponents have slammed the move. Ian Willoughby reports.

Czech consumer interest in Black Friday has continued to go up, this year including several large chain stores taking part. On Friday e-shops in the country are dropping prices on some items by as much as 80 percent and sale prices should continue throughout the weekend, followed by Cyber Monday.

After completing the controversial Blanka tunnel complex more than a year ago, Prague Town Hall is now considering digging deep into its pockets and constructing another massive tunnel, the daily Hospodářské noviny reported on Thursday. City councillors are hoping that the new project would finally solve traffic problems by completing the city inner ring road.

The long wait appears to have ended with the European Commission finally giving the clearance for Czech renewables power support.

New data released by the Czech Association of Booksellers and Publishers has confirmed that Czechs belong among Europe’s biggest bookworms. According to the survey, released this week, Czechs spent around 7.5 billion crowns on books in 2015, which is about five percent more than in the previous year.

The number of Chinese visitors to the Czech Republic has been rising fast in recent years. Now Czech tourist industry groups want to encourage them and other non-EU tourists to spend more when they are here – by offering them greater VAT returns on goods bought during their stay.

Eta, the iconic Czech household appliances producer, lost its way but now appears to be on the comeback trail with a range of new designs and an expanded product range which once again seem to be finding favour with Czechs and Slovaks.

A large part of cigar smoking Czech multi-billionaire Zdeněk Bakala’s fortune could go up in smoke.