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A fierce battle has pitted environmentalists against plans for the long term management of the country’s biggest forestry company. Environmental groups say the plans basically give a blank cheque to big timber companies to exploit large areas with no real regard for nature preservation or the future of forests.

The first Czech attempt at a private TV news station has failed after the business news channel Z1 abruptly ended its broadcasts Monday. The station’s owner, the J&T finance group, said the move was forced by poor advertising revenues. Z1, which opened with ambitions to compete with the state-run 24-hour news channel, ČT 24, shuts down with a loss of around 600 million crowns.

Interior Minister Radek John on Monday appointed Petr Lessy the country’s new police chief, ending a drawn out dispute within the governing coalition over how the post should be filled. Although a potential government crisis was successfully averted, pundits say the highly-publicized controversy has shown just how deep the rifts go in the Czech coalition government.

Czech tennis player Tomáš Berdych played in the quarterfinal match at the Australian Open on Tuesday, the furthest the sixth-seeded player has ever gotten in the Grand Slam tournament. But if he had played well so far, he hit a wall in the form of Serbian opponent Novak Djokovic at the Rod Laver arena in Melbourne.

Last year the Czech Republic saw no shortage of political drama in national, municipal and Senate elections; 2011 has so far been quieter, but in one area at least things will soon heat up: within the Social Democratic Party, which will choose a new chairman in March. Two candidates – acting leader Bohuslav Sobotka and regional governor Michal Hašek – will face each other in a leadership battle to decide the direction of the opposition party in the years to come. At the weekend, seven of the party’s 14 regional organisations backed Mr Hašek, while

A group of Czechs whose ancestors once settled a region in today’s Ukraine, only to come back empty-handed after the Second World War, are now asking the Czech government for help. They would like to get at least partial compensation for their long-gone property. But Czech officials say they cannot help, so the case might end up at the European Court for Human Rights.

Serious problems at the country’s biggest lottery and betting firm, Sazka, have highlighted the issue of how to finance Czech sports. The government no longer trusts the Czech Sports Association, which is Sazka’s biggest stockholder, with distributing funds among individual sports federations, and on Thursday, officials unveiled a new financing plan that that cuts out that middle men.

A new drama-documentary premiered in Prague on Thursday evening about the incredible story of Nicholas Winton. Called ‘Nicky’s Family’, the film retells the story of the British man who saved hundreds of Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939. Winton was later knighted for his efforts, and Sir Nicholas, now 101, was in Prague once again to attend the premiere.

Tension in the Czech coalition government has mounted over the selection of the new police chief. A committee convened by Interior Minister Radek John on Wednesday picked a candidate for the post. But Prime Minister Petr Nečas promptly dismissed the selection process amid concerns over its transparency, adding more fuel to what has been described as a “cold war” within the coalition cabinet.

A global travel advice site has picked out a Prague hotel as the best luxury hotel in the world for the second year running. The location is clearly one big factor in winning the award but those demanding guests clearly want a bit more than that.