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Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas has come under criticism from some members of his government, several Czech NGOs and even exporters over his statement about human rights and their relation to the economy. Mr Nečas said that support for the Dalai Lama or jailed members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot might have a negative impact on trade relations. This earned him accusations that his words ran contrary to the country’s official foreign policy.

The newly-formed hockey club Lev Praha has made its debut in the Kontinental Hockey League. The first Czech-based team to join the KHL got two wins out of its three home games before setting off on a tour of Russia and Belarus. But has the new club also succeeded in bringing Czech hockey fans to see KHL action in Prague?

The Czech Republic is in the grip of a methadone scare after 11 people suffered acute methadone poisoning from bootleg alcohol. As the number of fatalities rises police around the country are trying to trace the source of the contaminated liquor and issuing urgent warnings to the public.

More than 22,000 Czech students cast their ballots in this year’s edition of mock elections held at secondary schools across the country. Organized by the charity and human rights advocacy group People in Need, the mock elections put the Czech Pirate Party on top, with 20 percent of the vote. The project is designed to increase student’s participation in the election process. But it also showed how dissatisfied Czech students are with the political establishment.

Czech tennis player Tomáš Berdych scored an important win at the US Open when he beat world number one Roger Federer in the tournament’s quarterfinal. Berdych, whose play against the Swiss has been described as overwhelmingly powerful, will next play Andy Murray of the UK for a spot in the US Open final.

The Nečas cabinet suffered its first significant defeat in its consolidation drive on Wednesday. The lower house rejected a crucial part of its austerity package –a controversial bill on tax hikes aimed at bringing the gap in public finances below 3 percent of GDP in 2013. The move has left the prime minister fighting not only for the future of his reform cabinet but primarily his own future as the head of the Civic Democratic Party and the government.

This week will see the official launch of the central satellite navigation centre for the Galileo global navigation system in Prague. Originally eleven countries vied for a chance to host the site, which will oversee the launch of the European answer to America’s GPS.

A growing conflict within the senior coalition Civic Democrat party is threatening to topple the government of Prime Minister Petr Nečas. Some Civic Democrat MPs have refused to back government legislation raising the VAT rates, a bill the prime minister said was crucial for the future existence of the government. If the bill does get rejected by the lower, Mr Nečas threatened to send the exact same legislation to Parliament again, this time linked to a vote of confidence in his government.

An elite police unit from Brno has headed to Bosnia and Herzegovina to clear vestiges of the war in Bosnia 17 years ago: unexploded mortar bombs in the winding Sava River. Divers from the elite squad – working in poor visibility, underwater – will understandably have to proceed with extreme caution: an estimated 150 mortar shells litter the river bottom.

Although the most recent figures from the Czech Statistical Office gave a slightly optimistic view of rising wages in the second quarter of this year, a report in the daily Lidové noviny warns that the reality is different. The inflation in the Czech Republic is increasing faster than wages, and given the rising prices of basic goods and threats of further tax increases, the Czech consumer is left less than optimistic about the future.