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The Czech government on Wednesday approved its policy programme for the coming four years, outlining a vision on the basis of which it will seek a vote of confidence in the lower house next Tuesday. The center-left coalition promises to support economic growth, create new jobs, make public administration more efficient and foster social cohesion.

Six emerging designer talents from the Czech Republic are presenting their work at International Fashion Showcase 2014, which opens in London on Thursday. The two-week exhibition, held within London Fashion Week, will feature fresh new collections of garments, jewellery and accessories from across central Europe. I called the head of the Czech Centre in London Tereza Porybná to find out more.

Next month’s local elections should be particularly interesting in the Moravian capital, where the protest group Žít Brno have just announced that they will stand. Their move comes in response to the removal of their Facebook page on the orders of Brno’s mayor, a frequent target of the group’s satire. But what can Žít Brno actually achieve?

The police have charged former prime minister Petr Nečas with corruption. The case is related to a bribery scandal which toppled his government last June and investigators say it could re-define the rules of political deal-making. Mr Nečas, meanwhile, considers the charges a revenge for a lawsuit he filed against the police.

Phrases about friendship being cemented by food do not hold true of the current relations between the Czech Republic and Poland. Tensions over Polish food exports have surfaced again due to the composition and comments coming out of the new Czech government.

Switzerland’s vote in favour of imposing quotas on EU migrants has put migration issues very much in the spotlight. While the Czech Republic has criticized the Swiss decision and stressed it has no plans to restrict the movement of EU citizens, it has its own migration headache. Its immigration policy with respect to non-EU members remains tough, despite an aging population and a need for skilled workers. Commentator Jiri Pehe says that this is something that will need to change.

Prague could soon host an international think tank aimed at promoting democracy in the former Soviet Union and further afield. A joint project of the Czech, US and Swedish governments and several NGOs, the institute should also provide training to future leaders of countries in transition. The Czech Foreign Ministry has confirmed such plans are being discussed but refuses to give details. I spoke to Kateřina Šafaříková of the daily Lidové noviny who reported the story over the weekend.

A little bit of music history will be made on Saturday when Antonín Dvořák’s Rusalka will become the first Czech opera to be broadcast live from New York’s Metropolitan Opera. The story of a water nymph who falls for a human has long been a favourite amongst Czech audiences, but this ‘Live in HD’ performance will be beamed to cinemas, concert halls and town squares around the world.

In the next couple of weeks, sports fans around the Czech Republic will be glued to the Winter Olympics in Sochi, where competitors like speed skater Martina Sáblíková and the national ice hockey team will be going for gold. In Turin in 2006 the Czechs took four medals, while in Vancouver four years ago they picked up an impressive six. So does the Czech team have a medals target this time out? That was one of several questions I put to Jiří Kejval, the chairman of the Czech Olympic Committee.

Former Czechoslovak Communist party ideology chief Vasil Bilak, the last surviving hardliner who sent a letter of invitation to Soviet leaders, officially justifying the Warsaw Pact invasion that crushed the Prague Spring reform movement in 1968, has died in Bratislava at the age of 96. Bilak was charged with high treason in 1991 but the case was later closed for lack of evidence. I asked prof. Jan Rychlik, who specializes in Czechoslovak history, how Vasil Bilak will be remembered.