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The Czech government has agreed to take in around 70 refugees of the Syrian conflict, currently situated in Jordan. The decision, which was unanimously approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, has met with mixed reactions from opposition politicians – some say the country should do far more to help the victims of Syria’s civil war; others fear the economic and cultural burdens of taking in people from such a dangerous part of the world.

The level of the crown has been a matter of public and political debate in the Czech Republic after it fell through the floor against the euro and dollar in recent days. Steadying words have firmed it a bit, but is it out of the turbulence?

The Czech Republic has some of the most liberal laws in Europe when it comes to smoking. Now, however, the country’s health minister is working on legislation that would ban cigarettes from all bars and restaurants. Previous efforts to introduce a ban have come to very little – but the minister says the time is now right for such a change.

Czech lawmakers are due to begin debating a government draft bill proposing to curb the powers of the country’s head-of-state. Many argue the need to redefine the president’s role became an issue after the country opted for direct presidential elections, which gave the new head-of-state arguably more leverage in influencing key decision-making. Politicians both in government and in the opposition would like to see that changed.

The popularity of drones, formerly used almost exclusively by the military, has reached new heights and as this state of the art technology becomes more easily affordable hundreds of them are flying over the Czech Republic –with or without the required license.

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka has said that France and the Czech Republic should boost cooperation to counter the threat of terrorism. He made the statement after signing a book of condolences on Monday at the French Embassy in Prague, for the victims of terrorist attacks in Paris. The Czech government will also look at ways of boosting domestic security, without threatening the individual freedoms of citizens.

Following last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris, the Czech authorities are not ruling out the possibility of the radicalisation of individual Muslims in this country. However, says the minister of the interior, the Czech Muslim community as a whole is unusual in not having a radical component, having arisen in very different circumstances than the communities in bigger European states.

Later this month the Czech Republic will hold commemorative events over two days to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz at the end of World War II. The initiative, the daily Gazeta Wyborcza suggested, has Polish representatives seeing red, not least over fears the Czech ceremonies could overshadow Poland’s own. According to the daily, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka was contacted by his Polish counterpart over the matter.

Czech political leaders have joined widespread international condemnation of the brutal terrorist attack against the staff of the satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The Czech government has voiced its solidarity with the people of France and stressed the need for Europe to unite in defense of its values.

Perhaps the best known Czech satirical cartoon is Zelený Raoul, which often employs extremely graphic images to poke fun at a wide range of targets in the pages of Reflex magazine. Following Wednesday’s horrific attack on the offices of France’s Charlie Hebdo, I discussed the possible implications for political and religious satire with Zelený Raoul founder Tomáš Baldýnský. My first question: Has the comic strip every included images that might be considered offensive to Muslims?