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The Czech military has grounded its fleet of L-159 fighter jets after one of the planes crashed on its way back from a training session near Kolín in central Bohemia on Thursday. The pilot did not survive the crash. It is the second fatal accident involving the Czech-made military aircraft since they were first introduced in 2003.

With corruption perceived as one of the country’s most serious problems, the Czech government has now moved to give whistleblowers greater legal protection. While it hopes to encourage more public sector workers to report corrupt practices, it is stepping cautiously for fear that the legal norm could be abused.

Czech President Václav Klaus has weighed in on the case of two Czech nationals held in Greece on espionage charges. The two men, both professional video game developers, were arrested in September on the Greek island of Lemnos after they took photos of local military installations. But they say they were only collecting material for a new game. Mr Klaus has now appealed to the president of Greece, asking him to follow the case with special attention.

The Czech internet reached a significant milestone this week, when the one millionth website with the country domain name ending of .cz was registered. The announcement was made by CZ.NIC, the body that administers domain names in the Czech Republic. Perhaps surprisingly, the majority of sites ending in .cz – 58 percent – are owned not by firms but by individuals.

Cards issued under a new electronic system streamlining welfare and social benefit payments will – in the end – not be compulsory. The prime minister made the announcement on Tuesday, making clear the system – which has come under criticism from both non-governmental organisations and political circles – will be revised.

The Czech Republic’s tennis players have won every single team competition they’ve entered this year: the Hopman Cup, the Fed Cup and – just this Sunday – the Davis Cup. But what does this unprecedented success mean for Czech tennis in financial terms? And what could it mean in the future?

Twenty-three years ago the Velvet Revolution swept the Communists from power in former-Czechoslovakia but today in the Czech Republic they are doing better than anytime over the last two decades. On Tuesday, regional members of the party in Ústí agreed on the first communist governor with their Social Democrat counterparts.

The Czech Republic on Saturday marked the 23rd anniversary of the Velvet Revolution which toppled the communist rule in the country. Top Czech officials commemorated the student march of November 1989 which led to the fall of the communist regime, as well as the Nazi persecution of Czech students from 50 years before. But this year, the anniversary was partly overshadowed by anti-government rallies held in Prague and other places in protest against the government’s austerity programme.

All eyes will be on Prague’s O2 Arena this weekend, when the Czech Republic take on Spain in the final of tennis’s Davis Cup. The last time the Czechs – as part of Czechoslovakia – won the prestigious title was back in 1980, and victory would be the crowning achievement of Tomáš Berdych, Radek Štěpánek and their teammates.

President Václav Klaus on Thursday concludes a three-day state visit to Austria. During his trip, the Czech president met with the Austrian president and prime minister, launched a Czech-Austrian business forum and visited the Austrian Parliament. But his last visit to the neighbouring country as the Czech head of state did little to improve the strained relations between the two countries.