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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.

The BBC comedy series The Office has been sold to more than 80 countries around the world, and local versions have been made in the United States, France, Germany, Chile, Israel and Sweden. But there’s never been a stage version – until now that is. Last weekend Prague’s Municipal Theatre saw the première of Kancl, the world’s first ever stage adaptation of the cult series. Rob Cameron spoke to Office star and co-creator Ricky Gervais, and asked him for his reaction.

Czech President Václav Klaus this week vetoed a bill which would enhance state support for Czech filmmakers and increase tax incentives for foreign film productions. The president argued there was no reason why the film industry, a business like any other, should receive public funding. The bill may yet come into force, if the veto is overturned by MPs. For now, however, the industry cannot expect any public support in future. RP spoke to Matthew Stillman who is the head of Stillking Films, the country’s largest production company for foreign movies.

In a document outlining the future priorities for EU funding for the Czech Republic, the European Commission has criticized the influence of political changes on government administration. The report also takes a strong stand on the country’s insufficient efforts to develop a more competitive economy.

This week, a group of university students is organizing a series of events in Prague focused on the segregation of Roma children in Czech schools and the media image of the country’s Romani minority. Held in cooperation with the human rights group AI, the Roma week reiterates concerns about the continued education inequality that the international community has been voicing for some time, and which is a growing issue for young Czechs as well.