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The opposition Social Democrats and Communists dominated the regional elections and the first round of voting to a third of the Senate held in the Czech Republic at the weekend. The senior government parties suffered huge losses as voters manifested dissatisfaction with the government’s austerity measures and its inability to curb corruption. But even the Social Democrats did worse than four years ago while the Communist party emerged as the real winner of the vote.

The Czech Republic goes to the polls this weekend, with voters choosing members of the country’s regional assemblies as well as one third of the seats in the upper house, the Senate. Opinion polls suggest the parties of the centre-right government will receive something of a drubbing, whilst analysts are concerned at the prospect of an extreme right party winning a regional assembly seat for the first time.

A court in Prague has released from custody a close aide to the Czech Republic’s former prime minister. The man faces charges of attempted fraud related to a dubious 2009 weapons deal. Although the court’s decision has raised eyebrows, there is little doubt the Czech government’s anti-corruption drive is gaining momentum.

A minor scuffle in Prague at the weekend is now receiving nationwide coverage, after video footage showed police officers using what appeared to be excessive force to subdue a man who’d intervened in an arrest. The incident took place in broad daylight at the busy Anděl intersection, and was captured by a passer-by on his mobile phone.

German President Joachim Gauck arrived in Prague on Wednesday for an action-packed one day visit. Talks with Czech top officials, a meeting with Cardinal Dominik Duka and a visit to Lidice village symbol of Nazi atrocities in WWII, gave this visit by a German head of state a new dimension.

The Czech government has approved a new bill on acquiring Czech citizenship which, among other issues, introduces several new conditions for those interested in becoming Czech citizens. For example, to be eligible for Czech passports, foreigners must not be on social welfare in the country, and must pass a stricter Czech language test. Several NGOs who work with migrants have also criticized the draft legislation as being too vague and giving too much power to government officials. RP spoke to Marek Čaněk from the Prague-based Consortium of Migrants

The legendary Czech hockey goalie Dominik Hašek has announced his retirement. A year and a half since his last match, played in Russia, the 47-year-old Olympic champion and two-time Stanley Cup winner had been hoping for yet another stint in the NHL. But on Tuesday, Dominik Hašek said that since no offer had come from overseas, it was best to call time on his career. RP spoke to the star goalie Dominik Hašek, soon after he announced his decision.

Anti-corruption police on Monday arrested one of the country’s best-known lobbyists, Marek Dalík, often referred to as an ‘eminence grise’ during Mirek Topolánek’s government. The former aide and personal friend of the former prime minister was charged with attempted fraud related to the controversial government purchase of Austrian-made personnel carriers. If found guilty, Mr Dalík, suspected of having asked for an 18-million euro bribe, could be sentenced to 10 years in jail.

The state-run power company ČEZ has excluded France’s Areva from a multi-billion dollar contract for the completion of the Temelín nuclear power plant, leaving just two contenders - Russian and US firms - in the running for the country’s biggest-ever energy deal. The news has left analysts speculating on the political and economic implications of this development.

Planes bound for Prague will no longer be landing at Ruzyně Airport; at midday Friday the airport was officially renamed Letiště Václava Havla Praha, or Václav Havel Airport Prague at a lavish ceremony in Terminal 2. Some 80,000 people signed a petition organised by the film producer Fero Fenič to rename the airport to honour the late former president, who died in December.