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A new survey released by the STEM polling agency suggests that Czechs, in troubled economic times, largely blame foreigners for the loss of jobs. According to the poll, two-thirds stated there were ‘too many foreigners in the country’ (there are an estimated 438,000) while 45 percent said they were against foreigners being hired. Are jobs actually at threat or is the sentiment xenophobia plain and simple?

A strong explosion rocked the centre of Prague on Monday morning, leaving dozens of people injured. The blast, which the authorities say may have been caused by a gas leak, severely damaged a building on the edge of Prague’s Old Town. Rescue workers are now searching the rubble for any people who might be trapped inside.

Czech President Miloš Zeman achieved his first major success in office on Thursday when his four nominees for judges of the Constitutional Court sailed smoothly through the Senate. Unlike his predecessor in office, Mr Zeman was able to reach consensus with senators, averting a potential paralysis of the top court.

An exhibition spanning two south Bohemian and two Austrian towns is just about to get underway, with various religious and industrial venues hosting works that point to the shared roots on both sides of the border. As part of the extensive project, a number of historical buildings have been painstakingly renovated and will be open to the public for the first time.

The rather moribund debate over when to join the single European currency has been revived in recent days, with the Czech president Miloš Zeman telling a German newspaper his country could adopt the euro within five years. The eurosceptic government is rather more cautious; prime minister Petr Nečas reiterated after a meeting with the head of the European Council on Thursday that his government had no plans to set a date for adoption.

They were supposed to have buried the hatchet a week ago but a clash between Czech President Miloš Zeman and the country’s foreign minister, Karel Schwarzenberg, was revived on Tuesday. Most remarkably, during the president’s visit to Austria. All it took was a few words to again shake things up. The president suggested if he couldn’t reach agreement with the foreign minister on ambassadorial posts, he would sidestep him entirely.

The Roman Catholic Church has begun the process of beatifying a priest who was at the centre of one of the most bizarre and gruesome episodes of the initial phase of communism in Czechoslovakia. After a cross was said to have moved in his village church, Josef Toufar was brutally tortured into confessing to fabricating the “miracle”. However, if he is beatified, it will be a lengthy process.

The Czech police’s anti-corruption unit has been relatively visible in recent times, with operations culminating in charges against two former ministers. But now the unit’s head has announced he is to quit after a spat with the high state attorney, who had levelled some damning charges against his department.

The Prague authorities are suing owners who have failed to remove food stands on the city’s Wenceslas Square. Eight out of 18 ordered off the square after the city cancelled contracts remain. The eighth, remarkably, continues to sell pizza despite the closure order and the imposition of fines.

A fresh corruption scandal has erupted on the Czech political scene. The police have charged a high placed former health ministry official with breach of trust and abuse of office in connection with a dubious tender for the operation of the air rescue services. The transfer of the operation from the defense ministry to two private companies is reported to have caused the state losses of close to 800 million crowns to date.