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Officially, members of the cabinet began a two week summer vacation but behind the scenes no one is kicking back yet. On Monday, Finance Minister Andrej Babiš launched negotiations with the heads of the individual ministries on next year’s state budget, some of which will not be easy. The finance minister has promised 12 billion from the budget so far, which next year should include a deficit no greater than 100 billion crowns.

A travelling exhibition “Kdo postavil Libušín” (Who built Libušín) has just opened in the town of Valašské Meziříčí. One of its aims is to support the restoration of historical chalet in the Beskydy Mountains in the east of the country, which was seriously damaged by fire this March. The reconstruction of the national heritage site is expected to cost some 80 million crowns.

The Czech government is considering supplying arms to Kurdish forces in northern Iraq to assist their struggle against the jihadist group Islamic State, Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek has said. The move is now being discussed by several Czech ministries along with plans to increase the country’s humanitarian aid to the region.

Czech MPs have taken two weeks to finalize a civil service act, following a breakthrough compromise on the legislation reached by the coalition and opposition parties earlier this week. However, the latest deal has already drawn fire from some quarters for not going far enough to de-politicize the state bureaucracy

President Miloš Zeman’s invitation to the recently elected President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, to visit Prague has put the spotlight on the Czech Republic’s position on the Gaza conflict. While Czech foreign policy makers have backed the invitation despite its controversial timing, some critics are calling for a more balanced Czech stance towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Three of the most valued archaeological objects ever found on Czech territory have gone on exhibit in Prague‘s National Museum. Among them is the oldest ceramic object in the world, the roughly 30, 000-year-old Venus of Dolní Věstonice. They are part of a country-wide exhibition commemorating the 200th anniversary of the founding of the first Czech museum.

The Czech government has formally begun preparing new legislation, which will assist socially disadvantaged groups in finding employment in Czech businesses and public institutions. Presently, employers seeking to add handicapped or homeless staff to their ranks do so without a precise legal framework.

Next week’s Prague Pride festival will celebrate LGBT culture through over 100 events culminating in a parade through the city centre that has in the past seen 20,000 participants. The 2014 Pride, the fourth, is the first to take place under the auspices of a government minister. I discussed the significance of that support with festival head Czeslaw Walek. But I began by asking him what the thinking was behind the slogan of this year’s Prague Pride, Rise Up Against Homophobia.

Government representatives and opposition leaders on Monday failed to break the deadlock over the shape of a new civil service law which the country urgently needs. Although the two sides said they were ready to compromise on almost all counts, the creation of an all-powerful, top civil servant whose position would be proofed against political interference remains a seemingly insurmountable obstacle.

Prague’s FAMU has been ranked fourth best international film school in the Hollywood Reporter’s annual Top Film Schools list. The publication praises the film and TV academy as an institution with a great tradition that has produced such names as the Oscar-winning directors Miloš Forman and Jiří Menzel. It also highlights FAMU’s international programme, which is attended by around 100 aspiring filmmakers from around the world. FAMU dean Pavel Jech welcomes the news.