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Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who is making a second attempt to form a new government after his minority government failed to win a vote of confidence in the lower house, has said that if his second attempt fails he would push for early elections. His potential partners have accused him of applying pressure tactics ahead of the second round of talks.

As of February 1, fathers in the Czech Republic can officially take a week of paid leave from work following the birth of their child. Until now, fathers had to take days out of their holiday time or make other arrangements.

Czech Foreign Minister Martin Stropnický welcomed his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijarto in Prague on Thursday for talks focusing on European issues, the Visegrad Group and bilateral cooperation. It was their first meeting since minister Stropnický took up his post in the new government.

Jaromír Jágr has made his first public appearance since news of his return to his hometown club Kladno sparked a wave of Jágrmania in the Czech Republic. Speaking to a scrum of journalists on Thursday, the ice hockey superstar discussed where things had gone wrong for him in the NHL this season – and said he would do his best to satisfy Kladno’s supporters.

The Czech Republic will open up to more foreign workers in the coming months. Amidst mounting pressure from companies, the Czech Foreign Ministry has announced it would increase its capacities in order to handle more applications for work permits annually.

Arguments about how to exploit a lucrative and strategic Czech raw material, lithium, have flared up again. Outgoing prime minister Andrej Babiš is demanding that a memorandum with an Australian-based mining company is scrapped and the Czech state play a role.

The City of Prague has received the necessary construction permit for the long planned renovation of Wenceslas Square to begin. At least half. The spokesman for City Hall, Vít Hofman, confirmed that work on the lower part of Prague’s most famous square, will start next week and should be completed by the end of 2018.

Czech hockey legend Jaromír Jágr is headed home being placed on waivers by the Calgary Flames. The early return spells the end of his career in the National Hockey League, which he said himself was 99.9 percent his final season. Now he will play for his hometown team, HC Kladno.

Days after losing to Miloš Zeman in presidential elections, academic Jiří Drahoš is suggesting he may remain in politics. The political novice, who received 2.7 million votes for 48.6 percent of the total, told Czech Television on Monday that he was considering founding a new party and also looking at a possible Senate run. I discussed the 68-year-old’s potential future with political scientist Petr Just.

In the immediate aftermath of his re-election, Czech head of state Miloš Zeman faces the problem of brokering deals that could pave the way for the creation of a stable government. But he has also hinted at much more ambitious long-term plans to transform the political system itself.