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British Brexit Minister David Davis held talks with top officials in Prague on Monday to discuss the future of Czech-British relations post-Brexit. The meetings, which took place ahead of an EU summit in Brussels next week, were inevitably overshadowed by the diplomatic row between London and Moscow on the use of what is believed to be a Russian-made deadly nerve gas in Britain.

Prague’s biggest film event, Febiofest, gets underway on Thursday evening. The festival will deliver more than 160 movies in 15 categories, including New Europe, a competition section showcasing debuts. Viewers can also look forward to profiles of critically acclaimed directors and stars such as French singer and actor Charles Aznavour and Sherlock’s Mark Gattis.

Angela Merkel is sworn into office for her fourth term on Wednesday. And while that might be the best scenario for neighbour, the Czech Republic, it will also step up the pressure to get a stable Czech government in place.

From Wednesday Czech Radio is available on Alexa, a voice-activated smart device of the kind that may be seen in most homes in the future. To get Radio Prague’s news, for instance, all you need to do is issue a command and the headlines are playing a few second later. I discussed Alexa – which resembles a small round speaker – with Czech Radio new media specialist Adam Javůrek.

Leading Czech scientists and physicians have appealed to lawmakers not to allow any exemptions from new EU norms on pollution that should come into force in the year 2021. The appeal, initiated by Hnutí Duha, points out that pollution in the Czech Republic causes 11,000 premature deaths each year.

It was meant to be one of the biggest Chinese investments in the Czech Republic. Now a deal giving the Chinese energy giant CEFC a 50 percent stake in the financial company J&T Finance Group looks highly uncertain as do CEFC’s other activities in the country. The company is reported to be in financial straits and its CEO under arrest for economic crime.

Ice Mother by Bohdan Sláma swept the boards at the main domestic film awards, the Czech Lions, on Saturday night. The bittersweet family drama collected six prizes, including Best Film and Best Director. This year’s Czech Lion ceremony was also marked by political protest, with some filmmakers taking a stand against the country’s leaders.

After his re-election as president some six weeks ago, Miloš Zeman suggested he would be less abrasive in office in his second term. But it didn’t take long for him to break his word. In the second half of his inaugural speech he took aim at everyone from an influential businessman to the media.

The dispute between the app-based ride sharing service Uber and local taxi drivers may soon be over. Following a meeting with Uber representatives, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš announced that Uber had agreed to operate under conditions that would put it on an equal footing with taxi drivers.

Czech president Miloš Zeman has taken the oath that will launch his second and last term as head of state. While Zeman has suggested he might be more conciliatory on the political home straight, his critics say he’s likely to be just as divisive as in the past.