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The Czech flag at Friday’s opening ceremony at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang will be carried by snowboarder Eva Samková, who took home gold four years ago and is again among the country’s top medal hopefuls. But there are a number of other Czechs competitors well worth looking out for in South Korea.

The Czech Republic is a small step closer to a bill on general referendums after four parties in the Chamber of Deputies agreed they will back a proposal by Freedom and Direct Democracy in a first reading. The parties in negotiations, including ANO, have a constitutional majority necessary to make changes. However they remain at odds over what form these will take.

Jaromír Jágr was one of the stars of the Czech squad that took ice hockey gold at the Nagano Olympics, which began 20 years ago on Wednesday. The veteran forward admits playing again at this year’s Olympics did cross his mind – and says the absence of NHL players increases Czech chances of repeating the famous victory of 1998.

Czech Justice Minister Robert Pelikán has expressed strong concern over Freedom and Direct Democracy head Tomio Okamura’s questioning of conditions at a WW II-era concentration camp for Roma in Lety, South Bohemia. Although Mr Okamura apologized for an earlier false statement about Lety, he continues to question the accepted truth about the camp.

By some counts the Czech Republic has one of the highest proportions of supermarkets and superstore space per population in the whole of Europe. And while most of the sector is booming along with the rest of the economy, there is still a squeeze on some key sectors.

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.