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A downtown Prague exchange office that offered very low rates to visitors has just been shut down and ordered to pay a stiff fine. While some will welcome the closure of the Chequepoint outlet, concerns remain over other dishonest exchange bureaus in the city centre.

The Czech-Russian Discussion Forum, a new annual platform created by the two countries’ respective presidents, met for the first time on Thursday, in a Prague session closed to the public. The aim is to promote open discussion on a wide range of topics, including bilateral relations and chapters in their shared history. The Forum has, however, been derided by a number of Czech public figures as a potential propaganda tool for the Kremlin.

The Czech Foreign Ministry has handed out its annual Gratias Agit Awards to Czech expatriates and foreigners for promoting the good name of the Czech Republic abroad. This year’s recipients include the Parisian branch of the Sokol movement or the group of Russian citizens, who protested on Moscow’s Red Square in 1968 against the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Troops.

The Czech Republic’s famous Karlštejn castle, built by the Bohemian King and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, as a treasury for the crown jewels and other precious royal artefacts, is marking an important anniversary this week. It is exactly 670 years ago, in 1348, when the foundation stone of the Gothic castle was ceremoniously laid.

The timing could hardly have been less inopportune. On the very day newly-reappointed Prime Minister Andrej Babiš took the oath of office at Prague Castle – in which he pledged to fight corruption in government and for “Czech national interests in the European Union” – in Brussels, the EU’s anti-fraud office released its annual report highlighting efforts to combat the very same kind of fraud Mr Babiš is himself accused of having orchestrated.

President Zeman appointed Andrej Babiš prime minister on Wednesday, giving him a second chance to form a government after his first cabinet failed to win a vote of confidence in the lower house. His chances of success still remain far from certain and thousands of people took to the streets on Tuesday evening to protest against the appointment.

The Ministry of Agriculture is taking unprecedented action against a supermarket chain over a promotional campaign. The ministry objects to German retailer Kaufland having offered shoppers the chance to buy a litre of milk for the token price of one Czech crown.

The Golden Bull of Sicily, one of the founding documents of the mediaeval Czech state, has gone on display at Prague Castle. The valuable artefact, which is only rarely accessible to the public, is part of a major exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Czechoslovakia.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš on Monday sharply rejected the idea that the Czech Republic should pay some form of compensation for not accepting migrant quotas. In response to proposals floated by German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the weekend, Mr. Babiš said the Czech people and Czech firms themselves would decide who would live and work in this country.

As efforts to form a new minority coalition government of the ANO party and the Social Democrats tolerated by the Communists reach their final stage, the Communist Party has been milking the situation to its best advantage. After rocking the boat over the country’s foreign missions, the party now says that unless its bill on taxing Church restitutions passes through the lower house the two parties can look for support elsewhere.