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Tests for future taxi drivers in part of the Czech Republic including the capital could soon get a little harder, requiring more than geographical knowledge or how to operate a taximeter. Under an amendment being prepared by the Transport Ministry, individual municipalities could opt for stricter rules, for example, requiring taxi drivers to complete psychological and foreign-language tests.

A significant reorganization of the police force was launched on Monday with the merger of the two elite crime fighting units into a National Centre against Organized Crime. The move, which will bring the police’s organized crime and anti-corruption units under joint administration, sparked a major row in the ruling coalition and raised concerns regarding possible intervention into open sensitive cases.

One of Prague’s most impressive architectural secrets, the massive baroque Invalidovna complex in the city’s Karlín district, is up for sale. Used as a backdrop to many films, the former home for war veterans constructed in the 18th century had found no takers from various state institutions and is now set to go under the hammer in spite of protests from well known architects and the local council.

Czech tradespeople are up in arms over the increasing rivalry that plumbers, painters and electricians are getting from non-professionals –jacks-of- all trades who make a living by helping out with whatever needs to be done around the house. The “hodinový manžel” - or husband for an hour, as they are called in Czech –has become a new phenomenon in the Czech economy and hundreds of men have turned it into a profitable business.

Measures to better protect so-called soft targets against terrorism are being rushed into place in the Czech Republic after the wave of recent attacks in Europe suggest targets have shifted from big headline events and locations to sites where many people gather or where attackers believe they can make a point.

Up to 115,000 poor people are living in 600 ghettos around the Czech Republic, according to human rights minister Jiří Dienstbier. The cabinet has just backed his plans to help such people – many from the Roma minority – by redirecting part of their housing benefits away from often unscrupulous landlords and toward improving their homes and paying for services. I asked Kumar Vishwanathan, a community worker in North Moravia, who the owners exploiting the poor actually were.

A freshly released mobile app tells users the stories behind nearby sites linked to 20th century Czech history, as well as allowing them to trace often dramatic events on specially created routes. Entitled Místa Paměti národa (Memory of Nations Sites), the free app is the work of the NGO Post Bellum, which for years has been publishing the testimonies of witnesses to modern Czech history. I spoke to the group’s Jana Háková.

The Czech Republic is to take in some 80 refugees from Turkish refugee camps under a European Union agreement. The country received details of the applicants earlier this month, and each will be vetted by the security services. Following the recent terrorist attacks in neighbouring Germany, some have already expressed opposition to their arrival – namely ANO leader Andrej Babiš.

Thirty-one Iraqi helicopter pilots wrapped up a 14-months training session at the Pardubice pilot training center on Sunday. The course was for beginners who received complete training and who are now ready to be deployed in the fight against Daesh in their homeland.

A meeting of the tripartite – government, union and employer representatives – failed on Monday to reach a consensus on increasing the country’s minimum monthly salary. While all sides agree a rise is needed, the question is how high.