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Czech politicians have been reacting to the formal move made by the United Kingdom on Wednesday to invoke Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon and thus leave the European Union within two years. Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka has pledged to take an active role in the Brexit talks so as to safeguard Czech jobs and the rights of Czech expats in Britain.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia will unite next year to celebrate two major anniversaries: 100 years since the foundation of Czechoslovakia and the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Prague Spring and its subsequent crushing by Soviet-led forces. The celebrations are set to be bigger than ever, with nearly 200 events scheduled to take place over the course of the year.

Jiří Drahoš‏, a former head of the Academy of Sciences, has become the latest candidate to throw his hat into the ring for the post of Czech president. But what are the chances of the scientist beating the incumbent Miloš Zeman and the other contenders in next year’s presidential elections?

Britain on Wednesday started the clock running on what are likely to be high octane, and probably strained, negotiations to quit the European Union within two years. The so-called Article 50 letter announcing the official intention to quit was delivered in Brussels to the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk.

Tomáš Rosický, once regarded as one of Europe’s most promising young footballers, has just undergone Achilles tendon surgery in the latest in a long series of injury setbacks. Now 36, Rosický says he hopes to return for Sparta Prague next season. However, the former Dortmund and Arsenal midfielder has spent less than 20 minutes on the pitch since returning to his boyhood club last year. I asked football journalist Michal Petrák whether he believed Rosický would ever play again.

A new study conducted by polling firm CVVM in conjunction with Masaryk University has found a large decline in trust in the media from the Czech population. From roughly two-thirds trust in the media a decade ago, the data shows that today the number is reversed, with two-thirds distrusting the media. I spoke with independent journalist and former dissident Jan Urban, and began by asking him for his take on the decline:

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka has affirmed his county’s support for the EU integration project as European leaders met in Rome over the weekend marking the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome.

EU leaders meet in Rome on Saturday to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding Rome treaty and look forward to the future. That’s the theory, but the Czech Republic and other Central European countries have already put down warning markers over what they regard as moves towards a more multi-speed Europe.

Exactly 20 years have passed since the independent Czech Republic celebrated its first ever Oscar win for Best Foreign Language Film. The movie was Kolya, a surprise global critical hit directed by Jan Svěrák, which tells the story of a Czech cellist, played by Jan's father Zdeněk, who is left to raise a young Russian boy after his mother abandons him.

Among an impressive range of new exhibitions at the Czech National Gallery’s Trade Fair Palace is an installation by the UK artist and musician Brian Eno. Though Eno is known to many for his work with U2 and David Bowie, the immersive work The Ship builds on his status as the inventor of ambient music.