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Foreigners now account for nearly 11 percent of the Czech workforce, despite making up just 5 percent of the population. In light of an ongoing labour shortage, business leaders are now urging the government to make it easier for non-nationals to work in the country.

The president has lashed out at Czech security agencies that have identified Chinese-made Huawei products as a threat. Miloš Zeman says this has harmed the Czech Republic’s economic interests – and payback from Beijing will hit some of the country’s biggest companies.

The president’s chancellor, Vratislav Mynář, tried to influence the decisions of judges in key courts, according to weekly Respekt, which cited a number of magistrates. Mr. Mynář has released a statement denying the allegation, insisting he merely informed judges of President Miloš Zeman’s opinion. However, legal experts have condemned his efforts as highly inappropriate.

After months of debate, the coalition government has agreed in principle to provide free school lunches to children from the “neediest” families enrolled in nursery and primary. But the ANO and Social Democrat parties have yet to agree which families are “poor” enough to qualify, or when to implement the change.

As the 50 anniversary of Jan Palach’s self-immolation draws near, the National Museum has released details on a project it has been preparing for over a year. The house where the Czechoslovak martyr grew up is to open as a special Palach museum in August.

The Czech government has ordered the operators of the country’s key infrastructure to ensure they are not open to attack due to using Huawei products. These fears stem in part from the role the Chinese firm may play in 5G mobile technology – and echo those in other states.

The Ministry of Education has fined six foreign “universities” or their branches for offering education in the Czech Republic without obtaining the required permission. In two cases, criminal complaints have also been lodged over an apparent scam targeting prospective students from southeast Asia.

Much uncertainty still remains about the form the UK’s departure from the European Union will take. However, Czech politicians are already preparing for the possibility of a chaotic Brexit, drafting legislation that would protect British citizens in this country for a transitional period.

One in six of the Czech Republic’s state attorneys are ex-members of the pre-1989 Communist Party, Czech Radio’s iRozhlas news website reported on Monday. But defenders say it is unfair to judge them, as some prosecutors were blackmailed into getting a party card.

Fifty years ago this January, Jan Palach doused himself in petrol and set himself alight on Wenceslas Square to protest the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia. Prague City Hall is now looking to buy the former hospital where he died – slated to become a luxury hotel – and turn it into a “museum of totalitarianism”.