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Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš remains defiant in the midst of a storm following the leaking of a preliminary EU audit which states that he has a conflict of interests and the country many have to return close to half a billion crowns in EU grants as a result. The prime minister insists that the country will not have to return anything and has refused a call for him to ask the lower house for a vote of confidence in his minority government.

Last week’s leaked preliminary EU Audit, which found Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to be in a conflict of interests, continues to make headlines across the country. Mr. Babiš has denied any wrongdoing. Civil servants are now waiting for an official Czech translation to be sent after which they will send their state’s reply to the findings. I asked the director of the Transparency International’s Czech branch, David Ondračka, whether he thinks there is any chance the findings of the preliminary report will change in the final version.

Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, the Czech National Museum has rejected a gift of exceptional Chinese pottery worth some five million crowns. The museum also declined to send a representative at the weekend to an exhibition showcasing the pottery. While the museum rejected the gift on procedural grounds, the incident underscores concerns about opaque Chinese business practices and the communist country’s exercise of “soft power”.

The European Commission has preliminary found Prime Minister Andrej Babiš in conflict of interest over EU funds paid to the Agrofert holding he founded and placed in a trust two years ago. The confidential audit reportedly concludes that millions of euros in EU subsidies Agrofert companies received last year must be returned.

A charity concert in support of the victims of the Easter terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka will take place in Prague’s Hilton hotel on Saturday. The event, organised by the Czech Centres and the Catholic Charity, in cooperation with the Czech Foreign Ministry, will feature the Zlín Philharmonic Orchestra led by Prague-based Indian conductor Debashish Chaudhuri. The proceeds from the concert will go directly to the families affected by the attacks.

Celebrated author, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker Jiří Stránský has died, at the age of 87. A former political prisoner, he led the Czech branch of the international PEN club after the fall of communism and later headed the state cinematography fund. He also dedicated himself to educating schoolchildren about the perils of totalitarianism – all the while nurturing an infectious optimism.

The 12 films contending for the Best Film Crystal Globe at the 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival have just been announced. They include works by hot young directors, as well as faces familiar to regular attendees at the Czech Republic’s biggest cinema event. However, when the festival takes place from the end of June there will be no Czech films in the main competition, which is something I discussed with KVIFF’s artistic director, Karel Och.

Roma activists David Tišer and Karel Karika are this year’s recipients of the František Kriegel award in recognition of civic courage handed out by the Charter 77 foundation. The award, which will be presented at a ceremony in Prague on Wednesday, acknowledges their fight for equality and human rights for members of the Romani community as well as for the socially excluded.

The drawn-out saga surrounding the resignation of the embattled Czech culture minister took a fresh twist on Monday when the president refused to accept his demise. The latest move in what critics are calling “a theatre of the absurd” has only deepened the crisis in the Czech cultural sphere.

Football goalkeeper Petr Čech, who may well be the most famous Czech on the planet, will retire after a last appearance for Arsenal in the final of the Europa League on Wednesday. In a twist of fate, the game will be against Chelsea, the club with he won which virtually every prize going. To discuss his amazing career, I spoke to football journalist Karel Haering. He was first struck by Petr Čech in 2009 when he began appearing for Chmel Blšany at 17 – and offers this assessment of the qualities that took him to the top and kept him there.