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Around 200 Ukrainian nationals currently residing in the Czech Republic met in the centre of Prague on Sunday in a show of support for anti-government protests in Kiev where thousands of their compatriots are demonstrating against the government's suspension of a key EU trade deal. The protesters in Prague marched through the city centre waving national flags and banners reading “Stop Janukovich” and “We want a free Ukraine”. The demonstration was monitored by the police but no incidents were reported.

The skiing season has started in most of the country’s ski resorts thanks to a combination of natural and artificial snow. Krkonoše Mountain resorts report up to 70 centimetres of snow, Orlické Hory resorts on average 45 centimetres. The ski resort Červená Voda reported an emergency on Sunday when around 100 skiers had to be evacuated from the local ski lift after the fuse board caught fire. The evacuation took 40 minutes and no one was reported hurt.

The parties of the emerging coalition –the Social Democrats, ANO and the Christian Democrats –say Saturday’s talks were fruitful and brought significant progress on policy matters. Several issues remain unresolved in the area of taxes and health care, with agreement reached on scrapping direct payments for medical care. The three parties also agreed they would all have the right of veto on proposed legislation. The division of ministerial posts has been shelved due to the temporary absence of Christian Democrat leader Pavel Belobrádek. The parties hope to conclude talks on policy issues by next Tuesday but they have so far made no official commitment to enter into a coalition.

Former education minister Petr Fiala has confirmed his candidacy for party leader at the Civic Democrats election conference in January. Mr. Fiala, who only joined the Civic Democratic Party recently, is perceived as a capable and trustworthy figure who can help turn around the party’s fortunes in the wake of a crushing defeat in the last general elections. The former rector of Masaryk University, who is not connected to the party’s crippling corruption scandals or aborted promises, said on Saturday that he had decided to accept the challenge and try to bring the party out of its drawn-out crisis. The conference will take place on January 17 -18 and Mr. Fiala is expected to have two rivals for the top post – deputy chairwoman Miroslava Němcová who shoulders the burden of the party’s past failures and MEP Eduard Kožušník.