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Police in the city of Brno on Monday were forced to step in on Monday to prevent a clash between student demonstrators and far right extremists, holding separate protests. More than 500 students neared a demonstration organised by a far right party attended by around 50 extremists. Police moved in when the groups were within several metres of each other. One student, who reportedly hurt a far right supporter, was detained. The situation has since been defused but security measures remain in place.

Hundreds of demonstrators whistled and jeered at Czech President Miloš Zeman throughout his speech marking the events of 25 years ago at Albertov in Prague, where student demonstrators began their march in 1989 to mark international students' day and to commemorate Jan Opletal and other students murdered by the Nazis 50 years earlier. Demonstrators on Monday, some holding placards protesting against Mr Zeman and his predecessor Václav Klaus, even threw items - prompting the president's security detail to open umbrellas. Mr Zeman, who was fully drowned out by the noise, said he was unafraid of them as he was unafraid 25 years ago. The crowd only grew quiet when German President Gauck, as well as presidents from the Visegrad 4, spoke shortly afterwards.

As president, Miloš Zeman has courted controversy on a number of occasions, most recently suggesting that the Velvet Revolution was triggered primarily by a false report of the death of a student, rather than by the brutality of the attack in Prague against students by the communist riot police. His comments were ridiculed by some, including a well-known historian, who also experienced the crackdown firsthand. Human Rights minister Jiří Dienstbier told Czech TV that the president's assessment was "a lie" as in the past Mr Zeman himself had written about the brutality of the crackdown on Národní Street.

Thousands also gathered to demonstrate against President Zeman in the city centre earlier in the day, holding up 'red cards' (as in football) calling for him to resign.

Politicians and others have been marking the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution since Monday morning, laying wreathes and flowers and lighting candles at the memorial to student demonstrators in the centre of Prague. A long line of visitors formed, some wearing pins with the likeness of the late Václav Havel, the playwright, former dissident, and leading figure of the Velvet Revolution, who was elected Czechoslovakia's first post-communist president.

Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka was one of the first politicians on Monday to lay flowers; he said that 1989 represented above all a positive and key moment in Czechoslovak history, although he criticised economic steps taken during the so-called transformation period which followed. The prime minister later flew with a Czech delegation to Washington, where a bust of Václav Havel is to be unveiled in a special ceremony at the United States Capitol building. Mr Havel gave a famous speech to members of the US Congress in 1990.

The Czech national football team defeated Iceland 2:1 in Plzeň on Sunday night, in their fourth qualification match for Euro 2016. The visitors scored early after an error by goalkeeper Petr Čech. But the Czechs equalized before halftime break with a goal from Kadeřábek; in the 61st minute, Iceland defender Sigurdsson scored an own goal, setting the score at 2:1. The Czechs now lead the A qualification group with a full 12 points from four games.