Current Affairs | All stories

The never-ending Czech Television saga continues - the chairman of the largest Czech Trade Union organisation, Richard Falbr, is not a happy man: a meeting between striking employees and the new management ended in failure on Monday - for the simple reason that one of the sides didn't turn up. takes a look at the latest developments in this bitter dispute.

A post-war steam engine sounds its whistle as it prepares to set off from Prague's Smichov Station. The sights, sounds and smells of steam travel are for most people in the Czech Republic a thing of the past, however, they may well become more familiar over the next few months thanks to an initiative by a local company. More from .

The fate of two Czechs arrested in Cuba on January 12th looks increasingly bleak. Unofficially, the Cuban state prosecutor has told the Czech charges d'affaires in Havana that MP Ivan Pilip and former student leader Jan Bubenik could spend up to 180 days in jail pending trial for subversion and providing materials and money to Cuban opposition groups. If found guilty, they could apparently face up to twenty years in prison. In previous cases where foreign nationals have been detained by the Cuban authorities, they have been deported. Will the

On Monday afternoon a small crowd gathered on Wenceslas Square to protest against Bill 805, which if passed by parliament, would restrict and institutionalise the breeding of so-called "dangerous dogs", and would also affect the handling of all dogs. More than 41,000 signatures were collected in support of the so-called "One Meter Petition," whose primary focus, is to publicize what organizers call the "stupidity" of the bill. Radio Prague's was there and talked with some of the protestors.

Wednesday marked the opening of a new exhibition at the Austrian Culture Institute, which brings together works from three prominent turn-of-the-century artists: Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, and Egon Schiele. Although Austrian, all of these artists had Czech roots, each having one parent from Bohemia. Radio Prague's was at the opening and brings back this report.

It's now a week since Czech MP Ivan Pilip and former student leader Jan Bubenik were arrested in Cuba after meeting with leading dissidents. Earlier this week, the Cuban state-controlled media announced that the two men are to stand trial for subversion, for allegedly bringing money and other materials to Cuban dissidents. The Czech government and the US State Department have called for the immediate release of the two men, and so far the two have been denied the opportunity of making a statement in their defence. On Thursday, Radio Prague's

Imagine the situation. A couple from abroad live in the Czech Republic. They both have permanent residence permits and both pay taxes and have full health insurance. She is pregnant and gives birth to their child in a Prague hospital. The child is premature and seriously underweight, and spends several weeks in intensive care. In the end the child goes home safe and well, but this is just the beginning. The child is not insured and can only be insured if the parents can prove to an insurance company that the child is healthy. Catch twenty-two. Through no fault of their own, the parents now face a bill from the hospital running to millions of crowns. If they fail to pay, they will face expulsion from the country. reports.

The Cuban government announced earlier this week that it intends to bring charges against Czech MP Ivan Pilip and former student leader Jan Bubenik, who were arrested in Cuba last Friday after allegedly talking to opposition groups. The first organisation to come out in support of the two Czechs, and to call for their release, was the US-based human rights organisation, Freedom House. This organisation has been active since the Second World War, and monitors human rights, political and civil liberties around the world. spoke to political analyst

This year, the Solidarita Theatre in the Prague 10 district will play host to "Asian Evenings" - a series of lectures, films and performances devoted to the countries of Eastern Asia. The first evening will focus on Mongolia, and will be organized by the Mongolian Friends' Association. spoke with the association's deputy chairman, Mojmir Krauter:

A report published last week concluded that that most of the complaints against police behavior at the IMF/World Bank demonstrations in Prague last September were unsubstantiated. The Ministry of Interior's own report also reached the general conclusion that police brutality against protestors was virtually nil. The conclusions have been derided by many human rights organisations, as explains.