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"We condemn terrorism in all forms including the monstrosity we witnessed in Beslan. The world has found itself in a situation where it is very difficult to answer the question why something like that has happened and who could have even thought of it in the first place." This is only a short extract from the reaction to the recent tragedy in the Russian town of Beslan by Berkat, a Czech organisation which was on Friday awarded the Irene Prix 2004.

In recent weeks, children under the age of 15 have been implicated in the murders of an elderly woman and the rape and murder of a young girl. The Minister of Justice, Pavel Nemec, is now considering pushing to lower the age of legal responsibility from 15 to 12 for particularly serious crimes like murder.

The year 2004 is very special for Czech music. Czechs commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of their most famous composer Antonin Dvorak. Many musical events, not only in the Czech Republic, but also around the world, are featuring his music. Yet Antonin Dvorak's music has not only been played at concerts and festivals, it was also discussed by leading world Dvorak experts at an international conference in Prague last week.

Frantisek Drtikol was one of the most important Czech photographers of the 20th century. His early work was influenced by Art Nouveau and he was a master of light, line and balance. This week a travelling exhibition titled Eyes Wide Open was opened in the small town of Pribram, south-west of Prague, where Drtikol was born. As Jan Velinger now reports the show is slated to be a great success, bringing to light some lesser-known works from private collections the broader public may have not seen before.

The Czech president Vaclav Klaus is on a state visit to the countries of Central Asia. After visiting the huge, mineral-rich, but sparsely populated Kazakhstan, he moved on to Kyrgyzstan, and before returning next Wednesday, will also visit Uzbekistan. According to president's spokesman, Jiri Hajek, the visit is both politically and economically very important to the Czech Republic. He points to ties going back to communist days, which the president is keen to renew. So how deep are the links between the Czech Republic and Central Asia, and how

A Czech-British military exercise code named Flying Rhino was marked by tragedy on Thursday when a Lynx helicopter crashed to the ground near Brno killing 6 British soldiers. Shortly after news of the accident came through we contacted Peter Wickenden, Secretary for Press and Public Affairs of the British Embassy in Prague and here's what he had to say:

A new Czech TV documentary shows that old age does not have to be a time of loneliness. The Charles Jordan senior citizens' home in Prague helps residents to regain a sense of community and self. What's even more remarkable is the fact that the home's residents share a common heritage and most of them share a tragic past: they all lost someone in the Holocaust and themselves survived the horrors of the camps.

The Czech football team have gotten off to a poor start in their campaign to reach the 2006 World Cup, losing 2:0 to the Netherlands in Amsterdam. The two countries have met several times in recent years, but there was no danger of over-familiarity on Wednesday night: the Czechs fielded a makeshift midfield, in the absence of captain Pavel Nedved and other old hands Smicer, Galasek and Poborsky, while Holland's new manager has ditched most of their squad from Euro 2004.

Following the tragedy in Beslan, where more than 300 people died in a school that had been occupied by terrorists, the Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda met the Russian ambassador to Prague, Alexey Fedotov this week. He reiterated the Czech Republic's offer to provide rehabilitation stays for the Russian children in this country, complete with post-traumatic counselling and care. The largest Czech health insurance company has already begun setting up stays by the sea for 180 children from Beslan.

This week one of the world's most celebrated children's authors and illustrators is in his native Prague to launch a new book, The Tree of Life, about the life and trials of famous naturalist Charles Darwin. The illustrator is none other than Peter Sis, who has lived in the U.S. since the early 80s. We'll be profiling Mr Sis' work in next week's edition of Czechs Today, but we wanted to offer listeners something of a preview.