Current Affairs | All stories

Monday was the International Day of Roma. While April 8 has been celebrated as International Day of Roma since 1971, last year was the first time it was marked in the Czech Republic. After a seminar on Roma identity in Prague a ceremony took place in which daffodils were thrown into the River Vltava on Monday afternoon. On a very windy Charles Bridge, Yvetta Kenety of the Romany organisation Athinganoi told Radio Prague why.

The British Prime Minister Tony Blair touched down in Prague on Monday for a brief visit to the Czech Republic, holding talks with Czech officials on his way home from the United States. Top of the agenda in Prague was the crisis in the Middle East - a Czech anti-chemical unit was recently deployed in Kuwait to protect the U.S. command headquarters in Kuwait City. But Mr Blair also found time to praise the Czech Republic for progress towards joining the EU, adding there was still room for co-operation within Europe on a "nation state"

The Czech Technical University, which celebrated the 295th anniversary of its foundation earlier this year, hosted the 64th meeting of the Czech Conference of Rectors on Friday. Coincidentally, the oldest Czech university, Charles University, remembered 654 years of its existence last week. Pavla Horakova has more.

The Czech scout organization, Junak, is currently celebrating 90 years of its existence. Last Saturday, Junak clubrooms throughout the country held an open day to let their members' parents and all those who'd like to learn more about this organization get acquainted with the life and activities of young Czech scouts. Alena Skodova visited one scout group and has this report:

A vast section of Europe badly affected by Communist industrialisation is slowly beginning to heal from decades of environmental abuse, but faces new pressure in the era of globalisation. Well, that was the warning issued this weekend by a "sustainable development" conference in Prague, featuring representatives of governments, universities and non-profit groups from throughout Central Europe.

One of the most senior figures in the Czech Catholic Church - former dissident Bishop Vaclav Maly - has created a major stir by speaking out in favour of legalising prostitution in the Czech Republic. As a rule, prostitution and related issues get only sporadic attention from the media but the fact that it is a Catholic bishop who has spoken out has given the issue unprecedented publicity. Daniela Lazarova has the story.

On Thursday, an American stuntman was killed during the filming of a Hollywood movie called Triple X in Prague. In recent years, locations in Prague and the Czech Republic as a whole have become immensely popular with film crews from Western countries. Alena Skodova has more:

This Saturday the Czech sumo wrestling championships take place at Prague's Congress Centre, complete with an appearance by American Emanuel Yarbrough, the exceedingly large world sumo champion. Sumo wrestling is a relatively new sport here in the Czech Republic, but it is - so to speak - getting bigger. Last year a young man called Pavel Bojar became the first Czech to become a professional sumo wrestler in Japan. Ian Willoughby has the story.

Since 1967 April 2nd has been the International Day of Children's Books. On that day in 1805, the world-famous Danish fairy-tale writer Hans Christian Andersen was born. In the Czech Republic, the Komensky Pedagogical Library in Prague organizes a poll, where children send their votes for the best book they have read that particular year. Alena Skodova has more:

The historic Bohemian Hall in New York City became the property of the Czech state in December. The Hall, sometimes referred to as the "Czech National Building" was built at the end of the 19th century from the funds of Czech-American associations. Now, three months after the purchase, renovation work has got underway on the building which enjoys the status of a Landmark of the City of New York. Pavla Horakova has more.