Current Affairs | All stories

The special guest for St Patrick's Day celebrations which took place in Prague on Friday and over the weekend was Ireland's minister of agriculture and food, Mary Coughlan. She was labour minister when the European Union took in 10 new members in 2004; at that time Ireland was one of only three "old EU" countries to welcome workers from new EU states. I asked Mary Coughlan how Ireland viewed the experience of the last two years.

The war in Iraq has provoked much public reaction around the world since its outset in 2003, and Prague is no exception. In the years following the U.S. invasion, Czechs have demonstrated in the streets of Prague against what many see as a violation of international law. With Czech troops involved in the rebuilding process in Iraq, similar protests once again took place this year against the continued occupation.

A small group of demonstrators gathered outside the Cuban embassy in Prague on Thursday, demanding the release of political prisoners on the island. The protest, held on the third anniversary of the 2003 brutal crackdown on Cuban dissidents, was organised by the Czech NGO People in Need. Simon Panek is the head of the organisation.

Otitis media, or middle ear infection, is an inflammation of the ear chambers that is very common among infants. It often follows a cold and is treated with antibiotics. But doctors at the University of Defence in Hradec Kralove, eastern Bohemia, have now developed a vaccine that helps to significantly reduce the disease. Dr. Roman Prymula heads the epidemiology department at the military faculty and told Dita Asiedu more about the invention:

The Senate on Thursday approved a bill under which foreigners living and working in the Czech Republic could be granted permanent residence after five years, as opposed to the present ten. This bill concerns some 38,000 foreigners living in the country and is seen as a fundamental breakthrough.

For years Czech football has been dogged by allegations of corruption at the highest levels - many fans believe the beautiful game is rotten to the core. On Wednesday there was some satisfaction for those who want to see the game cleaned up. The former president of Viktoria Zizkov, Ivan Hornik, was given a suspended sentence and fined almost a million crowns on match-fixing charges.

The Czech Republic has become the only country in Central Europe where gays and lesbians will be allowed to enter into registered partnerships. The lower house of Parliament on Wednesday narrowly overturned an earlier veto by President Vaclav Klaus. Dita Asiedu was there:

Czech cinema is experiencing a new trend. In the last two months, three teenage comedies hit the theatres, which is more than in the past decade. Inspired by the unexpected success of the 2004 smash-hit "Snowboardaci" or "Snowboarders", Czech filmmakers started churning out comedies targeted at teenage viewers - an estimated two thirds of all cinema audiences in the Czech Republic.

Prague's famous Orloj -or Astronomical clock - attracts millions of tourists every year. Soon Prague will not be the only place where you can admire it. This spring a perfect copy of the Orloj will be rubbing shoulders with the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben in Brussels.

The Czech Republic's Design Centrum - located in Brno as well as Prague - has long promoted excellence in Czech design, issuing awards recognising new talent and running a number of programmes helping new designers break into the business. Along with those activities, the centre also regularly exhibits both professional as well as student work. A show now on at the centre highlights work by university students from the Fine Arts Academy in Bratislava in neighbouring Slovakia.