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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:

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 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.

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.

Lenka Smidova made a little bit of history recently, when she took the Czech Republic's first ever Olympic medal in sailing, a silver in the "Europe" category. Since returning from Athens, Lenka - who spends nine months of the year on the sea in various parts of the world - has been enjoying some time at home, attending numerous events celebrating her success. I spoke to the Olympic medal winner in Prague on Tuesday, and asked her if she had been confident of success ahead of the Athens Games.

On December 8th 1999, the Czech Parliament adopted a law which established an Ombudsman or Public Defender of Rights. But while many Czechs have been making use of this service, few foreigners are aware that they too have the right to ask the ombudsman for assistance. To reach more foreigners and inform them on what the ombudsman's office has done so far, a press conference was held in Brno this week.

The Prague Symphony Orchestra began its annual concert season yesterday with a special gala concert on the Old Town Square. The reason for this unusual open-air event was to celebrate the orchestra's 70th birthday, and perhaps also to bring classical music to people who don't necessarily frequent concert halls.

Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda is to visit Germany this Thursday. Before leaving he said that he would support the idea of the Czech government breaking a long-held taboo and making a "humanitarian gesture" towards the German minority living in the Czech Republic. This would take the form of symbolic financial compensation to a small number of Czech Germans, who actively resisted Nazism, during the Second World War.