Current Affairs | All stories

Milada Horakova was the only woman ever to be executed for political reasons in the former Czechoslovakia. In 1950, she was tried and found guilty of treason and espionage, charges which were later proven to be false. The Communist government annulled the verdict in 1968, but it wasn't until the fall of communism, more than 30 years later, that Milada Horakova was fully exonerated. Now, an incredible 57 years later, it is the prosecutors from this trial who are, themselves, heading for the dock. A Prague state attorney has just brought charges

The rock band Dope Aviators were formed here in Prague three years ago, and the group, who are originally from Slovakia, recorded their debut album Product in the Czech capital. However, by the time it was released they had moved to icy Finland. Dope Aviators made a rare concert appearance in Prague at the weekend, which is when I spoke to core members Emilia and Kasko (real name Marek). They began by telling me why they had first moved to the city.

Jiri Sedivy has just been named NATO's Assistant Secretary General. The former Czech defence minister and current deputy minister of European affairs will be moving to Brussels this autumn - and will become the first Czech official to occupy such a high ranking position at NATO headquarters. I spoke to Jiri Sedivy earlier, and I asked him what his new job involved.

It might seem incredible, but an estimated one in six cars in the Czech Republic could be stolen or at least contain stolen parts. That's according to shocking new figures released by the Association for the Protection of Car Owners, or SOVA. The organisation claims there are almost half a million stolen cars on the roads.

For the last three years, the Czech Ministry of Trade and Industry has poured millions of crowns into supporting the country's female entrepreneurs. As recently as last month, the ministry was coming out in praise of the 'Women in Enterprise' initiative and its results. But now it has been decided that when the scheme ends in October, it will not be renewed.

Until now, property owners in the Czech Republic have had to bear the responsibility for the clearing sidewalks in front of their buildings, in the winter removing ice and snow. Those that refused, risked fines - or even potential lawsuits - from anyone breaking their arm or leg on a slippery patch. Now, a senator from the ruling Civic Democratic Party is proposing an amendment that could see all that change: with responsibility for sidewalks transferred from property owners to municipalities, regions, and the state.

Since 1994, the Czech Interior Ministry and NGO People in Need have been working to repatriate Kazakhstan's ethnic Czechs. So far, over 700 have been brought back to the Czech Republic. This week, the Czech Interior Ministry upped the pace, asking for more money to carry out the repatriations, and promising to have the remaining 170 expats home by October. So far, so good - 57 of the final 170 touched down at Prague's Ruzyne airport on Thursday. Rosie Johnston has the story:

This week was without question an important one for US-Czech relations. The reason? On Wednesday both houses of the US Congress agreed on changing US legislation to allow potential exceptions within the country's visa waiver programme. Under the proposed changes, it is thought Czechs could begin travelling visa-free to the US in two years time. Initial reports were even more optimistic, citing a one year timeframe. But there the Czech Foreign Ministry has expressed caution, saying such a timetable was probably unrealistic.

The news of the recent doping scandal at the legendary Tour de France has received so much coverage that even those with no interest in sport could hardly fail to notice. As a result of the scandals, some of the main partners of the legendary cycling race have begun considering pulling out of sponsorship. One of them is the biggest Czech carmaker Skoda Auto, which has been the tour's main official partner for the past four years.

A happy-looking mother and baby are all over Thursday's newspapers here in the Czech Republic. But they aren't just any mother and child; the new mum is MP Lucie Talmanova, while the babe in her arms is the son of the prime minister, Mirek Topolanek. On Wednesday the Civic Democrat leader announced he would seek a divorce. This may not be so easy, though, as his wife has so far refused to give her consent.