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On Saturday Czechs marked the 18th anniversary of the country’s return to freedom and democracy. How have people’s lives changed since the heady days of the Velvet Revolution and are they happy with the changes? A poll conducted by the independent STEM agency indicates that the post-revolution euphoria has long worn off. Only 51 percent of respondents said they were fully satisfied with the country’s post-89 development. The rest expressed numerous reservations. We spoke with STEMs director Jan Hartl to get the big picture.

Robbie Williams vs. Liam Gallagher, Britney Spears vs. Christina Aguilera; high-profile fall-outs are pretty common in the world of pop music. But perhaps less so on the folk music scene. But the bust-up between Czech folk singers Jaromir Nohavica and Jaroslav Hutka has just become even bigger. Last week, Mr Hutka, who lived for ten years in exile in the Netherlands, having been forced out of communist Czechoslovakia in 1978, laid into fellow singer-songwriter Jaromir Nohavica for his collaboration with the secret police at the end of the 1980s.

November 17th is the anniversary of the start of the Velvet Revolution and is a public holiday here in the Czech Republic. Hundreds are expected to take to the streets of Prague on Saturday, to mark the 18th anniversary of the beginning of one of the most important chapters in the country’s history. But others will be turning out in numbers for rather different reasons. Here is a round up of the activities we can expect around the capital on Saturday:

Jan Antonin Bata was a man of mixed fortune: a man of wealth and influence who stood at the head a shoe empire, but also a man forced to flee his homeland where he was labeled a Nazi collaborator and sentenced to 15 years in prison. But now, more than four decades after his death, the Czech judiciary has cleared his name.

More and more Czechs are abandoning large cities to enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside, suggests a new survey by the Czech Statistical Office. Central Bohemia has become by far the most popular region, with more than 62 % of all moves taking place there. However, Czechs don’t travel too far from the cities, so that they can still enjoy the advantages of modern civilization.

Exceptionally gifted children rarely have an easy childhood – their talent often sets them apart from their classmates, boredom makes them disruptive in the classroom and schools are rarely able to meet their individual needs. The education authorities have long opposed the idea of schools for exceptionally gifted children but now the first such primary school is ready to open its doors to talented kids - offering highly individual, alternative schooling.

The emotional story of Marcela, a woman whose marriage and divorce, as well as loss of her daughter were captured on film, won the award for best European documentary at the Sevilla Film Festival on Saturday. Originally a part a series “Studies in Marriage”, the film follows the fortunes and misfortunes of Marcela through long-term observance technique – a style typical for director Helena Trestikova. Talking to Radio Prague, Ms Trestikova said that the film’s success in Sevilla had come as a pleasant surprise.

On Thursday, the Turkish prime minister, Recep Erdogan, embarked upon a state visit to the Czech Republic, which will last two days. On the programme are meetings with his Czech counterpart Mirek Topolanek, and the nation’s president, Vaclav Klaus. While the heads of state and government are expected to discuss Turkey’s bid to join the EU, and Czech-Turkish trade relations, Radio Prague asked a member of the Turkish community here in the city for his views on these subjects, and how they affect his everyday life. Tayfur Kirma came to Prague in

On Tuesday, poets from all over the world gathered in Prague for the sixth International Poetry Festival to be held in the city. This year, the Czech capital is playing host to poets from sixteen different countries, including Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Portugal. More than ever before, the International Poetry Festival is a melting pot of dozens of different languages, and has translation as one of its key themes. English speakers are by no means left out:

In a landmark verdict, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the Czech Republic violated the rights of Roma children by placing them in so-called special schools for children with learning difficulties. The state has been ordered to pay the 18 families who took the case 4,000 euros each in compensation. Meanwhile, Roma rights campaigners are calling on the Czech Republic to adopt positive measures to address the segregation that still exists, despite changes to the law.