Current Affairs | All stories

A plan to turn the former World War II ghetto of Terezin into a university town along the lines of Oxford or Cambridge has been abandoned. Six years after the idea was first floated, there is little sign of progress in bringing it about and the government says that in view of available finances it is simply unrealistic.

It is not often that a Czech official is nominated to head a major international organisation. However, the news that Russia is putting forward former Czech prime minister Josef Tosovsky for the top job at the International Monetary Fund has not been greeted with joy in the Czech Republic. On the contrary, Mr Tosovsky's candidature has left Prague angry and embarrassed.

As in many parts of the world, The Simpsons Movie has been a huge hit here in the Czech Republic. On its first weekend, it shot straight to the top of the box-office chart, with more than 72 thousand viewers and grossing over 8 million CZK (40 thousand USD). But now, a pirate copy of the Czech language version of the film has made it onto the internet; and industry figures suggest that damages caused by the leak could make even these high takings pale in comparison.

The lower house of Parliament on Tuesday passed a package of fiscal, welfare and healthcare reforms aimed at cutting the country's steep budget deficit and preparing it for euro-zone entry. It was a major victory for the ruling centre-right coalition which has only a slim majority in the lower house.

Thursday marks the end of Charles University's 51st Czech Language Summer School. Over the past month, participants from over 36 countries, from Mexico to Mongolia, have been brushing up on their Czech skills in the nation's capital. Former student Rosie Johnston went back to school to see the progress that they had made:

On Tuesday officials from the Czech foreign and defence ministries met for talks with Russian representatives in Moscow, including the Chief of the General Staff, General Yuri Baluyevsky. The issue? A possible US radar base stationed on Czech territory. For months Russia has expressed opposition to the idea of US missile defense in Europe and increasingly stepped up political action and rhetoric. On Tuesday General Baluyevsky continued in that vein by stating that Czech consent to negotiations with the US was "a mistake".

Repair work has started on Prague's most famous landmark Charles Bridge - which recently celebrated its 650th anniversary. The bridge was last repaired in the second half of the 20th century and since then people traffic, floods and the excessive use of salt to melt the snow and ice in the winter months have all left their mark. Workers moved in on Monday - but tourists need not worry - the bridge will remain open to the public throughout the entire reconstruction process.

The end of the summer holidays brings yet another event not to be missed by any true film fan. Following the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and the Summer Film School in Uherske Hradiste, Fresh Film Fest, the biggest show of international student and young cinema in the Czech Republic, is starting this Wednesday.

On August 21 1968, people woke up to discover that the dream of freedom they were living in the late 1960s had turned into a nightmare. Thirty-nine years ago, the streets of Prague and other cities and towns in Czechoslovakia were full of the tanks and soldiers of five armies led by the Soviet Union. Today, we look back at the anniversary of what for Czechs and Slovaks was one of the formative moments of the 20th century.

The centre-right Czech government is holding intensive last-minute negotiations to secure support for a fiscal reform package that the prime minister has staked his political future on. The cabinet holds just 100 seats in the 200 member lower house and due to a number of last minute snags support for the reforms is far from certain.