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More than 300 bronze plates with the names of wartime victims were stolen last week from the National Cemetery in Terezín, north of Prague, which served as a ghetto for Czech and European Jews and housed a Gestapo-run prison during the Second World War. Commemorative plaques have been stolen in the past but never on such a large scale. Now it seems unlikely that they could be restored by May 18, a day commemorating the victims of Nazi persecution at Terezín. Ruth Fraňková reports.

There has been renewed speculation that Czech soccer star Pavel Nedvěd might come out of international retirement to represent the Czech Republic at Euro 2008 – the European football championship held in Austria and Switzerland this summer. While he has not directly addressed the issue as yet, his return would almost certainly be welcomed by coach Karel Brückner, currently left with a major void in the midfield. Tomas Rosický, who succeeded Nedvěd as captain, remains injured and might not recover in time for the kick-off.

Last weekend Prague Zoo opened a new pavilion for a number of famous new inhabitants: young gavials, a rare species of crocodile from India. Prague Zoo is the only European facility to house the creatures, listed as critically endangered in the wild.

The former Czech president Václav Havel is in Brussels on Tuesday to launch a new pan-European human rights initiative called the European Foundation for Democracy through Partnership (EFDP). Mr Havel, who spent years in prison as a dissident in the Communist era, is now spearheading a campaign to make it easier for democracy and human rights advocacy groups to access European funds. One of the members of the EFDP’s board is Šimon Pánek, director of the Czech NGO People in Need. We spoke to him earlier by telephone.

Hundreds of people used the opportunity on Tuesday to browse the collections of the Czech National Museum for free. The country’s biggest museum has opened its doors to the public to celebrate its 190th anniversary, which falls on the 15th of April. It’s also holding a series of other events to mark its birthday. But most of all it is getting ready for a major renovation project, that will get under way in three years’ time.

Concerns have been increasing about the relative strength of the Czech crown. On Monday, the currency briefly set a new record, trading at 23 crowns to the Euro. But a strong crown is proving to be a double edged sword, with many businesses in the country wanting the government and Czech National Bank to prevent the currency from getting any stronger:

The One World (Jeden Svět) festival of human rights documentaries has established itself as one of the most interesting events on the Czech Republic’s cultural calendar, and the biggest festival of its kind in Europe. This year, to mark its 10th anniversary, One World (run by the NGO People in Need) is organising mini festivals in 10 cities around the world – including New York. At the opening at the city’s (under renovation) Bohemian National Hall on Monday night, I spoke to organiser Tereza Porybná.

Alphonse Mucha’s Art Nouveau paintings are among the most instantly recognisable works in Czech art. He himself considered the Slav Epic, a series of huge paintings depicting the history of the Slav peoples, his greatest achievement, though it has not had the happiest of fates. Mucha donated it to Prague in 1928, on condition that the city build it a dedicated home. Eighty years later, his grandson John Mucha says he is at a loss as to why the artist’s wish has still not been fulfilled.

Petr Torák is being touted as the ‘new face of British policing’. But he actually comes from Liberec, northern Bohemia. Having emigrated from the Czech Republic with his family in 1999 – following on from a racist attack - he is now working to accommodate the immigrant community in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. His story has captured both the local and the foreign press. I caught up with him on a brief visit back to Prague:

Three people died and nearly forty were injured on Friday in Ostrava, North Moravia, when two trams crashed in a gruesome head-on collision. The causes of the crash are under investigation, but there’s no question the accident has raised doubts whether current safety measures on Czechs rails are sufficient.