Current Affairs | All stories

It might be the time of year for writing and sending postcards, but the Czech postal service is inundated with mail of another kind. The number of parcels arriving in the Czech Republic from the United States has shot up dramatically, with Czechs taking advantage of internet shopping and the strength of the crown.

The number of Czechs who meet their deaths while on holiday every summer is on the increase. In fact, more than 50 people have lost their lives abroad since the middle of June, according to figures just released by the Czech Foreign Ministry. The reason for the high fatality rate could well be that Czechs are inclined to take unnecessary risks while on holiday.

Last week the Archive of the Czech Security Forces posted data on the internet compiled by former Czechoslovakia’s military counter-intelligence. The data lists some 140,000 names of people who were either monitored by the military counter-intelligence or were agents, and it hasn’t taken long for the files to stir controversy. Czech TV reported that five of the country’s MPs, including Social Democrat and former Olympic ski jumper Pavel Ploc, were among those listed. He and the other deputies reacted quickly, denying cooperation of any kind with

The renovation of Prague’s Charles Bridge, one of the most distinct monuments in the Czech capital and the second oldest bridge in the country, began nearly a year ago. Recently, builders have been criticized for not respecting the historical value of the bridge and specifically for replacing too many original sandstone blocks with new ones.

Václav Klaus is the king of Czech public speaking, at least according to a new poll. A jury of academics, spokespeople and news anchors found the president’s rhetoric the best in the Czech Republic, while Deputy Prime Minister Jiří Čunek was told to wash his mouth out. The poll looked at the ten politicians who have enjoyed the most airtime in the last month. The man behind it was Tomáš Studeník from the Westminster agency:

After four days in the air, two replicas of Czech-made Avia BH aeroplanes successfully landed in Belgium on Tuesday. The flight was a re-enactment of a 1923 air race between Prague and Brussels, which was won by Czech pilot Zdenek Lhota. To commemorate the victory, the planes touched down in Belgium on the 75th anniversary of the win. Karel Kasal, one of the members of the ground crew responsible for fuelling the planes along the way, has described the journey over the phone from the Belgian capital:

A top NATO general has criticized allied nations for not keeping their promises to support the Afghan army. According to the supreme commander of NATO forces in Europe, this is not only hampering efforts to defeat the insurgent militants in the country but will also lead to a later withdrawal of NATO forces. But the Czech Army says it is following the agreed timetable and sending more and better equipped troops to Afghanistan.

In recent years more and more Czech students have been taking advantage of the opportunity to study abroad, broadening their horizons and gaining valuable experience. Among them are two young men I spoke to at New York University. Jan Žďárek (or John Zdarek) previously went to secondary school overseas and is an economics undergraduate, while Petr Kutílek is a grad student doing public management at NYU. On a sunny Washington Square, I asked them why they had chosen to study in New York.

Karel Bruckner has long been highly-regarded for his coaching skills, but after stepping down as Czech national team manager most expected he would retire. He himself has said as much, saying he was looking forward to the so-called “unbearable lightness of being”. But if so, not for long. On Friday, Austria’s Football Federation revealed that Mr Bruckner has signed on to lead Austria through qualification for the World Cup. On Monday, the charismatic Czech appeared at his first press conference in Vienna.

Czech music fans were saddened last week at the news that Pavel Grohman, drummer in the popular band Chinaski, had been killed in a motorbike accident. His death has refocused attention on the growing number of motorcycle accidents on Czech roads. According to recent police statistics, every eighth victim of a road accident is a motorcyclist. Altogether 56 riders were killed in the first six months of this year, which amounts to 13 percent of all road deaths. Why are so many bikers killed on Czech roads? And how does the Czech Republic compare