Current Affairs | All stories

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will reach a conclusion on Saturday night, with the presentation of the festival's Crystal Globe awards at the grand finale at the town's Thermal hotel. So, what films in competition at the 42nd Karlovy Vary look like the most likely contenders to take the prizes this year? Ian Willoughby has been there all week, and has the answer...

Last year was a record year for Czech tourism, with over 6.4 million tourists visiting the Czech Republic. So far this year, visitor figures have been down by ten percent on last, prompting speculation that tourism in the Czech Republic has reached its peak. But Tomio Okamura, spokesperson for the Association of Czech Travel Agencies, has a different view. He believes that the potential for tourism here has been left largely unrealised, and last week launched a blistering attack on those who, he said, were watching Czech visitor numbers fall and

In just three months Prague will make a bid to host the Olympic Games in 2016. However, there are a number of obstacles on the route to becoming an official candidate. These include calls for a referendum, property disputes about the sites of possible Olympic buildings, questions over the budget - and ground squirrels.

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is in full swing in the west Bohemian town. By the time it ends on Saturday evening, thousands of mostly young viewers will have seen over 250 films. They will also have had the rare chance to see or even meet some of the makers of those pictures, with many actors and directors attending the screenings of their films, in some cases holding discussions with the audience.

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is one of the biggest cultural and social events in the Czech Republic. The 42nd Karlovy Vary got underway in the pretty spa town on Friday evening, with the Oscar-winning Hollywood star Renee Zellweger perhaps the biggest name ascending the red carpet at the Thermal hotel for the official opening. Ian Willoughby was at the glitzy ceremony. Radio Prague's Rosie Johnston spoke to him over the phone and begun by asking about the gala opening ceremony.

It was hailed as a revolution on Czech roads: a new points system that would reduce speeding, drink driving but above all the number of deaths on Czech roads, often described as the most dangerous in Europe. It is now exactly one year since the strict new road law was introduced - and we look at whether it has lived up to expectation.

Charles Merrill is an American philanthropist who has devoted his life to education, and one project close to his heart is a programme of scholarships for Czech students. In fact, he has spent USD 7 million sending over 200 young Czechs from Palacky University in Olomouc to colleges in the US. Recently Mr Merrill, who is 86 years old, was thanked for his great generosity by the Czech foreign minister, who presented him with a special award. When I spoke to Charles Merrill, he explained that his ties to this country go way back.

An ongoing dispute over whether the communist hammer and sickle symbols belong on a wartime memorial to Russian soldiers who died during the liberation of Brno at the end of the Second World War has stumped Czech officials, divided the inhabitants of Brno and elicited an official protest from Russia.

The Canadian conductor Kerry Stratton has worked with several leading Czech orchestras and made numerous recordings of Czech classical music. He was recently honoured for his dedication to Czech music, when he received an award from the Czech Foreign Ministry. I spoke to Kerry Stratton at the awards ceremony, and first asked him how a Canadian came to be work with so many Czech orchestras.

What do the following have in common? An Australian film from 1906 called "The Story of the Kelly Gang". The South African court papers from case No. 253/1963 against "Nelson Mandela and others". And the Bayeux Tapestry. Can't guess? Well, they all feature on a UNESCO list of important historical documents, and for the first time, two entries from the Czech Republic have been added to that list.