Current Affairs | All stories

This Thursday and Friday marks the third time Czechs abroad – from as far away as Japan or the US – have been able to take part in the national election. Polling stations abroad opened at 14 pm on Thursday – a day earlier than they opened in the Czech Republic. Worldwide as many as 6,000 Czechs expatriates are expected to cast their ballot.

Czechs are going to the polls to cast their ballot in elections to the lower house of Parliament. At the end of a long and sometimes aggressive campaign, the field is still wide open, with neither of the two main parties, the Social and Civic Democrats, expected to win a clear majority of the vote.

Czech President Václav Klaus has expressed support for Slovakia in its dispute with Hungary over recently approved legislation allowing ethnic Hungarians to apply for Hungarian citizenship. The move, seen as a “security risk” by Bratislava, has prompted the Czech head of state to voice his longstanding concerns about Hungary’s intentions in the region.

The world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, is currently in the Czech Republic for the country’s biggest athletics meeting, the Golden Spike in Ostrava. The Jamaican sprinter holds the world records in the 100 and 200 metres, but will be taking part in an unusual race on Thursday night: the 300 metres. Ahead of the big event, he spoke exclusively to Czech Radio.

Under communism Czech society was highly institutionalized and an unhappy legacy from that time is the disproportionately large number of children growing up in children’s homes. By way of comparison, there are fewer children in institutional care in Britain than in the Czech Republic, even though the country has nearly six times the population. Children growing up in homes often end up with huge social and educational disadvantages, and this was what motivated the Faculty of Education at Prague’s Charles University to carry out a project aimed

Paying by plastic card took off in the Czech Republic after the fall of Communism as the country transformed into a developed consumer society. But surveys still show a hard core of Czechs shun payment cards preferring good old cash because they feel they can better keep track of their spending. Now some card companies are rolling out smarter systems which might help overcome this last resistance.

The Czech hockey team is fresh from its gold medal win at the World Championship in Germany, but many in the country are wondering what will come next for the national team. Ahead of the tournament, coach Vladimír Růžička promised he would be stepping down, handing the reins to his successor Alois Hadamczik. Curiously, it is the second time Růžička has won gold at the Worlds only to be followed by Hadamczik and there are a number of challenges that the new coach will face.

Three years ago, the central square in the city of Ostrava, in the north-east of the country underwent a thorough renovation. But locals complained about the poor quality of the job and the inferior stones the square was paved with. The authorities had already launched an investigation into the matter when on Tuesday, the complainers were proved right: a fire engine sank into a hole in the square’s paving.

For several years a battle over a piece of farmland has stopped a strategic Czech motorway project in its tracks. On Monday the government decided to remove that obstacle with the radical step of expropriation. We look at that controversial step and whether it will bear fruit.

Prague’s famous St. Vitus’ Cathedral, home to the country’s coronation jewels and the final resting place of Czech kings, has long been an issue of contention between the Catholic Church and the state. On Monday President Václav Klaus and Archbishop Dominik Duka announced that they had agreed to end the 18-year-long legal battle over ownership rights and signed an amicable agreement on joint administration of the cathedral.