Current Affairs | All stories

An overwhelming majority of Czech school children choose English as their first foreign language but there is often no one to teach them. A recent report by the Czech School Inspection has shown that Czech schools are facing a serious lack of qualified English teachers as well as native English speakers.

It appears that Czech politicians have discovered the power of the Internet. But while elsewhere the medium has revolutionized campaigning thanks to its interactivity, in the Czech Republic it has acquired the form of gauche New Years’ greetings from politicians, boring web sites and fraudulent web pages ridiculing the politician or party in question. Three political parties have distanced themselves from websites bearing their name. Political analyst Jiří Pehe says that while the Internet affords tremendous possibilities, Czech politicians simply

The outgoing Prague archbishop, Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, has looked back on his career, discussing key hurdles and turning points in an interview published on his website on Tuesday. In the past, the cardinal has been strongly self-critical – this time he also assessed a number of the successes.

Former Czech president Václav Havel headed a delegation to the Chinese embassy to protest against the harsh prison sentence handed down by the Chinese government to a leading dissident. The dissident was one of the co-authors of a petition calling for greater human rights to be granted by the Chinese authorities. That petition was inspired by a Czechoslovak campaign for respect of human rights under the former Communist regime.

Burning waste including plastics in one’s stove or wood/coal furnace is not uncommon in Czech villages, despite damages to air quality and obvious health risks. According to sources such as the daily Právo, burning inappropriate materials is practiced by thousands around the country, without fear of repercussion. The reason? Current legislation does not allow the authorities to intervene in the case of private homes: that is something they can only do in the case of small businesses.

Perhaps the most talented Czech soccer player of his generation Tomáš Rosický has just signed a contract extension with his club Arsenal. The new deal can be seen as expression of faith in the 29-year-old, who has missed much of the last two years through injury. But is Rosický now capable of returning to the form that made him such a star in the first place?

The Supreme Administrative Court has set an important precedent. Reviewing an appeal case in late December, it ruled that in future foreign nationals seeking asylum in the Czech Republic should be allowed to pick their defense attorney rather than have one appointed for them.

Last Saturday, Czech scientists from a number of institutions set out on their latest research trip to the Czech base in the Antarctic- located on James Ross Island. At the base, which was established in 2006, Czech biologists, climate experts and geologists engage in valuable on-site research. Zdeněk Venera is the director of the Czech Geological Survey in Prague, who was a member of the 2008 and 2009 Antarctic research team, talks about his time in the Antarctic and the logistics of getting there.

As of this year, Czech teachers and ministry officials should only use politically correct language. The Ministry of Education has sent out a language guide to all of the Czech Republic’s schools and ministries, giving advice on how to avoid sexist language and how to speak correctly in terms of gender. I spoke to Pavla Paclíková, one of the authors of the guide, who says Czech is still full of politically incorrect language.

The Czech government has unveiled the final figure for last year’s state budget deficit. Previous updates had already signalled that the sobering statistic for 2009 would be the worst in the country’s history. But it will nonetheless be seized on by politicians and pored over by analysts.