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Japanese promoters have expressed interest in bringing to Japan one of the most grandiose pieces in the history of Czech art, Alphonse Mucha’s Slav Epic. They are even offering to finance the restoration of the monumental, which consists of 20 huge canvasses. But both the city of Prague, which owns the work, and Mucha’s grandson are hesitant to let it travel so far.

Prague is one of a few sites in Europe that has been chosen as an access point for Hollywood director Steven Spielberg’s collection of Holocaust recollections. The link with the Spielberg-financed Shoah Foundation has already created strong interest locally after only a few weeks.

In 1995 the Czech Press Photo competition was established to promote Czech photojournalism. Now the esteemed award is in its 15th year, and to mark that occasion, its organisers are holding a special show of more than 500 of the best pictures from all sides of life at Prague’s Old Town Hall. The founder of Czech Press Photo, photography theorist and critic Daniela Mrázková, spoke to our reporter Christian Falvey about developments in Czech photojournalism over the last 15 years.

Czech trade unions have just called off a nation-wide strike in public transport planned for Thursday. The unions have been pushing for lower taxation of employee benefits, and after a meeting on Wednesday, union leaders decided to give politicians more time to deal with their demands.

A new exhibition which opened at Prague Castle on Tuesday is offering a rare glimpse into the private life of Czechoslovakia’s first president, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. The display is part of a series of events marking the 160th anniversary of Masaryk’s birth on March 7, 1850.

Long standing complaints by Czech drivers that they are being harassed by German and Austrian police have hit new heights amid reports that they have taken a humiliating turn. Former prime minister Mirek Topolánek says there is a clear case that European open border rules have been broken. His successor Jan Fischer has called on the Czech interior ministry to investigate.

The acclaimed Czech champion of photography Anna Fárová died in Prague at the age of 81 over the weekend. Ms Fárová catalogued and exhibited the works of some great Czech photographers, including Josef Sudek and František Drtikol. Despite persecution by the communist authorities Anna Fárová also launched the first ever line of books on photography in Europe.

The Czech government is distributing a new handbook to primary and secondary school teachers called “Homophobia in Schools” – aimed at raising awareness of homosexuality and the problem of bullying based on sexual orientation. The government council behind the handbook says it wants teachers to be better able to recognise homophobia – and to do something about it.

The Czech Republic is to obtain an historic tank from Peru that was built specifically for export to the South American country in the 1930s. Prague’s Military History Institute, which falls under the Defence Ministry, and the Peruvian town of Mollendo recently signed an agreement by which Peru will make a gift of the tank to the Czech Republic. In return, it will receive a donation of 50,000 US dollars for the building of a new library.

Ludmila Brožová-Polednová, a former communist prosecutor who is serving a six year prison sentence for her role in helping to send democratic politician Milada Horáková to the gallows in a notorious 1950s show trial, may soon be released. It has now come to light that three presidential amnesties apply to her case, each lowering her sentence by two years.