Current Affairs | All stories

A court in Brno did not find enough evidence on Tuesday to convict a man dubbed “the King of Poachers”. The man, who had more than 1,300 hunting trophies in his home, claimed he inherited them. The verdict has upset Czech hunters who say that under the current Czech law, it’s extremely difficult to convict poachers even if they are caught red-handed.

The country’s transport minister, Vít Bárta, has set off new debate over how to clamp down on dangerous drivers: the idea – floated at the weekend – is that speeding fines in the Czech Republic could be pegged to motorists’ personal wealth, similar to systems in currently in place in Finland or Switzerland. The threat of high fines would theoretically lead owners of powerful luxury cars - who currently ignore speed limits - to think twice.

A very undiplomatic spat has blown up between Prague and Paris. The fuse was lit by Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg who said that France’s ongoing expulsion of Roma, or gypsies, from camps across the country smacked of racism.

The National Technical Museum in Prague has a new director - in fact, it has its third new director in the space of a week. Oldřich Rambousek resigned from his post on Thursday, only seven days after he was given the position by the Ministry of Culture. Now the office has been filled by a new temporary director to oversee the running of the multi-billion crown institution and an audit looking into missing money and exhibits.

In just a few months, the Czech Environment Ministry has gotten rid of a number of officials who had in the past worked for environmental NGOs. The new minister, Civic Democrat Pavel Drobil, who was initially honed for the post of industry and trade minister, said he wanted to steer the ministry away from ideology. But environmental activists are concerned about the consequences of the swipe.

Abuse of MPs expenses is an ongoing problem on the Czech political scene –and occasionally politicians pay a high price for the malpractice. On Thursday, former environment minister Libor Ambrozek admitted he had for years abused the expenses he received as an MP, using them to help finance his new family home. Mr. Ambrozek, who was running for the post vice-governor of the South Moravian region, fully admitted his guilt and withdrew his candidacy. Last year, the acting head of the Social Democrats Bohuslav Sobotka was embroiled in a similar scandal.

In the Czech Republic the sun is no longer shining so brightly for solar power companies. The Czech government has just adopted new rules which threaten to sharply cut off support for the booming solar power sector.

The annual Fresh Film Festival has gotten underway in Prague, showcasing short and longer-length projects by student film directors and budding filmmakers from around the world. Over the next several days, audiences will be able to choose from 40 films in official competition in four categories: Fresh Generation, the Main Competition, Theatre Optique (looking at animated and avant garde film) and Fresh Czech (focusing on Czech productions).

With saving the order of the day, individual ministries are busy reviewing expendables in every sphere of activity. In addition to freezing projects and cutting jobs, some of them are considering selling off property that they can spare. In the wake of getting government approval for closing down five Czech embassies, the foreign ministry said it was considering selling the stately Štiřín chateau which it occasionally uses for international gatherings.

Amnesty International has put some of the spotlight on the Czech Republic in a report about the situation in conflict ridden Yemen. The international human rights watchdog organization says that Czech arms are being shipped to a country where opponents of the local government are being tortured or disappear for long periods into detention or are executed.