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The number of the unemployed in the Czech Republic reached a record high in January. Nearly 590,000 people were out of work last month, which is the highest number since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Compared to December, the unemployment rate jumped by 0.6 percent to 8 percent according to the latest government figures. But the jobless rate would exceed 10 percent if calculated using methodology employed by government statisticians until last year. I discussed the surge in unemployment with economist Daniel Münich from the Prague-based institute

The Czech Republic is to send troops to Mali as part of a group of European Union military trainers due to be deployed in the West African state, where an offensive against Islamist militants in the north has been taking place. Prime Minister Petr Nečas announced the decision after winning backing from the opposition.

A recent survey conducted by the LMC agency, which operates the website jobs.cz, has found that roughly half of Czech firms turn down job applicants with criminal records. The survey covered approached 151 different firms and the results following the presidential amnesty (which saw more than 6,000 inmates released in January) are far from encouraging.

A new photography exhibition that gets underway in Prague on Thursday takes a novel approach to one of the thornier subjects in modern Czech history: the massacres that took place during the expulsion of millions Germans at the end of WWII. Photographer Lukáš Houdek has reconstructed some of those actual events – using Barbie and Ken dolls. Ahead of the opening of The Art of Killing, Houdek told me about how he prepared for the unusual project.

President-elect Miloš Zeman on Tuesday launched a series of high-level meetings with the country’s political leaders. The talks are intended to set the framework for future cooperation and heal the rifts of a ruthless election campaign.

Last December a group of archaeologists from the National Museum returned from an excavation expedition in the Sudanese locality of Wad Ben Naga. They have been working there since 2009 and are helping their Sudanese colleagues fulfil the requirements to enable the whole area to be registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a one-day working visit to Prague on Monday for talks dominated by business and his country’s drive to revitalize accession talks with the EU. The Czech Republic, which has nurtured ties with one of the world’s fastest growing economies, fully endorsed Ankara’s ambition.

The Czech and Slovak community in London are set to lose a venue that has served as a meeting place for generations of refugees and expats. Founded by a Czech Catholic priest in Notting Hill in 1964, the Velehrad centre has provided new arrivals with accommodation and served as a place for various social, cultural and religious events. But the organization that runs the centre has now decided to sell the property, which is a move opposed by many Czech expats in the UK. I discussed the issue with Milan Kocourek, a London-based journalist and the

The new bill on citizenship passed the first reading in the lower house of parliament. If passed into law, it will introduce stricter testing for foreigners applying for Czech citizenship and allow the state to look into the sources of applicants’ assets. But there are also some positive changes that may be introduced. Magda Faltová, the director of the Prague-based Association for Integration and Migration, highlighted the main pros and cons of the proposed law.

More than half of Czechs between the ages of 18 and 22 smoke on a regular basis, lighting up in bars, restaurants and discotheques. But a new study suggests that if a strict ban were in place preventing smoking in just such establishments, many young people might avoid the habit in the first place.