Current Affairs | All stories

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC opens its halls to artists of different countries once a year. Audiences have already been able to hear French and Israeli musicians, and China is lined up for next year. But this year it's the Czechs' turn. The 14th and 17th June have been booked for top Czech musicians, who are going to represent their country at a Festival of Czech Music.

The 15th annual Prague Writers' Festival wrapped up on Wednesday. But before it ended the festival offered one last discussion, with the promising title "Those in the dark are not seen". Featuring authors like Israel's David Grossman and Russian literary star Viktor Erofeyev, the discussion was nothing less than fascinating.

When we talk about "Europeans", who do we have in mind? Can all Europeans be put into one basket when it comes to values and characteristics? That's what the international research agencies Euro RSCG and TNS wanted to find out when they conducted a telephone poll to determine who the Europeans really are.

The Czech national football squad did it again on Wednesday. Just five days after their 8-1 win over Andorra in their Group One World Cup qualifier, they managed to score another six goals against Macedonia, at home in the town of Teplice. But the Czechs still remain in second place in their group, after the Dutch beat Finland 4-0.

The Czech Constitutional Court on Wednesday made a ruling that could have significant implications for ownership rights. It concluded that property confiscated by the communist regime could be returned to its former owners even if it was classified as a national cultural monument.

A late spring cleaning session at the US embassy in Prague has led to a find that has surprised and pleased Czech historians: a box of documents relating to the political processes in the hardline 1950's. Czech archivists believed that they'd been shredded years ago.

The Czech Republic has the reputation of being one of the most secular countries in Europe. In 2001 a nation-wide census revealed that 58 percent of the population were non-believers. But that's not to say the public is apathetic to religious issues: given the chance, even the country's many atheists relish discussing the future of organised religion. Many did so heatedly at a recent debate in Prague.

This spring is a time of sensational historical discoveries in Prague. After archaeologists unearthed a jar full of 16th century silver coins last week - another amazing discovery has been announced. The original 14th-century burial chamber of Emperor Charles IV was uncovered at St Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle.

Earlier this week the opposition Civic Democratic Party organized an international conference to support Ukraine's ambitions to join the European Union. The event was attended by the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Roman Bezsmertny and a number of other politicians mostly from right of centre political parties from across Central Europe, including the former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

An exhibition of photographs opened at the Czech Parliament in Prague on Monday evening to tell the story of the hundreds of people, mainly Romanies, who suffered and often perished at the concentration camp in Lety, around 80 km south of Prague. The camp has been a source of controversy in recent years, partly because of a pig-farm that now stands on the site and also because the camp was entirely staffed by Czech guards.