Current Affairs | All stories

A freshly launched online campaign aims to curb trolling on the Czech internet. Actual comments – including those wishing all kinds of deaths on gays, Muslims and members of other minorities – are superimposed on photos of 40 or so targets of such venom in the campaign We’re all in this together, which has caused quite a stir. The person behind it is Lukáš Houdek, from the government’s Hate Free Culture project.

After nearly 25 years of existence, the life span of the Czech capital’s main English language newspaper, the Prague Post, seems to have come to a close. According to the website mediar.cz, the paper’s owner has filed for insolvency following poor results. Ruth Fraňková has the details.

In view of the heightened threat of international terrorism, the Czech prime minister has asked the interior minister for the introduction of a security threat scale that in the event of danger would enable a fast and coordinated response by the country’s security forces and better communication with the public.

Dutch politicians have this week floated the idea of a smaller area within Europe’s open Schengen zone – also including countries such as Germany and Belgium – where passport controls would be carried out at the perimeter. What would such a move mean for the Czech Republic and other states left outside such a “mini-Schengen”? That’s a question I put to Benjamin Tallis from Prague’s Institute of International Relations.

It started as a simple idea to fight corruption and strengthen democracy. But a crucial law aimed at putting all contracts signed by local and regional councils and other public institutions on the Internet now looks like it could be derailed. The Czech branch of Transparency International on Friday called an emergency press conference to raise the alarm.

The Czech military has dispatched another consignment of munitions and hand grenades to Bagdad where it is to assist the Iraqi military and Kurdish fighters in the war against the Islamic State. According to Defense Minister Martin Stropnický, the Czech Republic is likewise ready to respond to France’s need in assisting its intensified operation against IS headquarters in Raqqa.

One of the Czech Republic’s flagship antique fairs has just started in Prague’s New Town Hall. And, from a hesitant beginning and some difficult recent years, it looks like the Czech market is picking up again thanks to interest from local as well as foreign buyers.

President Miloš Zeman spoke at a rally organised by Bloc Against Islam in Prague on Tuesday, telling cheering supporters that Czechs are not racist because many people from compatible cultures have been welcomed in the country. Mr. Zeman has a reputation for fiery rhetoric on the subject. But was his public alignment with an anti-Islamist group of a piece with his previous pronouncements, or a new departure? And what is the president’s endgame?

Emotions are running high following Tuesday’ anti-Islamic demonstration at Prague’s Albertov, held on the 26th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. Academics from Charles University have strongly criticized the fact that students were denied access to the historic site because of a political gathering.

People around the country marked the 26th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution amid heightened security on Tuesday. Overshadowed by the terrorist attacks in Paris and the migrant crisis in Europe the anniversary of the country’s return to democracy and European values took on new meaning in light of present day attitudes to migrants.