Current Affairs | All stories

The British foreign secretary, Robin Cook, was in Prague on Wednesday to give a much-needed boost to the Czech Republic as it strives to join the European Union. While Prague and the remaining five leading EU applicants are now making steady progress towards reforming their economies and updating legislation, there is a serious rift within the EU over the crucial issue of when to let them in. The candidates say they want a concrete target date to give them something to work towards. Brussels, however, is refusing to budge. reports.

Is there a Romani nation? That is one of the issues raised at the World Congress of the International Roma Union, which is underway this week in Prague on Wednesday, with Romani delegates from all over the world. has this report

Germany has thanked the Czech writer and journalist Pavel Tigrid for his work in improving Czech-German relation, by awarding him the country's highest decoration, the Great Cross With Star, given to outstanding figures by the German president. The ambassador, Hagen Lambsdorff, handed him the decoration at a ceremony in Prague in the presence of the Czech president, Vaclav Havel. has this report:

The British Foreign Minister, Robin Cook, arrived in Prague on Tuesday evening for a brief working visit. It began on Wednesday morning with the presentation of certificates to Czech police officers shortly to depart for Kosovo, confirming that their English is of a high enough standard for them to take part in the international police force in the province. But the main aim of the visit is to give a boost to Czech-British relations, building on his long personal friendship with the Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan, and launching a plan for help

The 5th International Roma Congress, meeting in Prague continued with the second day of its 5-day program on Wednesday. talked to some of the participants and asked them about the proceedings and how they saw the significance of the congress.

Thousands of International Monitory Fund opponents are expected to stream into Prague on the 26th September to demonstrate against the IMF and World Bank congress, set to take place in the city over the three days that follow. The city council of Prague has decided to handle the problem with an iron hand in a velvet glove. reports.

Unlike in many countries where cyclists are protected from the onslaught of cars, buses, trams and lorries, their counterparts in the Czech Republic, and especially in Prague, face a very different situation. There are few quality cycle routes here in Prague, only the brave take to the streets on two wheels and it's rare to see bicycle stands in front of office buildings, railway stations or shops. Wednesday's edition of the paper Mlada Fronta Dnes comes up with further bad news. By this year the town hall had planned for over four hundred kilometres of cycle routes; only half of those have actually been built. takes a look at the situation:

Delegates from Roma communities all over the world have come together in Prague for the 5th International Roma Congress, which opened in the Czech capital on Tuesday. Top of the agenda will be the plight of the Roma population in Kosovo, which have in recent years been targetted for discrimination by both the ethnic Albanians and the Serb community. Radio Prague's went along to the opening ceremony.

The United States ambassador to Prague John Shattuck advised the Czech Culture Minister Pavel Dostal on Monday that unless Jewish demands are respected in the dispute over Prague's medieval Jewish cemetery, the case could have unfavorable political and economic consequences for the Czech Republic. has the story.

What skeletons do the former Eastern Bloc countries have in their cupboards? That's a question to which the European Union wants to know the answers. The Union's Commissioner for enlargement, Guenter Verheugen, has announced that the Commission wants to take a closer look at the former communist applicant countries, to find out to what extent former prominent communists have control over their economies. As one of the frontrunners to join the Union, this has also given the Czech Republic some food for thought. reports.