Current Affairs | All stories

Until recently, the country’s Transport Minister Vít Bárta delayed whether or not to run for leader of Public Affairs, the party he helped found which won surprising success in the last election. After a final consideration of options over the weekend, Mr Bárta confirmed his candidacy, meaning party members will choose between him and current leader Radek John and possibly others. In the end, Mr Bárta’s decision is not a major surprise: in recent months the successful former businessman has been seen more and more as the real mover behind Public

The Czech Republic’s 2011 Housing and Population Census has entered its second phase. Friday midnight was the official point of reference on which people are expected to base their answers on, and it was also when on-line forms were made available for people to fill in. Radio Prague spoke to the spokesman for the project, Ondřej Kubala, and asked him how the census has been running over the past few days.

Representatives of 56 member countries of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe met in Prague this week for a conference on anti-Semitism in public discourse, hosted by the Czech Foreign Ministry. The participants called for more decisive steps to combat expressions of hatred and intolerance, and stressed the need for better data on anti-Semitic incidents. RP talked to Rabbi Andrew Baker, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Anti-Semitism, about the Prague meeting.

Czech coalition leaders have crossed swords over one of the most influential men in the Czech cabinet – Defence Minister Alexandr Vondra of the Civic Democrats. Mr. Vondra has been dogged by problems lately, the most serious of which is a questionable multi-million crown contract relating to the country’s EU presidency at a time when he held the EU portfolio. When the internet daily euro.cz on Wednesday published information suggesting that Mr. Vondra had allegedly been aware of the dubious terms of the contract which cost taxpayers millions of

When the theatre play Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell by the British author Keith Waterhouse opened in Prague in March 2009, it became an instant success. The tragicomic show starred a leading Czech actor, Oldřich Kaiser, in the part of the heavy-drinking London journalist Jeffrey Bernard. But the play was cancelled in November because Mr Kaiser, just like the main character, was himself struggling to deal with alcohol abuse. Earlier this month, however, Mr Kaiser returned on stage as Jeffrey Bernard at another venue in the capital.

The only suspect in the case of Anna Janatková, a nine-year-old girl who disappeared five months ago and was found murdered last week, has died in hospital after a suicide attempt in his prison cell, apparently bringing an end to a case that has shocked the public. The suspect, 41-year-old Otakar Tomek, maintained his innocence throughout the investigation.

Organisers have announced that registration for a new extreme sporting event across the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the first-ever 1,000 mile Trans Czecho-Slovakia, is complete. The race is the brainchild of extreme mountain biker Jan Kopka, champion and author of two books on racing in some of the toughest parts of the world.

The film version of Václav Havel’s play Leaving hits the silver screen tonight, with premieres at Lucerna Palace (which his grandfather designed, incidentally) and Slovanský Dům. The former president and playwright has said that directing a film was a dream of his and ‘Leaving’ is the first fruit of his cinematic labour. But pre-release reviews have thrown cold water on the big expectations around the film. Earlier today we spoke with Theo Schwinke, the Eastern European correspondent for the multimedia magazine Screen International who was among

A legendary Czech is going into space on a forthcoming shuttle flight. Although a veteran of such cosmic adventures, as well as many others, this crew member might raise some eyebrows ― he’s the world recognised cartoon character, the mole, sometimes known as the little Mole or Krteček. We look at a giant step for mole-kind.

Nine months after winning the general elections yet failing to form a government, the opposition Social Democrats elected new leadership at a party congress in Brno over the weekend. In a tight vote for the new leader, acting chair Bohuslav Sobotka beat his main rival, South Moravian governor Michal Hašek, who was elected deputy chair. Social Democrats hope the new leadership will boost the party’s support.