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Some 1,380 000 people visited Prague in the first quarter of 2017, spending over three million nights in the city, according to data released by Prague City Tourism. After years of downfall in the number of Russian tourists, the office has recorded a significant surge in the number of Russian tourists. I discussed the newly released data with Prague City Tourism’s spokeswoman Barbora Hrubá:

The Czech intelligence service BIS has reported on a case of money having been sent from the country to help finance an Islamic State terror group. Its 2016 report is due to be debated by the cabinet next week.

The city of Jerusalem is to get a new watchtower by the famous Czech architect Martin Rajniš, who has built several such towers around the Czech Republic. The watchtower, typically a light construction of wooden beams and timber, will be built as part of Jerusalem Design Week. It is set to be erected in the Western part of the city in early July.

Czech Post on Wednesday unveiled a new souvenir sheet containing a 46 crown stamp marking the 75th anniversary of Operation Anthropoid. In the mission, Czechoslovak parachutists were dropped into occupied territory to assassinate Nazi governor Reinhard Heydrich. The souvenir sheet, about the size of a postcard, gave the artist greater room to pay homage to those who gave their lives in the operation or were murdered in reprisal by the Nazis.

The restoration of Kuks, one of the most beautiful baroque complexes in the Czech Republic, has won the European Grand Prix for heritage conservation. The prestigious award was presented by the Europa Nostra association in Finland’s Turku on Monday. The jury praised the interdisciplinary approach of the restoration work, saying it should serve as a strong example for conservation projects across Europe.

Prague’s Václav Havel Airport on Monday launched new random controls of baggage checked in for the presence of trace elements of explosives. The move, in compliance with EU legislation, is to increase security to limit the possibility of explosive substances ever making it into planes’ cargo holds, as part of a terrorist attack.

During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in China, Czech President Miloš Zeman took a characteristic swipe at the media. Caught on mic just ahead of a joint press briefing with Mr. Putin, Mr. Zeman noted that there were too many journalists present and that they should be “liquidated”. While the joke raised a polite smile from Mr. Putin, it triggered a volley of negative reactions in the Czech Republic where media freedom and efforts to influence the free press are now very much in the spotlight.

The Prague Spring international music festival gets underway on Friday at Prague's Obecní dům. The festival will traditionally open with Bedřich Smetana’s My Country, this time featuring the world famous Vienna Philharmonic. Ruth Franková spoke to the head of Prague Spring, Roman Bělor, and asked him what was on the menu for the 72nd edition of the event.

Arguably the most famous Czech prisoner ever will soon be free after the head of state announced he would grant a pardon to Jiří Kajínek. The announcement has re-sparked the long running debate about whether Kajínek was really a double murderer or the fall guy in a complicated conspiracy.

This year’s Book World Prague has just got underway at the city’s Výstaviště. However, the 23rd edition of the trade fair and literary festival will also see it go outside the industrial palace to novel venues, while it will also have a major international aspect. I discussed Book World Prague 2017 with the event’s recently appointed new director, Radovan Auer.