Current Affairs | All stories

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.

Finance Minister Andrej Babiš whose ANO party has topped public trust surveys for months and who was widely expected to become the country’s next prime minister is facing the most serious crisis in his political career. The billionaire entrepreneur who entered politics on an anti-establishment and anti-corruption agenda is suspected of having dodged taxes and influenced media coverage against his political rivals.

A photograph of a Czech teenage girl scout confronting a Neo-Nazi supporter has been widely shared on social media worldwide as a symbol of defiance against the far-right movement. The image, which has collected over 60,000 points on Reddit, was taken during a May Day rally in the Czech Republic’s second biggest town of Brno.

A group of Czech senators are preparing to take the president to the Constitutional Court if he doesn’t comply with the prime minister’s wish to dismiss the finance minister. With the head of state showing no sign of climbing down, an unprecedented legal battle could be on the cards.

The Czech Republic does not have a stellar track record when it comes to the Eurovision Song Contest: the country fielded entries for three years straight from 2007 to 2009, but then withdrew until 2015. In all, all but one in five entries failed to make it to the final. This Tuesday, jazz singer Martina Bárta will be hoping to change things, however with My Turn.

The future of the Czech government hangs in the balance as country’s president and prime minister engage in a tug of war over one man – billionaire Finance Minister Andrej Babiš who is suspected of having dodged taxes and influenced media coverage in a daily he formerly owned against political rivals. The president has said he cannot dismiss Andrej Babiš from office until the prime minister terminates the coalition agreement on which the ruling coalition stands.