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The arrest of two young Czechs who have been charged with terrorist activities in Turkey has shocked the nation. Marketa Všelichová (24) and Miroslav Farkas (30) were detained by the Turkish authorities earlier this month and have been charged with gun-running and membership in the Kurdish Peoples Protection Unit YPG which the Turkish authorities consider a terrorist organization. To find out more about the couple’s activities in Syria and why they tried to cross the Turkish border I spoke to one of their friends in the Czech Republic Janusz Konieczny.

In the world of advanced information technology there are still remnants of an era when all human knowledge was painstakingly collected in libraries that reflected the social status of their owners. Deep in the bowels of Kinski Palace, on Prague’s Old Town Square, the Kinski family library is preserved as it served the family for generations. Its administrator for the National Museum Richard Sipek took me around one of the two remaining palace libraries in the city.

The Czech branch of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has just marked its tenth anniversary. Today it has a team of 125 doctors, nurses and logistics experts active in crisis regions the world over. To find out more about what they do, the challenges they face and their role in the migrant crisis I spoke to the head of the Czech branch Pavel Gruber and Nurse Jitka Kosíková, who is just back from an MSF search and rescue mission in the Mediterranean.

Every October 28th, marking the founding of the former Czechoslovakia, the president presents state honours to chosen recipients which recognise their life’s work, sacrifice and outstanding contribution. Awards range from the country’s highest honours – the Order of the White Lion or the Order of T.G. Masaryk – to Medals of Merit.

The history of Nový Bor in North Bohemia- is indelibly linked with the art of glass-making. The tradition of glass making in the region goes back more than seven hundred years. Thanks to abundant stocks of wood –used as both fuel and raw material -and crushed quartz used in the melting of glass, the region provided ideal conditions for the craft. Glassworks in different areas date back to medieval times and have been traced due to various archaeological finds –such as small pieces of melted glass and fragments of moulds -in places where old glassworks

A team of explorers recently found the world’s deepest underwater cave located in the eastern part of the Czech Republic. A Czech-Polish expedition, led by the legendary Polish diver Krzysztof Starnawski, descended deep into the flooded limestone cave called Hranice Abyss and found it to be far deeper than previously thought. According to their measurements, the cave is 404 meters deep, 12 meters deeper than the previous record holder, 392-meter-deep Pozzo del Merro in Italy.

In 2007 when businesses were closing down as a result of the global crisis, Leon Jakimič founded his lighting installations and glass artworks company Lasvit. Today it is one of the world leaders in its field, with offices in New York, London, Paris, Milan, Dubai and many other cities. Mr. Jakimič runs the company from Hong Kong but, on one of his many visits to the Czech Republic, he showed us around the Ajeto glassworks in Nový Bor where the company’s unique creations take shape.

Deputies in the lower house are set to debate a bill that would ban fur farming in the Czech Republic. A petition in favour of such a move has been signed by 50 deputies across the political spectrum, but a seminar preceding the debate revealed that it still has many opponents. I spoke to animal rights activist Lucie Moravcová from the NGO Freedom for Animals in order to find out more about the problem – such as how many farms are currently in operation and in what conditions the animals are bred.

One of the city’s most precious book collections is to be found in the Nostitz Palace Library in Prague’s Lesser Town. The Early Baroque building, former residence of the noble family of Nostitz-Rieneck, is now home to the Czech Ministry of Culture. The precious library within, which is only open to visitors on special occasions, is administered by the National Museum. I asked Richard Šípek who administers the priceless collection of ancient books to take me through the library and show me some of its treasures.

Why does the Czech army take part in foreign military missions? And why should Czechs appreciate their war veterans? This is the main theme of an exhibition which is currently underway at Prague Castle. Entitled Ten druhý život or That Other Life, it features large-format photos showing scenes encountered by Czech military missions abroad, captured by soldiers and journalists.