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Current AffairsCzech court rules in favour of extraditing suspected IRA terrorist
A Czech municipal court ruled on Thursday that suspected IRA member Michael
Dickson should be extradited to Germany to face charges linked to a 1996
grenade attack on a British army barracks in the German town of
Osnabrueck. Dickson, who denies any ties to the IRA and says he was in the
Czech Republic as a tourist, has appealed to the country's High Court.
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Current Affairs"Somewhere Better" - a powerful new film about a Czech Romany family in Britain
Friday saw the international press premiere in Prague of an extraordinary
film. "Somewhere Better", a co-production between Czech
Television and the BBC, looks at one of the many Czech Romany families
that have applied for asylum in Britain. This is a much-discussed theme,
but the film by documentary-maker Mira Erdevicki takes an unusual path,
and is special in more ways than one. David Vaughan was at the premiere.
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Current AffairsWill tougher immigration measures in Britain stop Czech Roma?
On Monday, Britain unveiled tougher immigration measures aimed at making
the country a less attractive destination for economic migrants who claim
refugee status. Over the past few years, dozens of Roma families from the
Czech Republic have set for a journey to Britain in the hopes of receiving
asylum there. Although the majority of them have been turned down, Czech
Roma keep leaving the country. Under the new immigration measures in
Britain, ten countries aiming to join the European Union by 2004,
including the Czech Republic, will be given 'safe' status to stop people
applying for asylum on the grounds that they live in danger at home.
British authorities claim they are economic immigrants, rather than
victims of persecution in their own country. Alena Skodova spoke with
Markus Pape from the European Roma Rights Centre, and began by asking him
whether the tougher immigration measures in Britain would prevent Czech
Roma from applying for asylum there?
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Current AffairsUK donates vacuum drying machines to help save books hit by floods
An estimated half a million books and documents from archives and libraries were damaged around the Czech Republic during August's floods, and trying to save valuable works is proving to be an absolutely mammoth task. At a ceremony at the National Library on Tuesday, the British Ambassador, Anne Pringle, presented Czech Culture Minister Pavel Dostal with novel vacuum drying machines which will help in that task.
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Business NewsBritish public donates more than eight million crowns
Flood relief donations are also continuing in Europe. The Czech Embassy in London says people in Britain have donated almost 160,000 pounds, or more than eight million crowns, to a special fund for Czech flood victims.
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MagazineNicholas Winton in Prague
One of the most interesting events at the recent Karlovy Vary film festival was the premiere of a documentary film about Sir Nicholas Winton. He was the British diplomat who in the spring and summer of 1939, just after Nazi Germany had occupied Bohemia and Moravia, helped to save the lives of at least 700 Czech Jewish children, by sending them to families in Britain. The film, "Nicholas Winton - the Power of Good" is made by Matej Minac, who also recently made a very popular feature film, "All My Loved Ones", about Sir Nicholas's work. "All My Loved Ones" portrays the agonizing decision of the parents of a Jewish girl, who decide to send their daughter to England, knowing that they will probably never meet again. Today Sir Nicholas is an energetic 93-year-old and last week he was in Prague to meet some of his "children" - who themselves are now nearly all in their seventies. David Vaughan was at the event and brings this report.
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Current AffairsBritish Czech and Slovak Association Competition
And now some news about a writing competition that listeners here in the Czech Republic or in Britain might be interested in taking part in. But you'll have to be quick, because the deadline is in just ten days. It has been organised by the British Czech and Slovak Association, based in London, which tries to foster understanding between the British and the Czech and Slovak nations. Barbara Day from the Prague Society for International Cooperation told David Vaughan about the competition. More
Current AffairsVeterans remember brave last stand by Heydrich assassins
A military band plays a slow march as Czechoslovak veterans lay wreaths outside the Church of Cyril and Methodius in Prague's Resslova street. Sixty years ago today, on June 18th 1942, hundreds of SS and Gestapo units surrounded the building. They were there to track down a group of British-trained Czechoslovak parachutists, who were hiding in the crypt of the church. Among them were Sergeant Jan Kubis and Sergeant Josef Gabcik, who three weeks earlier had assassinated the Nazi governor of Bohemia and Moravia, Reinhardt Heydrich. For six hours, Nazi troops tried unsuccessfully to force their way into the crypt, using grenades, tear gas and even the fire brigade to try and drown the parachutists. But they never surrendered, choosing instead to take their own lives. Among the veterans attending Tuesday's ceremony was Frank Kaplan, who served with the Czechoslovak forces during the war and later settled in Britain. Rob Cameron asked him whether he thought Heydrich's assassination was justified, given the terrible reprisals that followed.
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Current Affairs Blair: Benes decrees will not hinder Czech bid to join EU
The British Prime Minister Tony Blair touched down in Prague on Monday for a brief visit to the Czech Republic, holding talks with Czech officials on his way home from the United States. Top of the agenda in Prague was the crisis in the Middle East - a Czech anti-chemical unit was recently deployed in Kuwait to protect the U.S. command headquarters in Kuwait City. But Mr Blair also found time to praise the Czech Republic for progress towards joining the EU, adding there was still room for co-operation within Europe on a "nation state" level.
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