Section Archive Current Affairs
Barricades built on the Czech-German border
Ten years after the fall of communism, and with the Czech Republic striving to return to the European family of nations, members of the German Federal Authority For Border Protection are busy building barricades on the Czech-German border. Spokesman Dietmar Kottwitz says the measure is designed to stop people stealing cars in the German borderlands, and driving them through fields and woods back to the Czech Republic. has this report: More
Slovak Roma seek asylum in Czech Republic
Roma asylum seekers have been in the news for some time now, and there's nothing new in the fact that the Roma are dissatisfied, often rightly so, with their social status and with the racism they encounter in Czech society. Many Roma have been trying to find a better life abroad, and that includes some of the estimated 300,000 living in the Czech Republic. In fact, at the beginning of this year, of all the countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Czech Republic had the biggest number of asylum seekers in Britain. That situation has now changed, says .
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Senate passes controversial election law
The upper house of the Czech Parliament, the Senate, has approved fundamental changes to the electoral law, paving the way for the introduction of what some observers say will be a two-party system in Czech politics. But opinion polls show almost half of the population opposed to the changes: they say the new law poses a danger to democracy in the Czech Republic. reports.
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Klaus defends Austria, attacks 'globalisation, feminism and the Internet'
The leader of the right-of-centre Civic Democrats, Vaclav Klaus, is back in the news this morning - once again over controversial remarks about the European Union, feminism and the Internet! Speaking after talks with the Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel at the weekend, Mr Klaus said the Czech government had been pursuing a shortsighted policy in refusing to maintain bilateral relations with its outcast neighbour. has this report: More
Fresh controversy over Czech Expo pavilion
For those of you who thought the controversy surrounding the Czech pavilion at the Expo 2000 World Exhibition was over, think again. Long before the pavilion even opened organisers were struggling with a barrage of negative publicity - the pavilion wouldn't be ready on time, it would be too expensive, it wouldn't be any good etc. It has now opened, and is actually doing rather well, but the organisers of the Czech pavilion have had to contend with a new publicity disaster - created by the organisers of Expo 2000 themselves. reports.
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Karel Gott to sing in Carnegie Hall
The well-known, and for some, controversial Czech singer Karel Gott is to give a concert in New York's prestigious Carnegie Hall on September 29th. The concert is sponsored by the New York-based Golden Prague restaurant, whose owner Jiri Suchanek told reporters if there was a Czech singer big enough to play Carnegie Hall, it was undoubtedly Karel Gott, a sentiment not shared by everybody in the Czech Republic, says . More
IPB drama obscured by political brinkmanship
The drama surrounding the IPB bank is increasingly becoming obscured by a
fierce dispute between the country's two largest political parties. The main
opposition Civic Democrats have described the government's move to save the
bank from collapse as daylight robbery. The whole case may also have
international consequences. reports.
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Britain to help lure investment to Ostrava region
A red London double-decker bus was cruising the streets of Ostrava on Wednesday, as the British ambassador to the Czech Republic, David Broucher, visited the city. With last week's visit by the Austrian ambassador and the Phillipine's ambassador set to visit the city next week, it seems that Ostrava is doing as much as possible to lure foreign investment to the region. But will it succeed? For more here's our Ostrava correspondent, . More
National Alliance chairman released from jail
The chairman of the extreme right National Alliance, Vladimir Skoupy, was
released from jail on Thursday. Mr. Skoupy was given a one-year suspended
sentence earlier this month for making racist speeches at far right
demonstrations. joins me now with this report:
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