Section Archive Current Affairs
Analysis Results – new Krištof Kintera exhibit perplexes and provokes
Krištof Kintera is one of the most respected contemporary Czech artists
– he was recently given the title Artist of the Year – and his new
exhibit offers an insight into his latest work. Provocative, whimsical and
daring, the “Výsledky analýzy” show is one of the season’s most
interesting exhibits. We take a look ahead of the opening. More
Students continue protests over university reform proposals
The student protests that formed a key component of the 1989 Velvet
Revolution serve as a stark reminder, even more than twenty years later,
that the imagery of any Czech government upsetting its student population
is going to create a major headache. Recent reforms proposed by the Czech
Education Ministry under Josef Dobeš have achieved just that. Students are
crying foul, with banners draped in universities across the country
accusing the government of putting profits before education. This week,
many Czech students have taken matters a step further with a self-titled
“Week of protests” against the legislation. Tuesday sees students
attending countless workshops and debates while protests marching on the
offices of the Czech government are scheduled for Wednesday. Dominik Jůn
spoke to Charles University student Matouš Turek, one of organizers of the
protests, and began by asking Turek to explain the background behind the
controversial legislation: More
Finance minister tells Czechs to brace for succession of lean years
Although the Czech government has refused to sign up to the EU’s fiscal
discipline pact, frugality has become the order of the day and the finance
minister has warned the nation that, come what may, fiscal discipline will
be observed in the interest of bringing the country’s public finances
under control. On Monday the cabinet’s economic ministers are meeting to
debate austerity measures for 2013 which far surpass those previously
undertaken.
More
Cakes for freedom – tongue-in-cheek happening to support artist facing controversial prison sentence kicks off in Prague
Activists are holding a protest happening in front of Prague’s Pankrác
prison, where Czech artist Roman Týc on Friday afternoon is starting a
one-month prison sentence for a 2007 art project that involved defacing
fifty traffic lights in Prague by changing the standard red and green
figures to show them in situations such as drinking, urinating and hanging
themselves. The artist says he chose prison time over paying a fine because
otherwise he would be renouncing the project’s message. Titled “Bábovka
pro Týce” or “A cake for Týc”, the happening is as tongue-in-cheek
as the art project itself – as a sign of their solidarity, participants
will bring cakes to the prison, an allusion to the well-known prison
cliché of a cake with a file in it. Ahead of the start at 2 p.m., we spoke
to co-organizer Magda Vídeňská about the unusual happening. More
Pundit: battle over control of High State Attorney’s Office in Prague decisive for country’s democratic development
The battle over who should head the High State Attorney’s Office in
Prague and the implications of the return of the office’s old-new head
Vlastimil Rampula are very much at the centre of media attention. Radio
Prague asked commentator Jiří Pehe for his interpretation of the affair. More
Change of guard at High State Attorney’s Office in Prague in drawn-out battle for control of decisive post
The change of guard at the High State Attorney’s Office in Prague has
sent reverberations across the political spectrum and has raised concerns
regarding the independence of the Czech judiciary. Vlastimil Rampula,
Prague Chief Prosecutor who was sacked last July on suspicion that he had
been holding up key corruption investigations returned in triumph on
Wednesday to reclaim his post after the Prague Municipal Court ruled that
his dismissal was not sufficiently justified. More
Scattered oversight: the gaping loopholes in Czech public servant conflict of interest laws
A recent study by the pro-civic engagement charity Oživení found that of
five hundred disclosure declarations lodged by Czech politicians – MPs,
Senators and local officials - roughly a quarter had errors or issues
worthy of further investigation. Critics suggest that the current system
simply is not working and with an array of authorities across the Czech
Republic tasked with examining conflict of interest declarations – some
admit that they do not even have the resources to fully check what public
servants have declared. In addition, there are numerous loopholes that
appear to make the system highly ineffective. Dominik Jůn spoke with
Vladan Brož, of Transparency International and began by asking whether he
thought the current system was working. More
Czech MEP intervenes on Tymoshenko’s behalf
Czech MEP Zuzana Roithová has confirmed that jailed former Ukrainian prime
minister Yulia Tymoshenko has failed to receive adequate medical attention
and is in serious condition. The MEP travelled to Kiev last Friday and was
allowed to inspect medical records, which reportedly showed a decision
should have been taken on surgery regarding the politician’s lumbar
spine. More
Ambitious exhibition project “Other Air” brings surrealist art to Prague
Something is in the air in Prague’s Old Town Hall: An exhibition titled
“Other Air” gives the public a chance to see both a retrospective of
Czech and Slovak surrealist art from the last two decades, as well as
surrealist works from renowned international artists. In addition, the
exhibition features a rich accompanying program with surrealist films and
readings and a bilingual catalogue with surrealists texts. The ambitious
project kicked off in February and will be running in the Czech capital
until April. We spoke to artist and member of the Czech surrealists,
Kateřina Piňosová, about the exciting and unusual project. More
Survey shows drinking among 16-year-olds on rise
The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) has
found that the number of 16-year-olds in the Czech Republic who drink beer
or hard liquor on a regular basis has gone up. Back in 1995, 14 percent of
the country’s sixteen-year-olds drank at least three times a month, but
last year the percentage moved up to 20. By contrast, marijuana use
dropped, if only slightly. More
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