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An exhibition presenting an overview of independent Polish art of the 1980s got underway in Gallery of the Central Bohemian Region this week . Called Uncensored, it presents the Polish equivalent of the post-1968 Czech underground art scene. I discussed the exhibition with one of its curators, Richard Drury:

The Covid pandemic placed a lot of restrictions on the society and resulted in a large number of court cases in which people sought compensation. A father who was banned from seeing his child born has now won an important battle over his rights.

Cigarettes are getting increasingly more expensive in Czechia, but recent data suggests that as much as a quarter of people over the age of 15 are smokers. On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, we spoke to Dr Eva Králíková, who heads a stop smoking clinic at Prague’s General Faculty Hospital, asking her how big of an issue smoking is in Czechia when compared with other addictions.

Brno, Prague, Warsaw, Budapest, and Calgary – these are some of the cities where an ingenious invention by two Moravian dog owners has spread. Their patented dog urinal prevents unsightly stains and nasty odours from sullying public spaces.

One of Prague’s iconic Brutalist structures, the Central Telecommunications Building in the district of Žižkov, is gradually being demolished. However, some valuable art pieces from its interior have been saved, including a large-scale mosaic created by Italian artist Sauro Ballardini out of hundreds of pieces of glass.

The tragic earthquake that recently hit Turkey and Syria served as another reminder of the catastrophic damage earthquakes can cause, especially in countries that can’t afford expensive early warning systems. But a new cheap sensor that is being tested by Czech scientists in Nepal could be the solution and provide the valuable seconds needed to save lives.

The organisers of the Karlovy Vary film festival have just unveiled its two competitions, a month before the 57th edition starts. The main Crystal Globe competition will have one fewer entry than usual, after the Chinese authorities intervened. But local cinema fans will be excited to hear there are two Czech films in the running, We Have Never Been Modern and A Sensitive Person. I asked Karlovy Vary’s artistic director Karel Och about them.

If you regularly take the Prague tram between Čechův Most and Nábřeží Kapitána Jaroše, you may have noticed the giant pieces of artwork on display in the niches of the wall that runs parallel to the Vltava river below Letná. Until June 6, those spaces are being occupied by Markéta Garai’s exhibition With(out) Care, a commentary on the stigmatisation of sex workers and the ecological impact of the global flower trade.

Ex-Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš has had his wrist slapped at international level. The ALDE liberal group at the European Parliament, of which his ANO is a member, has condemned Mr. Babiš’s recent appearance at a highly anti-liberal CPAC gathering in Budapest hosted by Viktor Orban. I discussed the situation with Pavel Havlicek of Prague’s Association for International Affairs.

Tomio Okamura’s Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), an anti-EU, anti-migrant party with 20 seats in the Czech lower house, is preparing to form an electoral alliance with fellow populist right party Tricolour. The latter’s leader, Zuzana Majerová, announced the move last week. I discussed the possible reasoning behind it with political scientist Jiří Pehe.