Radio Prague International - latest articles

According to a freshly released survey conducted by the education firm Scio, four out of ten Czech elementary school students between the ages of 11 to 15 say they often encounter verbal abuse in their class and 13 percent reported that physical abuse is relatively common as well. The authors of the study say they were particularly surprised by the lack of student knowledge about ways through which such forms of bullying can be reported.

Alena Saladiaková's original profession is a wedding coordinator, but two years ago her career  unexpectedly changed course when the family decided to acquire two Alpacas as pets. Now she and her husband own four Alpacas and have established a business based on the growing popularity of llama and Alpaca therapy.

The Qatari head of state, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is currently on a state visit to Prague where he is meeting not only with Czech leaders but also with several other European representatives on the backdrop of the European summit in the Czech capital. Aside from the key topic of energy, discussions are also set to revolve around investments into the transport, spa, and weapons industry sectors.

With 100 days until Czechs elect a new president, the bookmakers have Petr Pavel as favourite. Andrej Babiš had been expected to go head to head with the ex-army man, though it is not clear whether he will run. Meanwhile the governing Together alliance have just recommended their voters back Pavel, Danuše Nerudová or Pavel Fischer. I discussed the election with political scientist Miloš Gregor.

Škoda Auto boasts one of the oldest unbroken histories among car manufacturers still operating today. It is the fifth-oldest company in the world still producing cars, after Daimler, Opel, Peugeot, and Tatra, another Czech company – meaning that two out of the five oldest car manufacturers still operating today are Czech.

The renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma has won an international competition for the design of a new Jewish Museum in the Moravian city of Brno. The striking building in the shape of a seemingly endless white ribbon with a tree in the centre was selected by an international jury, presided by the famous Czech architect Josef Pleskot:

Lenka Morávková is a sound-artist and electronic producer from North Bohemia who divides her time between Prague and Los Angeles. A few years ago, she created a one-of-a-kind glass sculpture called the Bohemian Cristal Instrument, a unique version of the legendary Cristal Baschet. The sonic explorer, as she calls herself, has since achieved wide international acclaim. She performed at the prestigious Broad Museum in Los Angeles and her video, shot in the blooming Californian desert, has attracted more than two million views.

An investigative team at Czech Radio has unveiled the shocking story of a young woman who was held in mechanical restraint in a mental home in Opava for a period of twelve years. Her fate has once again highlighted the inhumane conditions in many Czech psychiatric institutions and the urgent need for reform.

Elections to one-third of the seats in the Czech Senate were not a success for opposition leaders ANO, which took only three of 27, compared to 20 for the governing Together group. Where did it go wrong for Andrej Babiš’s party? And will the results impact how ANO approach January’s presidential election? I spoke to political scientist Petr Just.

Czech researchers at the Technical University of Liberec have developed a new material that could find multiple uses in interior design and various artistic fields such as the creation of perfumed jewelry. The new glass-ceramic porous material called Porous Glass Plasticine (PGP) will have its world premiere at the international glass fair glasstec in Düsseldorf later this month.