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Josef Abrhám, one of the most popular of Czech stage and screen actors, has died at the age of 82. Abrhám starred in a number of the best-loved movies in Czech cinema and was married for many decades to actress Libuše Šafránková, who also had a firm place in the nation’s hearts. I discussed Josef Abrhám’s career with arts journalist Veronika Bednářová.

The US Netflix documentary series Tiger King was released in March 2020 just as most of us were entering Covid lockdown for the first time, and it kept many people happily glued to their TV screens in those first uncertain weeks. The show, with its eccentric characters and bizarre story, may have struck many Europeans as something that could only happen in America. The EU, with its strong rules and regulations, seemed like a world away – most of us, if asked, would probably assume that keeping a tiger as a pet in the EU is illegal. But the Czech Republic, an EU country since 2004, has a huge and roaring exotic animal trade, with a relatively large number of people keeping exotic animals as pets.

After a four-year search for a new Prague archbishop, the Vatican announced that the post would be filled by Jan Graubner, the current archbishop of Olomouc. But given the fact that Mr Graubner turns 75 next year, the age at which church dignitaries traditionally retire, it is most likely just a temporary solution, says expert Petr Kratochvíl, head of the Institute of International relations in Prague.

Film director David Ondříček is currently shooting a TV series about the fascinating Czech Cold War figure Josef Hasil. His exploits smuggling defectors to the West led to the nickname “king of Šumava”.

When Dana Huňátová joined Czechoslovakia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in late 1989 she literally came across a red telephone to Moscow. As head of office of new minister Jiří Dienstbier she was closely involved in the deep overhaul of the ministry required after four decades of communism.

Helping Zambian farmers cope with climate change, tackling drinking water problems in Peru, opening an eye-clinic in Cambodia or strengthening the tourist potential of Georgia – those are just some of the projects that the Czech Republic has undertaken to help improve living conditions in distant parts of the world. Now, the immediate priority has become responding to the needs of war-torn Ukraine. I spoke to Petr Gandalovič, head of the Foreign Ministry’s department for humanitarian aid and development cooperation about what the country is doing to alleviate the suffering of Ukrainian refugees and help people in need elsewhere.

The longest suspension bridge in the world is opening up in the Czech Republic this Friday. At 721 metres in length, the bridge is nearly a third longer than the previous title holder and offers magnificent views of the surrounding mountain range that lies on the border between Czechia and Poland.

Over the last week there have been reports of Ukrainian Roma refugees sleeping at Prague’s Main Train Station, sometimes for up to 10 days, as they wait to be granted temporary protection. As a stopgap solution, a tent city has been erected in the Troja district to provide accommodation for them. I spoke to Magda Faltová, director of the Association for Integration and Migration, to get her take on the situation.

One of the Czech items on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List is the craft of indigo dyeing with block printing, known as modrotisk. The tradition dates back to the 18th century, but today there are only two workshops in the entire country that produce the iconic blue and white folk pattern.

This week saw the establishment of the Ukrainian-Czech Chamber of Commerce. The organisation will support business cooperation between the two countries both during and after the war. To find out what this cooperation may look like, I spoke to the President of the Chamber Petr Krogman, a Czech businessman who owns a major agricultural company in Ukraine.