Radio Prague International - latest articles

An essay about deforestation won Prague student Štěpánka Klečanská the chance to take part in an event aimed at raising awareness about climate change and the role of women in tackling it, co-organized by the Canadian Embassy in Prague and the Czech ministries of foreign affairs and the environment. I met up with her later to get her take on climate change issues and began by asking about whether there really is a difference in how men and women tackle climate change issues.

The Děčín Regional Museum has launched a major exhibition entitled ‘A Journey to Prehistory or In the Footsteps of Zdeněk Burian’, in honour of the famous Czech illustrator who brought the Stone Age to life for generations of children worldwide.

For nearly six months now, people in the Czech Republic have been able to hand over illegally held weapons to the police free of prosecution. The opportunity has resulted in police officers receiving thousands of firearms and pieces of ammunition, including heavy military equipment.

Over 100 Czech sportsmen and women are in Tokyo to represent their nation at the 32nd Olympic Games, which begin on Friday. The biggest show in sport was delayed by a year by Covid – but Czech participants say their focus is on making the most of the event, even without fans.

The Chief Hygiene Office announced this week that the more contagious Delta variant now accounts for around 80 percent of coronavirus infections in the Czech Republic. Although the daily increase in Covid numbers is still low, experts predict it will be a matter of weeks before the country finds itself battling yet another wave of infections.

The Summer Festivities of Early Music traditionally offer a unique musical experience in a beautiful environment. The festival, which is extremely popular with music lovers, runs from July 20 to August 5. Its director Josefína Knoblochová explains what visitors can look forward to this year.

The European Commission has approved the Czech Republic’s National Recovery Plan and will allocate CZK 180 billion to the country from the EU’s Resilience and Recovery Fund, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said in Prague on Monday. However, the Czech Republic will have to ensure that there is no conflict of interest in allocating the money; otherwise it may have to send the funds back.

The Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Rospotrebnadzor has blocked the Russian language website of Radio Prague International on the territory of Russia. The decision was made in connection with an article posted in 2001 about student martyr Jan Palach who set himself on fire in 1969 to protest against growing public apathy to the Russian-led invasion of Czechoslovakia. The Russian agency says the article violates Russian laws by speaking about suicide in positive terms.

Early 1990s Prague, when everything seemed possible, has attained almost mythical status. Travel writer and journalist Mark Baker had been regularly visiting Czechoslovakia even prior to the fall of communism – and delivers illuminating reflections on those exciting, turbulent times in the new Czech-language book Čas proměn. We discussed that “time of change” just ahead of its publication.

One of the major obstacles in the use of 3D printing in the construction sector are the sharp edges on most buildings, at least in this part of the world. Scientists from Liberec are now developing a construction robot that should be able to deal with right angles and sharp corners. Its model should be completed at the start of 2022.