Radio Prague International - latest articles

The Russian Federation banned eight EU citizens from visiting the country on Friday, among them is Czech Vice President of the European Commission Věra Jourová. Moscow says this is in retaliation to EU sanctions issued in March. Ms Jourova believes she was put on the list due to her role in upholding human rights and combating disinformation.

How did the Communist regime approach heritage conservation? What led to the devastation of so many historical monuments? And why did some buildings survive while others were knocked down? These are just some of the questions addressed in a new research launched by historians from the Czech Academy of Sciences.

Czech scientists monitoring a green frog population in the Odra River Basin for twenty years have yet to find a female of the species. Known in Czech as the Skokan zelený (which translates as “Green Jumper”), the species are found in wetlands throughout Europe, and also known as the Common Water Frog, Green Frog – or Edible Frog. While they are on the menu in France, in the Czech Republic they are protected by law as a highly endangered species. Only in the Poodří wetlands is there a purely male population. How can this be?

Czech scientist Julie Dobrovolná has devoted a significant part of her career to the research of stress. She is currently heading a team at Masaryk University’s RECETOX centre, which is developing a new method of measuring stress.

A new book about the historic meeting of the late Czech president Václav Havel and His Holiness the Dalai Lama is set to be published in the Czech Republic later this year. The meeting in February 1990 marked a significant milestone in Czech-Tibetan relations and the beginning of a life-long friendship between the late Czech president and the Tibetan spiritual leader.

In recent days the two center-right election groupings on the Czech political scene have become increasingly vocal about their aim to bring down the minority government of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. The grouping Spolu (comprising the Civic Democrats, Christian Democrats and TOP 09) wants to rally support for a vote of no-confidence in the government, while the Pirate Party and the Mayors and Independents would prefer to bring about a dissolution of the lower house and early elections. Neither has enough support for their goal – and with regular elections just six months away – why are they doing it? A question for political scientist Jiří Pehe.

Wooden marionettes from the east Bohemian town of Chrudim are heading to South Korea to be part of a large exhibition dedicated to Czech puppetry. The exhibition, prepared in cooperation with Czech Centres and the Czech Embassy in Korea, will get underway in the Seoul Museum of History at the start of June.

Through June, the National Film Archive in Prague is presenting a series of Czech films from before the age of “talkies”. It is part of a wider European project which aims to acquaint the public – especially younger viewers – with classic silent films.

Velorex is the name of a unique, three wheeled vehicle which runs on a motorcycle engine. It was designed by brothers František and Mojmír Stránský during World War Two. Over 15,000 Velorex’s were made until the 1970s. Today, thousands of these machines are still registered in the Czech Republic and have become somewhat of a collectors item among historical vehicle enthusiasts.

The European Commission (EC) is planning to investigate whether its rules regarding conflict of interest are being regularly breached in the Czech Republic, according to EC Vice President Věra Jourová. The statement comes days after Prime Minister Andrej Babiš was definitively found to be in a conflict of interest by an EC audit, which states that he still controls Agrofert, the company he founded, via trust funds.