The company Modernista, which has a shop in the centre of Prague, deals in both original Czech furniture from the first half of the 20th century and replicas it has made under license. Perhaps most notably, Modernista sells and recreates Cubist pieces – including ceramics and clocks – which are unique to this part of the world. Owner Janek Jaros described the business to me when we spoke a few days ago.

It was a dramatic game: a last-minute goal by Milan Michálek some 30 seconds before the end of the match against Sweden on Thursday brought the Czechs the victory they needed to advance to the semi-finals in this year’s Ice Hockey World Championship. The Czech 4:3 result also marks the first time in 12 years that Sweden will not be playing in the semifinals. In the next match, the Czech Republic faces its neighbor Slovakia. While this is the third time that the Czechs will be competing for a spot in the finals, this year’s solid performance of the Slovak team has come as a surprise. Ahead of Friday’s match, we spoke to daily Mladá fronta dnes hockey expert Karel Knap.

The Czech national hockey team has reached the semifinals of the world championship in ice hockey after defeating Sweden 4:3.

The visiting Israeli prime minister has accused Iran of playing a “chess game” with world powers to guard its nuclear gains.

The police are proposing to charge a Prague councilor with insurance fraud.

The Defense Ministry has proposed lieutenant general Petr Pavel for the post army chief of staff.

The leadership of the Social Democratic party has called on former party member David Rath to give up his seat in the lower house.

In Business News: the Czech economy contracts by 1.0 percent in the 1Q, the second-worst result among 19 EU states; the country’s ombudsman slams the government’s social system reforms, saying they have left thousands on the brink of poverty; the price of Czech garlic is set to go up; Czechs are budgeting more carefully and buying less when shopping in supermarkets than in previous years.

News 17.5.2012

This month saw the launching of a new EU-funded child-care project aimed at helping families with young children juggle work and family. In view of the lack of day nurseries and kindergartens around the country the Brno Centre for Family Planning and Child Care has launched a “rent-a-granny” scheme along the lines of the Oma Dienst project successfully implemented in neighbouring Austria.

The Czech Constitutional Court has upheld the government’s tax on solar power, introduced retroactively last year in an effort to cool the solar boom in the country. Photovoltaic firms complain the tax damages their business while foreign investors into the business are threatening to initiate international arbitrations against the country. But the court said their interests cannot be superimposed over those of Czech citizens.

American pianist Stephen Beus is one of the star performers at the American spring music festival currently underway in the Czech Republic. The internationally acclaimed musician, who performs with renowned orchestras and gives solo recitals the world over, has been described as a strikingly original, confident and gifted player with a rock-solid technique. On what is his second recital tour in the Czech Republic he visited Radio Prague’s studio and talked about the joy he derives from music, the inspiration he draws from it and the secret behind his ability to captivate an audience.

News 16.5.2012

Over the last couple of years, art sales in the Czech Republic have seen a decline. But this year is different, and it’s not just the record sale of a František Kupka painting that did the trick. The market now attracts collectors who are ready to look beyond the well-established segment of modern art that has topped sales so far.

An international meeting of Czech language and literature experts, among them teachers and translators, kicked off at Prager Literaturhaus, a Czech institute that promotes Prague’s German literary heritage. For the next four days, lovers of the Czech language will be discussing their field of expertise and exchanging their findings in a number of seminars, panel discussions and lectures. On the first day of the international get-together, we speak with Kristin Kilsti, a Norwegian literary translator who works from Czech into her native tongue.

As Czechs are slowly digesting the shocking case of the Social Democrat politician David Rath, more details emerge about his arrest and the crime he allegedly committed. The opposition MP and governor of Central Bohemia was arrested on Monday with seven million crowns in his possession. While Mr Rath maintains his innocence, he has been charged with corruption, and remains in detention.

News 15.5.2012

One of the most prominent figures of the opposition Social Democratic party, MP and Central Bohemian governor David Rath has been charged with corruption. Mr. Rath was arrested on Monday night along with seven other people in a large-scale police operation that is believed to be linked to abuse of EU funds.

Czech shareholders who lost millions of crowns to controversial businessman Viktor Kožený in the 1990s, have a strong chance of getting back partial compensation. There is a new possibility that the equivalent of around half a billion crowns gained from the sale of Mr Kožený’s Aspen chalet in the US, could be transferred to the Czech Republic. Shareholders have 10 days in which to file a formal request.

News 14.5.2012