HERE COMES THE SUN. So it is official - the new US President Barack Obama is set to visit Prague.
While Washington confirmed the visit last Sunday, his advance team of advisors are in Prague to find a place for what is supposed to be the "European speech of the year", as dubbed by PM Mirek Topolánek earlier this week.
But scouting out a place that could hold hundreds of thousands of people eager to hear Obama's words of wisdom with the Prague Castle behind his back is likely to give headaches to the advance team.
In the discussion forums some of the Aktuálně.cz readers suggested the location in front of the Rudolfinum music hall. If the advance team members are reading these lines, we may soon find out whether the Rudolfinum place has a sufficient capacity.
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FINDING A WAY OUT. Jobless foreign workers who got stranded in the country without having good prospects of finding another job soon, are looking for ways out in their uneasy situation. Getting a business license may be one of them.
A total of 2,880 foreigners were granted a business license between 1 January and 1 March.
If the trend continues, more than 17,000 foreign workers will have received the license this year, which is twice more than last year. The number of foreign business license holders would grow from last year's 77,000 to 95,000 this year.
The reason seems to be clear - foreigners are trying to avoid deportation, which up to 70,000 foreign workers could face in half a year when their work permit expires.
Tension is growing among foreign workers staying in the Czech Republic. Already a second foreigner took his life last week because he had been expelled.
In the meantime, Czech Labor Minister Petr Nečas has proposed to limit the range of jobs foreigners will be hired for in the future.
"Practically speaking, the agencies will be allowed to hire only qualified workers and workers who will have passed a school-leaving exam," Nečas told Aktuálně.cz. How they are going to check the school leaving exam when the education systems differ from country to country he has not specified.
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CARP AND MINI-OVEN ABROAD. If you still do not get sick when hearing the word "crisis", here is a positive piece of news for you: As much as it sounds incredible, some Czech specialty products endure the crunch and in fact note increased sales.
Remoska, a mini-oven cheap to purchase and easy to operate, is among the products that are in demand and sold abroad in surprisingly high numbers.
And there is more that is exported abroad. Carp is an inseparable part of every Czech family's Christmas dinner but eating it throughout the year does not appeal to the Czechs very much.
As a result, the Pohořelice carp is consumed much more massively abroad than in the country of its origin.
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DIPLOMATIC GAFFE VS REPUTATION. As part of a cooperation between Aktuálně.cz and New York University students who flock to Prague to study journalism, the city and local life, CzechNews brings a report written by Sairah Zaidi and Deena Sami on the topic: Did a diplomatic gaffe tarnish the Czech European Union Presidency?
„It was the Middle East conflict that revealed friction between the Czech Republic, historically a supporter of Israel, and several of the EU's most powerful Western European countries who have long been harsh in their condemnation of Israel's use of force," Sairah and Deena write in their piece.
An elaborate analysis of the Czech Republic's, EU's, Israel's and Palestines relations gives you a thorough overview of the major happenings in the country since the moment the Czechs assumed the rotating EU presidency January this year.
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ROUGH FATE OF OPOČNO CHATEAU. Even 20 years after communism was toppled the issue of restitutions remains a hot topic in the Czech Republic.
Now hundreds of valuable items from chateau Opočno in east Bohemia claimed by a noble family that left Czechoslovakia in 1947 will stay in state hands.
The Czech Supreme Court ruled that the assets belong to the Czech state.
The post-war communist government accused her father Josef Colloredo-Mansfeld of collaboration with the Nazis.
The whole matter is complicated by different rulings of previous courts, often contradicting each other.
Not giving up, Kristina Colloredo-Mansfeld is set to clear the family's name, arguing her family was forced to move out of the chateau by the Nazis. The family emigrated to Canada in 1947.
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HUMAN RIGHTS IN SPOTLIGHT IN PRAGUE. If you are interested in films, human rights and enjoy pleasant film festival atmospheres where lots of heated debates take place and ideas are exchanged, than this one is for you.
Labeled as one of the largest and most important human rights film festival in Europe, the One World festival kicks off this week on Wednesday.
Established 11 years ago, it has turned into a major cultural event in the country, seeking the best quality documentary films on social and politically engaged human rights themes.
The eleventh year will see around 120 films screened in 29 cities. The Prague part of the festival starts on March 11 and lasts through March 19. See you there!
