News

The 34th Uherské Hradiště Film School came to end in the south Moravian town on Sunday. Nearly 400 short and feature length films were shown over a week and a half. Among the guests this year were the great Czech director Jan Švankmajer, Slovak director Juraj Jakubisko and the writer Pavel Kohout. Accompanying events such as lectures and rock concerts were also held at the film school, which this year was under new management.

The Archive of the Security Forces has released the communist-era military counter-intelligence file of a so-called “confidant” who is now one of the most senior Czech soldiers. The file of Brigadier General Miroslav Bálint, currently deputy of the Czech army’s chief of staff, was posted on the archive’s website on Friday. However the officer, who is 53, has issued a statement saying he never knowingly co-operated with the military counter-intelligence services. Similar files relating to a number of Czech MPs have recently appeared on the internet. However, the head of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes says it appears none of those listed as “confidants” actually collaborated.

Around 360 kilogrammes of explosives were used to blow up part of the floor of the Vltava in Prague on Saturday morning. Water rose up to 20 metres from the river’s surface following the detonation, which was carried out by Svatopluk Čech Bridge, beneath the spot where a statue of Stalin once stood at Letná. The detonation was part of project to build a new mooring place for boats. The second of two such detonations is set to take place in a fortnight’s time.

The musician Michael Kocáb is going to stand for the Green Party in elections to the Senate this autumn, the newspaper Právo reported. Mr Kocáb, who leads the rock group Pražský výběr, played a leading role in the Velvet Revolution and was a Civic Forum deputy. He oversaw the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Czechoslovakia and was an advisor to Václav Havel during Mr Havel’s presidency.