News

The condition of a lowland gorilla named Kijivu at Prague Zoo has reportedly improved: the ape fell ill with intestinal colic at the weekend. Officials were especially worried because the gorilla had stopped feeding her two-month old baby, Tatu. Zoo workers had considered taking the baby from the mother so it could be fed artificially. But in the end, the step was not necessary. Despite the ape's improved condition, the gorilla pavilion at the zoo remains closed to visitors for the time being.

More and more brick & mortar antiquarian bookshops in the Czech Republic are beginning to successfully sell books, prints, and vinyl records over the Internet. According to sellers, interest abroad in rare books or prints remains high. People from smaller towns or villages in the Czech Republic, too, are apparently showing an interest, not least because rare books often remain specific to certain regions. One bookseller, who began his website in 2005, told the CTK news agency that currently the Internet represented about 5 - 10 percent of his sales.

Hamidolla, a four-year-old boy from Afghanistan will receive medical treatment in the Czech Republic as part of the MEDEVAC programme, a Defence Ministry spokesperson said on Monday. The boy, who lives in a small community in the Afghan province of Badakhshan, suffered severe burns. After the village elders approved of the offer, the boy was transported to Kabul together with his uncle and will arrive in the Czech Republic in the next few days. He will be treated in Prague's Vinohrady Hospital.

Historians are planning a project which will map the stories of Czechoslovak citizens who died tragically during the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. The Institute of Contemporary History has reportedly begun contacting surviving relatives and friends for information, photographs, and other documentation. 72 people were killed in the first fourteen days or so following the August 21st invasion. The occupation of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops crushed the period of reforms known as the Prague Spring. The project underway will help mark the 40th anniversary of the invasion next year.