Czech Republic

The 44th International Film Festival opened Friday in the Czech Republic with a week of events planned, including an award for French actress Isabelle Huppert and a world premiere by Milos Forman. The festival in the spa resort of Karlovy Vary features 220 movies this year, including Czech-born Forman's "A Walk Worthwhile," which the Oscar-winning director adapted from a 2007 staging of a 1960s Czech musical. The film will show today. On Sunday, Huppert is to receive the Crystal Globe award for her outstanding contribution to world cinema.

If your destination is Bratislava, be prepared for a few questions: Is that in Eastern Europe? (No, it's in Central Europe.) Capital of Slovenia, right? (Uh, no.) Where is that? (The last question courtesy of a Customs employee at LAX.) Until recently, my schooling on all things Bratislavan occurred during a 20-minute stop on a train traveling from Prague, Czech Republic, to Budapest, Hungary, almost a decade ago. Several travelers boarded; a few disembarked. Some of them flashed passports, suggesting that we had stopped in a different country, in a major European city about which I knew … nothing.

CZECH REPUBLIC This restaurant alone would make us want to go back to Prague. We were sorry we found it on the last night and not the first. It has fabulous food and atmosphere at a very reasonable price. Cervena Tabulka Restaurant, 4 Lodecka, Prague, Czech Republic; 011-420-739-682-219, http://www.cervenatabulka.cz . Main courses around $10. Bob and Jamie Carr, Arroyo Grande, Calif.

Richard J. Sheirer NYC emergency official at time of 9/11 Richard J. Sheirer, 65, the former New York City emergency management chief who helped guide the city through the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, died Thursday after experiencing chest pains. Sheirer had respiratory problems after Sept. 11, and his family did not know whether exposure to toxic dust from the World Trade Center contributed to his death. An official cause of death is pending. "He worked enormously effectively behind the scenes and gave credit to everyone else," said Rudy Giuliani, the city's former mayor.

Martin Prochazka broke a tie with 19 seconds remaining after Robert Lang of the Kings scored two goals as the Czech Republic beat Canada, 4-2, Sunday to win its first gold in the world hockey championships since the country emerged three years ago from the split of the former Czechoslovakia.

Although hockey's global melting pot has erased most of the differences between North American and European players, Canadian players still claim one quality as uniquely their own. They call it grit, a deep well of resolve that fuels their belief hockey is still their game. And it was that kind of determination, not dazzling plays, that lifted them to a 4-3 overtime victory over a superior Czech Republic team on Saturday and into Tuesday's World Cup of Hockey championship game.

Jan Koller scored two goals and the host Czech Republic defeated Trinidad and Tobago, 3-0, Saturday at Prague in a game between teams headed for the World Cup. Koller, who scored both goals in the first half, is the Czech Republic's all-time leading scorer with 42 goals. He returned from a knee injury in a friendly against Costa Rica on Tuesday. At Elche, host Spain extended its unbeaten streak to 21 games with a 2-0 victory over Egypt in which Raul ended a seven-month goal drought.

Kuwait stunned the Czech Republic, 3-2, at Brisbane to put itself in prime position to advance to the second round. The victory gave Kuwait three points in Pool C. Cameroon leads with four points, the United States has two and the Czechs one. A victory or a tie with the United States Tuesday could move Kuwait into the elimination round.

By beating up on a neighbor, the Czech Republic asserted its superiority over the world's hockey elite. The Czechs won their second consecutive World Hockey Championship by defeating Slovakia, 5-3, Sunday in the gold medal game. Finland took the bronze medal with a 2-1 victory over Canada. "It's always nice to play them and know we're on top," said Jiri Dopita, a member of the Czech gold-medal winning team at the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan.

Historical Cycling International is offering a walking and cycling Jewish heritage trip through the Czech Republic from June 24 to July 2. The rendezvous site is Prague to visit the city and to explore Prague's 1,000-year-old Jewish cultural history. In Southern Bohemia, guests will pedal for five days along the Vltava River on country roads past the beer-brewing towns of southern Bohemia to Cesky Krumlov, one of the Czech Republic's most beautiful and best preserved medieval towns.

Franz Kafka hardly conjures a light, romantic image. But a summer tour of Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic highlights the love affair between the author and the little-known Dora Diamant. The story unfolds in the streets of Prague,  Czech Republic, where the German author was born, moves to the Jewish Quarter of Krakow, Poland, where Diamant organized plays and ends in Berlin, where the couple lived the Bohemian life in the early 1920s. Kathi Diamant (no relation), who wrote the book "Kafka's Last Love" and heads the Kafka Project at San Diego State University, leads the Magical Mystery Literary History Tour that includes meeting with Kafka scholars and descendants of Dora Diamont too. Proceeds from the trip support the nonprofit Kafka Project, which seeks to recover lost letters, journals and notebooks by the author.

"Kawasaki's Rose" is about secrets and lies, about truths that have been hidden, then revealed, then hidden again. This intricate, powerful, unsettling film brings us into a world of profound moral complexities where facile judgments must be suspended because even the best people can become complicit in evil. Directed by the veteran Czech team of director Jan Hrebejk and writer Petr Jarchovsky (responsible for the superb Oscar-nominated "Divided We Fall"), "Kawasaki's Rose" peels away layers to reveal even deeper ones.

Jaromir Jagr scored a hat trick, leading the defending champion Czech Republic to a 4-0 win over the United States in the quarterfinals of the hockey world championship at Bratislava, Slovakia. The Czechs will meet Sweden in the semifinals Friday. Martin Thornberg had two goals to help the Swedes beat Germany, 5-2. "It's disappointing," U.S. captain Mark Stuart said. "We had a good team and I think if we played our best game we could beat anybody in this tournament. " Jagr beat goalie Ty Conklin on a breakaway to put the Czechs ahead, 1-0, with 1:15 remaining in the opening period.

The mad hares of March have left the scene, leaving behind an assortment of strange goings-on to reflect upon in April. From the "you can fool some of the people some of the time" file, for instance, come these odd tales, gathered over the last few weeks. We begin in Greece, where officials from Aris Thessaloniki are still trying to get over the embarrassment of a photograph that mistakenly made its way into the club's game program. Aris was scheduled to play Manchester City in a Europa League game and program compilers scrambled to find a team photograph of the English Premier League club.

CZECH REPUBLIC This restaurant alone would make us want to go back to Prague. We were sorry we found it on the last night and not the first. It has fabulous food and atmosphere at a very reasonable price. Cervena Tabulka Restaurant, 4 Lodecka, Prague, Czech Republic; 011-420-739-682-219, http://www.cervenatabulka.cz . Main courses around $10. Bob and Jamie Carr, Arroyo Grande, Calif.

Farmers Classic Straus Stadium Beginning at noon Kristof Vliegen, Belgium, vs. Ryan Sweeting; Ilija Bozoljac, Serbia, vs. Robby Ginepri; Leonardo Mayer, Argentina, vs. James Blake. Beginning 7:30 p.m. Benjamin Becker, Germany, vs. Mardy Fish; James Blake and Sam Querrey vs. Feliciano Lopez, Spain, and Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia. Grandstand Beginning at noon Kevin Anderson, South Africa, vs. Illya Marchenko, Ukraine; Steve Johnson vs. Somdev Devvarman, India; Karol Beck, Slovakia, vs. Alejandro Falla, Colombia; Tim Smyczek vs. Teymuraz Gabashvili, Russia; Ross Hutchins, Britain, and Jordan Kerr, Australia, vs. Martin Damm, Czech Republic and Michael Kohlmann, Germany.

Hockey at its best: Sweden vs. the Czech Republic will feature the country that won the gold in 1994 in Lillehammer against the country that won in '98 in Nagano. In '94, goalie Tommy Salo stopped Paul Kariya of Canada in a shootout for the gold. In '98, Dominik Hasek played the starring role in goal for the Czech Republic. Both are expected to be in goal again today.

Print shop franchiser Sir Speedy Inc. said Monday that it has sold rights to open its shops in the Czech Republic and Poland--its first shops in formerly communist economies. The company, based in Laguna Hills, said its agreement with a Polish investment group in Krakow calls for the opening of 25 print centers in that country within the next five years. In the Czech Republic, U.S. expatriate Andrew Kauffman plans to open 10 centers within five years.

Reporting from Wimbledon, England — Rafael Nadal leapt into a winning backhand during a point in the second set and hit the tennis ball with such force that dust swirled when the ball landed. On a Centre Court more brown than green after two weeks without rain, and with 15,000 fans cheering early and late for Nadal, the 24-year-old Spaniard won his second Wimbledon title and eighth career major championship Sunday by beating 12th-seeded Tomas Berdych, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in a 2-hour, 13-minute men's final.

Well this will be odd. For the first time in eight years Roger Federer won't be playing the Wimbledon men's single final Sunday. Rafael Nadal , the world's No. 1-ranked player and seeded second in the draw, will play first-time finalist Tomas Berdych on Centre Court. The day will be especially appreciated by Nadal, who won his only Wimbledon title in 2008 and then wasn't able to defend it last year when he was sidelined because of tendinitis in both knees.