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A new documentary showcasing the wildlife living right in Czechia’s capital city is now out in cinemas. With epic music and the voiceover of well-known Czech actor Jiří Macháček, the film features several Prague locations, but in a way you’ve never seen them before.

The European Commission will present its proposal for the new European Media Freedom Act in September, Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová has told Czech Radio. The legislation proposal will include rules on the management and regulation of public media, as well as greater protections for journalists. Negotiations within the EU on approving the bill will likely take place during the Czech presidency and will not be easy, the commissioner said.

Archaeologists made an unusual discovery while excavating the ruins of a medieval house in the town of Nový Jičín in the Moravian-Silesian region – a well preserved kitchen that likely dates back to the early 15th century.

The Czech Ministry of Education has recently sparked a debate with a proposal to make the learning of a second language in Czech primary schools voluntary rather than compulsory as it is at present. While many teachers have welcomed the idea, a group of foreign diplomats to Czechia have openly spoken against it. Among them is German ambassador to Prague Andreas Künne, who explained his position to Radio Prague International.

Prague’s capacities for taking in refugees filled quickly following the Russian attack on Ukraine, and in mid-June, the capital’s centre for Ukrainian refugees closed down. Although it re-opened in July, the capacity problems have not gone away. Neela Winkelmann, a Czech woman living in Prague, decided to do something about it, so in cooperation with the city authorities, she set up The British Homes for Ukrainian Refugees Agency. The agency helps those fleeing the war get to the UK by matching Ukrainian refugees in Prague with British hosts via the UK government’s visa program Homes for Ukraine. The sponsorship scheme offers a visa for 3 years including a work permit, healthcare, social support, free access to education for children, and a welcome payment of GBP 200 upon arrival. I spoke to Neela recently, and asked her what the catalyst was for her idea.

The Prague Pride festival begins on Monday and culminates next Saturday with the first Pride Parade through the city since 2019. The annual celebration of sexual minorities also offers many other events, including some with a strong regional focus. I asked Prague Pride director Tom Bílý what visitors could look forward to this year.

The world’s deepest freshwater cave, the Hranice Abyss in Moravia, is even deeper than previously thought. A team of researchers have recently carried out a new survey of the deep limestone cave, using a special underwater robot, reaching a depth of 450 meters. The previous record, measured in 2016, was 404 meters. However, experts say they are still far from reaching the bottom of the pit.

The 75th edition of the Edinburgh Fringe gets underway in the Scottish capital on Thursday, after a year-long break caused by Covid. Czechia will be represented by two groups of performers, Losers Cirque Company and Cirk La Putyka, who will perform the world premiere of a Czech-Ukrainian show called “Boom volume 2”.

The Central European Jamboree, a traditional 10-day event primarily for scouts from the Visegrad countries, has returned to Prague after eight years. It had its opening ceremony at the Prague Exhibition Grounds by Stromovka park on Tuesday evening.

The British are not generally known for their impressive language skills, usually ranking at the bottom of tables comparing countries by foreign language knowledge – and if they know any at all, it is likely to be one of the major European languages such as French, Spanish, or German. However, the University of Sheffield in northern England has a surprising feather in its cap – it has the most students learning Czech out of any UK university.