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A growing number of first graders in the Czech Republic may have to repeat the school year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to experts working with non-native schoolchildren and children from socially disadvantaged families, many are ill prepared for the challenge of starting school since kindergartens around the country were closed for months.

This summer, the Prague Municipal Court ruled that short-term rentals via platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com are in fact “accommodation services” – and must be registered and taxed accordingly. Last week, city building authorities imposed the first fine against an Airbnb operator since that ruling, for not following the same regulations as required of hotels and pensions.

One of the must-see exhibitions currently on in Prague is on show at the top end of Wenceslas Square in the newly renovated historic building of Prague’s National Museum. Lauded as one of the  most modern natural history exhibitions in Europe, The Miracles of Evolution tells captivating stories of evolution through 1,500 unique objects and presents the world of animals in a way you don’t normally see in museums – without shelves and racks.

Alongside elections taking place this weekend, one of the biggest news stories in the Czech Republic at present is the health state of President Miloš Zeman. However, his officials insist that the 77-year-old is not seriously ill and will appear in public on Friday.

Scientists from Brno’s Masaryk University are set to carry out research into the DNA of the “father of genetics”, Augustinian friar Gregor Mendel. The project is taking place ahead of next year’s 200th anniversary of Mendel’s birth.

A new project, called ‘Some Like it Czech’, gets underway at Prague’s Kino Aero next week. It aims to present some interesting aspects of Czech culture to foreign viewers through well-known Czech movies. The first film to be screened next Tuesday is the Oscar-winning Kolya from 1997:

The Český Krumlov castle tower is an iconic symbol of the picture-perfect southern Bohemian town, whose entire mediaeval centre is a UNESCO world heritage site. The renovated castle tower is truly a sight to behold. And this week – after over a century – its  belfry is finally complete.

Czech glassmakers have crafted a new reliquary for Pope Francis which is dedicated to one of the country’s saints - Zdislava of Lemberk. The reliquary will be presented as a gift from the Czech Bishops' Conference to the pope when they visit Rome in November.

The proportion of women in the Czech lower house of parliament is still significantly lower than in many other EU countries. A new initiative called Zakroužkuj ženu or Circle a Woman wants to change that in the upcoming elections by calling on voters to use their preferential votes for the female candidates on the ballot.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has come under fire following the publication of the global investigation into the Pandora Papers which claims that he moved USD 22 million through offshore companies to buy an estate on the French Riviera, while keeping his ownership secret. Mr Babiš has since lashed back, stating that the accusations are timed to damage his party’s chances in the upcoming lower-house elections.