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While the number of foreigners in Czech Republic continues to rise, their children are still facing difficulties in learning the country’s language. A large portion of children whose native tongue is not Czech do not manage to get beyond a high school education, with a significant number unable to even pass beyond the country’s elementary education system. The Education Ministry has come up with a proposal to fix this, but some experts disagree on the way forward.

Czech scientists are working on the development of small joint replacements using 3D printing. The tiny implants made of titanium powder could help patients suffering from arthritis in the joints of their fingers and toes, where conventional treatment often fails.

Barbora Krejčíková left an indelible mark on tennis history this weekend, becoming the first player to sweep the French Open women’s singles-doubles titles since 2000, and the first Czech woman to win at Roland-Garros since 1981. The feat is all the more extraordinary, as this was Krejčíková’s maiden Grand Slam singles title contest.

Dr Jirina Stone, a Czech émigré who became an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford was a secret informer for the Czechoslovak communist intelligence service, according to a story recently published in the Daily Mail by its investigations team. It is not the first time that a prominent individual in the West has been hit by such a revelation. According to Dr Jan Koura from the Cold War Research Group at Charles University, who specialises in Czech intelligence activity during the communist era, it is not likely to be the last.

Pavel Strnad is one of the Czech Republic’s top film producers. The company Strnad co-founded in the mid-1990s, Negativ Film, has been behind many of the most important Czech titles since then, with works including Year of the Devil, Alois Nebel, Ice Mother and several acclaimed documentaries by Helena Třeštíková; last week saw the premiere of her latest film, Anny, about an aging street prostitute.

Zdena Koubková won two medals for Czechoslovakia at the Women’s World Games in 1934. Two years later, at the age of 22, she underwent gender reassignment surgery and became Zdeněk Koubek – who saw his former self’s sporting achievements erased from the books: national titles in the long and high jump and world records in running.

Members of the European Parliament on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to issue proceedings against Prime Minister Andrej Babiš for breaches of EU law concerning long-standing allegations of his conflict of interest. The vote could spur the European Commission to look even further into the issue and take punitive action.

From Friday, people without public health insurance, including foreigners residing long-term in the Czech Republic, are able to register for a coronavirus vaccine. The reservation system also offers vaccination centres with foreign language speaking personnel.

Despite more than three decades since the fall of communism, historians are still discovering new information about communist Czechoslovakia and its role in the Cold War. Some of the most interesting discoveries have been made in the realm of intelligence, where the country’s foreign intelligence service played a disproportionately larger role than other Soviet satellites.  To find out more, I spoke to Dr Jan Koura, the head of Charles University’s Cold War Research Group, who has done much work in the realm of researching communist-era Czechoslovak intelligence.

Czech tennis player Barbora Krejčíková has made headlines around the world after a fantastic run at the French Open so far. The 25-year-old reached her first Grand Slam semi-final after beating 17-year-old American Cori Gauff in Paris on Wednesday.