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Good English teachers are in great demand in the Czech Republic. While more and more children want to learn the language, schools are facing a serious lack of qualified teachers. The Prague Post Endowment Fund is aiming to improve the situation by organizing The Best Teacher of English Competition.

The chairman of the Civic Democratic Party, Mirek Topolánek, is in hot water over an interview he gave to a gay magazine. It included controversial statements about two members of the government, as well as the suggestion that the Church had made idiots of the masses. Mr Topolánek later apologised, but has come in for some criticism – including from inside his own party.

Sunday night was the opening night for the top three submissions to this year’s Prague Playwriting Contest at the city’s Divadlo Ponec. The winner of the contest, who will take home a cash prize, will be announced at the closing night next Tuesday. One of the playwrights in the race for the award is Josh Kaston. His submission “The Great Indoors” is set in the rural Southern United States, where a Czech-British couple gets stranded. Sarah Borufka talked to Josh Kaston about the process of seeing his play produced and why he decided to participate

Britain’s Prince Charles will be arriving in the Czech Republic at the weekend, as he and his wife Camilla continue a trip through Central Europe. In addition to visiting sights of his choosing around the country, Charles will likely be checking in on the legacy he has left in the country from several previous trips.

Environment Minister Jan Dusík resigned on Thursday over plans to modernise the controversial Prunéřov coal-fired power plant in north-west Bohemia. Mr Dusík said he’d come under pressure from prime minister Jan Fischer to issue an environmental impact assessment for the plant, despite evidence suggesting that Prunéřov could be made cleaner and more efficient if the investor decided to spend more money.

Traveling has just become a lot more convenient for Czech gays and lesbians. A new holiday brochure provides an alternative to lengthy internet research to find a place to stay that is gay-friendly. The “Pink Go!” brochure boasts gay-friendly hotels, cruises catering to homosexuals and even gay-only accommodation. Sarah Borufka has the story.

My Neighbor, My Killer, which is being screened at the One World festival of human rights documentaries in Prague, focuses on local tribunals called Gacaca set up following the horrific 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Under the Gacaca system, the victims give testimony in front of their communities against the perpetrators, who in many cases live alongside them. I asked the film’s Anne Aghion what had drawn her to the subject.

The Czech Republic has come under fire in a report by human rights watchdog Amnesty International for exporting torture equipment to countries where they are likely to be used. Amnesty says the export of items like shackles that give electric shocks raise real concerns that clear EU rules banning trade in torture equipment are being breached.

The National Library is currently holding a special exhibit of the work of the first printing press in Bohemia. The seven original works made by anonymous printers in Plzeň in the late 15th century have been out of the public eye for 34 years. Foremost among them is the Trojan Chronicle, which for more than a hundred years has been at the centre of debate over when Czechs first began printing.

The Education Ministry has proposed introducing lessons in Romani language and culture in schools, to encourage Roma pupils and foster greater integration in society. The plan, reported this week by the newspaper Lidové noviny, is still in the early stages – the ministry is about to launch a pilot project in a number of schools. But it’s been welcomed by NGOs working to improve educational standards among the Roma.