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The Czech government is distributing a new handbook to primary and secondary school teachers called “Homophobia in Schools” – aimed at raising awareness of homosexuality and the problem of bullying based on sexual orientation. The government council behind the handbook says it wants teachers to be better able to recognise homophobia – and to do something about it.

The Czech Republic is to obtain an historic tank from Peru that was built specifically for export to the South American country in the 1930s. Prague’s Military History Institute, which falls under the Defence Ministry, and the Peruvian town of Mollendo recently signed an agreement by which Peru will make a gift of the tank to the Czech Republic. In return, it will receive a donation of 50,000 US dollars for the building of a new library.

Ludmila Brožová-Polednová, a former communist prosecutor who is serving a six year prison sentence for her role in helping to send democratic politician Milada Horáková to the gallows in a notorious 1950s show trial, may soon be released. It has now come to light that three presidential amnesties apply to her case, each lowering her sentence by two years.

The acclaimed Czech champion of photography Anna Fárová died in Prague at the age of 81 over the weekend. Ms Fárová catalogued and exhibited the works of some great Czech photographers, including Josef Sudek and František Drtikol. Despite persecution by the communist authorities Anna Fárová also launched the first ever line of books on photography in Europe.

The historic success of Martina Sábliková at the Winter Olympics has revived a debate on whether a dedicated speed skating arena should be built in the Czech Republic. The mayor of the town where Sábliková lives says a backer may soon be found for such a hall, which the state would have to maintain. But some say that would waste public money on an extremely marginal sport.

The year 2009 was an eventful time for President Václav Klaus. He chaired several EU summits during the country’s presidency of the bloc, and he was the last man standing against the EU’s Lisbon treaty. On Monday, Václav Klaus launched a new book entitled Year Seven, reflecting his views of the events of that year.

Deciding when to stop treating terminally ill patients is an extremely sensitive issue and until now, doctors have had to make this decision alone and justify it to the patient’s relatives. Now the Czech Doctors’ Chamber has issued a set of guidelines which should help them decide when further treatment is futile. However the move has evoked criticism, with critics pointing out that such guidelines can be abused.

There were a few bright moments at Vancouver 2010 when the Czech hockey team was firing on all cylinders but ultimately the Czechs’ run at the Olympics was short-lived, notably the fourth time in a row in a major tournament that they have exited in the quarterfinals. Now some are suggesting that the Czech team is on the verge of crisis, facing lean years in which medal wins will be few.

Eleven years ago, the Czech Union for Nature Conservation started opening rescue centers for injured wild animals all over the Czech Republic. To date, 26 centers have been opened and last year alone over 10,000 animals were brought to a rescue center. The organization’s member Markéta Pecková talks about issues in rescuing wild animals and how the situation is changing.

The Czech Republic and neighbouring Austria share centuries of common history but in recent times relations between the two states have often been strained. How the countries have developed since 1989 is the focus of a new anthology by a group of Austrian and Czech academics.