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A unique, five-year project is currently underway in the Czech Republic, focusing on the long-term impact of air pollution on people living in the heavily-industrial region of north-east Moravia. Over the course of five years, scientists will be comparing the health data of thousands of people from different regions of the country, focusing on those who are most vulnerable to air pollution.

A special role has been created to regulate the excesses of Prague’s nightlife. Councillors of the Czech capital’s City Hall elected Jan Štern as “night mayor” on Monday. A special commission made up of district and police representatives will help him out. The man in charge says that he first wants to analyse the situation in detail and meet with his counterpart in Amsterdam for inspiration.

The Czech Republic could become the first post-communist country to legalise same sex marriage. An amendment to the country’s Civil Code is set to have its first reading in Parliament this week. While polls show that the majority of the country supports the move, there is also an opposing bill on the table.

The owner and chief presenter of the country’s most controversial television channel, Jaromír Soukup, has announced the creation of his own political movement. While it is not yet clear in which elections he intends to run, the move is expected to shake up the Czech anti-establishment political scene quite a bit.

President Miloš Zeman has lashed out at the education minister for having met the director of the counter-intelligence service BIS to discuss the agency’s warning that a “Soviet narrative” still dominates the teaching of modern history in Czech schools.

According to legend, Bohemian hops were so prized King Wenceslas ordered the death penalty for anyone caught exporting cuttings from which plants could be grown. But with beer consumption and pub visits down at home, big Czech brewers rely on exports to make up the difference, while trying to lure locals back with craft-style and limited-run beers.

Amid continuing uncertainty over Brexit, Czech officials are pushing to speed up the approval of a government bill which would protect the rights of British nationals living in the Czech Republic in the event that Great Britain leaves the EU with no deal. The bill would ensure that British nationals would have the same rights as all EU citizens up until the end of 2020.

A great many events have been held in the Czech Republic on Wednesday commemorating the 50th anniversary of the self-immolation of Jan Palach. At the launch of an exhibition about the student martyr at the top of Prague’s Wenceslas Square, one of the organisers discussed Palach’s legacy – and the high level of interest in him today.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has set out for South Asia this week. Together with Industry Minister Marta Nováková and a delegation numbering dozens of Czech business representatives, the PM is visiting important economic hubs in the region. Expanding science, research, education and defence cooperation is also on the agenda.

It is not just Czechs who are currently remembering Jan Palach’s radical protest in January 1969 and the impact his sacrifice helped create. The British ambassador to the Czech Republic, Nick Archer, has had a painting by a UK artist – created right after Palach’s death – installed at his country’s historic embassy building in Prague. He explains the background to the acquisition.