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The picturesque Georgian village of Kvenobani, nestling in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, is a long way to go to discover the secret of tea- making. But the experience is authentic and those adventurous enough to head there can make up their minds between spending a whole month to care for their “own” tea-garden, to grow and process their own tea from scratch or attend a four-day workshop in which Czech tea enthusiast Petr Sič will teach them the art of tea making.

Almost every fifth Czech company faced a cyberattack last year, a rise of 20 percent year on year, according to data released by the Czech Statistics Office. The most common form of cyberattack was the so-called “distributed denial-of-service”, triggering a collapse of normal traffic by overwhelming the server. However hackers also often deployed extortion programs known as “ransomware” that make data or even an entire system inaccessible until the attacker is paid off.

Screenshot, a new Prague art-house cinema and exhibition gallery, is the beloved brainchild of Iranian-born filmmaker and FAMU International grad Payam Razi, who stepped down as Radio Free Europe music editor in December to devote his energy to the “hybrid space”. All screenings, he says, are English-friendly “events” for film lovers eager for a festival-like, shared viewing experience. Screenshot is working with venerable Czech institutions such as the National Film Archive and Institute of Documentary film (KineDok) and the ongoing popular Írán:ci Film

Czechia is aiming to boost its college student numbers. Even though the proportion of university graduates in the population has grown steadily in the past 30 years, the country still lags behind the European Union average. Czech universities are ready for the challenge.

A new book on Communist Czechoslovakia was launched under the auspices of the Minister of Foreign Affairs at Prague’s Czernin Palace this week. Titled Czechoslovakia: Behind the Iron Curtain, it tracks the history of the communist state, through a combination of narrative, contemporary pictures and extensive oral history in over 600 pages. It was penned by two female Slovak academics Dr Gabriela Beregházyová and Dr Zuzana Palovič. After the official ceremony was ended by a symbolic ringing of keys, I asked Dr Palovič how the idea to write the publication

Georgia has many natural wonders and caves are one of the country’s as yet largely undiscovered attractions. The Georgian authorities are keen to make these karst areas accessible to tourists while protecting the country’s natural heritage. However, the lack of money and relevant expertise has prevented them from fully harnessing this potential. The Czech Development Agency has stepped in to help with the aid of experts from the Cave Administration of the Czech Republic.

For nearly two years now, a group of Czech scientists and academics has been working on a national planetary defence strategy for the Czech Republic, funded by a government grant. The leader of the project is political scientist Dr Nikola Schmidt. Asteroids are generally perceived as the greatest threat to Earth from space and so I began by asking him what sizes of asteroids we should be worried about?

The Sykora Bakery, established in 1903 is a valued “Czech” landmark in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The historic bakery in the heart of Czech Village, has provided the local community with authentic Czech and Moravian delicacies for over a century now. Apart from the regulars who are addicted to its housky and kolache, it has greeted Czech and Slovak presidents with rye bread and salt and hosted President Bill Clinton.

The Prague Zoo has gone a long way since being hit by severe floods in 2002 and has become one of the best zoos in the world, according to some international rankings. Its range of attractions will expand next year through the opening of a special Darwin Crater Pavilion housing species from the Tasmania and Australia.

The deadly attack in Ostrava’s university hospital in which a gunman killed six people and injured three others on Tuesday, shocked the nation and opened up many questions regarding security around so-called “soft targets”. I spoke to former Czech Military Intelligence chief Andor Šándor about the present state of security in Czech hospitals, what more can be done to increase it and the lessons to be learnt from Tuesday’s attack.