The Daily Dozen: 12 things to know about Czechia today

Corruption whistleblower|The head of the local property administration at the military complex in Vyškov, Ivo Kouřil, is on trial for taking bribes for construction contracts, Seznam Zprávy reports. The indictment says he manipulated tenders for construction works worth over CZK 7.3 million. Three other people are also indicted in the case. The case came to the attention of prosecutors thanks to the testimony of a former employee.

Coal revival|High energy prices are reversing the Czech Republic's drive to cut down its reliance on coal, AP reports. The war in Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis triggered coal's revival in parts of the country, such as the Moravian-Silesian Region. Demand for brown coal rose by almost 35 percent in the first nine months of 2022 compared to the previous year, while production rose by 20 percent during the same time.

Drop in real wages|Real wages in the Czech Republic can't keep up with skyrocketing inflation. As a result, real wages are expected to decrease by 8.3 percent this year. The impact of the drop is much greater on lower income groups, analyst Anna Píchová from the Cyrrus investment company, which conducted the research, says. Read more here.

Solar panels|The popularity of solar panels is skyrocketing in the Czech Republic, Czech Radio reports, citing Czech Television. So far this year, authorities have already received more than 56,000 applications, which is almost four times more than last year. Due to the high demand, the delivery times are also getting longer, resulting in months of waiting for orders.

Free testing for HIV|Between Nov. 21 and 28, testing for HIV, hepatitis, jaundice, and syphilis will be possible in 82 locations across the Czech Republic, including for foreigners, Vitalia.cz reports. The tests are free of charge and happen in the form of rapid tests or laboratory blood tests. The drive precedes Dec. 1, which marks World AIDS Day.

Stool biobank|Doctors from the Faculty Hospital of Královská Vinohrady are planning to establish the first Czech fecal bank, Lidovky.cz reports. The bank will store samples for stool transplant, a treatment that is already commonly used for intestinal infections in other countries. The project received the approval of the State Institute for Drug Control in February.

Record-breaking art|A work by the Czech artist Toyen sold for an impressive CZK 34.7 million in an auction organized Sunday by the European Arts auction house. The artist, which spent part of her life in Paris, has had several exhibitions of her work in Czechia. Additionally, Toyen's art has been fetching record prices at Czech auctions. Read more here.

New look for Českomoravská|Prague's transport company announced that it was launching a tender for the refurbishment of the Českomoravská metro stop on the yellow line, Pražská Drbna reports. The reconstruction targets the current design, the color of the cladding of the tunnel structures on the platform, in the escalator tunnel, and in the station vestibule. The winners of the tender are to be announced in March 2023.

The end of hard seltzer?|After a year and a half on the Czech market, alcoholic soda shows signs of fizzling out, Lidovky.cz reports. Both Staropramen and Plzeňský Prazdroj announced they were pulling out their brands of low-calorie alcoholic soda, which is known internationally as hard seltzer. Staropramen spokesperson Denisa Mylbachrová said the reason was that the beverage's reception in Czechia was not on a par with the response in the U.S.