The Daily Dozen: 12 things to know about Czechia today

The Frames leader singer Glen Hansard released a new single and music video, “Take Heart,” in support of Ukraine amid the Russian invasion, mxdwn.com. The Irish singer-songwriter's latest creation features his former partner Czech-Icelandic singer-songwriter, musician, and actress Markéta Irglová, and three Ukrainian refugees now based in Ireland. The video offers subtitles translating the English lyrics into Ukrainian and the Ukrainian lyrics into English. 

The Prague Transport Company (DPP) today loaded onto trucks the first four decommissioned trams that it vowed to donate to the city of Kharkiv in Ukraine, out of a total donation of 20 trams and two buses, ČTK reports. The trams, which were already retired during the renewal of the fleet, are scheduled to leave Prague at 6 p.m. today, and arrive in Kharkiv in two days. The wheel track of the trams will then need to be changed, because the one used in Ukraine is wider than in Prague. 

Czech Railways is buying four dual-source battery-electric trains from the Škoda Group, and over 40 electric and battery-powered trains, Czech Radio reports, citing travel news site Zdopravy.cz. Fifteen out of the trains will be battery-electric units with 140 seats each, while a further 27 will be electric only. Already in use in Japan and Austria, the battery-powered trains are more environmentally friendly.

The Czech Republic's oldest cultural institution issued yesterday its first NFT (non-fungible token). The NFT is a photograph of the first soloist of the Ballet National Theater of Nikola Márová in the role of Odetta from "Swan Lake." The online auction of the National Theater (Národní Divadlo) started Oct. 19 at 5 p.m., lasts for five days and takes place under the auspices of the Patrons' Club of the National Theatre. Read more here.

Škoda Auto maker could leave its China due to its decreasing market share, Lidovky.cz reports. The Czech car maker had a Chinese market share of 27.1 percent in 2017, which dropped to 8.1 percent last year. Some of the factors responsible for the change are the fundamental transformation of the Chinese car market in favor of local brands, as well as disagreements with parent company Volkswagen over the crisis brought forth by the shortage of semiconductors.

The 33-game winning streak of the Viktoria Plzeň football team came to end yesterday after an unexpected defeat in a game with FC Hlučín, which is a third tier team, ČTK reports. The game ended with 3-2 for Hlučín, all the winning goals being scored by midfielder Dominik Smékal. Plzeň, which plays in the Czech First League, the top division of football in Czechia, played the UEFA Champions League this season, and lost all the four games.

Several LGBTQ+ organizations held a recent press conference in Prague calling for the government and the Parliament of the Czech Republic "to take concrete steps to protect LGBTQ+ people, their families and children," Refresher reports. Lucie Zachariašová from the Prague Pride and Jsme fér initiatives said that their reaction is important in the context of the recent, deadly shooting at an LGBTQ+ café and bar in Bratislava. The associations will also hold an event associated with the initiative on Oct. 26 from 6 p.m. in Wenceslas Square. Read more here.

The upcoming weekend will bring warm temperatures, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ) announced, according to iRozhlas. While the highs on Friday will not exceed 15 degrees Celsius, they are likely to be in the range of 15 to 19 degrees both on Saturday and Sunday, except for Moravia and Silesia, where the highs will be around 14 degrees. The lows will stay between 5 and 9 degrees. The warm temperatures will be accompanied by cloudiness and occasional showers, ČHMÚ notes.

A museum presenting military history of the Czech Republic since the first Slav settlement and until the present day opens today in the Prague neighborhood of Žižkov, ČTK reports. After today's opening ceremony in the presence of President Miloš Zeman, the Žižkov Army Museum in Prague will open its doors to the public on Oct. 28. The reconstruction works cost CZK 192 million more than the initial estimate of CZK 724 million due to both objective and unpredictable reasons, such as errors in project documentation.

Anna Kellnerová is the new manager of the Prague Lions equestrian team, ČTK reports. Kellnerová is twice Czech junior national champion. She is the daughter of late Petr Kellner, a Czech billionaire entrepreneur who, at the time of his death in March 2021, was the wealthiest person in the Czech Republic.

The Prague Lions are currently competing at the Global Champions League in Riyadh, which reunites top riders from different countries in show jumping with star riders under the age of 25.

While the international public associates the Tesla name with electric cars, in Czechoslovakia the brand covered a wide range of products, Czech Radio reports. These included Tesla radios, Tesla TV sets, Tesla gramophones, cassette recorders, CD players and a great deal else. "The Tesla brand and logo was a familiar sight not only to millions of Czechs and Slovaks but to people in the communist bloc countries where Tesla’s products were exported," Czech Radio writes.

The Czech Defense Ministry announced on its website that it can provide care for up to 35 wounded Ukrainian soldiers in hospitals under its operations, ČTK reports. So far, nine soldiers wounded in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine have been treated in Czech hospitals. According to ČTK, Ukraine is mainly interested in surgical and orthopedic care. An agreement that Prague and Kyiv reached in early February says that Czech military doctors should select the soldiers for treatment.