The Daily Dozen: 12 things to know about Czechia today

Ukraine|Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed supplying power generators to Kyiv and Ukraine's participation in some EU programs in Brussels yesterday, Fiala said after a meeting of six states with a Ukrainian delegation on the sidelines of an EU summit. Read more in our story.

Nation of pessimists|Czechia has one of the largest proportions of pessimists in the EU, with a recent study recording that a majority of people in 2022 noticed a deterioration in all areas compared to 2021, according to Seznam Zprávy. For instance, only 42 percent of respondents gave the Czech health system a rating of 1 or 2 (out of 5, with 1 being the best and 5 the worst) in 2022, despite its high rankings in international surveys.

Winter help|Shelters and housing facilities across Czechia are extending the capacities of their social services amid the spell of freezing weather, Czech Radio reports, citing Jitka Modlitbová, head of social services at the Czech branch of the Salvation Army. Modlitbová added that those interested in supporting them can buy vouchers that enable homeless people to spend the night in a warm place at Noclezenka.

Safe travels|Prague is the world’s third-safest city for travelers, according to a study by U.K.-insurance firm William Russell. Impressively, it is ranked as the safest city in the entire Europe for holiday makers. The list assessed the safety of various cities by taking into account their perceived crime rates found on crowdsourced database Numbeo. Read more in our article.

Useful map|To make public transit easier to navigate, an online map shows the exact location of all public transit vehicles in real time. People in Prague and Central Bohemia can see exactly where each metro train, tram, bus, or ferry is on the route, how late it is, and check the timetable. The map can be filtered by route number, type of vehicle, or even vehicle registration number. Read more in our story.

Modern classic|Czech-based engineering company Praga announced the launch of the Praga ZS 800 motorcycle, which is a contemporary take on a 1928 model, according to a press release. The Praga ZS 800 "combines a suite of advanced motor racing production processes and materials with the character and design details of its 1928 BD 500 ancestor," the company, which also created the Praga Bohema hypercar, said.

Coveted release|The release of a new, special banknote in Czechia Wednesday led thousands of people to queue outside banks nationwide to get their hands on the rare piece of money. To mark 30 years since the division of Czechoslovakia’s currency, the Czech National Bank (ČNB) created a new CZK 1,000 banknote with additional overprinting. Read more in our story.

Record-breaking January|Last month was one of the warmest Januarys in the Czech Republic in the last 62 years, according to a press release from the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute. While the first month of 1975 had the same average monthly temperature, the same months in 1983 and 2007 were warmer than January 2022.