The Daily Dozen: 12 things to know about Czechia today

Home renovation program|Seniors and older vulnerable groups can apply for subsidies under a Ministry of the Environment program allowing them to to quickly and easily insulate their houses, Deník.cz reports. The subsidies, which cover the insulation of the façade, roof, ceilings and floors, as well as for the replacement of windows and entrance doors, can go up to CZK 150,000.

Real estate|The price of new apartments in Brno is starting to drop, albeit only slightly, Seznam Zprávy reports. According to data of the company Trikaya, which has been monitoring the real estate market development in Brno, the average price per square meter of floor space has decreased by CZK 1,200 month-on-month in December, to CZK 123,824, which is less than one percent compared to November.

Three Kings|Critics of the practice launched a petition calling for the end of blackface used on one of the Three Kings in the annual parade in Prague. In the Biblical tradition, the three Kings – Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar – brought gifts to the infant Jesus on the Epiphany, celebrated on Jan. 6. Some depictions show Balthazar, who represents Africa, as black. Read more in our story.

Roma integration|The recent appointment of the Czech Republic’s first-ever Roma government commissioner shows the state’s willingness to tackle the divide between Roma and non-Roma Czechs. Lucie Fuková, an ethnic Roma who previously worked as the Czech coordinator of the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All event, was chosen for the position. Read more in our story.

Controversial Brothers|The story of brothers Josef and Ctirad Mašín is coming to big screens this year, Cineuropa writes. Directed by Tomáš Mašín, a distant relation of the siblings, the movie "Brothers" has just wrapped up shooting and has a domestic premiere set for 26 October. The Mašín brothers were the subject of “the largest manhunt of the Cold War” after crossing the Czechoslovak border into East Germany in 1953.

Road works|Renovation works on Prague's Barrandov Bridge will start in May, end in August, and will temporarily restrict traffic, ČTK reports, citing Acting Deputy Mayor Adam Scheinherr. The works will focus on the stretch from Smíchov to Braník, on the upper part of the ramp from K Barrandovu street and on the lower part of the southern Barrandov bridge over the Vltava.

Helicopters in the sky|The formation of three helicopters flying over Prague on Tuesday morning was not for search purposes, but to photograph the machines that are on the brink of retirement, iDnes reports, citing Kristýna Kosatíková, the spokeswoman for the Praha-Kbely military airport. The Mi-8S helicopters have been used since the late 1980s for "for the transport of important personalities."

Passport power|The Czech passport ranks fourth in the world in a ranking of the consulting company Arton Capital. This means that Czech passports allows travel to 124 countries without a visa, while 48 other countries require dealing with visa requirements after arrival, and 26 countries require applying for travel visas ahead of the trip. This puts the Czech passport on a par with the Canadian, Hungarian and Australian one.

Asking for a friend|Statistics from the Seznam.cz search engine for the year 2022 were a good indication of Czech people's preoccupations that year. The most searched questions in Czech predictably revolved around current and annual events (winter time and the war in Ukraine) as well as seasonal activities such as mushroom picking. Read more in our story.