The Daily Dozen: 12 things to know about Czechia today

The management of the Ještěd ski resort defended the decision to start making artificial snow, iROZHLAS reports. The announcement, which was posted on social media yesterday, received some backlash from internet users who brought up the government's recommendations to save energy, as well as the current high temperatures in the region. Other ski resorts in northern Czechia said that using ski cannons this season might be impossible for them due to high operating costs.

Proposed amendments to the Road Act could bring changes to the points system and increase the existing fines, writes iDnes. The proposal of the Ministry of Transport doubles the fines for traffic offenses. This means that for a traffic accident, the driver could receive a fine of up to CZK 100,000. At the moment, the maximum fines for traffic offenses are capped at CZK 50,000 crowns. However, the proposal is not yet public, so readers are reminded that officials from the ministry can still modify it.

The owner of the oldest working glass factory in Europe took back his decision to shut down the Sklárna Harrachov, which makes drinking and utility glassware, Seznam Zprávy reports. František Novosad said that his incentive to reverse the decision was the fate of his employees, who would have been made redundant. Novosad added that he wrote to the Ministry of Industry and Trade to apply for an existing governmental aid program, but so far hasn't received any reply.

Municipal police officers received a call yesterday from the employees of a hotel in Prague 3 who discovered a number of snakes left behind in the hotel room of one of their guests. In addition to the snakes, the guest also left behind a black-and-white cat. Police were able to identify the guest, who returned to the hotel room to settle the bill and pick up her pets. Read more on the story here.

The energy-saving startup Flowbox received the title of European Startup of the Year in the pan-European final of the Disraptors Summit startup event, Czech Crunch reports. The finals of the European Startup Championship, dubbed "the grand finale of the European startup league," took place yesterday in Prague during the Disraptors Summit. The champion title includes a potential investment of US$500,000, international media attention and advancement to the global finals in Silicon Valley, according to Disraptors.

The softball team of the Czech Republic will face seven-time champions and World Cup hosts New Zealand next month in Auckland, RNZ writes. 12 nations will take part in the tournament, with the final scheduled for Dec. 4. The Czech Republic is part of Group A, together with Argentina (ranked first in the world), Czech Republic (ranked fifth), New Zealand, the U.S., Cuba, and the Philippines.

A popular cycling and running trail along the banks of the Vltava river in Prague 8 is now better lit, Náš REGION writes. Local authorities commissioned the installation of 40 new public lighting poles that cover a distance of one kilometer on the A2 U Českých loděnic v Libni trail, from the Löwit mill to the turnoff at Bulovka. City councilor Jan Chabr said that the path is popular, and that both athletes and dog walkers should feel safe while using it after dark.

Passengers on three railway carriers that serve the main line between Prague and Moravia are entitled to compensation for the long delays yesterday and today, iDnes reports. The passengers eligible for the compensation have to apply for it via the relevant railway company.

For instance, passengers experiencing a delay of 60 to 119 minutes in possession of a ticket from České dráhy that cost at least CZK 360 will get 25 percent of the fare back. The compensation is 50 percent of the fare if the delay is 120 minutes or more and the fare is at least CZK 180, according to České dráhy.

The 28th edition of the Czech Press Photo photojournalism competition starts tomorrow with an exhibition of Ukrainian photographers Jevhen Maloletka and Mstyslav Černov, ČTK reports. The Ukrainian photographers, who documented the war in the city of Mariupol, will be part of the competition's international jury.

The jury's experts will evaluate the photos running in the competition from Oct. 13 to 15. The competition is open to photographers from Czechia and Slovakia, who can enter their work in eight categories - current affairs; reportage; everyday life; art and culture; sports; portrait; people and the environment; and well-known figures.

This year's edition of Das Filmfest festival in Prague will introduce about 30 contemporary German, Austrian and Swiss films, including literary adaptations, films based on real events and independent movies, retrospectively focusing on German theatre and film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder, the organizers told ČTK today.

The festival has been organized annually by Goethe academy, Prague Austrian Cultural Forum and the Swiss embassy since 2006. This year, it runs between Oct. 20 and 26, first in Prague at the Lucerna, Atlas and Ponrepo cinemas before moving on to Brno between Nov. 2 to 6 and Olomouc - for the first time in its history - from Nov. 1 to 11.

The Ji.hlava international documentary film festival, running in Jihlava, south Moravia, from Oct. 25 to 30, will offer over 300 documentaries in competition and non-competition sections, its director Marek Hovorka told reporters today.

Out of them, 95 films will be shown in a world premiere, 33 in an international premiere and six in European premiere. Apart from contemporary documentary films, the program also includes what could be the first-ever feature-length documentary film made in the Philippines in 1913. As Hovorka noted, the films made over the past hundred years show that each age faced huge challenges and only a "memory optimism" turns the past into the "the good old days."

Karel Pezl died on Oct. 10, iDnes reports. Pezl was the last chief of the Czechoslovak general army, and the first chief of the Czech general army. He also worked as an adviser to President Václav Havel, and received numerous honors, including the Order of the White Lion, the country's highest order, from President Miloš Zeman in 2017. His funeral will take place on Oct. 24. Karel Řehka, the current army's chief of staff said that Pezl "earned our good name at home and abroad. Thanks to him, the military won big respect in the 1990s."