The Daily Dozen: 12 things to know about Czechia today

Prague will host next month the EU Secure and Innovative Digital Future Conference, a press release of the Government of the Czech Republic reads. The conference, which will take place between Nov. 3 and 4, will focus on cybersecurity, which is one of the priorities of the Czech Presidency. The second day is open to general public and media. 

Mongolian President Uchná Chürelsüch awarded Prague Zoo director Miroslav Bobek the Order of the Polar Star for his extraordinary contribution to the protection of Mongolian nature and the development of Czech-Mongolian relations, ČTK reports. The order is the Mongolian highest state honor that a foreign citizen can receive.

The Prague Zoo cooperated with the Army of the Czech Republic and a number of other organizations to carry out a total of nine air transports of Przewalski's horses. The zoo is also part of projects for their return to the wild and their reintroduction to eastern Mongolia.

A report from the Security Information Service (BIS) published yesterday pinpoints Russia and China as the main sources of external threats to Czechia. Among other findings, the report says that Chinese agents have sought to liaise with Czech academic contacts in a bid for extra information for China’s benefit. Radicalization through online sharing of jihadist propaganda also poses a low, yet persistent, risk, BIS said.

The Czech government reversed last week a previous decision that made it compulsory for Czech citizens to use an online portal for government communication. Data boxes, or "datové schránky" are an electronic archival system that facilitates communications between citizens, businesses, and public administration bodies in the Czech Republic. Their aim is to streamline communication between the public and various governmental institutions.

Česká pošta plans to serve 100,000 users through digital identity by the end of the year, ČTK reports. This service, which requires a login, enables at this time the management of parcel shipments. The post plans to add other postal services, and allow the use of digital identity to create a single place where customers will have an overview of their mail items, finances or the history of other requests, according to a press release.

The upcoming unveiling of the first bust of general Charles de Gaulle in Prague on Nov. 22, which is the general's birthday, does not have the support of the French embassy in Prague, Lidovky.cz reports. Still, Czech President Miloš Zeman will be present at the unveiling, Prague castle spokesman Jiří Ovčáček said. The bust, which was financed by cardinal Dominik Duka and former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, will stand in front of the Church of Christ the Savior in the Barrandov neighborhood of Prague 5.

The acclaimed Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša has been appointed as the musical director of the Royal Opera House in London. Hrůša is currently the chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and chief guest conductor of the Czech Philharmonic and of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra. He said that he plans to incorporate Czech creations into the opera's program. Read more here.

The municipality of Račiněves in the Ústí nad Labem region, in cooperation with Nadace Partnertsví and Rotary Club Prague International are organizing a tree-planting event on Oct. 28 in memory of Sir Nicholas Winton. Winton, a British banker and philanthropist, saved 668 children, most of them Jewish, by arranging their transport from Prague to London in 1938-39. The event will be attended by guests from a Rotary housing project for Ukrainian refugees.

The continuing strike of German Eurowings pilots is affecting tens of thousands of passengers of the low-cost airline, ČTK reports. The employees of the Lufthansa subsidiary went on strike to demand better working conditions. The event had an impact on the flight schedule; as on Monday, the evening connection between Prague and Düsseldorf was canceled in both directions. The current three-day strike is the second for the airline in less than two weeks.

The Museum of National Literature has moved to a new address, and is ready to welcome visitors again starting today at 6 p.m., ČTK reports. After seven decades at the Strahov Monastery, the museum has relocated to the reconstructed Petschek Villa in Bubenč, and now includes a café, an activities hall, a study room, workplaces and a large garden. Admission is free until Oct. 23, and the museum has prepared a number of upcoming activities for both children and adults.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala criticized the removal of part of the fence at the Czech House in Moscow, ČTK reports. The Czech television reported last night that part of the fence of the Czech House in Moscow was removed at the behest of Russian authorities, who argued that the fence construction had not been permitted.

The Czech Foreign Ministry said that it saw the move as a serious violation of its property. Czechia closed the building in March, at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the building has been operating in a maintenance regime since then.

The Czech and Polish police have collaborate on taking down an international drug trafficking ring, the Central Police Investigation Bureau (CBSP) reported on today, as cited by the Polish Press Agency. "The collected evidence shows that the members of the group were involved in the purchase, supply, trade and export of significant amounts of narcotics and psychotropic substances in several EU countries," CBSP spokeswoman Iwona Jurkiewicz said.