Czech news in brief for March 13: Friday's top afternoon headlines

The Czech government is preparing a new law that would force non-governmental organisations and non-profits that receive some money from abroad (including EU funds) to register and fully disclose their funding, citing the need for transparency. Critics, however, say the bill was inspired by Russia's notorious "foreign agents" legislation, and aims to stigmatize and curtail the work of NGOs.

Residents of the building in Dobrovského street in Prague's Letná district, damaged by a fire on Tuesday, will be able to move into new apartments after the weekend, a spokesman for Prague 7 said. A total of 11 people from six households have expressed interest, while seven other people are for now staying in hotels until they also might get alternative housing.

The government wants to digitize all state services within the next year, deputy-Interior Minister Lukáš Klučka said today at the Digital Czech Republic conference. The previous government had already postponed by several years its state digitization drive, aimed at facilitating the dealings of Czech residents with all state and public structures, and it remains unsure whether that goal will be reached.

Biologists have found that more than 700 species of plants, 220 species of insects and 40 species of birds make up the rich flora and fauna of Prague Castle grounds, according to a new study presented by the Prague Castle Administration. Many of them are rare and endangered, researchers have warned, and even one type of mite yet unknown to science was identified.

Czech police have arrested a 49-year-old woman in the city of Teplice and charged her with several counts of animal abuse and cruelty. On top of being found with 25 malnourished cats living in gruesome and unsanitary conditions, the woman reportedly had more than 100 bodies of kittens in her freezer. This is the second case of cat abuse in a few weeks, after two people were arrested last month in the Litoměřice region.