The Daily Dozen: 12 things to know about Czechia today

EU backlash|Politicking and "ideological obtuseness" are the reason for Czechia not having passed the rules to protect whistleblowers reporting unlawful practices from possible revenge, the anti-corruption Transparency International (TI) organization has said. The Czech Republic is one of the countries facing a lawsuit from the European Commission for not having introduced the rules yet. Read more in our story.

China and Taiwan|China threatened the Czech Republic with backlash if President-elect Petr Pavel persists in his support of Taiwan, an intent he made clear in a recent phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. Pavel had a call with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen that China saw as crossing diplomatic lines. Read more in our article.

Cancelled flights|Starting this morning at 11 a.m. today, six Lufthansa flights between Prague and Munich, as well as Prague and Frankfurt are cancelled, Prague Airport press spokeswoman Klára Divíšková told iDnes. The reason is a strike of airport workers, which will lead to the cancellation of flights to and from several German cities. The strike is scheduled to last between midnight on Friday and Saturday night.

War in Ukraine|An installation of almost 500 pairs of shoes displayed across Old Town Square was an attempt to replicate the atmosphere of fear and hopelessness brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Amnesty International (AI) and Ukrainian scenographer Margarita Chala. AI also appealed for faster investigations into the Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

Turkey earthquake|Two rescue dogs from the Czech Republic are helping local rescue missions look for survivals of a Turkey earthquake that happened on Feb. 6, according to iDnes. Females Dorotka and Terezka, who are working under the supervision of rescue dog experts from the Hlučín base, have found two survivors so far.

Old-new mayor|Leader of the Prague arm of the Spolu coalition Bohuslav Svoboda has been elected the new mayor of Prague by 50 votes, replacing Zděnek Hřib from the Pirates. Svoboda was previously the mayor of Prague between 2010 and 2013. Read more in our article.

Evening walk|Prague police wrote on Facebook that, one evening earlier this week, officers came across a man walking a cow near the housing estate Velká Ohrada. While the man was at first verbally agressive , the matter was settled amiably, and both the walker and his cow returned to their residence in Prokopské údolí.

Fools' cemetery|The abandoned hilltop cemetery formerly used by the Bohnice Psychiatric Hospital has been called one of the spookiest places in Europe and the “cemetery of fools.” While it has long been difficult to see inside, the metal gates at the main entry have currently been removed for repairs as part of ongoing restoration efforts. Take a peek at it in our article.

Roundup of Prague events|Do you have your weekend all mapped out, or are you still making plans? Either way, have a look at our weekend events for some inspiration for something to do in Prague in the days to come.