The Daily Dozen: 12 things to know about Czechia today

Ukraine|Mayors of Prague, Warsaw, Bratislava, and Budapest traveled to Kyiv to meet Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and express solidarity with the Ukrainian people amid the Russian invasion. The four cities signed a Pact of Free Cities in 2019, which Kyiv also joined last year. Read more in our story.

Sustainable living|New shops and services that help consumers save while supporting the circular economy are becoming increasingly popular due to skyrocketing prices on all kinds of consumer goods. Two such projects, the No Neke store and a new branch of The Repair Shop opened in the Czech capital late last year. Read more in our article.

Social project|The town hall in Český Těšín launched a pilot project this week offering homeless people food stamps in exchange for cleaning public spaces, Novinky reports. Jana Rodáková, head of the Český Těšín Social Department, said that the inspiration came from a similar project that took place in the Ostrava district of Vítkovice.

Day of Samizdat|The Czech government approved an amendment to make Oct. 12 the Day of the Samizdat, Czech Radio reports. During communism, and throughout the entire Eastern Bloc, including Czechoslovakia, Samizdat was an activity consisting in the reproduction and distribution of publications banned by the state, which were illicitly passed from reader to reader.

Bioinformatics and Gregorian chants|Czech scientists are using computational algorithms from bioinformatics to study the origins of medieval Gregorian chants, Czech Radio reports. Jan Hajič from the Masaryk Institute and the Archives said that his team will take a digital database of more than 15,000 Gregorian chants and put them in a system called ChantLab, which can compare individual Gregorian chants according to certain parameters.

Gov.cz|The Czech government launched a website meant to bring all state administrative websites under one single domain, namely gov.cz. This will replace the current system of different administrative portals on different websites, and will simplify matters for citizens. Read more in our article.

Doctor shortages|Czech state insurance company VZP published a map showing which areas in the Czech Republic are worst affected by a shortage of doctors. The map reveals that, nationwide, the country lacks a total of 52 adult general practitioners in various parts of the country. Read more in our story.

Vitamins for Czechs|Czech start-up Trime is offering dietary supplements tailor-made for the most common deficiencies of Czech diets, Czech Crunch reports. Poor eating habits, and the lower quality of commonly available foods due to modern agriculture processes, all contribute to a lack of magnesium, potassium, vitamin K, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, or iodine, Trime founder Michal Kočí says.

Nordic films|The Scandi Film Festival, a showcase of contemporary films from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland, is coming to Czech cinemas between Jan. 18 and 25. Over 34 cinemas across the country, including Prague's Edison Filmhub and Cinema City Slovanský dům, are taking part in the festival. Read more in our article.