The Daily Dozen: 12 things to know about Czechia today

Weapons for Ukraine|The Czech Republic is one of the nine European countries that signed the Tallinn pledge to send weapons to Ukraine. The joint statement, which was signed by Czech representatives, says that the "key component" of Prague's contribution will consist in delivering "military material," as well as "maintenance of the already delivered equipment and increased MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Operations) capacity."

Support for Pavel|Several events in support of presidential candidate Petr Pavel will take place in Prague this weekend. One of them is a concert at Lucerna Music Bar with more than 30 musicians, which will also be streamed over social networks. Other events are runs encouraging people to sport flannel, a nod to Pavel's fondness for flannel shirts. Read more in our story.

Škoda Auto|The Czech automobile manufacturer is bringing changes to the equipment of its cars to make a raise in prices worthwhile, iDnes reports. Škoda Auto spokesman Pavel Jína said that, while the current waiting time for a new Škoda cars is between 6 and 14 months, due to a global chip shortage, the company "strongly believes" the situation will "stabilize as soon as possible."

Czech innovator|Czech Milan Holec is part of a team of scientists who made a breakthrough in the field of nuclear fusion, iDnes reports. Last month, the team that Holec was part of managed to get more energy than they put into it during nuclear fusion. The resulting energy, Holec told iDnes, could work as a "decentralized source of electricity for humanity."

Farewell to Žižkov's Mordor|Demolition works on the Central Telecommunication Building in Žižkov have begun, Forbes reports. Completed in 1980, the building is 85 meters and eighteen floors tall. At that time, all international calls and some long-distance calls went through the systems it hosted. It has been operating in a limited capacity since its last tenant, the telecommunications company Cetin, moved out in 2020.

Underage drinking|Last weekend, police stormed a nightclub in the Prague 7 district where they found dozens of underage guests at a “tester party.” This is a drinking competition where participants aim to reach the highest blood-alcohol level possible to win a prize. Read more in our story.

Prince Harry's biography|The Czech translation of British Prince Harry is scheduled to hit shelves in May, ČTK reports. "Spare" (translated in Czech as Náhradník) will have an initial print run of 50,000 copies. The book sold 3.2 million copies worldwide in its first week, half of them in the U.S., according to AP. The Duke of Sussex enlisted Pulitzer-prize-winning novelist J.R. Moehringer to help write the book.

Bohemian Crown Jewels|The Czech crown jewels, which became available for public viewing Tuesday this week, have drawn thousands of people from around the country – and even abroad. A video released on Facebook shows hordes of people lining up to see the jewels, with the queue stretching to the gardens that lie beside Prague Castle. Read more in our story.

Beer and climate change|Climate change could pose a threat to the quality and price of Czech beer, Czech Radio reports, citing a joint study conducted by universities in the UK, U.S. and China. Dabo Guan, a climate change economist at University College London and one of the lead researchers involved in the study, says that's due to the effect of climate change on the crops of barley, a key ingredient of beer.