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Most people from the arts world say that the coronavirus crisis does not inspire creativity and they can’t wait for it to be over. Photographer Radek Drbohlav says that, hard as these days are, he had an urge to capture these strange times, other than by photos of people wearing masks. He has just published a set of artistic photos of people from different professions “in hibernation“.

Emergency medical services in the Czech Republic are becoming overwhelmed with Covid-19 patients. Ambulance workers have been  under enormous pressure for several months now and with the recent upsurge in serious Covid-19 cases, they are often stretched to the limit.

President Miloš Zeman is calling for the county’s health minister and state drug agency director to be removed from office for rejecting the use of the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, which has not yet received EU approval. In an interview on Wednesday, the Czech head of state also advocated not waiting for Brussels to act before using the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm.

The Krteček (Little Mole) cartoon character has been a favourite of not only Czech children for several generations now. The black-furred creature with a bright red nose was created by Kladno native Zdeněk Miler.

The state prosecutor’s office in Prague has shelved a new investigation into the death of Czechoslovak foreign minister Jan Masaryk in March 1948. The case, which remains shrouded in mystery despite several investigations, was reopened for the fifth time in October 2019, on the basis on new evidence.

Czech researchers at the Central European Institute of Technology in Brno have developed a new way to test for Covid-19 based on isothermal amplification. They say their method, known at RT-LAMP for short, detects the virus faster than PCR tests and is more accurate than antigen ones.

Marie Tumlířová was among the first women ever to graduate from the Czech Technical University, a century ago, a year after equal rights for all were enshrined in the constitution. She earned her doctorate defending a thesis that would serve as an unlikely springboard to a career in politics – poultry farming. Her interests soon turned to rural sociology and women’s emancipation, through education and financial independence.

Monday is International Women’s Day, celebrating women’s achievements and focusing attention on rights and equality issues. In this part of the world March 8 was a major celebration under the Communists – and there have been mixed feelings about it since 1989.

A number of key reforms of the Czech judicial system aimed at increasing transparency and accountability in the selection procedure for judges are under debate. Meanwhile, MPs have passed an amendment aimed at reducing the presence of so-called “lay judges” – seen as a holdover from Communism – during some court hearings.

With ongoing lockdowns and the wide ranging economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic in the Czech Republic, there is concern that large segments of the population could fall into debt. This would leave them vulnerable to the cycle of enforced debt collection from creditors which often leads to property seizure. The President of the Chamber of Executors Jan Mlynarčík told Czech Radio that he believes the middle classes could be particularly at risk in the coming years.