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Registration for vaccination against the coronavirus will open for the over 80s in the Czech Republic from January 15, while all ages can apply from the start of February, says Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. The specific vaccination date will be based on age, employment sector and relevant health problems.

Tuesday marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Milan “Mejla” Hlavsa, a key figure in the history of Czech alternative music. Hlavsa co-founded the Plastic People of the Universe and played with several other groups before passing away at just 49.

Český Krumlov is probably the most visited small town in the Czech Republic. That is, when the times are normal and there are no restrictions on tourism. The COVID-19 crisis means financial hardship for local businesses. But on the positive side: it gave the townspeople time to reflect on the identity Český Krumlov in a globalized world.

Margita (Dina) Štěrbová is one of the recipients of the 2020 Gratias Agit Awards for promoting the good name of the Czech Republic abroad. A mathematician by profession, Dina has a lifelong passion for mountain climbing and has scaled dozens of peaks in Europe, Asia and America. She is the first woman to have surmounted the eight-thousand meter peaks of Cho Oyu in the Himalayas (together with Věra Komárková) and Gasherbrum II in the Karakoram Mountains. During her mountaineering trips to Pakistan Dina also became engaged in charity which became a big part of her life. I spoke to her about her life’s passion and first asked her to say how she became involved in mountain climbing.

2020 has been a long, tough and stressful year for many around the world. So we thought it’d be a nice idea to ask some notable people what they’ve been doing to keep their spirits up during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Neither rain nor sleet nor closure of ski resorts, lifts, hotels and services due to coronavirus have stopped Czechs from violating government restrictions and taking to the slopes, albeit on foot, cross-country skis and in toboggans.

As the coronavirus spread in 2020, touching virtually every country in the world, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) adapted or scaled up its ongoing activities and started new activities wherever a pressing need arose. The Czech branch of MSF also launched COVID-19-focused projects at home, offering its experience and know-how from crisis situations around the world. I spoke to Covid Coordinator at Doctors Without Borders and the organization’s former head Pavel Gruber about the new challenges posed by Covid-19.

The Association for the Restoration of the Czech Kingdom has raised money to make a copy of the St. Wenceslas Crown for Charles Habsburg. The grandson of the last Austrian Emperor Charles I, who was also the king of Bohemia and Hungary, will celebrate his 60th birthday on January 11.

It is exactly 31 years since Václav Havel became Czechoslovak president. The dissident was unanimously elected by a Federal Assembly largely thanks to the country’s then Communist prime minister and opinion polls at the time did not suggest that he was a favourite. He said the event reminded him of an absurd drama.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries of the world to save children's lives, to defend their rights, and to help them fulfill their potential. This year its efforts have been complicated by the coronavirus pandemic which has worsened the situation in poverty-stricken regions of the world and created new problems in the developed countries. I spoke to the head of UNICEF‘s Czech branch Pavla Gomba about the challenges that the past year presented.