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Student volunteers on Friday started collected the candles, flowers, and messages that people placed outside Charles University’s main building Carolinum in Prague in the wake of the tragic shooting at the Faculty of Arts on December 21. According to the dean of the Faculty of Arts, Eva Lehečková, the candles will be used to create a permanent memorial to the victims of the tragedy. The candles, placed outside the faculty's main building on Jan Palach Square, will remain in place for the time being, since the building will remain closed for the rest of the month.

The sixth annual national bird census, during which Czechs are encouraged to document, for one hour, all birds that visit feeders near their homes, got underway on Friday.

The census, which concludes on Sunday, is organized by the Czech Ornithological Society and aims to collect data on the species present during the winter.

Some 28,000 people took part in last year’s edition of the census, observing over 517,000 birds. The most common type found in the gardens was the Tree Sparrow and House Sparrow, as well as the Great Tit, the Blackbird and the Eurasian Collared Dove.

A concert by the Czech tenor Petr Nekoranec at the Bohemian National Hall in New York on Thursday evening will open the Year of Czech Music abroad. The concert will feature songs by Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Janáček and Bohuslav Martinů. The event, organised by Czech Center New York in partnership with the Dvořák American Heritage Association, will also feature pianist Valeria Polunina.

The Year of Czech Music, which is held once a decade, on every year that ends on the number four, was first held in 1924, when it celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bedřich Smetana. In 2024 the celebrations will also commemorate other anniversaries, including that of Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Janáček, and Josef Suk.

Ivan Hašek has become the new coach of the Czech national football squad. He was unanimously elected to the post on Thursday by the Czech Football Association‘s executive committee.

The 60-year-old coach, who briefly led the national team in 2009, replaced Jaroslav Šilhavý. He will sign a contract until the end of the World Cup qualification, which takes place in November next year.