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The Czech Republic is keeping abreast with the most developed countries in the world in terms of sustainable development, suggests the 2019 Europe Sustainable Development Report, which identifies policy priorities for the European Union to achieve Sustainable Development Goals and implement the Paris Climate Agreement.

The Czech National Bank has unveiled a plan to issue several series of commemorative coins and banknotes between the years 2021 and 2025, reflecting important anniversaries in Czech history.

The sharing of private homes in Prague via Airbnb and other accommodation platforms has become a regular business, suggests a new study conducted by the consultancy Deloitte, published in the daily Hospodářské noviny this week.

While pubs around Prague are vying to attract visitors with a trendy, clean environment, good food and wide assortment of drinks, a pub in Prague’s Jižní Město – a huge communist housing estate made of pre-fabricated panel buildings – has put its money on nostalgia and is making a profit from the fact that it is a throwback to the communist era.

Prague’s Václav Havel Airport is set to expand its second terminal within the next decade under major investment plans that have just been announced. However, the construction of a new runway has been delayed.

The launch of the new electronic toll system on Czech highways at the beginning of December can cause major traffic disruptions, the toll operator Czech Toll/Sky Toll has warned. Traffic jams of up to 40 kilometres are expected in some parts of the country, especially at border crossings, when the new toll system goes into operation.

Škoda Auto has unveiled the latest version of its best-selling Octavia model, due to roll out on the domestic market by year’s end, in time for the model’s 60th anniversary. The company says it aims to sell over 25,000 new Octavia on the Czech market in 2020.

The number of hotel guests rose by 3.1 percent year-on-year to 17.3 million people from January through September, with Czechs accounting for 9 million of that figure, according to the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ).

The Czech governing coalition pushed a tax package through the lower house on Wednesday that will increase the price of tobacco, hard liquor and gambling as well as levelling a one-off tax on insurer’s reserves. The opposition, which vehemently opposed the effort, has slammed the ruling coalition for breaking its promise not to raise taxes.

The Czech Republic is one of the countries with the largest gender pay gap in the EU. On average, women earn a fifth less than men, and the annual difference exceeds one month's earnings. In an effort to combat this discrimination, the Ministry of Labour has launched a project called “22% to equality”, in reference to the difference in female and male incomes. The project involves comprehensive research, but also a web payroll calculator or an “equal pay program” for employers.