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The Czech Republic’s cultural heritage is set to become more accessible than ever after the Ministry of Culture announced it will create a freely accessible central database of the country’s heritage online. Dubbed Czechiana, the EU funded project will make it possible to see anything from maps, pictures and diaries normally located in Czech museums and galleries, on the internet by November 2020.

Villagers of an Eastern Bohemian village were recently shocked to find their cherished nest of sea eagles had been wiped out by what seems to have been poison. Ornithologists have been summoned to the vicinity and the local police have launched an investigation.

A controversial proposal to tax money paid to religious groups in compensation for property seized under Communism is a step closer to becoming law. In their first session since the Easter holiday, MPs on Tuesday overrode a veto by the Senate to tax the restitution income of 16 Czech churches and a Jewish federation.

More than 60 percent of Czechs believe the decision to join the European Union nearly 15 years ago was beneficial to their country, an exclusive poll commissioned by Czech Radio shows. Benefits such as the ability to work abroad and visa free travel were seen as especially positive by over a thousand Czechs over the age of 18, who were surveyed by the polling agency MEDIAN.

The unexpected resignation of Justice Minister Jan Kněžínek late last week, coming just one day after police investigators proposed charging the prime minister with EU subsidy fraud has raised an outcry from opposition politicians, who say the move gives serious cause for concern about the independence of the Czech judiciary.

The Czech Republic has dropped another six spots in the annual global ranking of press freedom published by the watchdog Reporters Without Borders. The country is now in 40th place, after a steady slide over the past four years.

Police investigators have proposed pressing charges against Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and several members of his family over suspicions that he and his associates illegally tapped into a 50 million crown EU subsidy ten years ago. If the prime minister stands trial and is found guilty he could face a jail sentence of between five and ten years.

This week marks 70 years since the establishment of the famous children’s books publisher Albatros. As part of the anniversary, Albatros has released a collection of some of its most famous titles, both fiction and non-fiction, published in the years between 1960 and 1980.

Attention has been focused on fire safety elsewhere following Monday’s devastating blaze at Paris’s Notre-Dame. The Czech equivalent, Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral, is prepared for such an eventuality, its operators say, with millions of crowns being spent on fire prevention measures every year.

Czech That Film, an annual festival of contemporary Czech films, is currently underway across the United States and Canada. The largest Czech cultural event in North America offers both Czech expats and US film enthusiasts a chance to get acquainted with present-day Czech cinematography and meet some of the filmmakers in person.