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As the end of 2018 draws near, Czechs are reflecting on the century of their independent state. All years ending in “8” have a special meaning for this nation – 1918, 1938, 1948, and 1968 were the main turning points for the country and its people. Pavel Kosatík is a journalist and writer, author of many books, screenplays and documentaries about Czech history.

Shorebirds are birds commonly found along sandy or rocky shorelines, mudflats, and shallow waters all around the globe. But a study co-authored by Czech scientist Vojtěch Kubelka shows that these birds are increasingly threatened with extinction. The research, recently published in the prestigious US magazine Science, reveals a link between nest predation and climate change on a global scale, but especially in the Arctic.

Like all other developed countries, Czechia has a waste problem. Even though Czech households do not, actually, produce half as much garbage as those in the United States, the government is looking for new ways to increase recycling. Ironically, some towns and companies make a lot of money from traditional landfills. So, it is not always easy to change old practices.

Jakub Kalenský was among the first to join the skeleton staff of the East StratCom Task Force, the European Union’s first direct initiative to identify, debunk and counter Russia’s disinformation campaigns. For the first year or so of the Task Force’s existence, established in the summer of 2015, the Czech former journalist was also the only team member devoted solely to that monumental task.

The European Green Belt is a stretch of wilderness running along the former Iron Curtain, which once divided the continent. It has evolved along the border for more than four decades and today is the longest and largest ecological network of its kind not only in Europe, but in the whole world. The European Green Belt is also an ecological initiative that joins 24 states, which were once divided by the impenetrable borderline.

Czechia has a treasure not known to many visitors. It is a unique network of hiking trails over 40 000 kilometers (or 25 000 miles) long. The trails are very well marked out and regularly maintained by members of the Czech Tourist Club. Whereas other countries have various hiking trails, the Czech network is very systematic, easy to understand and unified all over the country. As Vít Pohanka reports, the system was developed for over a century.

The wildcat is a small carnivorous species that once inhabited the Czech Republic’s forests, before it was hunted down at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. However, images of the wildcat recently captured by camera traps in some parts of the Czech Republic suggest that the rare feline may once again be settling in the country.

Forests in the Czech Republic are suffering. Frequent periods of prolonged draught have weakened trees, leaving them prone to harmful bark beetle infestation. Moreover, severe storms in recent months and years damaged large areas of woodland and foresters have had to cut down many more trees than the sawmills are able to process. As a result, the price of wood has now fallen to a half of what it was a year ago. Vít Pohanka met foresters and experts from several European countries at a seminar they held in Czechia.

The manuscript of Antonín Dvořák’s famous cello concerto has gone on display at the Czech Centre in New York, launching a month-long celebration of the centenary of Czechoslovakia.

The Czech Republic is one of the few countries in Europe whose incumbent presidents appear on postage stamps. A first such stamp was issued in 1920, featuring the first Czechoslovak president, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. Since then, almost every Czech head of state has been pictured on a stamp.