Early Bird: Chuck Norris celebrates his birthday. The palace broke their silence. Mortality broke records in January

Andrej Babiš will discuss vaccines with the Israeli Prime Minister

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During his visit to Israel, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Andrej Babiš will have a discussion with the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu on vaccination strategy, vaccine production and experience with vaccination of citizens. Babiš's visit follows on from the meeting between the Prime Ministers of Austria and Denmark. Like both of those countries, the Czech Republic is a member of the joint group Early Openers. Andrej Babiš will discuss our possible participation in a joint fund, which should support the production of vaccines and experimental drugs.

"Israel is a leader in technology. It is our traditional partner. We communicate not only with respect to the pandemic. I think it will be a very useful visit. Israel is now the world leader in vaccination. Their experience is also important to us. I will visit a large vaccination centre. I will also be present at the opening of our consulate in Jerusalem,"

Prime Minister Babiš commented on the upcoming journey. Along with the Prime Minister, Czech scientists are flying to Israel to meet the prominent Israeli personalities who have developed an experimental drug that works by the means of inhalation.

Pronájem Luxusního mezonetu, 2+kk, Praha, Praha 1

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The number of deaths in January broke historical records

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According to preliminary data, 15.9 thousand inhabitants of the Czech Republic died in January this year, i.e. 50% more than in the previous five years. This is an absolute increase of 5.3 thousand people. The January number of deaths in absolute terms exceeded the November maximum (15.7 thousand) from the autumn high mortality wave.

"Historically, in the time reel of absolute data since 1950, there has never been a higher number of people who died in January than this year. The data from 1970 came the closest. That January, at the time of the great epidemic of the so-called Hong Kong flu, 15.3 thousand dead were recorded,"

points out Marek Rojíček, Chairman of the Czech Statistical Office. Just like during last autumn's wave, men were more affected by the worsening mortality in January 2021 than women; their mortality rate increased by 58% compared to the average in January 2015-2019, while that of women increased by 38%.

The palace broke their silence

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The royal family broke their silence after Sunday's Oprah Winfrey's interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, which plunged the monarchy into the greatest crisis since Princess Diana's death in 1997. In yesterday's statement issued on behalf of the Queen, Buckingham Palace claimed that the whole family was saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.

"The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much-loved family members,”

the royal family said in a statement. More than 17 million people watched Meghan and Harry's two-hour interview on Sunday. When it was broadcast on ITV in the UK on Monday night, it had 11.3 million viewers.

Chuck Norris celebrates his 81st birthday

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Former "Walker, Texas Ranger" star Chuck Norris is celebrating his birthday today. The American icon is 81 years old. As a young man, he had first studied martial arts in Korea in the 1950s while serving in the US Air Force. After returning home, he decided to try his hand at acting, and in 1972 he appeared alongside Bruce Lee in the film "The Way of the Dragon."

His career in Hollywood continued in the 80's, and at the turn of the century, he portrayed the main character in the television series "Walker", which sealed his fame. Outside of Hollywood, the actor became a very frequent victim of Internet memes - he found himself in the midst of popular jokes that attributed him superhuman strength and impossible deeds. As an online joke says, "Chuck Norris doesn't blow out birthday candles, the flames surrender willingly!"

Norris wasn't just a star of the movie screen. Among other things, he became a very successful writer. He has written books on martial arts, exercise, politics, Christianity and biography. Twice, he became the best-selling author of the New York Times - first with a book on his personal philosophy of positive strength, "The Secret of Inner Strength: My Story" (1988), then with his second bestseller "Black Belt Patriotism" (2008), which deals with the critique of problems in the USA.

The first rapper to win a diamond single award

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Cardi B is officially the first rapper in history to win a diamond single award. The news was announced by the Recording Industry Association of America on social networks, confirming that her single "Bodak Yellow" from 2017 had reached the 10 million mark of sold pieces.

Brooklyn Johnny, Cardi B's longtime collaborator, made an Instagram post about the singer receiving her diamond plaque. She had a hard time believing it and checked several times to see if it was really true. With so many pieces sold, the rapper joined artists such as Eminem, The Notorious BIG, 2Pac, OutKast or MC Hammer.

That's all from our Early Bird, we'll be looking forward to seeing you tomorrow again! We wish you a nice getting up with the words of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche:

"The best way to start a new day is to think about whether we can make at least one person happy today."