World’s Ugliest Dog Day is celebrated on June 20 annually to spotlight dogs with less attractive features. The World’s Ugliest Dog Contest, part of the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California, awards the winner with a trophy, the title, and a cash prize, which has been $1,600 since 2017, including a trip to New York City. The Chinese Crested breed has won the most titles in the contest's history since the 1970s. The event celebrates the unique beauty of these pets and brings attention to dogs that may not fit the conventional standards of cuteness.

Belgrade's contemporary art scene, though lesser-known, boasts a rich legacy and vibrant institutions promoting local talent. Key galleries such as Gallery Singidunum, Gallery Beograd, and Chaos Gallery offer diverse artistic expressions from applied arts to works on paper. Gallery Zvono and Graficki Kolektiv Gallery are notable for supporting young artists and leading in print arts, respectively. Nova Gallery and O3One Gallery provide curated exhibitions and integrate art with technology and science. Remont and the Salon of the Museum of Contemporary Art foster innovative practices and present the latest trends. SKC, originally for students, has become a pivotal space for contemporary art and culture in Belgrade.

Roma students in the Czech Republic face systemic disadvantages due to their placement in segregated or special needs schools, despite a 2007 European Court of Human Rights ruling deeming the practice discriminatory. Although the percentage of Roma students in practical schools has decreased, they remain overrepresented. The Czech school system is under pressure to address this issue, with planned changes including increased classroom support and a new assessment system to better integrate Roma students into mainstream education.

The Czech Republic's banking sector is described as stable and profitable, a rarity in Europe's current financial climate. The Czech Banking Association credits a unified financial market supervision system and conservative risk management for the sector's health. The Czech National Bank supervises all financial industry players, contributing to the sector's resilience during crises. The four largest Czech banks, which are foreign-owned, focus on traditional commercial banking, while their parent companies handle trading and investment banking.

Jan Sedlacek, a real estate and construction investor from Prague, purchased and renovated a historic fortress in Trebotov, Czech Republic. The fortress, dating back to the 10th century with visible Renaissance-era architecture, had fallen into disrepair after being seized by the Communist government in 1948. Sedlacek bought the property in 2000 and transformed it into a livable space, preserving its historical significance while modernizing it for contemporary use.

Prague's real estate market has shown resilience, particularly for high-value properties in prime locations, despite the global economic downturn. Foreign investment has waned, with Czech and Russian buyers now dominating the luxury property market. The rental market has declined by 20 percent, affecting investment attractiveness. Companies like Jones Lang LaSalle, Svoboda & Williams, and Czech Point 101 have observed these trends, with a shift towards local investment.

Visitors to Europe can now use Cabforce, a new travel booking service, to book and pay for taxis online or via an iPhone app, avoiding the usual hassles of hailing cabs, dealing with foreign currency, and price negotiations. Cabforce, launched this year, operates in 25 European cities including Moscow, Barcelona, Paris, and London. Andreas Hansson, the CEO and co-founder, highlights the convenience and trustworthiness of the service.

Piano Media, a Slovakian start-up, aims to revolutionize online media publishing by aggregating publishers into a single payment system, similar to cable TV. The company, which started in May 2011, allows users to pay once for access to exclusive content across multiple websites. With an initial group of nine publishers and 40 websites, Piano Media earned over €40,000 in its first month. It expanded to Slovenia in January, adding nine more publishers and generating over €26,000 in the first month. Piano Media takes a 30% cut of subscription income, with 40% going to the publisher that secures the subscription and the remaining 30% distributed based on subscriber engagement, as explained by Piano’s communications director, David Brauchli.

Nanotechnology, leveraging the unique properties of nanoparticles, is a burgeoning sector within the Czech Republic's economy, renowned for its technical expertise. The country showcased its nanotech advancements at Nanotech 2012 in Tokyo, with companies like Advanced Materials-JTJ presenting their innovations, such as FN coatings that purify air through a photocatalytic process. Jan Prochazka, CEO of Advanced Materials-JTJ, highlighted the company's efforts in optimizing their product and the positive reception at the trade fair.

Prague has opened its first Art Gallery for Children, aiming to inspire creativity by allowing children to contribute to art installations. The gallery's first exhibition, 'Art of Recycling', involves children making butterflies from plastic bottles and adding pictures to portrait frames. Project coordinator Katerina Samkova and artistic director Monika Burian Jourdan express their desire to make art a part of children's everyday lives and to show that art can be created with recycled materials.