Czech news in brief for August 11: Tuesday's top morning headlines

A vegetation fire broke out in Letná Gardens Monday morning, pulling in firefighters from three stations and briefly rerouting two tram lines. Meanwhile, Czech rivers are hitting historic lows as this summer's drought tightens its grip, a Smartwings flight to Tel Aviv turned back to Prague after an engine fault, and a wave of Czech billionaire dealmaking is reshaping European M&A. Good morning, here's your headline mix.

A fire broke out on the Letná Gardens slope Monday evening, spreading across an area roughly 6 by 50 meters and drawing units from the Holešovice, Sokolská and Petřiny stations plus the Prague Castle fire department. Trams on lines 12 and 15 were diverted over Čechův most for more than half an hour while crews worked.

Out by nine: Firefighters had the blaze extinguished shortly before 9 p.m. and did a preventive spray-down of the surrounding unburned vegetation before handing the site over to the Prague 7 mayor.

A Smartwings Boeing 737 Max 8 bound for Tel Aviv turned back to Václav Havel Airport early Monday after the crew detected an engine malfunction shortly after takeoff. All 189 passengers and six crew landed safely, though the landing triggered a full emergency alert and briefly diverted other flights to Brno.

Not the first time: In 2019 a Smartwings plane flew most of a Samos-to-Prague route on a single engine, an incident investigators later tied to two dozen pilot errors, though criminal charges were eventually dropped.

Almost every measured stream in Czechia is running below average, many at record lows for early August, with forecasters seeing little chance of rain this week and temperatures climbing back past 35°C. A hydrological drought warning is now in effect for nearly the whole country, with the Morava in Olomouc lower than during the severe drought of 1921.

Hunger stones surface: The falling Elbe has exposed centuries-old hunger stones near Děčín, historic markers meant to warn future generations of drought conditions.

Arms magnate Michal Strnad's stake in Italian tire giant Pirelli capped a run of acquisitions that have made Czech billionaires unusually influential in European M&A, with outward Czech investment abroad more than quadrupling since 2014. Energy baron Daniel Kretinsky remains the most prolific, with holdings spanning Royal Mail's parent to TotalEnergies.

Closer to home: Strnad has folded Prague's Four Seasons hotel, a fertility clinic and the city's Ferrari and Maserati dealerships into his personal investment vehicle.

Police say summer heat makes noise complaints spike as open windows let barbecues, parties and barking dogs carry further than usual. Czech law protects nighttime quiet from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. year-round, with no exceptions for weekends, and police say summer heat makes noise complaints spike as open windows let barbecues, parties and barking dogs carry further than usual.

Know the fine: A first offense can bring a fine up to CZK 15,000, though police recommend a polite word with the neighbor first, and calling the municipal police at 156 or national police at 158 if that doesn't work.

Tamper-proof: The cameras carry sensors that flag any attempt to cover or disable them, and the system keeps recording even on trains that have been pulled from service.

Museum's trust box fills up: An exhibition at the Museum of Prague drew nearly 700 messages from children and parents in a trust box, many describing bullying, abuse, and mental health struggles. Psychiatric researchers at Charles University have now asked to use the material in their work.

Schrödinger's box charms Olomouc: Palacký University installed a black box near its science faculty that meows and randomly drops colorful "quanta," a playful nod to Schrödinger's famous thought experiment, to draw attention to the school's quantum research.

Stalin center saved: Prague city councilors reversed course and put the Stalin Cultural Center back on the official market order, letting the concert venue beneath the old monument's pedestal keep operating. The catch: the site's statics still need regular monitoring given the pedestal's decades of wear.