Czech news in brief for August 27: Thursday's top morning headlines

A small town outside České Budějovice has until Monday to decide whether to greenlight a 77,000-square-metre Amazon warehouse, and the developers aren't hiding the deadline pressure. Meanwhile, police are bracing for clashes between rival fan groups converging on three Czech cities for tonight's European matches. Good morning, here's your headline mix.

Serbian, Greek, Scottish and Croatian fans are converging on Czechia today for Europa and Conference League fixtures in Plzeň, Jablonec and Hradec Králové, and police say foreign counterparts have flagged a risk of clashes between rival groups over "long-standing mutual animosity." Riot units from multiple regions, plus reinforcements from Prague and Germany, are being deployed.

Worth noting: Face coverings on the way to matches can count as a criminal offense here; a rule expat football fans may not expect.

Developers Accolade and Garbe want to swap an already-approved four-building industrial project near Borsov nad Vltavou for a single 500-metre warehouse built specifically for Amazon, with the municipal council facing an Aug. 31 vote. Residents' group Hlas Borsova says the developers have shifted their story on timing The group also says updated environmental and traffic studies haven't kept pace with the new single-building design.

Déjà vu: This is the same playbook Dobroviz faced in 2014, when opposition to Amazon's first Czech warehouse delayed the opening by months before developers bought off resistance with local infrastructure money. Amazon itself hasn't commented; its Czech warehouses mostly serve German and Austrian orders.

Iran's armed forces have named Radio Farda, part of the U.S.-funded RFE/RL, headquartered in Prague, along with BBC Persian and Iran International as military targets, accusing them of colluding with U.S. and Israeli intelligence. Military spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi called the outlets "soldiers of Zionism and America" and said Iran's armed forces don't consider them legitimate media at all.

More details emerge: Czech security forces are evaluating the information, Government Office spokeswoman Karla Mráčková and Interior Ministry spokeswoman Adéla Dittmannová told ČTK.

The Czech Statistical Office says 154 candidates will contest this year's Senate races, down sharply from 235 in 2020, with nearly 38 percent running unaffiliated with any party. Prague 1 has the widest field at nine candidates; Rychnov has just two, meaning that race is effectively decided in round one.

One footnote: The governing Motoristé party isn't fielding a single Senate candidate this cycle, under its own banner or anyone else's.

Highs will flirt with 30°C through Thursday and Friday, with South Moravia possibly hitting 33°C, then afternoon thunderstorms roll in Friday, some potentially strong, clearing into rain by Saturday morning.

Plan ahead: Temperatures dip into the low-to-mid 20s for the weekend before climbing back toward 30°C on Sunday.

Czech pair takes surprise at US Open. Jakub Menšík and Karolína Muchová saved two match points in the semifinal before beating an Italian-Swiss pair in a final tiebreak, each picking up their first mixed doubles Grand Slam title and USD 1 million.

Nudity in the news. A Czech man is on trial in Malta over a naked-balcony incident. He was photographed unclothed on his balcony with his two young daughters by a neighbor who reported it to police; his defense argues that nudity around children is common practice in Czechia.

UNESCO site springs a leak. Ještěd's iconic tower needs more repairs than expected. An inspection found rainwater leaking into the hotel and restaurant through the lower cladding, though the building's distinctive upper laminate shell is holding up fine.