Czech news in brief for July 13: Monday's top morning headlines

Good morning, it's Monday and the week is starting off on a fiery note. The clash between the Czech president and prime minister continues with a request to resume policy talks by the former and a weekend social media slam by the latter. A warehouse of electric scooters is in flames outside of Prague; if you live in this area, take note of the no-ventilation warning. Does Czechia have its own "Pompei"? Indeed, it does. Find out how to visit as part of the country's Archeological Summer, below. In the meantime, here's your mix of top morning headlines.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has rejected President Petr Pavel's proposal to restart regular consultation meetings between Czechia's top constitutional officials on foreign policy, telling Czech Television he sees no reason to coordinate with a president he accuses of running a campaign against him. The rejection comes on the heels of a weekend attack, where Babiš called Pavel's attendance at the NATO summit in Ankara "a disgrace," claiming unnamed allies asked why the president was even there.

For context: The two leaders haven't held a joint meeting since January, when Babiš and then-new foreign minister Petr Macinka skipped one at Prague Castle after a Cabinet meeting ran long.

A 100-by-50-meter warehouse storing electric scooters collapsed in flames early Sunday in Čelákovice, just outside Prague, prompting a third-level alarm and a no-ventilate advisory for nearby residents. Twenty-one fire units, including six professional crews, responded; no injuries reported so far. Crews are working from the outside since the structure caved inward, and expect to call in heavy cutting equipment to get in.

Still unfolding: Firefighters warn the operation will take a long time, and smoke is visible from well outside the town.

Almost 1,400 people in Czechia officially changed their gender on documents over the past twelve months, more than the previous nine years combined, per Interior Ministry data. The surge followed a July 2025 rule change that dropped surgery or hormone treatment as a requirement, leaving only a sexologist's confirmation needed. Surgical transitions haven't seen a comparable jump, with the Ministry of Health reporting a steady 250-plus procedures a year.

Behind the shift: The rule change followed a Constitutional Court ruling that struck down mandatory surgery as an unreasonable violation of bodily integrity.

The lower Nové Mlýny reservoir and the Dyje River below it are thick with cyanobacteria, with oxygen levels near zero in places. Lednice's volunteer firefighters have been spraying the water through the night to force oxygen back in, and while no mass fish deaths have been confirmed yet, fishermen say fish are surfacing and gasping near Bulhary. Warm, windless, cloudy weather is making it worse, and officials say the only real fix right now is releasing water from the reservoir gates to get the river moving again.

Long-term solution: The Soutok Protected Landscape Area's director says renaturalizing the Dyje's riverbed, reconnecting old meanders, is the real solution, but that's a twenty-year project.

Czech drivers have recorded around 27,000 accidents through the Bouračka app since its launch last July, according to the Czech Insurers' Office. Fifty thousand drivers have used it so far, with filling out a report taking roughly twenty minutes on average. It's now used in about one in five accidents that don't require calling the police.

Try before you crash: A demo version (Czech only) launched two months ago lets people test the reporting flow without an actual accident.

Storms to break up a hot week: Highs will push past 25°C almost everywhere, and above 30°C in South Moravia and the Elbe region, before thunderstorms with hail and strong wind hit Tuesday and Wednesday. It'll cool briefly midweek, then climb again by Thursday.

Czechs get curious about colleagues' pay: 62 percent of Czech workers now want to know what colleagues earn, up five points from last year, with interest highest among those under 26. A pay transparency law implementing an EU directive is now awaiting a parliamentary vote.

'Czech Pompeii' opens its gates: Archaeologists are guiding tours through Křivoklát's fire-ravaged medieval ruins as part of this year's Archaeological Summer, with over 100 sites nationwide on offer, from prehistoric settlements to WWII bunkers. Some tours, like the boat trip to the Davle island monastery, are already booked solid, so organizers recommend reserving early via the Archaeological Summer website.