Czech news in brief for July 30: Thursday's top morning headlines

Prague Pride will step up security this year following Saturday's attack in Berlin, where a driver plowed into a crowd at a similar event, killing one person and injuring 31 others. Organizers say the week-long festival, which begins Monday, will open its Saturday parade with a minute of silence for the Berlin victim, and police will detail the specific security plan on Friday.

Security response: Festival director Kamila Fröhlichová said she regrets that several Czech political leaders have declined to clearly condemn the Berlin attack, pointing to parties that treat LGBTQ+ people as a political target and warning that "hatred begins with words."

The Health Ministry will limit pharmacies to one package of the long-scarce breast cancer drug tamoxifen per prescription, with a 21-day wait before a refill, after 1,000 packages of Tamoxifen Orifarm reached the Czech Republic Tuesday. The drug has been in short supply since its manufacturer stopped deliveries last year, forcing patients to hunt across pharmacies for stock.

Where to check: Patients can use the eRecept app to find the nearest pharmacy with supply, or call SÚKL's info line at 272 185 337.

Developers sold 1,950 new apartments in Prague in the second quarter, up 11 percent year-on-year, pushing the average price per square meter to CZK 187,781. Smaller layouts drove demand, with 2+kk and 1+kk units together accounting for nearly three-quarters of sales.

Where the deals are: Prague 5, 9 and 10 accounted for almost three-quarters of all sales, while Prague 2 remained the most expensive district at over CZK 271,000 per square meter.

Czech households saved 19.2 percent of their income last year, tied with Germany for the EU's highest rate and well above the bloc's 13.6 percent average, per Eurostat. Analysts point out that much of this sits in low-yield accounts, where average interest of around 2.5 percent is being eroded by inflation.

The catch: Fingood's CEO noted Czechs hold nearly half the country's GDP in current and savings accounts, calling it an "unhealthy" concentration that forgoes returns available elsewhere.

The State Agricultural and Food Inspection Authority is warning against eating REEVA-brand chicken, vegetable, and beef instant noodles from three specific batches after lab tests found Salmonella bacteria. The noodles come from a Ukrainian manufacturer now under scrutiny for a possible wider hygiene issue at the source.

Check your batch: The affected batches are chicken flavor L0526, vegetable flavor L0126 and beef flavor L1125; anyone who's gotten sick after eating them should see a doctor.

Wheelchair granny vs. pickpocket. A repeat offender with 21 prior convictions tried to grab a senior woman's bags and wallet as she sat in her electric wheelchair in Zlín, police said. She was faster than him, snatching her wallet back before bystanders helped police track him down.

Pat and Mat turn 50. The clumsy, wordless handyman duo will hit Czech screens again on Oct. 8 with "Pat and Mat: Back in the Countryside," their fifth feature film. Since debuting in 1976, the pair have picked up fans as far afield as Poland, Germany and Iran.

Beavers menace tourists. A beaver family has been gnawing down trees at the popular Velký Pařezitý pond near Telč, prompting new warning signs about falling timber along the hiking trail. Conservationists say a lone beaver spotted in 2024 has grown into a full "functional family" with a taste for felling aspens onto the dam path.