Czech news in brief for July 8: Wednesday's top morning headlines

Good morning. A photo from Ankara, Turkey illustrates the long-running clash over attendance at this week's NATO summit, picturing the Czech president and prime minister at opposite ends of a vast group of political leaders.

Could Czechia be among the EU's first to prescribe obesity drugs to kids? The announcement comes as the Danish pharmaceutical company that makes Wegovy opens its first production facility in Central Bohemia. Read more in your morning headline mix.

Czech President Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš both attended Tuesday's informal NATO summit dinner in Ankara, arriving in separate motorcades from the same hotel and photographed standing at opposite ends of the same group photo. Pavel held bilateral talks with the leaders of Finland, Romania, Denmark, the Netherlands and Iceland prior to the dinner where he sat alongside the leaders of Albania, Estonia, Croatia and Belgium. Babiš will address the formal summit session Wednesday and is expected to touch on defense spending increases.

The world took note: CNN's Ivana Kottasová picked up the story referring to the "obscure domestic political row" that saw Babiš and Pavel arrive in Ankara on two separate government planes, less than an hour apart from the same Prague airport, with "the government offering no explanation for why the pair couldn't travel together, a break from the tradition of Czech PMs and presidents attending NATO summits jointly."

Foreign Minister Petr Macinka said Czechia is considering redirecting budgeted funds toward the PURL initiative, which lets NATO allies buy American-made weapons for Ukraine. It would mark a reversal for the ANO-SPD-Motorists government, which has so far declined to fund weapons for Kyiv directly. Pavel welcomed the move as a positive signal, while Babiš maintains the country will keep funding its existing ammunition initiative; just not with fresh budget money.

Patriot pressure: Other allies, including Norway and Denmark, are moving in parallel to order new Patriot missiles for Ukraine's air defenses, following a Russian strike that killed 31 people in Kyiv last week.

Health Minister Adam Vojtěch says a decision on public reimbursement for pediatric obesity medications (GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy) is expected by year's end, as more than one in five Czech adolescents is now overweight or obese. The move follows France's lead as the first EU country to permanently cover the drugs for severe cases. SÚKL, the state drug regulator, is still discussing reimbursement terms.

Novo Nordisk stakes: The announcement came at the opening of the Danish drugmaker's new €320 million production facility in Central Bohemia. “I see it as an investment in public health and an opportunity to reduce the drastic prevalence of obesity in the Czech Republic,” Vojtěch told reporters during the opening of the new production facility in Central Bohemia.

Since January, 115 mandatory housing contact points, plus 17 more set up voluntarily, have logged over 1,500 registered consultations and roughly 4,000 anonymous ones, mostly from people searching for housing or facing lease and benefits questions. Brno's location has been the busiest by far. From July 1, the law's next phase adds landlord guarantees and municipal rental subsidies for people in housing need.

System overhaul ahead: A pending amendment would shift some responsibilities from municipalities to labor offices, a change social housing advocates worry could delay help for an estimated 160,000 people.

ČEZ will hike prices on some fixed electricity and gas tariffs starting late August, citing sustained high wholesale energy costs tied to the Middle East conflict. About 62 percent of customers whose fixed-rate contracts expire this year will see higher renewal prices, one- and two-year "Bez starostí" electricity tariffs rise roughly 6 percent, with gas up around 17 percent on those plans and 19 percent on three-year gas commitments.

Shop around: ČEZ isn't alone, E.ON raised some fixed tariffs in March, while Pražská plynárenská actually cut its three-year gas price in May, so it's worth comparing offers before your current fix expires rather than auto-renewing.

Big boulevard, big plans. Prague 6 unveiled its "Korzo Dejvická" vision to transform Dejvická Street into a greener, more pedestrian-friendly boulevard. The concept study will tackle parking, deliveries and tree planting over the coming months, with public input boards up along the street through August.

Czechia loves it landscapes. Researchers at the Landscape Research Institute mapped nearly 20,000 square kilometers of Czechia's historical cultural landscape, old ponds, vineyards, pilgrimage routes and small-plot farmland, still visible today. The maps are meant to guide future landscape protection and planning decisions.

Hola, overcrowding. Overcrowded Prague–Berlin–Budapest trains are drawing complaints after photos surfaced of young Spanish Interrail travelers lying in the aisles during the annual July peak. Czech Railways says capacity is actually higher than in past years, and recommends booking seats ahead and checking the route planner's crowding forecast.