Czech news in brief for September 13: Saturday's top headlines

Strong thunderstorms are expected in eastern Czechia from Saturday evening into Sunday afternoon, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute said. Rainfall could exceed 50 mm, raising river levels to the first flood stage in affected areas, including parts of South Bohemia, Pardubice, Moravia and Silesia. Low-lying areas may experience local flooding, while larger rivers are not expected to overflow their banks.

ANO’s first deputy chair Karel Havlíček said Saturday the party will not accept government-formation demands that could endanger Czechia’s security or its NATO and EU membership. Speaking on Nova TV, he emphasized reforming the EU rather than undermining it. ANO, the October election frontrunner, excludes coalitions with Spolu, STAN or Pirates but may cooperate with SPD or Stačilo!.

Solar energy in Czechia supplied 14.7 percent of electricity demand in June 2025, up from 10.5 percent last year, according to expert analysis. Production nearly doubled from 2.3 TWh in 2019 to 4 TWh in 2024, aided by subsidies and falling solar panel costs. Analysts highlight growing domestic battery use, regional integration, and potential for wind energy to complement solar in stabilizing the grid.

Police are looking for 16-year-old Michaela Limonová, a psychiatric patient at risk of self-harm, who did not return Friday from a specialized facility in Stod. The last sighting was around 3 p.m. in Pilsen. Authorities said she has run away before without contact. Anyone with information is asked to call 158 or contact the nearest police station. She is approximately 160 cm tall.

Interior Minister Vít Rakušan said Friday that Czechia is prepared to help Poland under NATO commitments after Russian drones violated Polish airspace. Speaking at a Salzburg Forum meeting, he called for a strong response and noted the incident occurred just 220 kilometers from the Czech border. Defence officials said Czechia is ready to deploy a special helicopter unit to Poland within three days if needed.

Police evacuated about 50 employees from a parcel company depot in Tuchoměřice near Prague’s Václav Havel Airport Friday night after an X-ray check flagged a suspicious package. The area was closed to incoming trucks, causing a traffic backlog. A police bomb squad later ruled out any danger, confirming the package did not contain an explosive device and allowing operations to resume.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský welcomed NATO’s new Operation Eastern Sentry to strengthen air defence on the alliance’s eastern flank after Russian drones violated Polish airspace. NATO chief Mark Rutte said allies including Germany, France, Denmark and Britain will deploy aircraft and surveillance assets. Czechia is ready to send a special helicopter unit to Poland within days, Defence Minister Jana Černochová said.

Prague’s National Museum is showcasing 100 artifacts from the Chinese imperial court in Europe for the first time. The 100 Treasures, 100 Stories exhibition, open through year’s end, features Qing Dynasty pieces, including a jadeite cabbage with hidden grasshoppers. The collection was moved to Taiwan in 1948 by Chiang Kai-shek’s forces after the Communist takeover of mainland China.

The remains of nine Czechoslovak soldiers who died in World War II were handed to their families Thursday during a ceremony at Prague’s Vítkov memorial. Defence Minister Jana Černochová awarded ministerial honours to relatives of paratroopers, guards and a resistance politician killed between 1938 and 1944. The repatriation followed years of searches in Germany and Poland to locate and identify the fallen.

Russia and Belarus will stage the Zapad 2025 military exercise as both training and a message to Europe, Czech security analysts say. Though smaller than the 2021 drill that preceded Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the exercise is expected to showcase nuclear capabilities and improved drone warfare. Experts warn it signals Moscow’s readiness to project power despite limited capacity for large-scale operations.