Czech news in brief for September 27: Saturday's top headlines

Hundreds demonstrated at Prague Castle Saturday in a march organized by the Svatopluk association, allied with opposition groups SPD and Stačilo!. Participants carried banners urging President Petr Pavel to respect election results and criticized alleged manipulation. The protest included speeches by party representatives and displayed a mix of pro- and anti-government messages. Pavel has affirmed he will follow the voters’ will, regardless of party outcomes.

A 47-year-old man is facing attempted murder charges after stabbing two men on a Prague bus Thursday night. The victims are hospitalized but stable. The incident on bus 136 followed a confrontation involving several men after a woman objected to their behavior. The suspect faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Witnesses and video evidence have been collected.

The D46 motorway near Slavonín, Olomouc, is closed in the direction of Olomouc after a person jumped from a bridge shortly after 11 a.m. Friday. Emergency services, including police, firefighters, and paramedics, are on site. Traffic is backing up, and authorities are investigating the circumstances of the incident.

The Defence Ministry approved contracts worth CZK 4.03 billion to boost the army’s drone defense, officials said Thursday. The army will acquire two ES-RA electromagnetic warfare systems and two SRTP electronic surveillance devices from the state-owned Military Research Institute. Defence Minister Jana Černochová said the upgrades, replacing outdated equipment, reflect lessons from the war in Ukraine and changing forms of combat.

This weekend, the Czech Republic will see mild temperatures and some sunshine after recent cold, rainy days, meteorologists said Saturday. Saturday's morning clouds should clear in the afternoon, with highs of 15–19 degrees Celsius, reaching 20 degrees in some areas. Sunday will be partly sunny, especially in the northeast. Cooler air and frosty mornings are expected next week as temperatures drop closer to seasonal averages.

Two boys, about 15, were trapped nearly an hour at a height of 25 meters on a fairground ride during St. Wenceslas celebrations in Břeclav on Friday evening. Firefighters safely lowered them using an aerial ladder, and both were unharmed. The ride’s operator initially tried to fix the malfunction before calling emergency services. Parents met the boys once they were safely on the ground.

A man died Friday evening after being struck by a tram in Prague’s Hostivař nrighborhood, police said. The incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. on Švehlova Street near Práčská Street. Witnesses said the man was walking on the tracks for unknown reasons. Emergency crews recovered his body, and tram service between Hostivař and Strašnice was temporarily halted. Police are investigating the circumstances of the accident.

Billionaire Michal Strnad has purchased Viktoria Plzeň football club from the Austrian-Swiss group FCVP GmbH, the team announced Thursday. Strnad, owner of the Czechoslovak Group and one of the richest Czechs, said he aims to keep the club at the top of Czech football and in European competitions. The investment is private, with existing managers retaining minority stakes and operational roles.

Police discovered more than 750 kilograms of historic ammunition at a former shooting range in Černovír, in Czechia's Olomouc Region, during a garden cleanup. Bomb experts safely detonated small pieces on site and removed larger ones for disposal. The cache, including artillery shells and mines from the interwar to post-war periods, posed no danger and required no evacuation, police spokeswoman Ivana Skoupilová said Friday.

Tomáš Hůlka, set to lead the Czech Prison Service from Oct. 1, aims to modernize facilities with AI-based detection systems and expand staff training. He highlighted severe understaffing, with 900 positions unfilled, and intends to reallocate personnel toward prisoner rehabilitation. Hůlka also plans to boost recruitment campaigns and introduce specialized programs to reduce recidivism.

Czech Human Rights Commissioner Klára Šimáčková Laurencíková called Slovakia’s new constitutional amendment a dangerous weakening of fundamental rights. Slovakia’s parliament passed the measure Thursday with support from some opposition MPs, enabling Prime Minister Robert Fico’s coalition to enshrine conservative values and limit international human rights obligations.