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Cardinal Dominik Duka, former archbishop of Prague, has sparked outrage with a post on social networks in which he compared efforts to legalize marriage for all to the war in Ukraine and claimed that both Christians and Jews now "face the same pressure as they did under Nazism". The cardinal wrote that the human being most at threat is not the Ukrainian soldier, but the unborn child who needs a union between a man and a woman. "Yes, the war in Ukraine is terrible, but the war in the West is just as terrible," Duka said. Rabbi David Maxa published an open letter in response to Duka's post, in which he said that the cardinal’s stance was a "massive distortion of the facts" and asked him not to speak for the Jewish community.

More than 70 Czech servicemen and women received medals of merit from Deputy Chief of the General Staff Miroslav Hlaváč for their service to the state on Wednesday. Those distinguished served abroad in the military structures of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union. The recipients, among them six women, were posted in close to a dozen countries, including Belgium, Poland, Italy and the United States.

Debate on the government’s austerity package entered into its third day in the lower house on Thursday. The opposition parties launched a fierce attack against the government over the proposed changes, accusing it of damaging citizens and companies and breaking its promise not to raise taxes. Alena Schillerová, head of the ANO deputies’ group in the lower house, said the package was predominantly a major hike in taxes that would further raise inflation. The opposition parties are expected to table dozens of proposed amendments. However the ruling coalition has a comfortable majority in both houses and has said it is resolved to push the package through, with only cosmetic changes to be considered.

Czech Design Week, a showcase of artists from the independent scene, gets underway in Prague’s Mánes exhibition hall on Thursday.

This year’s edition of the event, which was established in 2014, will present the work of more than 120 Czech and international designers, studios and brands. It will also see the launch of the New Generation project, introducing works of students and graduates of art and design schools.