News

The Prague City Council has, for the first time, approved a group of law firms to manage public tenders for the next four years, according to iRozhlas.cz. This marks the city’s first attempt at a more systematic approach that is meant to bring greater transparency. Until now, legal representation in such matters was typically awarded on an ad hoc basis, often without open competition.

Among the chosen firms are Rowan Legal, Řanda Havel Legal, and Havel & Partners, all of which are prominent in the Czech legal market but many of which have faced criticism in the past, some for their connections to influential figures in the public and state sectors.

Pope Leo XIV. praised the late Czech Cardinal Dominik Duka for promoting reconciliation, religious freedom, and dialogue between faith and society. In a condolence letter to Prague Archbishop Jan Graubner, the pope highlighted Duka’s courage under the communist regime, noting that he remained loyal to the Church despite persecution and imprisonment.

Duka passed away on Tuesday at the age of 82. The public can pay their respects at the All Saints Church at the Prague Castle on 13–14 November, with his funeral mass being held the following day at St. Vitus Cathedral. The service will be led by Archbishop Graubner and attended by Czech, Moravian, and international bishops. He will be laid to rest in the archbishops’ tomb in St. Vitus Chapel.

Archaeologists have found the remains of several prehistoric settlements and over 300 artefacts dating from the Late Stone Age to the Iron Age during excavations ahead of the D55 motorway construction between Kokory and Přerov in eastern Czechia. Notable discoveries include a 7,000-year-old stone axe fragment, a bronze brooch from the 3rd–2nd century BC, and a large clay-extraction site once used for pottery and building materials. Researchers say the finds could reveal new insights into early settlement in the region.

The construction of the motorway section linking Olomouc and Přerov is due to begin next year.

President Petr Pavel has granted pardons to two women, the presidential office announced on Friday. Both were convicted of drug-related offenses, and in both cases, he chose to commute the remainder of their sentences, marking the fifth time he has used this constitutional power. In his two and a half years in office, Pavel has issued a total of 19 pardons.

The first woman, aged 76, assisted in sending drugs to her grandson in prison at his request. The second woman, aged 23, provided her friend with ecstasy at a nightclub, which she also consumed, leading to her friend’s death the following day. Neither of them have any prior convictions.