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An amendment to the country’s health bill on Wednesday will mean that health care fees at the doctor's will no longer be mandatory for those under the age of 18. The bill, modified by the Senate, was passed by a majority of coalition lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies. Until now all Czechs visiting the doctor’s were required to pay 30 crowns per visit, 60 per day in hospital, and 90 crowns for visits to the emergency ward. Minors will only be exempt from the 30 crown fees. The amendment will still have to be signed by the president before coming into law. Health care fees have been a major issue dividing the government and the opposition, which has pledged to strike them down altogether

The Czech President Václav Klaus has poked fun at his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, saying the French president aspired to be Europe's “permanent chairperson”. The AFP news agency reported that Mr Klaus made the joke on Wednesday during a foreign policy debate in Paris. During France's six-month EU presidency, Mr Sarkozy was seen as highly active on numerous fronts but on occasion the French leader has since raised the ire of Czech officials. Most recently he drew criticism from the Czech Republic – now heading the EU presidency - over his suggestion that French automakers should shut down factories in central Europe and relocate to France. The idea has sparked fears over protectionism.

English football club, Chelsea, home to Czech goalkeeper Petr Čech, will be led by Dutch coach Guus Hiddink following the firing of Luiz Felipe Scolari. After the Brazilian’s surprise dismissal this week, speculation emerged that Čech and other key players had had an influence. But the player has reportedly denied any role. British tabloid The Sun has suggested that the star goalkeeper had been at odds with the former manager over key changes in training.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has indicated that Washington would be prepared to revise its missile defense plans if it did not have to counter a growing missile threat from Iran. During talks with Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg in Washington on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton said that unless Iran changed its position, the US would have no choice but to push ahead with its missile defense plans. She said that plans to station elements of the US missile defense shield in the Czech Republic and Poland remained on track but admitted they could be delayed as a result of the global crisis. The Czech foreign minister said earlier that Prague would understand and accept the need for a postponement for economic reasons. Although the respective agreements on the siting of a US tracking radar in the Czech Republic have been signed, the project still needs to win approval in the Czech Parliament.