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The government has earmarked 2.8 billion crowns (117 million dollars) from the state budget as health insurance payments for students, pensioners and the unemployed, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday. As of the beginning of February, the government has increased payments to 560 crowns (23 dollars) a month for students and other selected groups. If approved by the lower house, the payments should increase to 636 crowns (26 dollars) as of April. Health Minister David Rath said the increase in payments is one of the measures to reduce the heavy debt of the state-controlled health insurer VZP.

The supermarket chain Hypernova has withdrawn bottled water claiming to prevent bird flu, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday. The water called Fromin Aktimun, made by Czech company Aquamat, comes in orange, lemon and grapefruit flavour and its label says it acts as bird flu prevention. The water was on sale at two outlets of the Hypernova supermarket chain owned by Netherlands-based Ahold until Wednesday although it had been banned by the State Agriculture and Food Inspection Office in mid-January. Experts say the only effective prevention of bird flu is a vaccine against a particular virus and they described the marketing of the product as "misleading."

The Czech Environment Minister Libor Ambrozek wants the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland to consider taking joint steps which would prevent the illegal export of garbage onto their territory from the more affluent EU members. In recent weeks the Czech border regions have been plagued by illegal rubbish dumps of what is obviously German waste. Czech firms are not qualified to import or process foreign waste but the illegal activity continues because there is profit to be had on both sides- for German firms it is cheaper to sell it than dispose of it, Czechs involved in the garbage smuggling make huge profit. Other EU newcomers, such as Poland appear to have the same problem.

Efforts by the Social Democratic party leadership to convince party deputies to vote in favour of a bill which would legalize gay marriage in the Czech Republic have not been entirely successful. Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek, who has been pushing hard for the bill's approval, said on Tuesday that several of his party deputies remained adamantly against it and that they would be left to vote according to their conscience. Meanwhile, the party has been seeking supporters for the bill across the political spectrum. Following President Klaus' veto of the bill last week, it would need to gain 101 votes in the Lower House in order to become law.