FERTILITY - Women ages 30–34 will soon be the most fertile in the Czech Republic, following the trend of Western Europe, the Institute of Health Information and Statistics reports. In 2004, one-third of all babies born were to women over 30. Work and careers have caused many women to postpone motherhood.

JAILS - Pavel Šefl has been appointed head of Bory prison in Plzeň, despite his being one of eight prison officials who were punished in connection with a high-profile prison break last month. Luděk Kula, the head of Czech prisons, nevertheless said he considered Šefl a good choice.

RATH - Health Minister David Rath says he will approve new regulations increasing the price of modern fertility medications for women. Older fertility medications, which cost less, will remain covered by the country's largest health insurance company, VZP.

PLANES - The Czech government will pay Airbus 850 million Kč ($34.6 million) for two A-319 jets that will be used to transport Czech officials. The move follows concerns in the government about the condition of its fleet of official planes, many of which are outdated and have malfunctioned during foreign trips.

COPS - Roughly 2,300 people left the police force this year and its president, Vladislav Husák, wants to stop the exodus. Husák said Dec. 5 that he will discuss the department's future after conducting a thorough analysis of discontent in the ranks that will include the use of psychologists.

CUTS - Mirek Topolánek, leader of the opposition Civic Democrats, admitted to his weakness for leggy blondes in a new book, but the passage was cut, the Czech media reported Dec. 6. Also excluded was a passage about his past days as a major-league drinker.