HEALTH - Health Minister David Rath is defending his first 100 days in office despite criticism from healthcare professionals. He said his biggest achievements are lowering the debt of state insurance company VZP, tighter control over VZP's finances and introducing medical service assessment methods.

ROMA - The European Court of Human Rights ruled Feb. 8 that Romany children are not victims of racial discrimination in education. In D.H. and Others v. the Czech Republic, 18 Roma from Ostrava accused the state of discriminatory practices in its school system. The case may be referred to the European Court's Grand Chamber.

BIRD FLU - The country might be forced to impose stricter measures on chicken farming if doctors confirm a suspected case of avian flu in a patient in Greece. Experts propose that farmers vaccinate their chickens and keep them locked up and that the country puts its bird shows on hold.

THAW - Warmer weather is on the way, according to meteorologists. Temperatures should rise to 8 degrees Celsius (46 degrees Fahrenheit) this week, melting all the snow. By the weekend, however, experts expect temperatures to fall to as low as 1 degree Celsius (34 degrees Fahrenheit).

JUSTICE - Supreme Court Chairwoman Iva Brožová resumed her post Feb. 10. Justice Minister Pavel Němec tried to remove Brožová last week, claiming incompetence. Brožová took her case to the Constitutional Court and won. She has now called into question the court's swearing in without her consent of former Justice Minister Jaroslav Bureš, whom the Justice Ministry had pegged as her replacement.

REFUSAL - President Václav Klaus refused to sign a bill on registered partnerships in spite of Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek's appeals for him to do so. The bill, approved by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, would give gay couples some of the same rights married couples have. Klaus said this would endanger the traditional family structure.

INCOGNITO Prague Mayor Pavel Bém disguised himself Feb. 12 as an English-speaking "rocker" to check prices charged by taxi drivers. One driver charged the proper sum, while another charged "only" double. Posing as an Italian businessman one year ago, Bém was charged up to seven times the standard rate.

SANCTIONS - The Czech Republic lifted trade sanctions against Libya Feb. 13, after nearly 16 years. The move gets the country in line with European Union and United Nations policy. The United States and EU members hit Libya with sanctions in the 1980s because the nation sponsored terrorism.

WARRANT - An international arrest warrant came out on Vratislav Romanovský Feb. 13. The entrepreneur is sentenced to eight years in prison for tax evasion along with businessman Tomaš Pitr. The 60-year-old has Australian citizenship and is currently living in Australia.