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Emotions were running high in Parliament on Wednesday ahead of the no-confidence vote in Mirek Topolánek’s centre-right government. The government scored an important victory in the morning session, pushing through the 2009 draft state budget into a second reading. Following on from that initial victory, we spoke to Radio Prague’s Jan Richter, who has been following developments in Parliament:

In recent years medical tourism has become a real growth industry, with many travelling to former communist bloc states to take advantage of relatively affordable health care. The latest example of this is western Europeans getting treatment in the Czech Republic – for obesity.

Health care fees of 30, 60 and 90 crowns introduced earlier this year at Czech surgeries, hospitals, and emergency wards have remained a major issue among many Czechs and came to the forefront in last week’s regional elections. In the run-up to the vote, the Social Democrats – who trounced the ruling parties - promised to “abolish” fees for patients at regional hospitals by covering expenditures from regional coffers. But it turns out keeping that promise may not be such a good idea.

After two years in power, dissenting voices in the Civic Democratic Party are growing, and Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek could now face his greatest political battle. The prime minister is trying to weather the storm after his party was defeated across the board in regional elections last weekend. Rivals the Social Democrats trounced the right-of-centre party; previously the Civic Democrats held 12 out of 13 regional assemblies – now the Social Democrats control them all. The Civic Democrats are also at risk of losing a majority in the Senate

The Czech Republic is still abuzz with allegations that Czech-born writer Milan Kundera informed on a suspected spy in 1950, and on Monday an unlikely ally came to Mr Kundera’s defence: former president Václav Havel. The two men famously clashed over the role played by dissidents in communist Czechoslovakia – Mr Havel accused the émigré writer of being cynical - but Mr Havel has now defended Mr Kundera and criticised his detractors.

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek told German leader Angela Merkel during her visit to Prague on Monday that the Czech Republic could ratify the Lisbon treaty by the end of the year: before the beginning of the country’s EU presidency. But the odds are now against Mr Topolánek, for whom the Lisbon treaty is just one of many battles.

The opposition Social Democrats dealt Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek’s centre-right government a severe blow in the weekend’s regional and Senate elections. The main opposition party won hands down in all 13 regions and secured a strong lead in the first round of the Senate elections, threatening to tip the balance of power in the upper chamber ahead of key votes on the Lisbon treaty, the US radar and social reform. With the government’s fragile majority in the lower house and a no-confidence vote in the cabinet due on Wednesday, there is speculation that

Czech teachers have long called for an increase in salaries. They claim that not only are they underpaid but that their job gets more demanding with each passing year, as their pupils grow more unruly and aggressive both in and outside the classroom. According to the Association of Primary School Teachers, nearly 90 percent of teachers now complain that children are increasingly difficult to manage. Dr. Petra Vrtbovská from the Prague Institute for Foster Care says that the primary blame for this unrestrained behaviour often lies with the

Prague witnessed its biggest fire since 1974 on Thursday evening when the art deco Industrial Palace at the 19th century Výstaviště Exhibition Grounds burst into flames. Firemen were still dampening the burning embers on Friday morning, and won’t be able to properly examine the wreckage of the building until Sunday. An investigation into what caused the fire is still ongoing, and all sorts of conspiracy theories are flying around.

Regular listeners to Radio Prague may remember us reporting on Bohemians 1905, the venerable football club that would have gone bust had it not been for its loyal fans who held a collection to save their beloved "Kangaroos", as the team has been known since they went on a famous tour of Australia in the 1920s. Now, a new documentary has been released which celebrates the quirky life of some of these dedicated Bohemians fans.