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Former Czech president Vaclav Havel has been voted one of the world's Top Five public intellectuals. More than 20,000 voters from around the world took part in selecting the winners from a list of one hundred candidates, drawn up by the editors of the British magazine 'Prospect' and the US magazine 'Foreign Policy'. Brian Kenety has more.

There seems to be a curse hanging over the Czech health ministry. Few ministers since 1989 have kept their post for much longer than a year and the health sector has been plagued by financial troubles despite all attempts at reform. The recently vacated seat was about to be filled by David Rath, the head of the professional body of Czech doctors, but President Vaclav Klaus refused to confirm his appointment on Thursday, citing conflict of interest on Mr Rath's part. Only hours later Mr Rath was named deputy health minister.

The case of the fugitive Czech billionaire Radovan Krejcir has taken a new twist. From his hideout in the Seychelles the man whom the police claim was the ringleader of a dangerous gang has taken a swipe at the ruling Social Democrats, claiming that he loaned the party 60 million crowns back in 2002 in return for special favours.

Is it a boy or a girl? - this question was raised by the Czech tabloid press this week. No, we're not talking about a human child but a baby gorilla that was born almost a year ago at the Prague Zoo.

Eight days after the firing of Milada Emmerova as health minister, the Czech government now has a successor in David Rath, the head of the professional body of Czech doctors. He could become the 12th health minister since 1989 - and would face as tall an order as any: reforming a health sector in financial straits and doing so in record time.

Members of the European Forum for Responsible Drinking - which brings together many of Europe's largest drinks companies - held the latest in a series of conferences in Brussels on Wednesday. Statistics quoted at the forum suggest that Czech children start drinking earlier than children anywhere else in the European Union - on average at the age of eleven. But is the drinks industry part of the solution, or part of the problem? Attending the conference on behalf of Czech spirits producers was David Binar. Radio Prague asked him why he believed

As we reported on Tuesday, restoration work is still going on in order to repair the damage caused by the massive floods in the summer of 2002 in various archives around Prague. Because the memory is so fresh and conservation experts in the Czech Republic have gathered a lot of experience over the past three years, the Prague City Council has offered to send a team of Czech experts to New Orleans to help the city restore its historic heritage damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

A report by the international watchdog Transparency International suggests that the Czech Republic has a serious problem fighting corruption. With a corruption index of 4.3 out of an ideal 10, the Czech Republic is perceived as the third most corrupt country of the European Union.

The fifty-year-old story of the Masin brothers still has the power to provoke passionate debate here in the Czech Republic. Should members of the group who shot their way out of Czechoslovakia in 1953 be recognised as heroes? A group of five Masin admirers clearly believe they should. This Friday they're setting out to recreate their journey to Berlin.

The lower house of the Czech Parliament is expected to vote on a bill on same-sex registered partnerships this month. Last year, a similar bill was defeated by just one vote. But this time, a homosexual rights group in Prague has decided to take action within the Chamber of Deputies and has come up with an unusual method to rally MPs' support.