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Former president Václav Havel’s state of health has improved greatly, and he is expected to be out of hospital by the end of the week. The head of Prague’s Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine made the announcement to journalists on Monday evening. Mr Havel was hospitalized on January 19 with chronic bronchitis and a heart problem. Due to his hospitalization, he missed the preview of Citizen Havel - a documentary film made in his honour.

In Mailbox this week: the new three-tier maternity leave system in the Czech Republic, the upcoming presidential elections in the Czech Republic, and the mysterious “zlaté prasátko”. Listeners quoted: Beverly Smith, Luke Mitchell and Gwen E. Nemec.

The health of former Czech President Václav Havel, who was hospitalized with a heart problem over the weekend, is reported to have improved slightly. Mr Havel was admitted to hospital on Saturday with bronchitis and heart arrhythmia, a problem aggravated by his busy work schedule. Doctors at the Prague Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine where Mr Havel is hospitalized say he will remain in hospital for another two weeks during which he will undergo a series of heart and lungs examinations.

The former Czech president Václav Havel was admitted to hospital over the weekend with chronic bronchitis and a heart problem. Although his private secretary was quick to reassure the public that his condition was not serious and that Mr. Havel simply needed to get some rest, latest reports suggest that the popular former head of state may need more intensive treatment.

The former president Václav Havel who was hospitalized with a heart problem over the weekend is reported to be feeling better. Mr. Havel was hospitalized with heart arrhythmia on Saturday night but is now said to be out of danger. He will remain in hospital for another day or two for monitoring. His private secretary Jakub Hladík said Mr. Havel had had a busy schedule in recent weeks and needed to get some rest. The media have not been told which hospital he is in, but Vaclav Havel sent them a message saying he was feeling much better and hoped to attend the premiere of a new documentary about his life and work called Citizen Havel.

The former Czech president Václav Havel has been hospitalized with a heart problem. According to the CTK news agency Mr. Havel was admitted to hospital on Saturday night after complaining of heart arrhythmia or irregular heat beat. Mr. Havel’s secretary Jakub Hladík said on Sunday that the problem was not serious. He said he had spoken with the ex-president over the phone on Sunday morning and that Mr. Havel was feeling well. He should remain in hospital for several days for monitoring.

Former dissident/playwright turned president Václav Havel remains one of the country’s most well-known and most respected figures, both at home and abroad, whose rise to office had the making of both fairy tale and absurdist drama. In the early ‘90s, Vanity Fair published a famous piece about Mr Havel as a president unlike any other: a man with a scooter to zip through the corridors of Prague Castle, a president who invited Frank Zappa to the capital, in short, a kind of head of state no one had seen before.

Václav Havel has received a Karel Čapek award from the Czech PEN club. On Thursday, Mr. Havel was awarded the prize in Prague’s Old Town Square, for his overwhelming contribution to Czech literature over the years. The prize has been handed out every two years since it was created back in 1994. Former president Vaclav Havel has been the honourary head of the Czech PEN club since he resuscitated the society after the fall of communism in 1989.

The former Czech president Václav Havel on Tuesday threw his weight behind presidential candidate Jan Švejnar. Mr. Švejnar, a Czech-born professor of economics at Michigan University has emerged as the sole rival of incumbent President Václav Klaus, who is seeking re-election. In a radio interview on New Year’s Day, Mr Havel said the country needed fresh blood and fresh motivation. Reacting to objections that Mr Švejnar has U.S. as well as Czech citizenship and hadn’t lived in the Czech Republic for years, Mr Havel said his long-term stay abroad was an advantage and argued that he shouldn’t have to renounce his U.S. citizenship in order to be considered eligible for the post.

When Vaclav Havel stepped down as president after three terms in office he said he was planning to return to his creative roots. His first play in two decades –called “Leaving” or “Odchazeni” in Czech – draws on his experience in the world of politics and has generated a lot of media attention. Prague’s top theatres jockeyed for the honour of presenting it but finding the right stage for Mr Havel’s new play has not proved easy.