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Czech patients are to start paying doctors for visits, in a controversial healthcare shake-up.

The Washington Post reports here: – President Bush signed legislation on Saturday that extends a popular children’s health insurance program after having twice beaten back attempts to expand it.

BBC News reports here: Australian pop star Kylie Minogue and the professor who created Dolly the sheep are among the prominent figures who have received awards from Queen Elizabeth II in her annual New Year Honors list.

Reactions Illustrate Their Key Differences, The Washington Post’s Anne E. Kornblut reports here from Denison, Iowa, and assesses what Hillary Rodham Clinton will do in the final days before the Iowa Caucuses.

AP reports here at CNN: MONTPELIER, Vermont (AP) — President Bush may soon have a new reason to avoid left-leaning Vermont: In one town, activists want him subject to arrest for war crimes. A group in Brattleboro is petitioning to put an item on a town meeting agenda in March that would make Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney subject to arrest and indictment if they visit the southeastern Vermont community.

Spiegel Online reports here: People in many parts of the world indulge in the curious practice of eating dirt, also known as geophagy. But why they do so has remained something of a mystery. Now a new study aims to show whether loam in the earth can be vital in protecting pregnant women from harm.

Experts are developing a flexible surgical robot – the i-Snake – which they say could revolutionise keyhole surgery.

Professor Ian Wilmut, the man who led the team which created the clone known as Dolly the sheep, is knighted.

France is extending a smoking ban to bars, cafes and restaurants – but after New Year parties.