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The rock group Tata Bojs were named band of the year at the Czech music industry's annual Andel (Angel) awards ceremony on Saturday night. Male singer of the year was Dan Barta, while the female singer of the year award went to Aneta Langerova, the winner of a television talent contest. The late Zuzana Nazarova was inducted into the Czech music hall of fame at the ceremony in Ostrava.

Prime Minister Stanislav Gross has refused to react to a threat by the Christian Democrats to push for early elections and leave the governing coalition if Mr Gross is not replaced at a Social Democrats party conference next weekend. Christian Democrat chairman Miroslav Kalousek has been calling for Mr Gross's resignation since the prime minister and his wife became involved in a financial scandal.

Police have confirmed they have dropped an investigation into allegations of corruption by Sparta Prague football club. The Czech football association is now planning to examine the police's file on Sparta before deciding if there are any grounds for taking disciplinary action against the club.

Flood alerts have been declared in many parts of the Czech Republic due to rain and the recent thawing of snow following a sharp rise in temperature. Roads and people's homes have been flooded, and residents were evacuated in two places.

However, weather forecasters say things should improve over the next couple of days when it is expected to be dry. Temperatures will reach up to 19 degrees Celsius in the middle of next week.

The Christian Democrats have passed a resolution at a party conference in Prague, saying they will leave the governing coalition and push for early elections if Prime Minister Stanislav Gross is not replaced as head of the Social Democrats at their conference next weekend. Christian Democrat leader Miroslav Kalousek has been calling for Mr Gross's resignation since the prime minister and his wife became involved in a financial scandal.

The Czech Republic's forests are the third most damaged in Europe after those of Poland and Slovakia, says a report released by the German Statistical Office. The study found that a full 89 percent of Czech trees were damaged.

The number of Czechs taking sleeping pills has halved over the last 15 years as they have increased in price, according to a report by the national institute for the control of medicines. A spokesman said the number of sleeping pills consumed by Czechs was now around the European average.

President Vaclav Klaus has compared the European Union to the Communist-era international organization Comecon, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. Speaking in the US magazine Time, Mr Klaus said the EU was structurally similar to the old Eastern bloc organisation, although ideologically different. He also reiterated his call for the EU to be widened rather than more deeply integrated, saying it should accept countries like Kazakhstan and Morocco as members.

More than 70 Czech politicians, artists and sports stars were voluntarily locked up in a mock prison cell on Prague's Wenceslas Square on Friday, in a protest against the plight of Cuban dissidents. The protest was due to last 75 hours, marking as it did the arrest of 75 Cuban dissidents two years ago. Former Czech president Vaclav Havel, a strong critic of the Castro regime, sent a video message supporting the event, which was organised by the NGO People in Need.

A new opinion poll suggests the Czech prime minister, Stanislav Gross, has lost public support. The prime minister, who has recently been embroiled in a scandal involving his family's property, is now supported by 18 percent of voters, according to the STEM poll. In January he had almost 50 percent support. The new poll found that most popular politician in the country is Culture Minister Pavel Dostal, who is fighting cancer.