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Around 60 percent of Czech voters would like to see Prime Minister Stanislav Gross resign from office, suggests an opinion poll published in Friday's edition of the daily Lidove noviny. Mr Gross - who for some time was one of the most popular politicians in the country - has come under increasing pressure recently, after failing to explain how he had paid for his luxury flat in Prague.

The prime minister has insisted he will not step down over the affair, which he has described as "artificial", and part of an orchestrated campaign against him. Speaking in the Lower House on Thursday, Mr Gross reiterated that he would undergo security screening in order to clear his name.

The Lower House of Parliament on Friday narrowly rejected a bill on same sex partnerships. Following heated debate and several previous rejections in the Lower House, the bill was short of just one vote for approval. Representatives of the Association of Gays and Lesbians said they were disappointed but would continue to lobby for it. The law would have given gays and lesbians the right to marry, to inherit property from their partners and enquire about their partner's state of health. It would not have enabled them to adopt a child. The bill's opponents, predominantly of the Christian Democratic Party, argue that it would undermine the institution of the family in Czech society.

Doctors report a flu epidemic in seven of the Czech Republic's fourteen regions. Elsewhere there is a heightened incidence of the flu and viral infections and doctors fear that the wave of milder weather will only make things worse. People have been advised to avoid crowded places and increase their intake of vitamin C. Children and elderly people are considered particularly vulnerable. Flu epidemics have been reported from a number of European countries over the past few days.

The opposition Civic Democrats do not plan to initiate a confidence vote in the government of Prime Minister Stanislav Gross over the financing of Mr Gross's luxury flat in Prague. The party's deputy head Ivan Langer said on Thursday it would be an empty gesture at this point. The Prime Minister himself said that he is not going to resign over the controversy surrounding the purchase of his flat. Speaking at the lower house of parliament on Thursday he said the controversy, as well as speculation about the financial sources of his wife's business were created artificially. Recently the daily Mlada Fronta Dnes discovered that Mr Gross's flat cost more than he had officially earned. So far the explanations given by the Prime Minister have not been accepted by his political opponents.