Czech prime minister announces resignation 

Vladimir Spidla, the Czech Prime Minster, is to resign on 30 July after losing the support of his Social Democrat party. At a weekend Social Democrat central committee meeting, 103 of the 180 delegates expressed no confidence in him, just short of the majority needed to remove him. Two weeks ago, his party came fifth in the European parliamentary elections, taking only 9 per cent of the vote.

Rightwing President Vaclav Klaus will nominate a successor to form a new cabinet. He is expected to nominate Stanislav Gross, 34, the interior minister who was chosen as the Social Democrat's interim leader on 26 June. Mr Gross is expected either to try to form a coalition which can command a parliamentary majority or to run a minority government. He will try to persuade the Christian Democrats to stay in the cabinet, but they will be wary if the government depends on the opposition Communists for passing legislation.

Gross is widely seen as a good behind-the-scenes deal maker and an image conscious politician. Little is known about his thinking on major issues such as EU policies and the fiscal reforms adopted by Spidla's coalition government that included welfare cuts, Reuters reported.