Daily news summary

EC chief Juncker should quit over Brexit, says Zaorálek

The president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, bears responsibility for the people of the United Kingdom voting to leave the European Union and should step down, the Czech minister of foreign affairs, Lubomír Zaorálek, said on Czech Television on Sunday. Mr. Zaorálek said Mr. Juncker was in his view not the right man for the job. The Czech foreign policy chief also said that talks between Brussels and London over managing the UK’s exit should be launched as quickly as possible.

Zeman: Brexit vote means EU will not be equal partner to China, Russia or US

President Miloš Zeman says the UK’s vote to quit the European Union is bad for both sides. Speaking on TV Prima, Mr. Zeman said Britons would have not backed Brexit if the EU were headed by forceful personalities, adding that he had hoped the union would be an equal partner in dialogue with China, Russia and the US, but that would not now happen. The head of state also said he believed that Scotland was now likely to quit Great Britain, which would further undermine the UK economically.

Hundreds attend Ležáky memorial on 74th anniversary of atrocity

Hundreds of people attended a memorial on Sunday observing the 74th anniversary of the razing of the village of Ležáky by the Nazis and the murder of 52 of its citizens. Speaking at the ceremony, the chairman of the lower house of the Czech Parliament, Jan Hamáček, said Ležáky was an eternal reminder of the bad that people were capable of when they were guided by a hateful ideology. The village was burnt down on 24 June 1924, two weeks after a similar attack on Lidice. Both atrocities were part of reprisals for the assassination of Nazi governor Reinhard Heydrich.

Over 10 tonnes of chemicals removed from private home

Over 10 tonnes of chemicals have been removed from private home at Nedvědice near Brno. Fire officers began carting off the chemicals on Friday following the death of the owner of the house, who had collected them over the years, and had expected they would total 3 tonnes. The chemicals could have been dangerous if they came into contact with other materials or even reacted with air or water. In view of the seriousness of the situation the local governor declared a state of emergency to allow for fire officers and chemists to remove and destroy the chemicals without delay.

Fire officers called out three times more often than usual after storms

Fire officers in the Czech Republic were called out three times more often than usual on Saturday to deal with the affects of heavy storms that hit large parts of the country. The worst-affected areas were south and central Bohemia and the Plzeň and Liberec regions. While average call-outs for fire brigades number just under 300 a day, on Saturday there were over 1,000, a spokesperson said. They have mainly been removing fallen trees, pumping water out of underground spaces and clearing drains.

Iggy Pop performs at maiden Metronome festival in Prague

US singer Iggy Pop headlined the first edition of the Metronome music festival in Prague on Saturday. The punk pioneer, who is now 69, performed a 90-minute featuring many of his best-known songs as well as tracks from his most recent album Post Pop Depression. The two-day Metronome is taking place in parallel to United Islands of Prague, a long-running free festival that is held at various venues in the Czech capital.

Jágr, 44, wins Golden Hockey Stick for player of year for 12th time

Veteran star Jaromír Jágr has crowned a successful season with victory in the Golden Hockey Stick poll of Czech ice hockey player of the year. The third most productive player in NHL history, who is 44, picked up the prize for the 12th time in a ceremony in Karlovy Vary on Saturday night. Jágr said that he had first been in the 10 best in the Golden Hockey Stick way back in 1990 and that it remained a huge honour for him.