5 Stories from Europe You May Have Missed

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1. Afghans Among Unaccompanied Children Evacuated From Greek Refugee Camps To Germany

A group of 47 unaccompanied children evacuated from refugee camps in Greece arrived in Germany on April 18, German officials said.

The children come from Afghanistan, Syria, and Eritrea. Four are girls and there are several siblings among the group. Some of them have families waiting for them in Germany.

They were previously housed at refugee camps on the Greek islands of Lesbos, Samos, and Chios that have been criticized by rights activists as unsuitable for children.

Germany's Interior Ministry said the children arrived in Hanover, Germany early on April 18 on a flight from Athens.

https://www.rferl.org/a/afghans-among-unaccompanied-children-evacuated-from-greek-refugee-camps-to-germany/30562864.html


2. Queen’s birthday will not be marked by gun salutes ‘for first time’ due to coronavirus pandemic

The Queen’s birthday will not be marked with a traditional gun salute due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

On Tuesday 21 April, Queen Elizabeth II will turn 94 years old.

It is customary for the monarch’s birthday to be commemorated with a royal gun salute.

However this year, given the impact the Covid-19 outbreak is having across the globe, the monarch is said to have decided against the tradition.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/royal-family/queen-birthday-gun-salute-buckingham-palace-coronavirus-royal-family-a9472021.html

3. Depiction Of Roma As Crows Exposes Deeper Racism Within Romania

BUCHAREST -- One of Romania’s best-known intellectuals' involvement in a controversy over a racist depiction of Roma is seen as symbolic of a larger problem with racism in the country.

Vladimir Tismaneanu, an acclaimed Eastern European scholar at the University of Maryland, posted a meme late on April 10 in which Roma were compared to crows, a widely used, derogatory expression in Romanian for Roma and Africans.

A Facebook post by Romanian-American Tismaneanu and the reactions to it exposed the prevalence of anti-Romany racism in Romania and the prejudice faced by the minority, of which an estimated 600,000 to 1 million live in Romania.

Tismaneanu called a photo of a group of crows sitting on a fence with an inference to them being Roma "very cool." He later deleted the post, saying he didn't understand the racist connotations because he doesn't "live in Romania," from where he defected in 1981.

https://www.rferl.org/a/depiction-of-roma-as-crows-exposes-deeper-racism-within-romania/30558933.html


4. Lyra Mckee: Police appeal for more information one year after murder

Police in Northern Ireland on Friday renewed their appeal for information into the death of Lyra McKee, one year after the journalist was murdered.

McKee, 29, was shot dead while observing rioting in the Creggan estate, Londonderry on April 18, 2019.

The New IRA paramilitary group has admitted it was responsible for the killing and police have charged one man, 52-year-old Paul McIntyre, with the murder.

Police, who do not believe that the murder involved just one person, are renewing their appeal for information, asking residents in Creggan to provide them with mobile phone footage and photographs of the night and tips to recover the gun that killed McKee.

https://www.euronews.com/2020/04/17/lyra-mckee-police-appeal-for-more-information-one-year-after-murder


5. Greece to use drones to stop crowds gathering for Orthodox Easter

Greek authorities will deploy drones, monitor churches and ramp up street patrols as they prepare the nation for a very different Orthodox Easter in the age of Covid-19.

The spectre of worshippers defying strict bans on movement to mark the most sacred holiday of the year has posed an unprecedented challenge for officials.

“This Easter is different. We will not go to our villages. We will not roast in our yards. We will not go to our churches. And, of course, we will not gather in the homes of relatives and friends,” the government spokesman Stelios Petsas said. “For us to continue being together, this year we stay apart.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/17/greece-to-use-drones-to-stop-crowds-gathering-for-orthodox-easter-covid-19