5 Stories from Europe You May Have Missed

[rpannier]

I am back after 3 weeks in the hospital

1. Montenegro Passes Law On Religious Communities Amid Anger, Protests

Montenegro's parliament, in a session marred by violent protests inside and outside the chamber, has adopted a law on religious communities that the opposition fears could strip the Serbian Orthodox Church of its property.

Lawmakers present in the parliament in the early hours of December 27 voted 45-0 for the law, after members of the opposition Democratic Front (DF) charged to the head of the chamber, swearing at colleagues from the majority and attempting to prevent the vote from taking place.

Some 36 other lawmakers in the chamber boycotted the vote, giving the ruling coalition a clear path to adoption of the bill after more than eight hours of bitter debate.

Some of the protesting lawmakers appeared to have been removed from the building by law enforcement, but it was not immediately clear if they had been detained.

https://www.rferl.org/a/montenegro-religious-law-serbian-orthodox-church-protest/30346778.html


2. Italy creates Europe's first plastic-free ski resort

An Italian ski resort is endeavouring to become the first in Europe to ban plastic after discovering that a nearby glacier contained a significant amount of microplastics.

The use of plastic bottles, bags, cutlery, plates, straws, cups and condiment sachets was banned when the slopes opened at Pejo 3000, a small resort in Val di Sole, Trentino, in early December, and other measures will be enacted over the season.

The facility, which attracted 137,000 skiers last winter, has three mountain huts that no longer stock plastic items.

snip

The move was prompted by a study by scientists at the University of Milan and the University of Milan-Bicocca in April which revealed the surface of Forni Glacier, one of the largest valley glaciers in the Italian Alps, contained 131-162m plastic particles, including fibres and polyethylene.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/27/italy-creates-europes-first-plastic-free-ski-resort


3. Massive manhunt in Serbia for convicted paedophile and missing girl, 12

A massive manhunt has been launched to find a convicted paedophile accused of kidnapping a girl.

The case has gripped Serbia and seen more than 220 police officers dispatched to hunt for Monika, 12.

snip

"Based on the evidence we have come to, we believe that the perpetrator of this criminal offence is Ninoslav Jovanovic of Malca,” said Serbia’s director of police, Vladimir Rebic.

“There is evidence that he stole a vehicle in which police found his prints and clues indicating that Monika was with him.

https://www.euronews.com/2019/12/26/massive-manhunt-in-serbia-for-convicted-paedophile-and-missing-girl-12


4. Russian Police Raid Navalny's Office Over Critical Video

Russian police have raided the office of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) in Moscow, a step he claims is an attempt to disrupt the publication of a damning investigation against the head of Russia's second-largest bank.

Masked officers in helmets belonging to the Federal Bailiffs Service covered the cameras outside FBK's office on December 26 around noon local time before cutting through the door with power tools and dragging out Navalny, the opposition politician said on social media. He was not detained.

Navalny said the raid was formally carried out as part of a criminal investigation against FBK's director, Ivan Zhdannov, for failing to delete the YouTube video Don't Call Him Dimon, an investigation into the secret wealth of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

However, he said he believed the raid could be tied to FBK's recent investigation into Andrei Kostin, the CEO of VTB, a state-owned lender that required a massive government bailout earlier this decade.

https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-opposition-leader-navalny-detained-in-moscow/30345511.html


5. Belarus Reopens Case Into Disappearance Of Ex-Interior Minister Zakharanka

Belarus’s Investigative Committee is resuming a criminal investigation into the disappearance of former Interior Minister Yury Zakharanka following claims made by a former member of a secretive police unit of involvement in his alleged kidnapping and killing 20 years ago.

Belarusian human rights activist Aleh Vouchak told RFE/RL that the Investigative Committee reopened the cold case two days after Deutsche Welle on December 16 published an interview with Yury Harauski, who in 1999 served in a special Interior Ministry unit that allegedly kidnapped and killed political opponents of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

The rights activist showed a letter signed on December 18 by Yury Varauki, a department head at the Investigative Committee, stating that the case was reinstated.

According to Vouchak, the reason for reopening the missing-person case was because the former special-police unit member and opposition politician in his interview didn't "hide behind masks" and made statements that caused a "huge public reaction."

https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-reopens-case-into-disappearance-of-ex-interior-minister-zakharanka/30345098.html

[malaise]

1. K & R

Thanks