Five Stories from Europe You May Have Missed
1. Ukrainian Church Leader Who Called COVID 'Punishment For Same-sex Marriage' Has COVID
A senior Orthodox religious leader in Ukraine has been hospitalized with the coronavirus months after calling the COVID-19 pandemic God's punishment for humanity allowing the "evil" of same-sex marriage. Patriarch Filaret, who leads one of the biggest denominations of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine, also said in March that God "will not allow me to get sick, because I have to serve the church."
The Kyiv Patriarchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has split from both the main Russian Orthodox Church and the wider Ukrainian church due to disagreements between Filaret and the other leaders, confirmed in a Facebook post Wednesday that the Patriarch was being treated for COVID-19, but was in "satisfactory" condition.
"We ask for holy prayers for the health and recovery of Patriarch Filaret," the the Kyiv Patriarchy's press service said in its Facebook post.
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In his March interview with Ukraine's Channel 4, Filaret said "the cause of the coronavirus is the sinfulness of humanity. They do not openly defend good, but defend evil. Evil is spreading. I mean, first of all, same-sex marriage — this is the cause of the coronavirus and more. Children are taught to choose their gender. Is this good ?! This is evil."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-church-leader-who-called-coronavirus-punishment-for-evil-of-same-sex-marriage-has-covid-19/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=99205181
2. Flying The Flag: Belarusians Show Their True Colors In Solidarity With Protests
It's red and white and all over Belarus, from clotheslines and hay bales to apartment-building balconies, stairwells and more -- a pervasive symbol of resistance to authoritarian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and a simple, striped sign of support for his opponents.
The red and white colors of the opposition -- adopted from Belarus's short-lived bid for democratic independence more than a century ago -- are flying high amid a wave of anger over an election that many voters believe was rigged to hand Lukashenka a sixth term after more than a quarter-century in power.
Despite the authorities' adamant efforts to erase the flag from the public consciousness by enforcing an unofficial ban, the streets -- and balconies -- of Belarus are awash with symbolism.
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Some are just blatantly hanging the flag -- first used by the ill-fated Belarusian National Republic in 1918-19 -- from their balconies or high above the capital.
https://www.rferl.org/a/belarusians-red--white-flag-protests-solidarity/30829635.html
3. Thousands need aid after fire destroys Europe’s largest refugee camp
Thousands of people urgently require emergency shelter and aid after a fire destroyed Europe’s largest refugee camp, on the Greek island of Lesbos.
As the Athens government declared a state of emergency and a delegation of officials rushed to the north-eastern Aegean island, the sheer scale of devastation wrought by the overnight blaze became increasingly evident.
In the mangled wreckage of gutted facilities, incinerated tents and blackened containers, Moria was no more. The camp whose overcrowded and unsanitary conditions had spawned global outrage since its inception in 2015 had been erased.
“At this moment the reception centre has been completely destroyed,” Greece’s alternate migration minister, Giorgos Koumoutsakos, told reporters, saying it was miraculous there had been no deaths or injuries. “As a result, thousands of people are homeless.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/09/thousands-need-aid-after-fire-destroys-europes-largest-refugee-camp
4. Serbia Withdraws From Belarus Military Exercise, Citing EU Pressure
BELGRADE -- The Serbian government has decided to suspend all joint international military exercises for the next six months, just one day ahead of the beginning of the Slavic Brotherhood 2020 exercise to be hosted by Belarus.
Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin said on September 9 that the decision was made under heavy pressure from the European Union not to send forces to Belarus, which has been beset by unrest since last month's disputed presidential election.
The EU "asked us to leave the planned exercise with Belarus or risk losing our European future," Vulin said.
The Slavic Brotherhood 2020 exercise is scheduled to be held in the second half of September at a training ground near the city of Brest and was to include forces from Belarus, Russia, and Serbia.
https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-withdraws-from-belarus-military-exercise-citing-eu-pressure/30829735.html
5. Oxford University vaccine trial halted after participant falls ill
The late-stage COVID-19 candidate vaccine trials run by AstraZeneca have been paused after a participant fell ill.
The company is investigating whether the vaccine recipient's "potentially unexplained” illness is a result of receiving the shot.
In a statement, AstraZeneca said the “standard review process triggered a pause to vaccination to allow review of safety data" without revealing what the potential side effect of the vaccine was.
AstraZeneca is trialling the Oxford University vaccine which was developed using a chimpanzee adenovirus. The adenovirus was then genetically modified so that it cannot grow in humans.
https://www.euronews.com/2020/09/09/oxford-university-vaccine-trial-halted-after-participant-falls-ill
