16 EWN 27 April - 3 May 2023 IN a historic moment, the Ger‐ man President Frank‐Walter Steinmeier became the first head of state to ask for for‐ giveness for the atrocities committed by Germany dur‐ ing the Second World War. On the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising on Wednesday, April 19, Stein‐ meier joined his Polish and Is‐ raeli counterparts to mark 80 years since the doomed Jewish uprising against Nazi occupiers. Standing at the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes in Poland’s capital, Steinmeier asked for forgiveness for the crimes committed by Germans during the war. He also criti‐ cised Russian President Vladimir Putin for waging war against Ukraine, breaking inter‐ national law and bringing im‐ measurable suffering, violence, destruction, and death to the people of Ukraine. The Warsaw Ghetto Upris‐ ing was the largest single act of Jewish resistance against the Germans during the war. The Jewish insurgents launched their revolt on April 19, 1943, preferring to die fighting than be sent to a death camp. About 7,000 Jews died in the battles, and a further 6,000
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NEWS/EUROPEAN PRESS
Honouring heroes EUROPEAN PRESS DENMARK
Photo credit: Frank-Walter Steinmeier (via Facebook)
“Never again” said German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
died in fires Nazi troops started in the ghetto. The tradition of honouring
the Jewish insurgents who fought against their oppressors continues to this day.
Pub-lic worship AN Irish pub in Luxembourg City became the unlikely venue for a Catholic mass on Sunday, April 16. Father Michael Cusack, a parish priest from County Gal‐ way living in Luxembourg, was in a bind after his church shut down for renovations, and he couldn’t secure another location for the Sunday service. However, he found an unlikely ally in Eirelux, an Irish pub owned by Vincent and Adrienne Clarke. The couple, who hail from Sligo and Louth, respectively, were happy to pro‐ vide their pub as an alternative venue for the mass. The pub, usually closed on Sundays, became a makeshift church for the last two Sundays. Father Cusack’s congrega‐ tion of over 1,000 people was grateful for the comfortable and unique space provided to them for worship. After the service, the pub opened up, and patrons enjoyed ‘wee pints of Guinness’ in celebration. However, the decision wasn’t without its critics, as the Diocese was reportedly unhappy with the move.
FINLAND
Stay clear
Happy Birds
DENMARK has lifted restrictions on sailing in waters near the Nord Stream gas pipeline which was sabotaged by a series of blasts last September. At the same time Denmark’s Maritime Authority advised against anchoring or fishing within one nautical mile (1.85 kilometres) of the site.
FINLAND-BASED Rovio, maker of the Angry Birds video games, has been bought by Sega Sammy Holdings. The Japanese gaming giant responsible for the Sonic the Hedgehog character is paying €760 million for Angry Birds, which was the first mobile game to be downloaded one billion times.
THE NETHERLANDS
IRELAND
Happy talk
Short-changed
EIGHTY-FIVE per cent of the Netherlands’ population told an official poll they were happy with their lives although 62 per cent believed things “were going wrong” with the country. A further 60 per cent were dissatisfied with the country’s political policies, compared with 49 per cent in the autumn.
THE 10-kilometre Great Ireland Run accidentally became an 8.5-kilometre run as runners were accidentally sent the wrong way by marshals. The race, organised by Great Ireland Run and Dublin City Harriers, was held in Dublin's Phoenix Park but all results were afterwards declared void.
BELGIUM Early occupiers DURING excavations in Elewijt near Zemst, archaeologist Kylian Verhaevert and his team discovered evidence of an Iron Age settlement with circular ditches and a burial ground. They also uncovered a Roman cemetery with up to 30 graves and signs of an open-air temple and sanctuary.
GERMANY
ITALY Milan getaway ITALY’S Justice Minister Carlo Nordio was summoned to parliament to explain why Russian businessman Artem Uss, under house arrest in a luxury apartment in Milan, was able to abscond. He was due to be extradited to the US to face charges of evading sanctions and money-laundering.
PORTUGAL
Second term
Sea rescue
AS the 2024 EU elections approach, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has not said whether she wants to stand again. If willing, and she receives government backing, her re-election is a certainty as Germany wields significant influence regarding Brussels’ top jobs.
SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD Erica Vicente was blown far out to sea while paddle boarding off the Vila Real de Santo Antonio beach. Twenty hours later the MSC Reef, a container ship waiting to enter Tangier (Morocco) harbour, spotted her in the water, alive but suffering from hypothermia and sunburn.
FRANCE
UKRAINE
High up
Shooting star
ALAIN ROBERT, a free climber known as the French Spiderman, recently scaled a 38storey tower block in Paris in support of demonstrators opposed to the new pension law delaying the age when people can retire. Aged 60, he habitually climbs without a harness, using only his bare hands.
A MYSTERIOUS flash lighting up Kyiv’s night sky on April 21 was originally identified as a Nasa satellite falling to Earth. After the US space agency revealed that it was still in orbit, Ukrainian space officials announced that the flash was probably a meteor entering the earth’s atmosphere.
NORWAY
SWEDEN
Open again
No Tweets
NORWAY’S Trollstigen winding road with its many hairpin bends, which is closed by the government each winter, has reopened to traffic. This area receives an average of 450 inches of snowfall and is impassable until April when snow ploughs clear the scenic route, ready for the tourist season.
SVERIGES RADIO (SR) has stopped using Twitter, referring to its concerns over the company’s “recent turbulence” and questioning Twitter’s ability and willingness to fight fake news and hate speech. SR’s decision follows similar moves by the US National Public Radio and Canada’s CBC.
