Photo : Reuters/KacperPempel
28 September 2021, Tuesday
IN BRIEF
By Joeana Cera Matthews and Vaishnavi Iyer
GREECE
Island of Crete: Earthquake leaves one dead and nine injured
On 27 September, an earthquake hit the island of Crete in Greece. Casualties included one death and nine injured while several damages to infrastructure were also reported. The Athens Geodynamic Institute reported the initial magnitude of the quake to be 5.8 with an epicentre of 246 kilometres (kms) southeast of Athens. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported a magnitude of 6.5 with a depth of 2 kms. There have been variations regarding the magnitude of the quake across institutes. (“Greece: One dead after earthquake hits island of Crete”, Deutsche Welle, 27 September 2021) https://www.dw.com/en/greece-one-dead-after-earthquake-hits-island-of-crete/a-59322863
MIGRATION
Italy: Hundreds of migrants land in Lampedusa
On 28 September, the Italian Interior Ministry said that hundreds of migrants had arrived on the island of Lampedusa. 686 people arrived by a large boat while 67 others were brought to safety by rescue forces on smaller vessels. They will now be shifted to quarantine zones. According to the Interior Ministry’s data, 44,800 migrants have landed on the Italian coast till date since the beginning of 2021, which is a spike from the 23,517 amounted to during the same period last year. (“Hundreds of migrants land in Italy’s Lampedusa”, Reuters, 28 September 2021) https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hundreds-migrants-land-italys-lampedusa-2021-09-28/
GENDER
Two transgender women elected to power in German elections
On 27 September, two transgender women - Tessa Ganserer and Nyke Slawik, members of the Green party, won seats in the recently held German parliamentary elections. Ganserer had been elected to Bavaria’s regional parliament in 2013. She intends to create an easier procedure for ratifying gender change on identity documents as well as to bring about legislative changes that would allow lesbian mothers to adopt. Slavik, on the other hand, intends to implement a nationwide action plan against homophobia and transphobia among other things. (“Two transgender women win seats in German parliament”, Reuters, 28 September 2021) https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/two-transgender-women-win-seats-german-parliament-2021-09-27/
Three more Polish regions repeal ‘LGBT-free zones’ status
On 27 September, three more regional councils in Poland — Podkarpackie, Lubelskie, and Malopolskie — repealed their ‘LGBT-ideology free zone’ status. The declaration was repealed after the EU refused to approve Poland’s pandemic-recovery funds. The EU wants Poland to remove the ‘LGBT-ideology free zones’ since it violates the EU law of non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. (“Three Polish regions repeal ‘LGBT-free’ declarations”, Reuters, 27 September 2021) https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/two-polish-regions-repeal-lgbt-free-declarations-2021-09-27/
REGIONAL
NATO deploys KFOR peacekeeping forces at Kosovo-Serbia border
On 27 September, the NATO peacekeeping forces - KFOR - increased their patrols on Serbia’s northern border following the rising tensions between Belgrade and Pristina. Serbia deployed armoured vehicles at a border crossing after Serbs protested a decision taken by the Kosovo government concerning licensing plates which intensified the tensions. This is an issue since Serbia does not recognize Kosovo nor its license plates. Due to this, drivers from Kosovo are required to remove their license plates and purchase temporary ones while travelling through Serbia. Kosovo decided to impose a similar measure which has soared tensions between the two countries. (“NATO patrols Kosovo-Serbia border as tensions soar”, Deutsche Welle, 27 September 2021) https://www.dw.com/en/nato-patrols-kosovo-serbia-border-as-tensions-soar/a-59331883
Ambassadors of Budapest and Kyiv summoned over Russian gas supply deal
On 28 September, Ukraine and Hungary summoned their respective ambassadors after Budapest signed a gas deal with Moscow. Ukraine considers the new 15-year natural gas supply deal between Russia and Hungary as a threat. On 27 September, Hungary had accused Ukraine of intervening in its internal matters when Kyiv criticized Budapest regarding the gas deal. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that the ambassador was being summoned over attempts by Ukraine to block the gas deal while Ukraine’s foreign ministry said that they had summoned the Hungarian ambassador as a tit-for-tat move. (“Hungary, Ukraine summon ambassadors over Russian gas supply deal spat”, Reuters, 28 September 2021) https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hungary-summons-ukrainian-ambassador-over-russian-gas-supply-deal-spat-2021-09-28/