5 Stories from Europe You May Have Missed

[rpannier]

1. Europe's oldest person - a 116-year-old French nun - survives COVID-19

A 116-year-old French nun who is believed to be Europe’s oldest person has survived COVID-19 and is looking forward to celebrating her 117th birthday on Thursday.

The Gerontology Research Group, which validates details of people thought to be 110 or older, lists Frenchwoman Lucile Randon — Sister André's birth name — as the second-oldest known living person in the world.

French media reported that the nun tested positive for coronavirus in mid-January in the southern French city of Toulon. But just three weeks later, she is considered recovered.

“I didn’t even realise I had it,” she told French newspaper Var-Matin.

https://www.euronews.com/2021/02/10/europe-s-oldest-person-a-116-year-old-french-nun-survives-covid


2. Chinese Summit Gets Chilly Reception From Central, Eastern European Countries

Chinese leader Xi Jinping chaired a long-delayed summit with Central and Eastern European countries amid growing division in the region over how to view Beijing’s growing influence.

The February 9 virtual meeting that took place via video link focused on access to COVID-19 vaccines and post-pandemic economic recovery as Beijing convened the 17+1 bloc -- a format launched in 2012 for China to engage with Central and Eastern European nations, of which 12 are European Union members.

The summit took place after more than a year of delays and friction as Beijing looked to capitalize on the momentum of a European Union-China investment deal signed in late 2020 and to highlight its growing ties with the continent by having Xi lead the event in place of Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, the usual top official.

snip

The episode highlights a growing split taking place in Central and Eastern Europe in which many countries have a more sober assessment of engagement with China and are carefully positioning themselves between Beijing and Washington amid the deepening rivalry.

https://www.rferl.org/a/chinese-summit-gets-chilly-reception-from-central-eastern-european-countries/31094507.html


3. Swedish embassy in Minsk harbours two Belarusians for five months

Two Belarusians who sought refuge in the Swedish embassy in Minsk in September are still there five months later, Sweden’s foreign ministry has announced, in a case turning into a diplomatic headache.

A father and son, Vitaly and Vladislav Kuznechiki, tried to enter the Swedish embassy in the capital of Belarus on 11 September to seek asylum in the midst of widespread protests disputing the election of President Alexander Lukashenko.

Finding the front door closed, the pair managed to jump a fence to the diplomatic compound’s car park.

“The two individuals are still on the premises of the embassy,” a spokesperson for the Swedish foreign ministry told AFP.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/09/swedish-embassy-in-minsk-harbours-two-belarusians-for-five-months


4. Fear And Loathing Vs. Trade Across The Armenian-Azerbaijani Border

SHURNUKH, Armenia -- As a shop owner in Armenia's southern province of Syunik, Lusine Aleksanian sells produce, bread, cheese, juice, cigarettes, and alcohol.

Just a few meters from her shop in the village of Shurnukh is the border with Azerbaijan.

Russian peacekeepers and Azerbaijani soldiers arrived in Shurnukh at the beginning of the year under the terms of the November 2020 peace agreement that brought an end to the war over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Using GPS locators, they determined that 12 of the houses in Shurnukh are in Qubadli -- one of the seven Azerbaijani districts that surround Nagorno-Karabakh and had been occupied by ethnic Armenian forces since the early 1990s.

https://www.rferl.org/a/fear-and-loathing-vs-trade-across-the-armenian-azerbaijani-border/31090569.html


5. Fresh blow to press freedom in Hungary as Klubrádió forced off the airwaves

Hungary's first independent radio station, Klubrádió, will go off the airwaves on Sunday at midnight after a court upheld a decision by media authorities not to extend its broadcasting licence.

The news marks yet another setback for the independent media in the country, which has been under pressure since Prime Minister Viktor Orban's return to power in 2010.

Klubrádió's president Andras Arato made the announcement on Tuesday, adding authorities said the station had "broken the rules" when the media lost its licence.

The liberal-leaning commercial station was one of the only remaining opposition radio voices in Hungary.

https://www.euronews.com/2021/02/09/hungary-s-first-independent-radio-station-klubradio-to-go-off-air-on-sunday

[Sanity Claws]

1. Feline lawyer video went viral in Europe

Yes, rpannier, you found some great stories that we should know about.
But I thought you and others might like to know that the feline lawyer video has made its way to European news too.

(France24)

(EuroNews)

(RT DE)

[rpannier]

2. I thought about posting that as a separate thread

But, I hadn't checked to see if it had been posted

on note: I think the lawyer is a cat. It's pretty obvious

[Sanity Claws]

3. I agree

His eyes looked so worried because he had inadvertently shown his secret identity!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. French nun survives the 1918 flu pandemic and both world wars. Now she's beaten coronavirus

Hat tip, either KYW or WBZ

Morning Mix

A French nun survived the 1918 flu pandemic and both world wars. Now she’s beaten coronavirus days before she turns 117.

By Jaclyn Peiser
Feb. 10, 2021 at 3:54 a.m. EST

In the weeks leading up to her 117th birthday, Sister André spent her days isolated in her room at the Sainte Catherine Labouré retirement home in the southern French city of Toulon. The nun was one of dozens of residents at the home who tested positive for the coronavirus.

But on Tuesday, Sister André was declared recovered from the virus, a spokesman from her retirement home told Reuters, allowing her to hold on to her title as the oldest living European and second-oldest person in the world, according to Gerontology Research Group’s “World Supercentenarian Rankings List.”

“We consider her to be cured. She is very calm and she is looking forward to celebrating her 117th birthday on Thursday,” spokesman David Tavella told Reuters.

Ten others at the retirement home died of covid-19, Le Parisien reported, after 81 of the 88 residents tested positive in January. There have been more than 3.4 million cases in France and more than 80,000 deaths, according to The Washington Post’s covid tracker.

{snip}

Jaclyn Peiser
Jaclyn Peiser is a reporter on the Morning Mix team. She previously covered the media industry for the New York Times. Follow https://twitter.com/jackiepeiser

[Hekate]

5. 5th Rec