Five Stories from Europe You May Have Missed

[rpannier]

1. Georgians Await Results After Tense Local Elections

TBILISI -- Tensions are high in Georgia as ballots cast for mayors and local councils across the deeply polarized South Caucasus country are being counted, amid early claims of victory by both the ruling party and the main opposition force, as well as allegations of electoral fraud.

The October 2 vote is viewed by the opposition as a referendum on the ruling Georgian Dream party. It was already set to be contentious before exiled former President Mikheil Saakashvili returned on the eve of the election to rally the opposition party he founded, the United National Movement (ENM), and other opposition groups -- only to be arrested within hours.

The Central Election Commission has yet to release preliminary results, but three exit polls commissioned by television stations showed Georgian Dream leading nationwide with 38.6 percent, 41 percent, and 47.6 percent of the vote.

In the capital, Tbilisi, one survey pointed to a first-round victory for incumbent Kakha Kaladze of Georgian Dream, while two other exit polls showed Kaladze and ENM leader Nika Melia heading into runoffs, with one of them giving the lead to the opposition candidate.

https://www.rferl.org/a/georgia-election-saakashvili/31488832.html


2. Tensions rise at Kosovo border as number plate row escalates

At an abandoned petrol station, half a mile from Kosovo’s Jarinje border checkpoint with Serbia, a giant Serbian flag had been laid out on the roof. In the former forecourt, a group of young people sat on upturned beer crates, sharing bottles of water and homemade rakija in small plastic cups. “This is our squad, our special forces,” one joked, as four tall, muscular men walked over to join them.

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A minor protest, at first glance, made no less exotic by the fact that it was the result of a new motoring regulation. The blockade was being conducted by Serbs angered that vehicles carrying Serbian licence plates and entering Kosovo – which declared independence from Serbia in 2008 following the bloody 1998-99 civil war – were being told they had to replace them with temporary “RKS” Republic of Kosovo plates or turn round.

Yet for all that the scenes near the village of Jarinje may seem arcane to the wider world, this, for 12 days, has been the frontline of a tense standoff between Serbia and Kosovo over identity and sovereignty that offers a reminder to the wider world of the dangerous potential in this region’s unresolved tensions.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/02/tensions-rise-at-kosovo-serbia-border-as-number-plate-row-escalates


3. ‘In Rome, nothing works’: citizens despair in run-up to mayoral elections

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Sleepless nights have become the norm for many in Trastevere, a neighbourhood in central Rome once treasured for its charm and old-world feel, but now known for its rowdy nightlife, petty crime, piles of rubbish and graffiti-scarred walls.

The district’s problems are considered emblematic of what Romans repeatedly decry as the Italian capital’s degrado (decay), and as residents prepare to vote in mayoral elections on Sunday and Monday, they are asking themselves once again if anyone is capable of getting a grip on the city.

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Raggi, a politician with the Five Star Movement, became Rome’s first female mayor in June 2016, winning a landslide victory after promising “winds of change”. But it didn’t take long for disappointment to set in as rubbish piled up, ageing buses spontaneously exploded, parks became scrappier and wild boar sightings more frequent.

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Enrico Michetti, a candidate from the far-right Brothers of Italy competing in a coalition backed by Matteo Salvini’s far-right League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, was leading in polls before the blackout period began. Michetti, a lawyer and radio host, glorified ancient Rome during his campaign, saying its role as “Caput Mundi” (capital of the world) needed to be restored. He also said that the stiff-armed Roman salute, which has fascist connotations, ought to be revived as it was more hygienic during times of Covid-19.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/01/in-rome-nothing-works-citizens-despair-in-run-up-to-mayoral-elections


4. German airport closed after live mortar shell found in tourist's backpack

Munich airport was briefly evacuated on Friday after authorities discovered a live mortar shell in a traveller's rucksack.

The explosive device was only found during a security check as the man tried to catch a flight.

The discovery prompted an immediate lockdown of parts of the airport before specialists were able to safely remove the live ammunition and destroy it.

The 28-year-old man told police that he had found the shell during a hiking trip in Switzerland and forgotten it was in his bag.

He is now likely to face criminal charges for breaching aviation safety and explosives laws and will have to pay for the cost of the police operation.

https://www.euronews.com/2021/10/01/german-airport-closed-after-live-mortar-shell-found-in-tourist-s-backpack


5. Swedish fuel retailers required to display eco-labels at pumps

Fuel retailers in Sweden are now required to display eco-labels at pumps in what is thought to be the first initiative of its kind in the world.

From today, it will be compulsory for dispensers of fluid and gas transportation fuels to be labelled with its climate intensity, renewable share and origin.

Retailers will also be required to display the information at electric vehicle charging points and on their websites.

Campaigners said the Scandinavian country was the first in the world to mandate such an initiative after a nearly decade-long push to introduce them.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/01/swedish-fuel-retailers-required-to-display-eco-labels-at-pumps

[smirkymonkey]

1. K&R

[panader0]

2. Thanks for the global perspective.

[DFW]

3. My wife and I liked the mortar shell story

While the Swiss army still does conduct military exercises in the event of a future invasion, they don’t take the threat very seriously these days. They are also quite meticulous with their weapons. The guy from my Geneva office had to take part in exercises until he was almost 50.

Switzerland/Germany is still a customs border, though no longer a Schengen border. You MIGHT make it across undetected with an artillery shell, but it’s risky.

And then this guy would have everyone believe he hiked in Switzerland, went to Germany, and then without once unpacking his backpack, tried to bring it through security at the Munich airport, which is not near anything. That airport is so far away from anything, if you go to fly from there, you make preparations. He obviously didn’t fly there to change planes, because he would have been caught at the first airport of departure.

I also wonder why we didn’t see this on the TV news or read about it in the Düsseldorf paper? I’ll have to go back and see if we missed it. Shutting down a major airport here due to a mortar shell in a passenger’s backpack is normally worthy of national news here.