5 Stories from Europe You May Have Missed (One of them, grab some rocks and try hitting again)

[rpannier]

1. Franco's remains to finally leave Spain's Valley of the Fallen

Spain’s socialist government is finally set to fulfil one of its key promises on Thursday when the remains of General Franco are exhumed from the austere splendour of the Valley of the Fallen and transferred to his family mausoleum outside Madrid.

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The government said the dictator’s remains needed to be moved as they could no longer “remain in a public mausoleum that exalts his figure”, adding that the removal would “symbolically close the circle of Spanish democracy”.

The move has been bitterly opposed by the Franco family, the foundation that bears his name, and the Benedictine abbot who presides over the basilica.

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A private family service will be held inside the Franco mausoleum, where the dictator’s widow, Carmen Polo, was buried following her death in 1988. At the family’s request, mass will be said by Ramón Tejero.

The priest is the son of Antonio Tejero, the Guardia Civil lieutenant colonel who led the failed 1981 military coup that sought to seize control of the country after its return to democracy following Franco’s death.

(last bit pretty much covers just how f&ck3d up the Franco's are)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/23/francos-remains-to-finally-leave-spains-valley-of-the-fallen


2. Song Mocking Ex-Central Bank Chief Sparks Outrage In Ukraine

A song appearing to make flippant fun of an arson attack on the home of former National Bank chief Valeria Hontareva was seen by many in Ukraine as bad enough

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The timing couldn't be much worse for Zelenskiy, who is facing renewed questions about his ties to Kolomoyskiy as the billionaire steps up efforts to overturn the central bank's decision in 2016, when Hontareva was its director, to take over the bank he owned, PrivatBank.

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Kolomoyskiy, who has taken jabs at Hontareva recently, was defiant, applauding the performance aired on his 1+1 station on October 20 and arguing that it was not in bad taste.

"What, is her house the only one that has burned down? How many homes in the Donbas have burned down?" Kolomoyskiy said in comments to RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, referring to the section of eastern Ukraine where Russia-backed separatists hold parts of two provinces and their war against Kyiv's forces has killed more than 13,000 people since 2014.

https://www.rferl.org/a/song-mocking-ex-central-bank-chief-sparks-outrage-in-ukraine/30228398.html


3. LGBT In Turkmenistan: Go To Jail Or Live A Lie

To his friends and colleagues in Turkmenistan, Kamil is a successful cardiologist working at a prestigious clinic and an eligible bachelor from a well-connected family.

Only a few people in his close family circle are aware of Kamil's real struggle: He is secretly gay.

In Turkmenistan, where homosexuality is a crime and shunned by the Central Asian country's conservative society, being gay means having to choose between living a lie or facing up to two years in prison and a lifetime of disgrace.

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Turkmenistan hasn't dropped a Soviet-era law that criminalizes homosexuality. Along with Uzbekistan, they are the only two countries among the 15 former Soviet republics that consider being gay a crime.

https://www.rferl.org/a/lgbt-in-turkmenistan-go-to-jail-or-live-a-lie/30230788.html


4. Hungarian opposition MP holds 'lies' sign during Orban's parliament speech

The Hungarian Prime minister Viktor Orbán was interrupted in parliament on Monday by an opposition MP denouncing Orban's "lies" and Hungary's "corruption".

The MP, Ákos Hadházy, carried two signs that read: "He must lie because he stole too much", and "Stop propaganda, stop corruption".

Hadházy, one of the most vocal MPs in the Hungarian opposition, chose to hold his protest during the first plenary session since Hungary's municipal elections, in which Orban's party Fidesz lost the capital, Budapest.

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Ákos Hadházy gained influence in Hungarian politics last year when he staged a demonstration in the Hungarian state TV headquarters to protest the new "slavery law", which brought to 400 the number of extraordinary working hours that employers can ask their employees.

https://www.euronews.com/2019/10/21/hungarian-opposition-mp-holds-lies-sign-during-orban-s-parliament-speech


5. The Brief: New British MEP stands out amongst the rest

According to some, Magid Magid is one of coolest MEPs.

He is outspoken and unapologetic, but he's not everyone’s cup of tea.

The Somali-British Green smashing political stereotypes in Brussels.

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"Matteo Salvini is a coward, a coward because what kind of grown man watches a child drowning gasping for breath and turns his back," Magid said about the former Deputy Prime Minister of Italy.

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"...when it came to the European elections that we weren't meant to have to begin with, it was like, you know what, I refuse to believe that the future authors of our country belong to the people like Boris Johnson or Nigel Farage, and I felt that we, as individuals, there were a lot more people that could be actually better than Farage and actually try to put a better vision of hope for the country," Magid explained.

https://www.euronews.com/2019/10/21/the-brief-new-british-mep-stands-out-amongst-the-rest