5 Stories from Europe You May Have Missed [View all]

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1. Spain minimum income: Socialist government backs benefit for 850,000 vulnerable families

Spain's government on Friday approved the introduction of a "minimum vital income" to be dolled out to 850,000 of the country's most vulnerable families.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, from the ruling Socialist Party, described it as "historic measure", adding: "a country does not prosper if it leaves out part of its population".

He said that it will "protect those who are having the worst time, fight poverty and contribute to the economic recovery of the country".

Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias, from the left-wing Podemos Party, which has championed such a scheme for over a year, said that the implementation of the measure has been accelerated due to the economic crisis ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://www.euronews.com/2020/05/29/spain-minimum-income-socialist-government-backs-benefit-for-850-000-vulnerable-families


2. 'They've Been Killing Him For Years': Russian Activist Sergei Mokhnatkin Is Dead At 66

"There was a man who lived like a little sparrow stuck in the throat of a snake," wrote Russian human rights activist Aleksei Polokhovich on Facebook on May 29.

Russia's liberal opposition and human rights community is mourning the death of Sergei Mokhnatkin, an accidental dissident who over the last decade became a respected standard-bearer for those opposed to the authoritarian government of Vladimir Putin. Mokhnatkin died in Moscow on May 28 after a long illness at the age of 66.

"They have been killing him for many years," columnist and Kremlin critic Viktor Shenderovich wrote on Facebook. "[Now] they have killed him."

Relatives and supporters say that Mokhnatkin died of complications from injuries suffered at the hands of guards in 2016 when he was serving 4 1/2 years in prison in the Arkhangelsk region. That incident left him with a fractured spine.

https://www.rferl.org/a/they-ve-been-killing-him-for-years-russian-activist-sergei-mokhnatkin-is-dead-at-66/30641934.html

3. Bosniak-Croat Federation PM Detained Over Deal To Buy Respirators From China

The prime minister of Bosnia's autonomous Bosniak-Croat Federation has been questioned in a potential corruption case involving the purchase of 100 respirators from China for coronavirus patients.

Fadil Novalic was questioned as part of an investigation into suspected corruption and fraud by federal police on May 28, according to media reports.

Neither the police nor the prosecutor's office would comment on the matter, but they said more information about the case would be released later.

The chairman of Novalic's Party of Democratic Action (SDA), the main Bosnian Muslim party, confirmed on May 29 that Novalic was in custody and asked the prosecutor's office to "urgently present the evidence" against him.

https://www.rferl.org/a/bosniak-croat-federation-respirators-china-coronavirus-corruption/30642876.html


4. Operation underway to remove 40ft dead whale from Essex beach

An operation is underway to remove a 40ft long dead whale from a beach in Essex.

The large mammal, which is believed to be a fin whale, washed up on the shore at Clacton-on-Sea on Friday and the area has since been cordoned off.

It was first seen in shallow water at around 5.30am, locals said.

Essex Police has advised the public to stay away while authorities plan on how to remove the whale.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/dead-whale-beach-essex-clacton-on-sea-a9539216.html


5. Pussy Riot and Chilean group join forces against state repression

Governments around the world are using the coronavirus as an excuse to step up repression and push back civil liberties, warns a new song by Pussy Riot, released alongside a new manifesto written with the Chilean feminist collective Lastesis.

The Russian activists and the Chilean group – whose song A Rapist In Your Path became a viral feminist anthem in 2019 – released the manifesto against police violence and state repression on Friday.

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The song – whose title 1312 is a numerical representation of the anti-police acronym ACAB (All Cops Are Bastards) – strays into nu-metal dissonance, with singer Nadya Tolokonnikova howling “ACAB try to catch me wow!”.

The song refers to the wave of popular protest which erupted in Chile last year – and the violent police response which left thousands injured, including 445 people blinded by anti-riot weapons, and at least 30 dead.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/29/pussy-riot-lastesis-chilean-group-release-manifesto-against-state-repression