Christmas comes early and bittersweet for Eastern Europe’s Ukrainian refugees
Prague, Czech Republic/Warsaw, Poland Reuters Many of the millions of Ukrainian refugees in central and eastern Europe plan to mark Christmas early this year in solidarity with their hosts, learning carols in new languages to generate holiday cheer despite fears for relatives back home. Ukrainians generally celebrate Christmas on 7th January in common with Russians, […]
East Europeans prepare for possible new Ukrainian refugee wave as winter nears
Prague, Czech Republic/Budapest, Hungary/Warsaw, Poland Reuters Eastern European countries are preparing to reopen reception centres and are restocking food supplies in anticipation of a possible fresh surge in Ukrainian refugees as winter looms and Russia targets Ukraine’s power grid and heating plants. Some 6.9 million people are believed displaced internally within Ukraine, often living in […]
Eastern Europe under strain as Ukraine refugees keep coming
Medyka, Poland/Prague, Czech RepublicReuters Eastern Europe’s efforts to aid Ukrainians came under strain on Friday, with some cities running out of accommodation as the number of refugees passed 2.5 million and fighting in their homeland. Relief work in frontline states – Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and Moldova – has mainly been shouldered by ordinary citizens […]
“I don’t know what to do”: fleeing Ukrainians start arriving in central Europe
Medyka, Poland/Bucharest, RomaniaReuters Thousands of Ukrainians fleeing war with Russia started arriving in neighbouring central European countries on Thursday and the region braced for many more, setting up reception points and sending troops towards the borders to provide assistance. The countries on the European Union’s eastern flank were all once part of the Moscow-led Warsaw […]
COVID-19 deaths in Eastern Europe surpass one million
Reuters Coronavirus deaths in Eastern Europe topped one million on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, as the Omicron variant threatened to batter the region. Three out of the five countries reporting the highest number of daily deaths in Europe are from the East, including Russia, Poland and Ukraine, Reuters data through Thursday showed. Medical […]
Regret and defiance in Europe’s vaccine-shy east as COVID-19 rages
Riga, Latvia/Sofia, Bulgaria Reuters As Latvia goes into lockdown and hospitals in Bulgaria and Romania buckle under a COVID-19 surge while Poland sells surplus vaccine doses, many central and eastern Europeans are torn between defiance and regret over not getting inoculated. The region has the European Union’s lowest vaccination rates, an unwelcome distinction in which both […]
Nearly half of Jewish cemeteries in Europe are falling apart – report
RNS A new report cataloging 1,700 Jewish cemeteries across Central and Eastern Europe has found that almost half them are in a severe state of disrepair. The report, to be published in September, was undertaken by the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, a group funded by the European Union. It found that 44 per cent of the […]
Car wash slavery main concern for callers to UK anti-trafficking helpline
Thomson Reuters Foundation Modern-day slavery at Britain’s car washes is the main concern for members of the public who call the country’s anti-slavery helpline – with more than 2,000 suspected victims identified in nearly two years – an anti-trafficking charity said on Friday. Car washes were the most common cause of concerns about modern slavery […]