Eurotopics.net

To mark the 200th anniversary of the start of the Greek War of Independence against Ottoman rule on 25 March 1821, a military parade is to take place in the centre of Athens, with representatives of the then partner countries Russia, France and the UK in attendance. The general public is banned from attending due to the pandemic. Some commentators see the celebrations as excessive while others say more should be done to mark the date.

In reaction to the oppression of the Uyghur minority, the EU has imposed sanctions on China for the first time in three decades. The foreign ministers of the 27 member states approved punitive measures against four party representatives in the Xinjiang region and an organisation that, according to the EU, manages the detention camps for the "re-education" of the Muslim minority. Beijing responded with retaliatory measures.

Several events were held in Brussels on Monday to commemorate the victims of the terrorist attacks of 22 March 2016. The suicide bombings at Brussels airport and the Maelbeek metro station, which IS admitted to carrying out, killed 32 people and injured 340. The trials of the suspects who survived are scheduled to begin in September.

A women's football player has sparked a major Metoo debate after making public that she was lured into a sexual relationship that started when she was 14 and went on for several years by her then 52-year-old coach Getúlio Aurelio Fredo. Observers are sceptical as to whether raising the age of consent from 14 to 16, as is now under discussion, can solve the problem.

Yet another Russian regional governor has been arrested on charges of corruption. According to the investigators, Ivan Belozertsev, governor of Penza Oblast in the west of the country, is suspected of taking millions in bribes from the pharmaceutical industry. Belozertsev, who represents the Kremlin party United Russia, had just been re-elected in 2020.