World

Russians in Berlin mark Victory day despite ban on Russian flags

Published

2 years ago

May 13, 2023

Russians in Berlin mark Victory day despite ban on Russian flags

German authorities had also initially banned the Ukrainian flag from being displayed but the decision was overturned by a court following an outcry by activists.

Commemorations of Russia’s Victory Day at the Soviet Memorial Tiergarten in Berlin looked different this year as Germany banned symbols that could be attributed to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Russian flags, chants, military songs, uniforms, and the Saint George Ribbon, a symbol adopted to mark Victory Day, were banned by German authorities from being displayed on 9 May, which is celebrated to great fanfare in Russia as the day the Soviet Army triumphed over Nazi Germany in 1945.

But while flags were absent from the vigil held at the Soviet Memorial Tiergarten, military uniforms and Saint George Ribbons were displayed amongst the crowds, defying the ban.

The vigil was held for two hours, drawing crowds displaying red flowers, along with bouquets that commemorated the Soviet Army’s victory.

The event began with two men dressed in Soviet Union military uniforms walking straight-legged onto the monument in front of a bed of flowers. They were followed by Russian Orthodox Priests leading the patrons in prayer. After it was finished, those who attended laid flowers on the monument, honouring the Russian holiday.

While some flouted the ban, other attendees opted instead for wearing clothes resembling Russia’s national colours: red, blue, and white.

As patrons exited the Memorial, a woman called out, “Russia is a terrorist state. Russia kills children”. One man shouted back, “War is war.”

The woman was one of the few who openly challenged those who attended the commemorations. A man, meanwhile, quietly said, “Slava Ukraini,” the Ukrainian battlecry chanted in the wake of Russia’s invasion, now in its 15 month.

Those two words could also be heard at a march in the German capital on Monday where Ukrainians marked their own Remembrance Day after their president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, signed a decree for the country to officially move the remembrance day to 8 May, breaking ties with Russia and aligning itself with European Union states.

German authorities had initially also banned the Ukrainian flag from being displayed on the day but the decision was overturned on Monday by a higher court following an outcry from Ukrainian activists. These included NGO Vistche Berlin which organised a march through the streets of the Prenzlauer Berg neighbourhood.

“Police issued a general decree prohibiting the public display of Ukrainian flags and symbols at memorial sites on 8 May [and] 9 May. Moreover, they mentioned Ukrainian flags in the same line as Russian, implying they both have the same meaning or threat. It is unacceptable and deeply troubling,” Viktoriya Feshak, an analyst with Vitsche Berlin, told Euronews.

“Imagine being heavily impacted by the current Russian war against Ukraine, being a refugee, losing your home and closest ones – and seeing how Russians continue celebrating their feast.”

“This year, the least we could do is to highlight these gaps in the culture of remembrance as well as to speak the truth: Russian flags stand for war and genocide, Ukrainian stand for freedom; it’s amoral to put them in the same line,” she added.

Those who attended the march were, for the most part, dressed in black, the colour of mourning, while many had Ukraine’s yellow and blue flag wrapped around their shoulders.

However, some said they understood Germany’s initial ban on Ukrainian and Russian flags as a way to limit the violence that might occur although they also said they should still be allowed to show their support for the war-torn country.

“Of course, it’s very important to be separated and commemorate our loss and our involvement in this war,” Maria Curteanu, a refugee from Odessa who attended the Vistche march, said.

“I do understand that Germany wants to make a free place, not to fire up a fight inside here. I can understand why they did so.

“But still, I’d like to have the ability to go with my flag in big places, neighbourhoods, places in the city. They forbid it in several places, but there are big places where people will be and can hear us and see that we’re trying to fight here. It would be great to show that we are here, that we are alive, to be heard by somebody,” she added.

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World

Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant

Published

6 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant

Italian state railways Ferrovie dello Stato plans to invest 1.3 billion euros ($1.36 billion) in a photovoltaic plant with an initial 1 gigawatt (GW) capacity that would cover 19% of its energy needs by 2029, the CEO said in a newspaper interview.

World

Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more

Published

6 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more

Christmas, Navidad in Puerto Rico, extends far beyond Dec. 25.

The island proudly proclaims itself as having the “longest holiday season in the world,” according to the website Discover Puerto Rico.

On average, the holiday festivities in Puerto Rico last about 45 days, per the source, commencing right after Thanksgiving, and stretching all the way through mid-January.

The Christmas season in Puerto Rico typically lasts around 45 days. (iStock)

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The holiday season in Puerto Rico is full of rich traditions beloved by families.

One tradition those who visit Puerto Rico will immediately notice during the holiday season is decorations.

In Puerto Rico, decorations are typically put up by Thanksgiving, and kept up until the season concludes in mid-January, with opportune picture moments at every corner.

Parrandas, Christmas caroling, is a holiday staple.

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Carolers choose houses of family and friends to visit, typically starting around 10 p.m., performing aguinaldos (traditional Christmas songs), with not only their voices, but often with instruments as well, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

The group you begin caroling with is likely not the same group you end with.

In Puerto Rico, when carolers visit a house, they’ll often stop inside for conversation, food and drink before moving to the next residence.

Coquito is a popular beverage enjoyed during the holiday season in Puerto Rico. Coconut, vanilla and rum are among the ingredients. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

Usually, the residences of the house visited will join the group for the next house, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

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A night of serenading loved ones can last quite a while, often stretching into the early morning hours of the following day, according to the source.

The biggest day of the holiday season in Puerto Rico actually isn’t Christmas, but instead, the night before.

In Puerto Rico, Dec. 24 is Nochebuena. On that day, loved ones gather for the exchange of gifts, caroling and a large feast.

Many families will also attend a midnight Mass on the day, known as Misa de Gallo.

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After Christmas passes, the festivities go on in Puerto Rico.

Another big event in the holiday lineup is Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, a holiday that “commemorates the visit that the Three Wise Men paid to Jesus after his birth,” according to Discover Puerto Rico.

On the eve of the day, children fill up a shoebox with grass to be left for camels to munch on while the Three Kings leave behind gifts for them, according to PuertoRico.com.

For a particularly festive Three Kings Day, Juana Díaz is the place to go, as it hosts the largest celebration in Puerto Rico for the holiday. In Juana Díaz, there is an annual festival and parade in honor of Three Kings Day that brings together over 25,000 people every year, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

Gifts are primarily exchanged between loved ones on Christmas Eve in Puerto Rico. (iStock)

Then, eight days later is Octavitas, a post-holiday celebration where families get together and celebrate one last time for the season.

The end of the holiday season is marked with the San Sebastián Street Festival.

This festival, spanning over multiple days, takes place in Old San Juan, and is filled with live music, dancing, shopping and parades.

Ashlyn Messier is a writer for Fox News Digital.

World

Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10

Published

7 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10

Twin-engine plane crashed in largely residential neighborhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff, authorities say.

A small plane has crashed into a tourist hotspot in southern Brazil, killing all 10 people on board and injuring more than a dozen people on the ground, officials have said.

The twin-engine Piper PA-42-1000 hit the chimney of a home and the second floor of a different house before crashing into a shop in a largely residential neighbourhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff from Canela, Brazil’s Civil Defense agency said on Sunday.

Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite told a news conference that the aircraft’s owner and pilot, Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, was killed along with nine members of his family.

Leite said that 17 people on the ground were injured, 12 of whom were still receiving treatment in hospital.

Galeazzi’s company, Galeazzi & Associados, confirmed that its CEO and Galeazzi’s wife and three daughters had died in the crash.

“Luiz Galeazzi will be forever remembered for his dedication to his family and for his remarkable career as a leader of Galeazzi & Associados,” the company said in a post on LinkedIn.

“In this moment of immense pain, Galeazzi & Associados is deeply grateful for the expressions of solidarity and affection received from friends, colleagues and the community. We also sympathize with all those affected by the accident in the region.”

Gramado, located in the Serra Gaucha mountains, is a popular destination for vacationers, especially during the Christmas season.

The crash comes a little more than a year after Brazil suffered its worst air disaster in nearly two decades when a twin-engine plane crashed in the southeastern city of Vinhedo, killing all 62 people on board.