Author: Alan Lorenz

EU Lifts Sanctions Against Prime Minister Burundi

25Oct

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

EU Lifts Sanctions Against Prime Minister Burundi

The European Union has lifted sanctions against Burundian Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca for his role in the violent political crisis of 2015. This was announced by the High Representative of European Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, on Tuesday. Ndirakobuca had been on the European sanctions list since October 2015 because he was accused of co-responsibility for violent repression during the crisis of 2015. He was appointed prime minister on September 7. The lifting of the European sanctions means, among other things, that the travel restrictions will be removed. Sanctions against former police chief Godefroid Bizimana and former general Léonard Ngendakumana will also be lifted. The rest of the sanctions regime has been extended by one year. In a press release, Borrell hailed ...

Taiwanese Chip Maker TSMC Wants to Expand in Japan

19Oct

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Business, Japan, News, Technology

Taiwanese Chip Maker TSMC Wants to Expand in Japan

The Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC wants to expand in Japan. With this, the company wants to reduce geopolitical risks in the chip sector, the American business newspaper Wall Street Journal writes based on insiders. Taiwan is de facto independent but is seen by China as a renegade province. In recent years, the Asian superpower has made it increasingly clear that Taiwan must become part of “the motherland” again. Recently, China held a major military exercise around Taiwan. That happened after a visit by American politician Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. TSMC makes the majority of the chips and does this on behalf of tech companies. The company is already building a factory in Japan and is considering more factories. TSMC is also working on a plant in the US state of Arizona. ...

Ukraine Wants Russia Excluded from G20 Summit in Indonesia

17Oct

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Indonesia, News, Russia, Ukraine

Ukraine Wants Russia Excluded from G20 Summit in Indonesia

Ukraine wants Russia banned from next month's G20 summit. That's what an adviser to President Zelensky says after new bombing raids on Kyiv. "Those ordering the attack on critical infrastructure and organizing a mobilization to cover the front lines with corpses should not sit at the same table as the leaders of the G20," presidential adviser Mikhailo Podoliak wrote on Twitter. "Russia must be excluded." The G20 summit will take place in Indonesia in November. Vladimir Putin had not yet officially said he would be there, but he made it seem that way. There has been no Russian response to the statements yet.

Kremlin: Putin to Meet Head of IAEA Nuclear Watchdog on Tuesday

10Oct

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

News, Russia

Kremlin: Putin to Meet Head of IAEA Nuclear Watchdog on Tuesday

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, will visit Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. The two meet, according to the Kremlin in Saint Petersburg. The IAEA has not yet confirmed the news. Grossi has long advocated a protection zone around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which Russia occupies. However, the IAEA chief reported on Sunday that the plant had been reconnected to the power grid after being disconnected a day earlier due to shelling. Grossi added that restoring the power supply is only "a temporary relief in an untenable situation".

SWIFT Further Expands Digital Coin Experiment

5Oct

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Business, News, Technology

SWIFT Further Expands Digital Coin Experiment

After eight months of experimentation, SWIFT presents its plans for its digital coin network. The intention is to require more efficient and fewer connections between banks in the future. SWIFT is the messaging system between banks for, among other things, money transfers between players. For the past eight months, it has been experimenting with different technologies and currencies with the central banks of France and Germany and some major financial players. Naturally, this concerns CBDCs, central bank digital currency. According to Reuters, that first test will continue with more advanced testing in the coming year. The setup is partly similar to how cryptocurrencies work, with different parties connecting to a central hub. Today this happens among financial institutions with...

US Research: Bitcoin is Not Getting Greener, on the Contrary

4Oct

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Business, News, Technology

US Research: Bitcoin is Not Getting Greener, on the Contrary

Bitcoin is sometimes called the new digital gold, but digital oil would be a better term to describe its environmental impact, according to a study in Scientific Reports. According to that research, Bitcoin's ecological footprint has increased significantly since 2016. Unfortunately, the coin sometimes creates more damage than it is worth. Bitcoin's climate damage averaged 35 percent of its market value between 2016 and 2021. That is a lot more than that of gold (4 percent). On the other hand, it is closer to that of gasoline from oil (41 percent), electricity from natural gas (46 percent) or beef (33 percent). The damage to the environment and climate is so great that it sometimes exceeds the currency's value. "We find several cases between 2016-2021 where Bitcoin is more da...

US Stock Market Watchdog Fines Kim Kardashian for Promoting Crypto Currency

3Oct

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Business, News, US

US Stock Market Watchdog Fines Kim Kardashian for Promoting Crypto Currency

The US stock market regulator SEC fined reality star Kim Kardashian more than 1 million dollars. This is because Kardashian would have advertised a crypto coin without knowing that she was being paid for it. That is against US regulations. According to the SEC, Kardashian used social media to promote EMAX crypto coins. For this, Kardashian was paid more than $250,000 by EthereumMax, the coin provider. Kardashian must now repay the amount and interest and a $1 million fine. It also agrees to stop advertising cryptocurrencies for three years. The SEC has been warning for some time against celebrities touting cryptocurrencies. Boxer Floyd Mayweather, among others, was fined in 2018 for the same reason as Kardashian. According to the SEC, cryptocurrencies fall under the sto...

28Sep

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

News

NATO Calls Nord Stream Leaks Sabotage

NATO also assumes that the leakages in the gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2 were caused intentionally. In a message on Twitter, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he has discussed the "sabotage" with the Danish defence minister. "We discussed the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines with Minister Morten Bødskov of our valued ally Denmark. In addition, we talked about protecting critical infrastructure in NATO countries," the message reads. This week, three leakages in the pipelines in the Baltic Sea near Sweden and Denmark were discovered. The suspicion of intent grew stronger. For example, on Monday, the Swedish Seismological Service measured powerful explosions at Nord Stream 1 and 2. In addition, the pipes are so deep underwater, and the leakages are so large that an a...

Two More Suspects Arrested in Oslo Gay Bar Shooting

26Sep

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Europe, News, Norway

Two More Suspects Arrested in Oslo Gay Bar Shooting

Norwegian police arrested two more suspects on Sunday in connection with a shooting in and around a gay bar in the capital Oslo in June. Two people were killed and more than 20 injured. The detainees are a Norwegian and a Somali, both of whom have already been in contact with the police due to criminal activities. A suspect was arrested at the scene of the shooting in June. That was Zaniar Matapour, a Norwegian of Iranian descent who is said to have been the shooter. Police suspect the shooting was a terrorist attack. A fourth suspect is still being sought, a previously convicted Norwegian jihadist, Arfan Bhatti, who may have fled to Pakistan.

Berlusconi Shocks With Statements About Putin Who Would Have Been Forced to War

23Sep

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Europe, Italy, News, Russia

Berlusconi Shocks With Statements About Putin Who Would Have Been Forced to War

Former Prime Minister Berlusconi has caused a stir in the run-up to the parliamentary elections in Italy with statements about Vladimir Putin. The 85-year-old politician said in a television interview on Thursday that the Kremlin was being pushed to invade Ukraine. "Putin was pushed by the Russian people, by a party, by his ministers to come up with this special operation," Berlusconi told Rai TV channel. Berlusconi is a friend of the Russian president and was hesitant to condemn the invasion long after the war broke out. But, he said, "Putin has found himself in a complicated and dramatic situation." According to Berlusconi, deputies from the two self-declared "republics" in the Donbas had asked Putin to intervene. The separatist "republics" are said to have convinced the Ru...