Author: Alan Lorenz

Germany Wants to Fight Corona Outbreaks With Targeted Lockdowns
16Jul By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Germany, Europe, News

Germany Wants to Fight Corona Outbreaks With Targeted Lockdowns

Outbreaks of the coronavirus must combat Germany with small, targeted lockdowns.   The health ministers of the federal states and the federal minister have agreed that according to the documents of their consultation on Thursday morning. Ministers recommend that the heads of state governments introduce small local restrictions in the event of an outbreak. They cite a local curfew as an "appropriate way" to contain an epidemic. "It is not possible to close entire neighbourhoods in, for example, Hamburg or Berlin," the documents state. "Decisions must be taken flexibly by the authorities on the spot." A German court broke the lockdown in the Gütersloh region early last week after a corona outbreak in a slaughterhouse. The judges found that exceptional lockdown for the tens of thou...
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China Has Called Pre-Election By the Pro-Democratic Opposition Parties in Hong Kong
14Jul By Alan LorenzNo Comments
News, China, Hong Kong

China Has Called Pre-Election By the Pro-Democratic Opposition Parties in Hong Kong

China has called the pre-election by the pro-democratic opposition parties in Hong Kong a "serious provocation".   Some of the campaigns therein may have violated the new national security law introduced for Hong Kong. "This is a serious provocation against the current electoral system," said the Hong Kong office that the Chinese government represented Monday evening. More than 600,000 voters participated in a pre-election of the opposition in Hong Kong. They chose candidates for the upcoming elections despite warnings from government officials that the pre-election may conflict with the new legislation. However, that did not seem to deter voters. The initiative aims to select the candidates of the pro-democracy opposition to participate in the parliamentary elections in Septembe...
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Latin America After Europe Most Affected by the Coronavirus
13Jul By Alan LorenzNo Comments
News

Latin America After Europe Most Affected by the Coronavirus

Central and South America, together after Europe, are the most affected region by the coronavirus, AFP news agency reports based on its own census.   In Latin America, 144,758 deaths have been reported from the virus, more than the 144,023 deaths registered in the US and Canada. 202,505 deaths have been recorded in Europe, making the official death toll the highest. The number of infections and deaths is likely to be higher everywhere because not everyone has been tested. Brazil has been the hardest hit in Latin America. In that country, at least 72,100 people died from the virus. Mexico follows with 35,006 deaths. Mexico has had more corona deaths since Monday than Italy. The United States has the most deaths and infections in the world.
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A Rare Pokémon Card Raised $ 90,000 At An Online Auction in the United States
10Jul By Alan LorenzNo Comments
US, News

A Rare Pokémon Card Raised $ 90,000 At An Online Auction in the United States

A rare Pokémon card raised $ 90,000 at an online auction in the United States.   According to the auction house Heritage Auction, a collector paid that amount for a so-called Trainer card that gave access to a secret tournament in 1999. That special ticket was the top prize in regional qualifying events. Since there were seven there at the time, Heritage assumes the same number of this type of map exists. The auctioned copy is in a protective case and is in excellent condition. The name of the buyer has not been disclosed. The trading card game Pokémon was introduced at the end of the last century and became extremely popular in a short time. As a rule, rarer and more expensive cards offer more significant winning opportunities. A digital version of the game was also released in...
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Mexicans Block Border Post With the US for Fear of Coronavirus
8Jul By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Mexico, News, US

Mexicans Block Border Post With the US for Fear of Coronavirus

Residents of some Mexican border towns have blocked roads and transitions to the United States with their cars in recent days.   They fear that American visitors will spread the coronavirus in Mexico. Today, the presidents of the two countries, Donald Trump and Lopez Obrador, meet in Washington. "We are asking that US tourists not visit Mexico now. We are doing that to protect the health of our community as the coronavirus spreads rapidly in the neighbouring US states," said José Ramos Arzate, the mayor of the Mexican border town of Sonoyta. The British newspaper "The Guardian". The mayor is thus in favour of residents of his city who blocked the border crossing with the US state of Arizona last weekend. This was also the case in other Mexican border cities, including Texas. In A...
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TikTok is Withdrawing From Hong Kong the US Wants to Ban the App
7Jul By Alan LorenzNo Comments
News, China, Hong Kong

TikTok is Withdrawing From Hong Kong the US Wants to Ban the App

China continues to give TikTok headaches. The originally Chinese video app is now withdrawing from Hong Kong, fearing that under the new security law it would have to share activist data with Beijing.   The US Secretary of State is not at all reassured that TikTok could actually keep those data out of Beijing's hands. "In light of the events, we have decided to discontinue operations in Hong Kong," a TikTok spokesperson told Reuters news agency. The decision followed after a controversial new security law passed in Hong Kong criminalizing "secession, subversion and foreign interference". With this measure, TikTok wants to make clear to the world that it has nothing to do with the Chinese government, which has tightened its grip on Hong Kong. The new security law may oblige techn...
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WhatsApp No Longer Helps Hong Kong Justice
6Jul By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Hong Kong, News

WhatsApp No Longer Helps Hong Kong Justice

WhatsApp, one of the most widely used chat apps in the world, still refuses to help justice in Hong Kong.   Requests from the authorities in the autonomous city for user data will not be processed for the time being. WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, says it wants to know first how the new security law will affect human rights. Hong Kong has been part of China since 1997, but the inhabitants of the former British colony always had far more liberties than people in the rest of the country. For example, residents can use Google, Twitter and Facebook, which are blocked in mainland China. Such services are also used by demonstrators to keep in touch. For example, they warn each other via encrypted chat apps where the police are. China recently passed a law that would severely punish crim...
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2 Killed and More Than 70 Injured in Explosion At A Fireworks Factory in Turkey
3Jul By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Turkey, Asia, News

2 Killed and More Than 70 Injured in Explosion At A Fireworks Factory in Turkey

At least 2 people were killed in an explosion in a fireworks factory in northwestern Turkey. More than 70 were also injured.   The explosion took place around 11 a.m. local time at a fireworks factory near Hendek, in Sakarya province, about 150 kilometres east of Istanbul. At the time of the explosion, between 150 and 200 workers were present in the factory. According to the Turkish authorities, at least 2 people died. More than 70 others were injured and taken to hospital. Some 85 ambulances, 2 helicopters and 11 rescue teams came to the scene to take the victims away, Turkey's health minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.
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Vladimir Putin Wins Referendum and Can Stay on Until 2036
2Jul By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Russia, News

Vladimir Putin Wins Referendum and Can Stay on Until 2036

As expected, Russian President Vladimir Putin has won a significant victory in the referendum on reforming the constitution.   After counting the votes, Russian media reports that 77.9 percent of the voters support the proposals. The victory allows Putin (67) to remain in power until 2036. He may then participate twice in the presidential election. His current term of office ends in 2024, and he can serve two more six-year terms after that.
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Protest Against Putin on Russia’s Last Day Referendum
1Jul By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Russia, News

Protest Against Putin on Russia’s Last Day Referendum

Opponents of the constitutional change in Russia protested on the last day of the referendum against an "eternal" presidency of the leader of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin.   In Moscow's Red Square, the police intervened on Wednesday when several activists lay on the doorstep and the year was 2036. Putin, 67, can remain in power for another sixteen years after the new constitution enters into force, until 2036, if he is re-elected. According to the old constitution, he should have resigned in 2024. Opposition members called for protests in Moscow and Saint Petersburg after the six-day vote. Kremlin opponents have so far been on the Internet with the "Njet!" Campaign. They called for a "no" at the ballot box. Demonstrations in Russia are not allowed due to the corona pandemic. The ...
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