News

Satellite Images Point to Possible Mass Grave at Mariupol
22Apr By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Ukraine, News, Russia

Satellite Images Point to Possible Mass Grave at Mariupol

Near the port city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine, besieged by Russian troops, satellite images indicate a possible mass grave, according to several media.   The American satellite company Maxar released images showing several excavated graves in the suburb of Manhuch, west of Mariupol. Local authorities say thousands of civilians are buried there. Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelensky previously spoke of tens of thousands of deaths in the port city, which has been under siege for weeks. The Ukrainian figures could not be independently verified. Zelensky has not yet publicly commented on the suspected mass grave. Instead, the information comes from Mariupol City Council and Mayor Vadym Boichenko. They speak of graves for "9,000 bodies" but are no longer on site. A satellite ...
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Company Behind KitKat and Maggi Wants to Keep Raising Prices
21Apr By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Business, News

Company Behind KitKat and Maggi Wants to Keep Raising Prices

Food manufacturer Nestlé, known for, among other things, chocolate bars from KitKat and stock cubes from Maggi, expects to continue to raise prices for the rest of the year due to high inflation.   The costs of raw materials rose sharply at the end of last year due to the recovery from the corona crisis, and the effects of the war between Ukraine and Russia are added to that. CEO Mark Schneider speaks of "further pricing campaigns" to absorb setbacks due to the cost increase. Earlier this year, Albert Heijn, among others, came into conflict with the Swiss group, which, according to the Dutch supermarket chain, implemented far too high price increases. As a result, Albert Heijn did not put any new Nestlé products on the shelves for a while. Nestlé's turnover rose from 5.4 percent t...
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Red Numbers for Credit Suisse Again After Blow Due to War Ukraine
20Apr By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Business, News

Red Numbers for Credit Suisse Again After Blow Due to War Ukraine

Credit Suisse is once again in the red, partly due to the war in Ukraine. Due to the conflict, the Swiss financial group has announced that it is dealing with a financial blow of 200 million francs, converted into almost 195 million euros.   Once again, the bank is set aside a lot of money for legal proceedings about scandals that have been going on for some time. Credit Suisse decided in March to stop issuing new loans in Russia because of the war, a step that many parties in the financial sector have taken. However, the bank is probably not the only financial group to experience losses due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. For example, Société Générale recently announced its withdrawal from Russia by selling its stake in Rosbank. As a result, the French bank has to write off bi...
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Hungary Repeats: We Do Not Support Import Ban on Russian Oil
19Apr By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Business, Hungary, News, Russia

Hungary Repeats: We Do Not Support Import Ban on Russian Oil

Hungary will not support European sanctions targeting Russian oil and gas, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said. In doing so, the minister repeated a previously expressed view of his government via Facebook.   Still, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday that a European import ban on Russian oil is in the works. France has been calling for a ban on Russian oil for some time now. German parliamentarians last week announced that a majority in the Bundestag is in favour of an oil embargo against Russia. Berlin has been cautious until now because Germany is very dependent on that oil. Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky has called for a boycott of Russian oil several times. The European Union has introduced a package of sanctions against Russia becau...
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Macron Sues: Reforms Proposed by Le Pen are Contrary to Constitution
18Apr By Alan LorenzNo Comments
France, Europe, News

Macron Sues: Reforms Proposed by Le Pen are Contrary to Constitution

French President Emmanuel Macron says the presidential election is not worth a regime change. In an interview with radio station France Culture, Macron lashes out at the proposals of his rival Marine Le Pen, which he describes as contrary to the French constitution.   Next Sunday, the French will vote in the second round of the presidential elections. Just like five years ago, it is between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen of the radical right Rassemblement Nationale. "Mrs Le Pen's proposals to revise the constitution are not in line with that constitution, and that is a problem," said the French president, who is running for a second five-year term. "Others do that in other countries. For example, you can change the regime as you see fit in Hungary, but I don't think you can." Ma...
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Canadian Ministry Links Tweet About Corona Figures to Porn Site
15Apr By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Technology, Canada, News

Canadian Ministry Links Tweet About Corona Figures to Porn Site

The Ministry of Health of the Canadian province of Quebec released very exciting corona figures on Thursday.   A tweet from the ministry briefly did not lead to the ministry's website with the latest corona figures but to a video on a porn website. That writes the Canadian newspaper La Presse. The message was online for about 40 minutes before the incorrect link was removed. The ministry later apologized for the "inconvenience" in a separate tweet. "Due to a situation beyond our control, a hyperlink containing inappropriate content was posted on our Twitter account," it said. The causes of the error are being investigated.
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Ukraine Evacuations to Resume on Thursday
14Apr By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Ukraine, News, Russia

Ukraine Evacuations to Resume on Thursday

The evacuations in Ukraine will resume on Thursday after they were halted on Wednesday due to violations of the agreements. Russia and Ukraine have agreed on nine evacuation routes in the east of the country.   The so-called corridor in the east of Luhansk cannot open until Russia stops bombing, says Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk. Other essential routes are in the cities of Mariupol, Berdyansk, Tokmak and Enerhodar. The evacuation routes give people the option to leave regions where there is heavy fighting. According to Ukraine, Russia has already violated the agreements about the routes several times, including by temporarily ceasing fire in the region.
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Masks Obligation in Greece Abolished in the Summer
13Apr By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Greece, News

Masks Obligation in Greece Abolished in the Summer

Holidaymakers who choose Greece as their destination this summer no longer have to wear face masks. According to the Greek Minister of Health Thanos Plevris, the indoor mask obligation will expire on 1 June in the famous holiday country.   People no longer need to submit a corona vaccination or recovery certificate between 1 May and 31 August if they want to visit indoor or outdoor spaces such as a restaurant. The authorities are also considering lifting the obligation for tourists to show a European corona travel pass when entering the country. The number of corona cases in Greece has decreased in recent weeks. Authorities reported 15,000 new cases and 64 deaths on Tuesday. About 72 percent of the approximately 11 million Greeks have been vaccinated. According to Plevris, condit...
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Former Minister: Russia’s Economy Shrinks Largest Since 1994
12Apr By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Business, News, Russia

Former Minister: Russia’s Economy Shrinks Largest Since 1994

The Russian economy is heading for a contraction of more than 10 percent this year. That would be the biggest drop in the gross domestic product (GDP) since the years after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, said former finance minister Alexei Kudrin.   He currently heads the Russian Court of Auditors and is Minister of Finance from 2000 to 2011. Russia is struggling with rising inflation, partly due to the sanctions for the invasion of Ukraine. In addition, there is a capital flight, the massive transfer of assets across borders. The sanctions against the country also mean that Russia faces a debt crisis. According to Kudrin, the Russian ministries of economy and finance are currently working on new forecasts. He tells the Russian news agency RIA that the contraction will ...
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Russia’s Space Agency Continues to Honour Agreements Made
11Apr By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Russia, News

Russia’s Space Agency Continues to Honour Agreements Made

The Russian space agency Roskosmos continues to comply with all international agreements, even if it is decided to cancel the international cooperation.   This is what Roskosmos chief Dmitri Rogozin told the RIA Novosti news agency. Roskosmos cannot stop suddenly. "We can't talk about some fast flight of Russia from the International Space Station (ISS). This is because so much depends on Russia, "such as supplying fuel, maintaining orbit, avoiding collisions with space debris" It will also take a long time to get the ISS out of orbit and back. "There is a 500-ton structure flying above the Earth, and it depends largely on us that it doesn't suddenly land on Paris or London." Russia wants to end cooperation with NASA and Canadian and European space agencies following Western sanc...
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