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Hundreds of Angry Farmers are Driving Through Paris in Tractors

8Feb

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Europe, France, News

Hundreds of Angry Farmers are Driving Through Paris in Tractors

On Wednesday, hundreds of farmers travelled through the French capital Paris with their tractors. They argue against “restrictions” imposed on them, for example, in the use of pesticides. Following a ruling by the European Court of Justice, a government decision last month to ban the use of certain pesticides in beet cultivation led to the action. French farmers have also been complaining for months that they are faced with higher costs or that they want to be able to store water to irrigate their crops. The peasant protest went right through Paris, accompanied by the police. Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau has received a delegation of protesting farmers. He wants to discuss support with the beet sector on Thursday. It had been November 2019 since another demonstration of...

Ukraine Proposes to Send Large Number of Rescue Workers to Turkey

6Feb

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

News, Turkey, Ukraine

Ukraine Proposes to Send Large Number of Rescue Workers to Turkey

Ukraine is ready to send "a large number of rescue workers" to Turkey to help search for victims of the deadly earthquake. That's what it said on Monday. "Ukraine is ready to send many rescue workers to Turkey to deal with the crisis. We are working carefully with the Turkish side to synchronize their efforts," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba said on Twitter. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zekensky also expressed his condolences to Turkey this morning via Twitter. He also said he is ready "to provide the necessary assistance". That statement of support has now been made concrete by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Palestinian Militants and Israeli Army Fire Rockets From and to Gaza Strip Again

2Feb

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Gaza Strip, Israel, News, Palestine

Palestinian Militants and Israeli Army Fire Rockets From and to Gaza Strip Again

The Israeli army carried out several airstrikes on the Gaza Strip last night. They were in response to a rocket that Palestinian militants fired into Israel from Gaza last night. No injuries were reported in the new outbreak of violence, the umpteenth in recent weeks. According to the Israeli army, several buildings in the Gaza Strip where rockets were produced were attacked last night. Those production lines would be in the hands of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist militant movement that controls the Gaza Strip. News agencies reported several powerful explosions, and the impacts lighted up the night sky. However, there would have been no injuries. Last night's Israeli airstrikes were in response to a rocket fired at Israel from Gaza. The Israeli anti-aircraft system was able t...

New Postponement Threatens Corruption Trial Against Former South African President Jacob Zuma

30Jan

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

News, South Africa

New Postponement Threatens Corruption Trial Against Former South African President Jacob Zuma

The corruption trial against South African ex-president Jacob Zuma risks being delayed again. Judge Piet Koen announced on Monday that he is withdrawing, which means the trial may have to start again. The now 80-year-old Zuma has been on trial since May 2021 for the bribe he allegedly accepted from the French defence company Thales over 20 years ago. "Good justice, the constitution and my conscience dictate that I withdraw," Koen said during a session from Pietermaritzburg, broadcast live on TV. Zuma did not attend the hearing. Zuma must answer for fraud, corruption and extortion, among other things. However, in recent years, the former president has done everything he can to delay the process, and once the process has started, various delaying manoeuvres have been launched. ...

British Government Blocks Scottish Transgender Law, Prime Minister Sturgeon Furious

17Jan

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

News, Scotland, UK

British Government Blocks Scottish Transgender Law, Prime Minister Sturgeon Furious

The British government will block a Scottish law that makes it easier to change sex before the law. She fears it will conflict with a law that applies to the whole United Kingdom. It is the first time the British government has vetoed a Scottish law. In Scotland, the reaction is furious. Last month, the Scottish Parliament passed the Gender Recognition Bill, making it easier for people to change their official gender. The bill received a great majority of 86 to 39 in the Scottish Parliament. Only the Conservatives voted against it. The law removes the need for a medical diagnosis of "gender dysphoria" (put: deep dissatisfaction with your biological sex). The minimum age will also be lowered from 18 to 16 years. According to the Scottish government, the current system is too...

Strike Paralyses British Emergency Services

11Jan

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

News, UK

Strike Paralyses British Emergency Services

A national strike paralysed emergency services in large parts of Britain on Wednesday. Some 25,000 emergency doctors, paramedics and emergency centre staff have been laid off in England and Wales. GPs and pharmacists will be working on Wednesday. The strikers demand higher wages and better working conditions. In addition, they want a surcharge that compensates for inflation. On an annual basis, it is currently around 10 percent. Earlier, the conservative government of Rishi Sunak offered emergency workers 4.75 percent more wages. However, it refuses to increase that offer because it lacks resources. Health Minister Steve Barclay admitted to the public broadcaster BBC that the underfunded health service NHS is under great pressure. He referred to long waiting times when transf...

Western Australia Suffers From Heaviest Flooding in History: The Water is Everywhere

9Jan

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Australia, News

Western Australia Suffers From Heaviest Flooding in History: The Water is Everywhere

The Australian state of Western Australia is experiencing the "heaviest flooding in its history". That said, the regional minister responsible for emergency services is Stephen Dawson. More than 200 people have already been evacuated. The flooding in Kimberley, a sparsely populated region of Western Australia the size of the US state of California, results from heavy rain from Ellie, a former cyclone. "The water is everywhere," said Dawson. Fitzroy Crossing, home to about 1,300 people, is among the hardest-hit towns. Food is delivered to affected residents by air. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who visited the region on Monday, has promised quick financial aid. "We know the bill will be huge, and my government is determined – in conjunction with the Western Australia...

British PM Rishi Sunak Wants to Make Maths Compulsory for Students up to the Age of 18

4Jan

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

News, UK

British PM Rishi Sunak Wants to Make Maths Compulsory for Students up to the Age of 18

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants all pupils in England to receive mathematics up to the age of eighteen. The British broadcaster BBC writes in his first speech of the new year. According to Sunak, "We need to rethink our attitude towards numeracy." "In a world where data is ubiquitous, and statistics are the basis of many jobs, our children's jobs will require more analytical skills than ever before," said the prime minister. "To send our children into the world without these skills is to abandon our children." About half of the pupils between the ages of sixteen and eighteen still take mathematics in one form or another. In the United Kingdom, taking mathematics until the age of eighteen is currently not compulsory. It is unclear how Sunak intends to teach these skills t...

Hundreds of Retired Turkish Admirals Acquitted

20Dec

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

News, Turkey

Hundreds of Retired Turkish Admirals Acquitted

A group of 103 retired Turkish admirals were acquitted on Tuesday after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused them of preparing a coup last year. The state media report this. According to the state news agency Anadolu, the court ruled that there was no evidence of a crime. The public prosecutor had asked for 12 years in prison for each of the former admirals. They remained free pending trial. They had to go to court because they had signed an open letter in April last year asking them to comply with the Montreux Convention. That treaty, from 1936, aims to demilitarize the Black Sea by establishing strict rules for the passage of warships over the Bosphorus and Dardanelles. However, Erdogan wants to dig a new canal in Istanbul, west of the Bosphorus, to relieve them of one ...

China Registers First Deaths Since the Lifting of Strict Corona Measures

19Dec

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Asia, China, News

China Registers First Deaths Since the Lifting of Strict Corona Measures

China reported the first corona deaths on Monday since lifting strict measures under Beijing's zero-covid policy. The number of coronavirus infections is currently exploding. Hospitals and crematoria are flooded. After almost three years of draconian measures to contain the covid epidemic, the Chinese authorities made a 180-degree turn in early December. Most of the measures went into the trash. An unprecedented wave of protest was the reason. However, due to the strict policy of recent years, few Chinese have built up immunity against the virus. Moreover, millions of elderly and vulnerable people are still unvaccinated. As a result, the number of corona cases is currently peaking. However, the authorities themselves admit that they cannot estimate the size of that wave. After al...