FILE PHOTO: A street vendor of cleaning products walks past a big Brazilian flag in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 28, 2018. REUTERS/Nacho Doce
March 21, 2019
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Reform of Brazil’s overloaded pension system would reduce income inequality in Latin America’s largest nation, according to an Economy Ministry study published on Thursday, with the country’s poorest set to enjoy the biggest gains.
Average income per capita across the poorest 10 percent of Brazilians would rise 3.48 percent per year through 2023 if some kind of pension reform was passed, the study found, with a narrower rise of 2.63 percent a year across the top 10 percent of earners.
The study comes as Congress begins debate on a controversial government proposal to overhaul Brazilian social security, which has faced setbacks as lawmakers complain that military personnel are sacrificing less than civilians.
The research follows an Economy Ministry study last month that predicted Brazil would slide into a deep recession next year if the social security system was left in its present state, continuing to bleed huge amounts of public funds.
The government said its proposed overhaul would save more than 1 trillion reais ($265 billion) over the next decade, boosting economic growth, lifting wages and generating around 8 million new jobs between now and 2023.
The lion’s share of that will be seen in the lower income strata where unemployment and reliance on informal jobs are significantly higher, the Economy Ministry said.
Failure to reform the system would see average incomes in the bottom 10 percent of earners fall an average 0.54 percent a year over the next five years, while the top 10 percent would see average income fall by 0.41 percent, the study found.
Brazil’s economy has struggled to recover from a devastating 2015-16 recession. Unemployment in the three months to January rose to 12 percent, the first increase in 10 months.
(Reporting by Jamie McGeever, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
FILE PHOTO: Militant Islamist fighters take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province, Syria, June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer
April 3, 2019
By Paul Carrel
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germans with a second nationality who fight abroad for groups like Islamic State will lose their citizenship, the cabinet agreed in a draft law on Wednesday intended to deter future militants.
Like other Western countries, Germany faces a conundrum of how to deal with citizens who travel to the Middle East to join violent Islamist causes like IS whose self-proclaimed “caliphate” was eliminated last month.
The measure, which needs parliamentary approval, would exclude minors, cover only future cases, and not apply to single nationality Germans who could otherwise be left stateless.
“This will send a signal to IS supporters, to those thinking of traveling to IS areas,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters.
More than 1,000 Germans have left their country for Middle East war zones since 2013 and the government has been debating how to deal with them as U.S.-backed forces took IS’s last patch of territory in Syria and rounded up prisoners.
About a third have returned to Germany, another third are believed to have died, and the rest are thought to be still in Iraq and Syria, including those detained by Iraqi forces and U.S.-backed fighters in Syria, according to German intelligence officials.
In February, U.S. President Donald Trump urged Britain, France and Germany to take back more than 800 captured Islamic State fighters and put them on trial.
Germany said it would take back fighters only if the suspects have consular access, adding that in principle, all of its citizens and those suspected of having fought for IS have the right to return.
In one high-profile case, Britain in February revoked the citizenship of a teenager who had left London aged 15 to join IS in Syria. The case of Shamima Begum highlighted the security, legal and ethical dilemmas facing European governments dealing with those who swore allegiance to a group determined to destroy the West.
Germany joined the military campaign against IS militants in Syria in a support role by deploying Tornado reconnaissance jets, refuelling aircraft and a frigate to the region, after an appeal from close partner France for Berlin to do more.
(Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
An employee roasts pork at a Korean BBQ restaurant in Seoul, South Korea, March 13, 2019. Picture taken on March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Jane Chung
March 20, 2019
By Jane Chung
SEOUL (Reuters) – Whenever dust particles hang thick in the air in South Korea, sales of pork rise.
This quirky correlation in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, where air pollution outstrips industrialized peers, stems from an old belief attributed to coal miners, that the slippery pork oil helped cleanse dirt from their throats.
For middle school student Han Dong-jae, eating greasy barbecued pork belly on a smoggy day is a life lesson imbibed from his mother.
“I eat more pork when fine dust is dense like today,” said the 15-year-old as he dug in over a sizzling grill at a barbecue restaurant in Seoul with his mother after school.
“I think it’s somewhat helpful, because pork meat has oil and the oil soothes my throat.”
Scientists say there is no rationale for the belief, but pork sales jumped about a fifth on the year from Feb. 28 to March 5, when pollutants blanketed most areas, data from major retailers E-Mart and Lotte Mart showed.
SOCIAL DISASTER
South Korea faces a battle against unhealthy air, a combination of domestic emissions from coal-fired power plants and cars, and pollutants wafted in from China and North Korea.
Its air quality was the worst among its industrialized peers in 2017, data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) grouping of wealthy nations showed.
South Korea registers 25.1 micrograms per cubic meter of fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers on average each year, just over double the OECD figure of 12.5, but far lower than the world average of 44.2.
The pollution has affected South Korean policy and businesses, driving up shares of companies that make air purifiers and masks.
Legislation this month included a measure designating the problem a “social disaster”, which could unlock emergency funds.
Cho Seog-yeon, an environmental engineering professor at Inha University, called for more study of the exact damage wrought by high levels of concentrated pollutants, adding, “We don’t know now where the damage is done (by air pollution).”
People battle the air pollution by wearing masks and staying indoors. But in a country where 28 percent of all households have a pet, furry companions are a priority too.
Sales of pet masks surged more than five times in early March, said Suh Hyuk-jin, director of pet products maker Dear Dog.
Cho Eun-hye, who lives in the northwestern city of Incheon, bought a mask for her 18-month-old brown Korean Jindo dog, Hari, who needs to be walked two times a day.
“It’s inconvenient, but I think we have to keep living with that,” said the 36-year-old office worker.
(Reporting by Jane Chung; Editing by Karishma Singh and Clarence Fernandez)
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A family in California came inches from death Monday after an out-of-control car could be seen nearly striking them on a terrifying surveillance video.
The Napa Police Department said in a Facebook post a woman and 2 children just had stepped out of a restaurant when the driver of the car lost control.
"A VERY close call!" police said. "This scary video is a good reminder to always be aware of your surroundings."
The Vice-President of the French student union at the University of Lille reacted to the Notre Dame fire by tweeting, “I swear to Allah we don’t give a rat’s ass.”
“How much are people going to cry for some bits of wood? I swear to Allah you like French identity too much while we don’t give a rat’s ass objectively it’s your madness of little white people,” tweeted Hafsa Askar.
She wasn’t finished, following up with another tweet that made it clear how much she hates the country in which she lives.
“I don’t give a damn about Notre Dame of Paris because I don’t give a damn about the history of France I don’t know what, go and mention me,” said Askar.
She subsequently deleted her entire Twitter account after receiving a backlash.
Edouard Le Bert, a member of the national office of Unef, also belittled the tragedy, saying it was merely, “the opportunity for a good renovation.”
The university later issued a statement saying it does “not associate with any of the statements calling into question the tragedy of yesterday. See hundreds of years of cultural heritage go up in flames is a drama that has no name.”
This is yet another example of how, despite the media attempting to portray it as a “conspiracy theory,” many people, some of them Muslims, were celebrating or downplaying the tragedy.
A two-plane collision on a Los Angeles-area runway on Wednesday evening killed one person and injured another.<br data-cke-eol="1"> (FOX 11/Jessica Ortiz)
A two-plane collision on a Los Angeles-area runway Wednesday evening killed one person and injured another.
Authorities said a single-engine North American T-28 hit another plane “under unknown circumstances” at the Compton-Woodley Airport, a county-owned general aviation airport located southwest of Compton and a few miles from Los Angeles International Airport.
Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration said the collision caused the other aircraft – a single-engine Cessna-type aircraft – to catch fire.
One of the pilots died after reportedly being flung from a plane. The other person involved in the crash was rushed to the hospital, but that person's condition remains unknown.
Firefighters had extinguished a fire caused by the crash by the time deputies arrived, the Sheriff's office told FOX11.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash. The crash site has reportedly been secured by Compton Sheriff’s Station patrol deputies.
“Outdated laws” need fixing to deal with the surge in illegal immigrant families crossing the U.S. border with Mexico, a top Border Patrol official said Friday.
Historically 70 to 90 percent of apprehensions at the border were quickly returned to Mexico, Hastings said.
Now, 83 percent of those apprehended have come from the Central American northern triangle which includes Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, and of those 63 percent are “family units” and children who cannot be returned, he said.
“There are no consequences that we can apply to this group currently,” Hastings said. “We’re overwhelmed. If you look at agents there doing a tremendous job trying to deal with the flow.”
The law dictates children have to be released after 20 days of detention.
“Up to 40 percent of our agents are processing at any given time,” he said. “That should say that in and of itself is pulling from those border security resources.”
President Trump on Friday blasted liberal billionaire activist Tom Steyer for his continued push to impeach Trump — with Trump claiming Steyer is “trying to remain relevant” and doesn’t have the “guts” to run for the White House himself.
“Weirdo Tom Steyer, who didn’t have the ‘guts’ or money to run for President, is still trying to remain relevant by putting himself on ads begging for impeachment,” the president tweeted. “He doesn’t mention the fact that mine is perhaps the most successful first 2 year presidency in history & NO C OR O! [Collusion or Obstruction]”
Trump and his allies have pointed to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report’s conclusions that there was no evidence of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign and its decision not to make a conclusion on obstruction of justice as a vindication for the president.
Steyer has been one of the leaders backing a push to impeach Trump and founded “Need to Impeach” and has kept up that push since the report’s release. He announced on Thursday that he was calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to support impeachment proceedings.
On Friday he responded to Trump’s tweet, calling him “angry and scared.”
“I know you want it all to go away. But for the sake of the country you must face your transgressions. Rage away, but that anger doesn’t matter,” he said in a tweet. The truth and the people will prevail.”
Impeachment hearings have been backed by a number of House Democrats, as well as 2020 presidential hopefuls Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif. However, Pelosi has long been skeptical of impeachment proceedings against Trump.
“I’m not for impeachment,” Pelosi told The Washington Post in an interview last month. “Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country. And he’s just not worth it.”
A Florida measure that would ban sanctuary cities is set for a vote Friday in the state’s Senate after clearing its first hurdle earlier this week.
The bill would effectively make it against the law for Florida’s police departments to refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials.
“The Governor may initiate judicial proceedings in the name of the state against such officers to enforce compliance,” a draft version of the Senate bill reads.
A House version of the bill, which passed by a 69-47 vote Wednesday, adds that non-complying officials could be suspended or removed from office and face fines of up to $5,000 per day. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign off on the measure, although it’s not clear which version.
Florida Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando), during a press conference at the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee, speaks out against bills in the House and Senate that would ban sanctuary cities in the state. (AP)
Florida is home to 775,000 illegal immigrants out of 10.7 million present in the United States, ranking the state third among all states.
Nine states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas — already have enacted state laws requiring law enforcement to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Florida doesn’t have sanctuary cities like the ones in California and other states. But Republican lawmakers say a handful of their municipalities — including Orlando and West Palm Beach – are acting as “pseudo-sanctuary” cities, because they prevent law enforcement officials from asking about immigration status when they make arrests.
“There are still people here in the state of Florida, police chiefs that are just refusing to contact ICE, refusing to detain somebody that they know is here illegally,” Florida Republican Rep. Blaise Ingoglia said earlier this month. “So while the actual county municipality doesn’t have an actual adopted policy, they still have people in power within their sheriff’s department or police department that refuse to do it anyway.”
Florida’s Democratic Party has blasted the anti-Sanctuary measures, while the Miami-Dade Police Department says it should be up to federal authorities to handle immigration-related matters.
“House Republicans today sold out their communities to Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis by passing this xenophobic and discriminatory bill,” the state’s Democratic Party said Wednesday after the House passed their version of the bill. “It’s abhorrent that Republican members who represent immigrant communities are now turning their backs on their constituents and jeopardizing their safety.
“Florida has long stood as a beacon for immigrant communities — and today Republicans did the best they could to destroy that reputation,” they added.
Fox News’ Elina Shirazi contributed to this report.
FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Spain’s far-right party VOX wave Spanish flags as they attend an electoral rally ahead of general elections in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo/File Photo
April 26, 2019
By John Stonestreet and Belén Carreño
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s Vox party, aligned to a broader far-right movement emerging across Europe, has become the focus of speculation about last minute shifts in voting intentions since official polling for Sunday’s national election ended four days ago.
No single party is anywhere near securing a majority, and chances of a deadlocked parliament and a second election are high.
Leaders of the five parties vying for a role in government get final chances to pitch for power at rallies on Friday evening, before a campaign characterized by appeals to voters’ hearts rather than wallets ends at midnight.
By tradition, the final day before a Spanish election is politics-free.
Two main prizes are still up for grabs in the home straight. One concerns which of the two rival left and right multi-party blocs gets more votes.
The other is whether Vox could challenge the mainstream conservative PP for leadership of the latter bloc, which media outlets with access to unofficial soundings taken since Monday suggest could be starting to happen.
The right’s loose three-party alliance is led by the PP, the traditional conservative party that has alternated in office with outgoing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialists since Spain’s return to democracy in the 1970s.
The PP stands at around 20 percent, with center-right Ciudadanos near 14 percent and Vox around 11 percent, according to a final poll of polls in daily El Pais published on Monday.
Since then, however, interest in Vox – which will become the first far-right party to sit in parliament since 1982 – has snowballed.
It was founded in 2013, part of a broader anti-establishment, far-right movement that has also spread across – among others – Italy, France and Germany.
While it is careful to distance itself from the ideology of late dictator Francisco Franco, Vox’s signature policies include repealing laws banning Franco-era symbols and on gender-based violence, and shifting power away from Spain’s regional governments.
TRENDING
According to a Google trends graphic, Vox has generated more than three times more search inquiries than any other Spanish political party in the past week.
Reasons could include a groundswell of vocal activist support at Vox rallies in Madrid and Valencia, and its exclusion from two televised debates between the main party leaders, on the grounds of it having no deputies yet in parliament.
Conservative daily La Vanguardia called its enforced absence from Monday’s and Tuesday’s debates “a gift from heaven”, while left-wing Eldiario.es suggested the PP was haemorrhaging votes to Vox in rural areas.
Ignacio Jurado, politics lecturer at the University of York, agreed the main source of additional Vox votes would be disaffected PP supporters, and called the debate ban – whose impact he said was unclear – wrong.
“This is a party polling over 10 percent and there are people interested in what it says. So we lose more than we win in not having them (in the debates),” he said
For Jose Fernandez-Albertos, political scientist at Spanish National Research Council CSIC, Vox is enjoying the novelty effect that propelled then new, left-wing arrival Podemos to 20 percent of the vote in 2015.
“While it’s unclear how to interpret the (Google) data, what we do know is that it’s better to be popular and to be a newcomer, and that Vox will benefit in some form,” he said.
For now, the chances of Vox taking a major role in government remain slim, however.
The El Pais survey put the Socialists on around 30 percent, making them the frontrunners and likely to form a leftist bloc with Podemos, back down at around 14 percent.
The unofficial soundings suggest little change in the two parties’ combined vote, or the total vote of the rightist bloc.
That makes it unlikely that either bloc will win a majority on Sunday, triggering horse-trading with smaller parties favoring Catalan independence – the single most polarizing issues during campaigning – that could easily collapse into fresh elections.
(Election graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2ENugtw)
(Reporting by John Stonestreet and Belen Carreno, Editing by William Maclean)
LANCASTER, Pa. – The Amish population in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County is continuing to grow each year, despite the encroachment of urban sprawl on their communities.
The U.S. Census Bureau says the county added about 2,500 people in 2018. LNP reports that about 1,000 of them were Amish.
Elizabethtown College researchers say Lancaster County’s Amish population reached 33,143 in 2018, up 3.2% from the previous year.
The Amish accounted for about 41% of the county’s overall population growth last year.
Some experts are concerned that a planned 75-acre (30-hectare) housing and commercial project will make it more difficult for the county to accommodate the Amish.
Donald Kraybill, an authority on Amish culture, told Manheim Township commissioners this week that some in the community are worried about the development and the increased traffic it would bring.
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