
Cuban Minister Quits After Scoffing at Communist Island's Poor
Marta Elena Feito Cabrera's resignation was accepted for her 'lack of objectivity and sensibility' in discussing 'real and unwanted issues that affect our society,' state-run news outlet Cubadebate reported Wednesday.
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Wall Street Journal
43 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Mysteries: ‘Pariah' by Dan Fesperman
Hal Knight, a 47-year-old comedian-turned-congressman, is the title character in Dan Fesperman's 13th novel, 'Pariah.' In the wake of a #MeToo-era scandal over his behavior on a film set, Hal is out of politics and the entertainment world. He's been dropped by his fiancée and is no longer welcome in polite U.S. society. In disgrace, Hal makes his way alone to a small Caribbean island where he hopes to hide in isolation while pondering 'Plan Z': downing the poison pills concealed in his luggage. 'Fast-acting, mostly painless.' But two unexpected things occur: The despotic president of the Eastern European nation of Bolrovia (an avowed fan of Hal's comedy) invites him for an all-expenses-paid visit and celebratory banquet-concert; and three mysterious Americans (two men and their female supervisor) drop by Hal's hotel to suggest he accept that invite—for his good, their good and the good of his country. Who are they? 'Anyone who says he's CIA is almost certainly an imposter,' the former congressman figures. 'Only someone who cagily avoids mentioning CIA can really be an Agency employee.' Hal says yes to both offers. He's grateful for the career attention (though wary of being perceived as the 'court jester of a wannabe dictator') and hopes maybe he can now do something worthwhile to make amends for his past mistakes and misdeeds. Mr. Fesperman, a former foreign correspondent as well as a veteran fiction writer, handles the absurdist elements of his plot with a light touch appropriate to the travails of (in Hal's mocking words) 'the Jerry Lewis of Bolrovia.' Yet the laughter takes a back seat to some real peril once things go awry and Hal starts improvising an unpredictable script. 'Pariah' is a most unusual and entertaining espionage caper, one in which the protagonist's serious flaws at last yield to the redeeming qualities of his better angels.
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Major pay move for 2.6 million 'hardworking' Aussies: 'Keep their heads above water'
The government is trying to protect the pay rights of roughly 2.6 million workers by introducing new legislation to parliament. The bill would safeguard penalty and overtime rates for those on certain award contracts. The legislation is being introduced on Thursday, and Labor will be seeking support from both the Coalition and the Greens to get it approved. Employment and workplace relations minister Amanda Rishworth said this measure is essential for "hardworking" people. 'If you rely on the modern award safety net and work weekends, public holidays, early mornings or late nights, you deserve to have your wages protected,' she said. RELATED Major update on $5,520 HECS cash boost for millions The top 10 highest salaries in Australia paying up to $700,000 Rare 5 cent coin worth 25,000 times its value due to 'double headed' detail 'Millions of hardworking Australians rely on penalty rates and overtime rates to keep their heads above water, which is why this bill is so critical." Labor went to the election promising to protect penalty and overtime rates after a push from the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) to change how these pay benefits could work. The ARA made an application to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) that included more than a dozen argued the current General Retail Industry Award 2020 (GRIA) was unnecessarily convoluted because there are 994 individual pay rates that spanned nearly 100 pages. So, it suggested award workers earning $53,670 and above could be exempted from benefits like overtime rates, evening and weekend penalty rates, and annual leave loading. It also wanted to reduce rest times between shifts from 12 hours to 10 hours, and allow workers to waive their meal breaks to finish their shifts early. In exchange, workers would be given an opt-in 25 per cent boost to their base rate. But the application copped a spray from Labor at the time. 'Labor's longstanding position is that workers' wages should not go backwards," the then workplace relations minister Murray Watt said in a counter submission to the FWC. 'If you give up your nights and weekends to keep Australia fed and clothed, you deserve your penalty rates." How would the legislation work and will it pass? The government is now going one step further by bringing in strengthened legislation for award worker pay. Under Labor's proposal, an award would not be allowed to be altered if it could be shown that just one worker would be worse off under an arrangement that involved a change in overtime or penalty rates. However, the government could find it difficult to get this legislation passed. The opposition said the FWC already has enough powers to look after all types of workers and ensure they have the best possible conditions. 'There is no threat to penalty rates,' shadow industrial relations and employment spokesman Tim Wilson said recently. 'What there is, is a political focus of the government that isn't focused towards improving the economic conditions to help small businesses grow, to enable them to go on and employ the next generation of workers, to give those first generation, those first jobs to young Australians so that they can be independent, and be able to get on with their economic futures.'
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
Colombia's Petro threatens to alter Glencore contract over Israel coal exports
BOGOTA (Reuters) -Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Tuesday threatened to unilaterally alter Glencore's concession contract if the mining giant continues to export coal to Israel, though the company said it has already ceased the shipments in compliance with a presidential decree. "I am willing to unilaterally change the concession contract," Petro said during an energy event for the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). The president also warned that if Glencore refuses to comply with the decree to suspend the shipments, he would ask the local community near the mine to stage blockades. In response, the company said it was already in compliance with the order. "Cerrejon has acted in accordance with the decree issued by President Petro. In fact, our last shipment of coal was some two weeks before the decree came into effect," the company told Reuters. Petro suspended exports of the fuel source to Israel over its assault on the Gaza Strip. Israel's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Glencore's Cerrejon operation, located in Colombia's northeastern La Guajira province, is one of the world's largest open-pit coal export mines. It includes a 150-kilometer (93-mile) railway line and a port on the Caribbean Sea. Cerrejon's production reached 19 million metric tons in 2024. In March, the company announced it would cut its annual thermal coal production by between 5 million and 10 million tons due to low mineral prices. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data