Latest news with #LabourandSocialSecurity
See - Sada Elbalad
9 hours ago
- Business
- See - Sada Elbalad
Turkish Envoy Praises El Sewedy School, Hails Egypt-Türkiye Labour Ties
By Ahmad El-Assasy The Turkish Ambassador to Egypt, Salih Mutlu Şen, has extended his heartfelt congratulations to the new graduates of the El Sewedy School of Applied Technology. Commending their dedication, Şen noted that the young graduates are now equipped with "invaluable skills" that will enable them to make meaningful contributions to both their families and their country. In a statement posted online, Ambassador Şen also expressed his deep appreciation to Mr. Mohamed El Sewedy and Mr. Ahmed El Sewedy for their ongoing commitment to social responsibility and economic progress through education and vocational training. 'I wish to convey my appreciation to my friends, Mr. Mohamed El Sewedy and Mr. Ahmed El Sewedy, for their exemplary commitment,' Şen wrote, praising their role in advancing social and economic development in Egypt. Highlighting recent diplomatic engagement, Şen welcomed the fruitful cooperation between Egypt and Türkiye in the field of labor. He praised Egyptian Minister of Labour Mohamed Gibran for hosting his Turkish counterpart, Vedat Işıkhan, Minister of Labour and Social Security, in the New Administrative Capital. The two ministers held productive discussions aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation between Egypt and Türkiye, particularly in employment and skills development. In a short interview with MBC Masr following the event, Şen emphasized the critical role of vocational education in shaping the future workforce. He praised the contributions of the El Sewedy institutions in promoting practical training and regional development. The ambassador's remarks underscore growing cooperation between Cairo and Ankara in key areas such as labor, education, and economic development — with vocational training seen as a crucial pillar of long-term progress. read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters Arts & Culture "Jurassic World Rebirth" Gets Streaming Date News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Business Egyptian Pound Undervalued by 30%, Says Goldman Sachs Arts & Culture South Korean Actress Kang Seo-ha Dies at 31 after Cancer Battle Sports Get to Know 2025 WWE Evolution Results News "Tensions Escalate: Iran Probes Allegations of Indian Tech Collaboration with Israeli Intelligence"
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
‘Please, something to eat': Cubans forced to beg in economic crisis
Find out what's new on ST website and app. There are no official numbers on poverty in Cuba, where the word 'poor' is not used in official communications. HAVANA - Mr William Abel peers inside a plastic bag he dug out of a trash can in Havana while scrounging for his next meal. It contains rice, vegetables, a meatless chicken bone and flies competing for the spoils. The 62-year-old has been sleeping on the streets since his house outside the capital collapsed two years ago – a frequent occurrence due to the dilapidation of many buildings, echoing an economy in ruins. 'Food is the hardest part. I've been rummaging through trash cans for two years to eat,' he tells AFP, his speech hindered by many missing teeth. Under a grimy T-shirt, Mr Abel's body is skeletal. He says he suffers from arthritis, hypertension, and a liver problem for which he has no medicine. He admits he used to drink 'quite a lot... You know, we're going through a tough time'. Mr Abel is one of a visibly growing number of beggars and homeless people in a country confronting its worst economic crisis in three decades. Earlier in July, Labour and Social Security Minister Marta Elena Feito resigned after causing an outcry with her statement that 'there are no beggars' in the communist state crippled by decades of US sanctions. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump was told he is in Epstein files, Wall Street Journal reports Opinion The US dollar is down, but it has a lot going for it Singapore Judge asks prosecution for more information on Kpods in first case involving etomidate-laced vapes Singapore Singapore Oceanarium will enhance tourism while supporting sustainability: Grace Fu Singapore 5 teens arrested for threatening boy with knife, 2 charged with causing hurt Singapore Over 1.15 million Singaporeans aged 21 to 59 have claimed SG60 vouchers Opinion Cinemas struggle in a world that cannot sit still Asia Japan PM Ishiba refutes reports of imminent resignation after surprise US trade deal Analysts also point to structural weaknesses in Cuba's centralised economy and the Covid-19 pandemic's blow to the tourism industry. Long a champion of egalitarian socialism but critically short on foreign currency, the Cuban state has not had enough money these last four years to keep up with spending on social programmes such as free healthcare and subsidised food. At the same time, food prices have skyrocketed nearly 500 per cent, throwing Cubans into precarity. There are no official numbers on poverty in Cuba, where the word 'poor' is not used in official communications, but rather terms such as 'vulnerable people'. Government data shows that 189,000 families and 350,000 individuals benefit from social aid programs on the island of 9.7 million inhabitants. A real problem Mr Juan De La Cruz, 63, told AFP he had been a beggar for two weeks. He sat on the street in a busy neighbourhood of central Havana with a piece of cardboard on which he had scribbled: 'Please, something to eat.' 'What social security gives me is not enough,' said Mr De La Cruz, who lost a leg to diabetes four years ago and receives an amount equivalent to less than US$3 (S$3.80) a month at the informal exchange rate. It is not enough to buy a kilo of chicken, he said, and the soup kitchen is little comfort. 'The food is bad, rice without butter, without oil.' At least he has a place to sleep, said the retired stretcher bearer, 'a very small room,' but 'empty, empty, empty'. President Miguel Diaz-Canel was forced to enter the fray over his minister's remarks, lambasting her 'lack of sensitivity' and telling parliament that beggars are 'concrete expressions of social inequalities' in Cuba. Prime Minister Manuel Marrero also acknowledged the country was facing 'a real problem'. In the absence of official data, experts have to rely on estimates. Sociologist Mayra Espina Prieto recently calculated that 'between 40 and 45 per cent' of Cubans live 'in poverty'. Unicef, the UN's children's agency, said in 2024 that nearly one in ten Cuban children lived in 'severe child food poverty,' which means they survive one or two food groups a day, sometimes less. A small room Mr Arnaldo Victores sleeps in a motorcycle garage, on plastic bags, in a peripheral neighbourhood of Havana. As he has no fixed address, the 65-year-old former physiotherapist cannot access social benefits in spite of his visual impairment. Every day, he travels to the city centre and begs on a busy street. His dream? Just 'a small room with a bathroom,' Mr Victores told AFP. Across the street from where he is forced to beseech strangers for alms there stands a brand-new state-owned hotel with 42 floors – the tallest in the capital and a symbol of unforgivable waste for many Cubans struggling to make ends meet. AFP
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First Post
16-07-2025
- Politics
- First Post
How Cuba's beggars led to the fall of its labour minister
Cuban Minister for Labour and Social Security resigned after claiming Cuba, a communist-run nation around 150 kilometres from Florida, has no beggars. But what happened exactly? Why have her remarks sparked such a backlash? read more A woman searches through a dumpster looking for useful items, in Havana, Cuba. Cuban Minister for Labour and Social Security resigned after claiming Cuba, a communist-run nation around 150 kilometres from Florida, has no beggars. AP Cuba's labour minister has been forced to resign. And it's all because of the country's beggars. Cuban Minister for Labour and Social Security resigned after claiming Cuba, a communist-run nation around 150 kilometres from Florida, has no beggars. But what happened exactly? Why have her remarks sparked such a backlash? Let's take a closer look: What happened? Marta Elena Feitó-Cabrera, Cuba's Minister for Labour, said there were no such things as beggars in Cuba. Cabrera claimed that people were begging and going through rubbish in order to make 'easy money'. Feitó-Cabrera made the remarks during a session of Cuba's National Assembly. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'We have seen people, apparently beggars, (but) when you look at their hands, look at the clothes these people are wearing, they are disguised as beggars, they are not beggars,' she said. 'There are no beggars in Cuba. There are people pretending to be beggars to make easy money', she said. She said that those cleaning windshields use the money to 'drink alcohol.' She accused those of going through the garbage as being 'illegal participants in the recycling service'. She said they are recovering materials 'to resell and not pay tax.' Feitó-Cabrera's remarks went viral in no time. She was heavily criticised by both people in Cuba and Cubans abroad. Many even called for her to be removed from office. Even Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel took aim at her – albeit not by name. Vendors wait for customers next to the trunk of their American classic car stuffed with homemade crisps and bread, in Havana, Cuba. The economic situation in Cuba is going from bad to worse. AP Díaz-Canel succeeded Raul Castro in 2019, though Castro remains a huge influence both within the party and the country. He said Cuba's representatives cannot 'act with condescension' or be 'disconnected from the realities' of the Cuban people. 'The lack of sensitivity in addressing vulnerability is highly questionable. The revolution cannot leave anyone behind; that is our motto, our militant responsibility', Díaz-Canel later wrote on X. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Cuban economist Pedro Monreal wrote on X: 'It must be that there are also people disguised as 'ministers''. Some Cuban activists and intellectuals also published an open letter demanding her impeachment. The letter said her remarks were 'an insult to the Cuban people'. Feitó-Cabrera resigned on Tuesday. Her resignation has been accepted by the Cuban Communist Party and the government. Cuba's Presidency wrote on X that she 'acknowledged her errors and submitted her resignation' over a 'lack of objectivity and sensitivity' for issues that are 'at the centre of political and governmental management'. Why such a backlash? Her remarks came at an extremely unfortunate time. The situation in communist Cuba, which has been under US sanctions for decades, is getting from bad to worse. America imposed sanctions on Cuba in 1960 after the revolution led by Fidel Castro. The US in 1961 launched a failed invasion of Cuba known as the 'Bay of Pigs'. The operation, authorised by the John F Kennedy administration, is widely seen as one of the biggest foreign policy blunders in America's history. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The US over the years also made numerous attempts to eliminate Castro. While Barack Obama tried to thaw relations with Cuba during his time in office, his successor Donald Trump reversed the policy. The sanctions on Cuba remain widely unpopular throughout the world. Though 185 of 193 countries at the UN have voted to condemn US sanctions, Cuba remains under embargo. Poverty levels are rising and food shortages are increasing. The crisis has resulted in some people, particularly the elderly, being seen begging or going through garbage. Some are even cleaning windshields at corners for change. Fidel Castro was sworn in as premier of Cuba in 1959. America imposed sanctions on Cuba after the revolution led by Photo Cuba's GDP in 2024 fell by 1.1 per cent. Over the past five years, it has shrunk by 11 per cent. Travel and tourism remains a vital part of Cuba's economy. The island nation sees millions of tourists visit every year. While many over the years praised Cuba for providing several benefits to its citizens including universal healthcare and pensions, the government has since cut back on several essential services. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This isn't even enough to buy a single carton of eggs. Those who have families abroad can survive on what they send back. Others simply go without. 'They are elderly people who count on a pension that does not exist. They cannot even buy a carton of eggs. It is the reality we are living in Cuba,' Enrique Guillén, who is self-employed, said. With inputs from agencies
Qatar Tribune
15-07-2025
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
Labour minister reviews ties with Sierra Leone's president, minister
QNA Freetown President of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio met Minister of Labour HE Dr Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri in the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown, on Tuesday. Discussions during the meeting dealt with bilateral cooperation between Qatar and Sierra Leone in the labour sector and means to support and enhance them. The Minister of Labour also met with Minister of Employment, Labour and Social Security of Sierra Leone Mohamed Rahman Swaray. During the meeting, they discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in the labour sector and identified opportunities to further support and develop partnership ties between the two countries.
