Latest news with #socialsecurity
Tahawul Tech
2 days ago
- Business
- Tahawul Tech
Arthur D. Little appoints Goetz Kuras as ‘Partner' in financial services practice
Dubai — Arthur D. Little (ADL) announces the appointment of Dr. Goetz Kuras as a Partner in its Financial Services (FS) practice. Focused on the insurance, pensions, and social security sectors, Goetz brings over twenty years of senior executive, regulatory, and consultancy experience to the firm. He will be based in ADL's Riyadh office and will support clients in the Middle East and at a global level. Goetz joins from being a senior advisor to HE the Governor of the General Organisation of Social Insurance (GOSI) in KSA, focussing on GOSI's ongoing strategic and operational transformation and supporting the Board and CEO of the newly established Insurance Authority in defining the new National Insurance Strategy. Previous roles include executive experience as CEO of insurer Medgulf and a director role on the Board of an InsurTech company. On the consultancy side, he has worked at McKinsey and at Oliver Wyman, where he was Head of Insurance CEE and later MENA. He is focused on delivering transformation, strategy, and innovation for industry and government clients across the insurance, pensions, and social ecosystem. Goetz Kuras, Partner at ADL, said, 'The boundaries between insurance and other sectors are dissolving. What has been a value chain is becoming a value stack with new business models emerging that combine value chain components across industries, requiring new approaches from market players, new entrants, and regulators alike. Working with ADL's expanding financial services practice and my colleagues in other industries, where insurance is complementary and enhancing existing value propositions, I look forward to helping grow our client base and impact in these crucial sectors that are vital for prospering societies and economies.' Goetz holds a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Cambridge (UK) , and Master's degrees from Florida State University (US) and the University of Graz (Austria). Martin Rauchenwald, Managing Partner at ADL, said, 'Driven by digitalisation, AI and innovation, the Middle Eastern insurance sector is evolving rapidly to become a more fluid, open ecosystem. In parallel, institutional reforms of the pensions and social secuity system are actively discussed amongs policy makers. Through his deep experience and understanding, Goetz is perfectly positioned to help clients harness transformation and seize opportunities in this changing environment.'
Zawya
2 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Arthur D. Little appoints Goetz Kuras as partner in financial services practice
Dubai, UAE: Arthur D. Little (ADL) announces the appointment of Dr. Goetz Kuras as a Partner in its Financial Services (FS) practice. Focused on the insurance , pensions, and social security sectors, Goetz brings over twenty years of, senior executive, regulatory, and consultancy experience to the firm. He will be based in ADL's Riyadh office, and will support clients in the Middle East and at a global level. Goetz joins from being a senior advisor to HE the Governor of the General Organization of Social Insurance (GOSI) in KSA, focussing on GOSI's ongoing strategic and operational transformation and supporting the Board and CEO of the newly established Insurance Authority in defining the new National Insurance Strategy. Previous roles include executive experience as CEO of insurer Medgulf and a director role on the Board of an InsurTech company. On the consultancy side, he has worked at McKinsey and at Oliver Wyman, where he was Head of Insurance CEE and later MENA. He is focused on delivering transformation, strategy and innovation for industry and government clients across the insurance, pensions and social ecosystem. Martin Rauchenwald, Managing Partner at ADL, comments, 'Driven by digitalization, AI and innovation, the Middle Eastern insurance sector is evolving rapidly to become a more fluid, open ecosystem. In parallel, institutional reforms of the pensions and social secuity system are actively discussed amongs policy makers. Through his deep experience and understanding, Goetz is perfectly positioned to help clients harness transformation and seize opportunities in this changing environment.' Goetz Kuras, Partner at ADL, adds, 'The boundaries between insurance and other sectors are disolving. What has been a value chain is becoming a value stack with new business models emerging that combine value chain components across industries, requiring new approaches from market players, new entrants and regulators alike. Working with ADL's expanding financial services practice and my colleagues in other industries, where insurance is complementary and enhancing existing value propositions, I look forward to helping grow our client base and impact in these crucial sectors that are vital for prospering societies and economies.' Goetz holds a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Cambridge (UK) , and Master's degrees from Florida State University (US) and the University of Graz (Austria). Media Contact: Cate Bonthuys Catalyst Comms +44 7715 817589 For further information, please visit
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Granderson: Eliminating national holidays is a promising idea. Start with the racist ones
Believe it or not, France has had a form of social security since the 1600s, and its modern system began in earnest in 1910, when the world's life expectancy was just 32 years old. Today the average human makes it to 75 and for the French, it's 83, among the highest in Europe. Great news for French people, bad news for their pensions. Because people are living longer, the math to fund pensions in France is no longer mathing, and now the country's debt is nearly 114% of its GDP. Remember it was just a couple of years ago when protesters set parts of Paris on fire because President Emmanuel Macron proposed raising the age of legal retirement from 62 to 64. Well, now Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has proposed eliminating two national holidays, in an attempt to address the country's debt. Read more: Granderson: Where's the music that meets this moment? Black artists are stepping up In 2023, before Paris was burning, roughly 50,000 people in Denmark gathered outside of Parliament to express their anger over ditching one of the country's national holidays. The roots of Great Prayer Day date all the way back to the 1600s. Eliminating it — with the hopes of increasing production and tax revenue — brought together the unions, opposing political parties and churches in a rare trifecta. That explains why a number of schools and businesses closed for the holiday in 2024 in defiance of the official change. This week, Bayrou proposed eliminating France's Easter Monday and Victory Day holidays, the latter marking the defeat of Nazi Germany. In a Reuters poll, 70% of respondents didn't like the idea, so we'll see if Paris starts burning again. Or maybe citizens will take a cue from the Danes and just not work on those days, even if the government decides to continue business as usual. Here at home, President Trump has also floated the idea of eliminating one of the national holidays. However, because he floated the idea on Juneteenth — via a social media post about 'too many non-working holidays' — I'm going to assume tax revenue wasn't the sole motivation for his comments that day. You know, given his crusade against corporate and government diversity efforts; his refusal to apologize for calling for the death penalty for five innocent boys of color; and his approval of Alligator Alcatraz. However, while I find myself at odds with the president's 2025 remarks about the holiday, I do agree with what he said about Juneteenth when he was president in 2020: 'It's actually an important event, an important time.' Indeed. While the institution of slavery enabled this country to quickly become a global power, studies show the largest economic gains in the history of the country came from slavery's ending — otherwise known as Juneteenth. Two economists have found that the economic payoff from freeing enslaved people was 'bigger than the introduction of railroads, by some estimates, and worth 7 to 60 years of technological innovation in the latter half of the 19th century,' according to the University of Chicago. Why? Because the final calculations revealed the cost to enslave people for centuries was far greater than the economic benefit of their freedom. In 1492, when Christopher Columbus 'discovered America,' civilizations had been thriving on this land for millennia. The colonizers introduced slavery to these shores two years before the first 'Thanksgiving' in 1621. That was more than 50 years before King Louis XIV started France's first pension; 60 years before King Christian V approved Great Prayer Day; and 157 years before the 13 colonies declared independence from Britain on July 4, 1776. Of all the national holidays around the Western world, it would appear Juneteenth is among the most significant historically. Yet it gained federal recognition just four years ago, and it remains vulnerable. The transatlantic slave trade transformed the global economy, but the numbers show it was Juneteenth that lifted America to the top. Which tells you the president's hint at its elimination has little to do with our greatness and everything to do with the worldview of an elected official who was endorsed by the newspaper of the Ku Klux Klan. If it does get to the point where we — like France and Denmark — end up seriously considering cutting a holiday, my vote is for Thanksgiving. The retail industry treats it like a speed bump between Halloween and Christmas, and when history retells its origins, it's not a holiday worth protesting to keep. YouTube: @LZGrandersonShow If it's in the news right now, the L.A. Times' Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Solve the daily Crossword
Zawya
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Tunisia: Head of State orders thorough review of role of social security funds
Tunis – President Kaïs Saïed on Wednesday instructed Social Affairs Minister, Issam Lahmar, to undertake a thorough reform of the social security funds to help restore their financial balance and enable them to fully carry out their mission. During a meeting held at Carthage Palace, the President emphasized the importance of continuing efforts in the social domain with the aim of building a true social state, according to a statement from the Presidency of the Republic. He also urged a reconsideration of certain commonly used terms and concepts, affirming that "social support is neither a favor nor an act of charity, but a legitimate right that calls for fresh thinking and innovative approaches." © Tap 2022 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Al Jazeera
16-07-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Cuban minister resigns after suggesting beggars are pretending
Cuban Labour and Social Security Minister Marta Elena Feito Cabrera has resigned after saying there are no beggars in Cuba, only people pretending to be. Cuba's presidency said in a post on social media on Wednesday that Feito had 'acknowledged her errors and submitted her resignation' over her 'lack of objectivity and sensitivity' in addressing issues that are 'at the centre of political and governmental management'. The news came a day after Feito made the comments about poverty in the island nation to deputies in a National Assembly committee. '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,' Feito said. 'In Cuba, there are no beggars,' she said. The minister added that people cleaning car windscreens live 'easy' lives and they use the money they make to 'drink alcohol'. Feito also lashed out against those who search through rubbish dumps, saying they are recovering materials 'to resell and not pay tax'. The remarks quickly went viral, prompting calls for Feito's impeachment and a wave of criticism in a country experiencing a tough economic situation in recent years. Even Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel was critical. Without mentioning her by name but referring to the meeting at the National Assembly committee in which Feito participated, Diaz-Canel said on his X account: 'The lack of sensitivity in addressing vulnerability is highly questionable. The revolution cannot leave anyone behind; that is our motto, our militant responsibility.' Cuba blames its economic woes on a Cold War-era United States trade embargo, which complicates financial transactions and the acquisition of essentials, such as fuel and spare parts. The US imposed the embargo in 1960 after the Cuban Revolution, led by Fidel Castro. The embargo is widely criticised with 185 of 193 countries at the United Nations voting to condemn it. US President Donald Trump recently tightened sanctions on the island's Communist Party-run government, pledging to restore a 'tough' policy towards the Caribbean country. Former US President Barack Obama took considerable steps to ease tensions with Cuba during his time in office, including restoring US-Cuba relations and making the first visit by a US president to the country in 90 years. Cuba has also faced an energy crisis and blackouts in recent months as supplies of subsidised Venezuelan oil have become increasingly precarious as Venezuela grapples with its own economic woes. Last week, the US Department of State imposed sanctions against Diaz-Canel as well as the luxury high-rise Hotel Torre K in central Havana. Travel and tourism are important to Cuba's struggling economy with millions of tourists visiting the island nation each year. According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, Cuba had a gross domestic product of $9,296 per person in 2019, making it an upper middle income country.
