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☆ Prison was 'brutal and distressing' says ex-Goldman Sachs banker who was locked up in Malaysia over the 1MDB scandal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

US authorities convicted an ex-Goldman Sachs banker of bribery and money laundering in the 1MDB scandal. Ng, who also spent time in a Malaysian prison, said conditions were "brutal and distressing." "Six months in the Malaysian prison had a devastating effect mentally and physically," Ng wrote in his letter. The Malaysian Prison Department did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. In 2020, the former leader was sentenced to 12 years in prison for breach of trust, abuse of power, and money laundering in connection with 1MDB.

☆ Peru announces $9 bln injection to boost economy amid protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Private investment in Peru fell 0.5% last year, while it posted a 37.4% growth in 2021, according to economy ministry data. "The goal is for private investment to increase 3% this year," Contreras told the conference. Peru's economic growth stood at 2.68% at the end of 2022, a steep decline from the 13.61% climb recorded the year before. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended Peru earlier in February to implement "targeted, temporary" fiscal stimulus given the slump in economic activity. Protests in Peru sparked after the ousting of Castillo, with demonstrators asking for President Dina Boluarte's resignation, the closure of Congress, a new Constitution and early elections.

U.S. officials said the Labor Department had seen a nearly 70% increase in child labor violations since 2018, including in hazardous occupations. In the last fiscal year, 835 companies were found to have violated child labor laws. It has created an interagency task force on child labor, and plans to target industries where violations are most likely to occur for investigations. The Hearthside investigation is the latest in an uptick of similar probes. Reuters last year published a series of stories on child labor including revelations about the use of child labor among suppliers to Hyundai, including a direct subsidiary of the Korean auto giant, in the U.S. state of Alabama.

☆ Exclusive: U.S. Labor Department probes Hearthside Food Solutions for possible child labor violations -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Nandita Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Labor has opened an investigation against Hearthside Food Solutions, a U.S. food contractor that makes and packages products for well-known snack and cereal brands, for reportedly employing underage workers and violating child labor laws, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. "We can confirm that we have opened an investigation," a spokesman for the Department of Labor told Reuters. The Hearthside investigation is the latest in an uptick of probes the department is conducting on child labor in factories around the country. Reuters last year published a series of stories on child labor including revelations about the use of child labor among suppliers to Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Mark Porter and Nick ZieminskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Biden administration to crack down on child labor
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Laura Strickler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

More than 3,800 children were found to be working at U.S. companies last year in violation of federal law, the Labor Department said Monday in announcing a crackdown on child labor. Some 835 companies were founded to be illegally employing minors last year, the Labor Department said, and more than 600 child labor investigations remain ongoing. In stepping up its efforts to target companies that use child labor, the Labor Department will use new strategies to launch investigations where child labor violations are most likely to occur. The agency called on Congress to increase the maximum penalty for child labor violations, which is currently $15,000. "That's not high enough to be a deterrent for major profitable companies," the Labor Department said in a press release.

☆ Turks protest over government's quake response in stadiums, on streets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

At a separate demonstration in Istanbul, riot police moved swiftly to detain protesters, who were handcuffed and dragged into police buses. Following the Besiktas fans' protest, Bahceli cancelled his membership of the club, his party announced in a statement. Fans from Istanbul team Fenerbahce chanted similar anti-government slogans during Saturday's match against Konyaspor. "Twenty years of lies and cheating, resign," Fenerbahce fans shouted during their 4-0 win over Konyaspor. Dozens of members and supporters of the far-left opposition party Workers' Party of Turkey were detained in central Istanbul on Sunday at an anti-government protest, the party said.

U.S. officials said the Labor Department had seen a nearly 70% increase in child labor violations since 2018, including in hazardous occupations. In the last fiscal year, 835 companies were found to have violated child labor laws. It has created an interagency task force on child labor, and plans to target industries where violations are most likely to occur for investigations. The Hearthside investigation is the latest in a rise in similar probes. Reuters last year published a series of stories on child labor including revelations about the use of child labor among suppliers to Hyundai, including a direct subsidiary of the Korean auto giant, in the U.S. state of Alabama.

☆ U.S. manufacturers see big boost from government subsidies and tax breaks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Timothy Aeppel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

While the Biden administration push, described by economists as an industrial policy, has opened opportunities for some companies, significant hurdles remain. Eight out of 12 Republican representatives in Ohio’s congressional delegation voted in favor of federal subsidies for semiconductor production, including the funds that will go to Intel. The 2022 CHIPS and Science Act provides $52.7 billion in federal subsidies for semiconductor production and research. Scott Lincicome, director of general economics at the libertarian Cato Institute, said industrial policy tends to crumble into failed projects and cost overruns. "There's all sorts of more market-oriented reforms that could achieve the type of objectives our political class wants, without the unintended consequences of industrial policy," he said.

While the Biden administration push, described by economists as an industrial policy, has opened opportunities for some companies, significant hurdles remain. The 2022 CHIPS and Science Act provides $52.7 billion in federal subsidies for semiconductor production and research. Industrial policy still has critics. Scott Lincicome, director of general economics at the libertarian Cato Institute, said industrial policy tends to crumble into failed projects and cost overruns. "There's all sorts of more market-oriented reforms that could achieve the type of objectives our political class wants, without the unintended consequences of industrial policy," he said.

☆ Sanitation company accused of employing children as young as 13 for 'hazardous' work hired the same child twice
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Britney Nguyen | Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A sanitation company that paid $1.5 million in penalties after being accused of employing children hired one child twice, NBC News reports. The child was hired under two different identities in six months, per NBC News, citing an internal report. The company confirmed to Insider that it demoted the employee who hired the child. "We have been crystal clear that we do not want a single person under the age of 18 working for the company," Swenson said. In its filing, the department accused the company of employing at least 102 children ages 13 to 17 in "hazardous occupations."

☆ U.S. Fines Food Sanitation Company $1.5 Million for Hiring Children to Clean Meatpacking Plants
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Ginger Adams Otis | Patrick Thomas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Labor Department said Packers Sanitation Services Inc. illegally employed teenagers. A food sanitation-service provider accused of hiring at least 102 children to work overnight shifts cleaning meatpacking plants in eight states has paid $1.5 million in penalties, the Labor Department said. Packers Sanitation Services Inc. illegally employed minors between the ages of 13 and 17 at 13 meatpacking facilities around the U.S., the federal agency said Friday.

☆ Sanitation company pays $1.5 million penalty for hiring children for 'hazardous' factory work like cleaning beef bone saws, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The US Labor Department filed a complaint against PSSI following a three-month investigation into unlawful child labor claims in November. PSSI was charged $1.5 million in penalties as a result of the investigation, officials said. The department accused the sanitation contractor of having employees as young as 13 working "hazardous" overnight shifts. The DOL filed a complaint seeking a temporary restraining order and injunction against the food safety sanitation service following its investigation. The company added that no children are currently employed, and many hadn't worked for the business in years.

☆ More than 100 children worked in dangerous conditions at slaughterhouse cleaning firm: US Labor Department
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The Kieler, Wisconsin, based company employed the children to clean meat processing equipment including back saws, brisket saws and head splitters. The company said none of the underage workers are employed at the company today, and that “many” of them had worked there years ago. In November, a complaint was filed in the US District Court of Nebraska alleging that Packers Sanitation illegally employed at least 31 children to clean dangerous power equipment. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order barring the company from committing further child labor law violations. In December, Packers agreed to take “significant steps” to comply with labor laws after entering into a consent order and judgment.

☆ Federal officials find more than 100 children working in dangerous jobs for slaughterhouse cleaning firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Laura Strickler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Packers Sanitation Services has paid a $1.5 million fine for the violations. The Labor Department says the children who were working overnight shifts used "caustic chemicals to clean razor-sharp saws." "Our investigation found Packers Sanitation Services' systems flagged some young workers as minors, but the company ignored the flags. The company signed a consent decree in December with the Labor Department and agreed to abide by child labor laws after federal investigators documented 50 children working at slaughterhouses for it. The compliance specialist will conduct child labor audits, which will be shared with the Labor Department for three years.

[1/6] Members of the military walk on the street in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Antakya, Turkey February 16, 2023. The number of people killed by the deadliest earthquake in Turkey's modern history has risen to 36,187, authorities said. While several people were also found alive in Turkey on Wednesday, reports of such rescues have become increasingly infrequent. Authorities in Turkey and Syria have not announced how many people are still missing. Millions of people are in need of humanitarian aid after being left homeless in near-freezing winter temperatures.

☆ Disease the new threat as Turkey faces post-quake water shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Henriette Chacar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Debris are seen in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Hatay, Turkey February 15, 2023. REUTERS/Clodagh KilcoyneKAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey, Feb 15 (Reuters) - More than a week after his home was wrecked in a deadly earthquake that hit southern Turkey, Mohammad Emin's body is still covered in dust and grime. He also said he had not been able to take a shower nor, like several other camp residents who Reuters spoke to, change his clothes. Batyr Berdyklychev, the World Health Organization's representative in Turkey, said the water shortage "increases the risk of waterborne diseases and outbreaks of communicable diseases." The WHO was working with local authorities to step up monitoring of waterborne diseases, seasonal influenza and COVID-19 among those displaced, he added.

The combined death toll in Turkey and Syria has climbed to more than 41,000, and millions are in need of humanitarian aid, with many survivors having been left homeless in near-freezing winter temperatures. It asked Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to open more border crossing points with Turkey to allow aid to get through. "I shouted, shouted and shouted. Civil war hostilities have obstructed at least two attempts to send aid to the northwest from elsewhere in Syria, but an aid convoy reached the area overnight. "The children and I, by some miracle, we ended up in this small space that I had left empty."

More than 105,000 people were injured in the quake, he said, with more than 13,000 still being treated in hospital. Afterwards, Gungor's relatives hugged the rescue team, made up of military personnel and members of the disaster management authority AFAD. Families in both Turkey and Syria said they and their children were dealing with the psychological aftermath of the quake. A first convoy of U.N. aid entered rebel-held northwest Syria from Turkey via the newly-opened Bab al-Salam crossing. Russia also said it was wrapping up its search and rescue work in Turkey and Syria and preparing to withdraw.

☆ Increasing number of Turkey-Syria earthquake survivors show signs of PTSD
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Umit Bektas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ISKENDERUN, Turkey, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Doctors in a Turkish field hospital in the southern city of Iskenderun said they are treating increasing numbers of patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and panic attacks after last week's earthquake. The extent of the trauma survivors have experienced is enormous. "People only now are starting to realise what happened to them after this shock period," said a Turkish medical official. Sometimes when he is asleep he wakes up and says 'earthquake'," said his father Hassan Moath. Some 26 million people across both countries need humanitarian assistance," said the WHO's Europe Director Hans Kluge in a statement.

[1/3] Migrants run towards the fence separating Morocco from Spain, after thousands of migrants swam across the border, in Ceuta, Spain, May 19, 2021. Spanish exports to Algeria fell 41% to 1 billion euros ($1.09 billion) in the January-November 2022 period compared with a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Industry. State-owned railway operators Renfe and Adif are working with their Moroccan counterpart to develop new train lines, which could mean 6 billion euros of business. A joint declaration made no mention of Spain's enclaves in Morocco although it reiterated Spain's new position on Western Sahara. Both countries agreed to cooperate on repatriations of illegal migrants.

☆ A CEO quoted Martin Luther King Jr. in an email to employees announcing layoffs. It did not go over well.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In an email to employees announcing layoffs, PagerDuty's CEO quoted Martin Luther King Jr.People on Twitter quickly criticized her use of a quote from the noted civil rights activist. In paragraphs before mentioning the layoffs, Tejada referenced the uncertainty of macroeconomic conditions and said the company is changing its current operating mode. Tom Gara, a technology communications manager at Meta, said on Twitter that Tejada's email was an "all time classic bad layoff announcement." Although King is largely remembered for his civil rights activism, he was also a proponent of unions and workers' rights. Tejada, who became CEO of the San Francisco-based company in 2016, has referenced King before.

Big Olaf Creamery has been ordered to pay $4 million to the estate of Mary Billman, a 79-year-old Illinois woman whose death has been linked to a listeria outbreak traced to the Florida-based ice cream maker. Included in Judge William Jung’s ruling are $1 million Big Olaf will have to pay in punitive damages. Big Olaf Creamery in Siesta Key, Fla. Google Maps"Her pain and suffering and resulting death, and ultimate loss to her family and friends, cannot be understated," the suit said. A subsequent investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prompted a Dec. 9 warning letter finding Big Olaf in "serious violation" of U.S. health codes. A representative for Big Olaf could not be reached for comment.

☆ Russia orders the creation of 24 penal colonies in occupied Ukraine, says report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia has ordered the creation of 24 penal colonies in annexed parts of Ukraine, per Meduza. Conditions at penal colonies, which trace their roots to Soviet-era gulags, are famously harsh. The published decree outlines plans to create 12 new penal colonies in Donetsk, seven in Luhansk, three in Kherson, and two in Zaporizhzhia, Meduza reported. Ukrainska Pravda, a Ukrainian online newspaper, reported that there were 626 penal colonies in Russia as of November 2022. Ukrainian prisoners have previously been transported to penal colonies on Russian territory, according to research by Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny and Gulagu.net, per Meduza.

☆ U.N. aid chief asks Taliban authorities for more exemptions to female NGO worker ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Charlotte Greenfield | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KABUL, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The U.N. aid chief said on Wednesday the humanitarian community was speaking with Taliban officials to try and gain further exemptions and written guidelines to allow some female aid workers to operate despite a ban on women NGO staff. Taliban authorities ordered NGOs, many of whom carry out operations for the United Nations, to stop most female staff working last month. Griffiths said some exemptions to the ban had been granted in health and education and they were hearing signs of a possible exemption in agriculture. A spokesperson for the Taliban administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its plans over guidelines. "It's very important to engage with the Taliban movement as a whole, that includes ... Kandahar, and also with Taliban at the provincial levels," he said.

☆ This startup turning human waste into fertilizer just raised $7.5 million. Here's the 17-slide pitch deck Wasted used to raise the fresh funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Wasted is making fertilizer out of urine and just raised $7.5 million in fresh funding. Wasted, which he created alongside Taylor Zehren and Thor Retzlaff, is redesigning the porta-potty to ultimately turn human waste into agriculture fertilizer. At least 40 wastewater treatment plants were damaged as a result of the 2017 hurricane Harvey, which saw raw sewage spill out onto streets. Nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium are common fertilizers found in human waste but are typically extracted from the earth for use. There is a long history of some countries using untreated or partially-treated human waste as fertilizer.

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