Category: Foreign

An Amazon union avoidance official threatened workers with minimum wage and warned that things might get worse if they unionised and enter negotiations with the company.

The Vice reported on Thursday, citing leaked audio from an Amazon meeting that it obtained.

The Amazon union buster was caught on tape making a threat to employees at JFK8, the company’s largest New York City warehouse, during a mandatory anti-union meeting that took place on Wednesday.

This is according to Vice, describing the collective bargaining process for unionised workers with Amazon, the official stressed that “there are no guarantees you can end up with better, the same, or worse than you already have.

“There are no guarantees as to what would happen?

“We can’t make any promises, things will get better or stay the same.

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“They could get worse. We can’t promise what’s going to happen.

“Amazon can’t promise you that they’re going to walk into negotiations and that the negotiations will start from the same pay and benefits workers have already,’’ the official was quoted as saying by Vice.

Once pressed by the workers to admit it was a threat, the official tried to backtrack and changed the topic, the report said.

Over the course of the 14-minute meeting, the official in a similar vein listed potential negative consequences of unionisation, such as binding obligations and representation fees, Vice said.

Under the U.S. labour regulations, interfering with or retaliating against workers who organise to form unions was illegal.

The union election would be held in the JFK8 warehouse on March 25, through March 30.

It will be the second election at an Amazon warehouse in U.S. history. (Sputnik/NAN)

The U.S. Government has characterised Russia’s announcement that it had partially withdrawn troops to deescalate the Ukraine crisis as false.

In the last several days, Russia had increased its presence along the Ukrainian border by as many as 7,000 troops “with some arriving as recently as today,’’ a high-ranking White House official said Wednesday evening.

The U.S. now knew Russia’s announcement of a partial withdrawal was “false,’’ the official said in a briefing to journalists in Washington.

Moscow had expressed openness to a diplomatic solution in recent days.

“But every indication we have now is they mean only to publicly offer to talk and then claim about deescalation while privately mobilising for war,’’ the official said.

There was also further information that Russia could “launch a false pretext at any moment to justify an invasion of Ukraine,” he said, citing a potential provocation in the eastern Ukrainian Donbas region as an example.

There could also be more Russian false claims including baseless accusations that the U.S. and Ukraine were developing “biological or chemical weapons,’’ the official said.

It is unclear what form the pretext could take “but we hope the world is ready,’’ he said.

“No one should take these claims at face value,’’ he said. (dpa/NAN)

Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba has been inaugurated as Burkina Faso’s president, just over three weeks after he led a coup that overthrew democratically elected Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

In a televised ceremony yesterday, Damiba took an oath before the country’s top constitutional body to “preserve, respect, uphold and defend the constitution”, the nation’s laws and a “fundamental act” of key decisions approved by the military.

Damiba was dressed in camouflage uniform and a red beret, and wore a sash in the colours of Burkina Faso’s national flag.

The ceremony in a small room at the offices of the Constitutional Council in the capital, Ouagadougou, was not attended by any foreign representatives.

Kabore was elected in 2015 following a popular revolt that forced out longtime ruler Blaise Compaore. He was re-elected in 2020, but the following year faced a wave of anger over the mounting toll from an increasingly bloody conflict that has spilled over from neighbouring Mali.

The fighting has killed thousands of people and forced millions from their homes across West Africa’s portion of the Sahel region in the face of attacks by armed groups affiliated with ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda. This year, nearly 15 million people in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger will need humanitarian assistance, four million more than in 2021, according to the United Nations.

On January 24, Damiba, 41, led disgruntled officers to force out Kabore amid public anger over his handling of the worsening security situation.

Last week, the Constitutional Council formally determined that Damiba was president, head of state and supreme commander of the armed forces.

The move confirmed an announcement by the military on January 31 that Damiba would be appointed to those roles for a transitional period, and be assisted by two vice presidents.

The military suspended the constitution immediately on taking power, but later reversed this in the face of pressure from neighbours in West Africa demanding a return to civilian rule.

The military authorities have promised to re-establish “constitutional order” within a “reasonable time” but the issue of a date for elections remains unsettled.

Earlier this month, Damiba created a 15-person technical committee charged with proposing a timeline for a transitional government that will lead the country to elections. The committee is expected to announce its proposal on how the country should return to democracy in a few weeks.

While the military government has so far received widespread support from people across Burkina Faso, the international community has condemned the coup. Burkina Faso has been suspended from the West African regional body known as ECOWAS as well as the African Union, which stopped short of imposing sanctions.

Both those organisations are calling for a fast transition to constitutional rule and for Kabore to be released. The former president is still under house arrest in Ouagadougou.

Burkina Faso is one of the world’s poorest countries and one of the most volatile in Africa.

The landlocked Sahel state has experienced repeated coups since gaining independence from France in 1960, and is battling a brutal armed operation.

More than 2,000 people have died, according to an AFP tally, while the country’s emergencies agency says more than 1.5 million people have fled their homes.

THE United States (U.S.) government has indicated its commitment to supporting economic and human development initiatives in Nigeria that help create job opportunities and facilitate improved sustainable economic growth

American Consulate Public Affairs Officer Stephen Ibelli reiterated this at the graduation ceremony of 70 youths, who participated in the first cohort of an intensive six weeks training, organised by a 2019 alumnus of the U.S. Consulate Academy for Women Entrepreneurs, Funke Medun, at the American Corner in Ikeja, Lagos.

A statement by the consulate’s public affairs section stated that the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) under its Employability Support Project in partnership with the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) supported the programme.

The employability training programme is aimed at creating more job opportunities for youths in the state, reducing unemployment and improving economic growth, and will also equip participants with digital and management skills that will enable them contribute to the growth of various organisations.

Ibelli, while speaking at the event, highlighted the importance of small businesses in spurring economic growth and boosting shared prosperity.

“For Nigeria to succeed, the men and women who create businesses or hope to develop new businesses and job opportunities must succeed. Ideas for new products or improved services will produce the growth, jobs and incomes that will lead to a more prosperous and stable Nigeria,” Ibelli said at the ceremony.

Ibelli explained that the U.S. Mission in Nigeria supports a variety of exchange programmes each year, focusing on promoting entrepreneurship and technological innovation.

They include: the International Visitors Leadership Programme, the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme, the Global Innovation through Science and Technology Programme, the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs, TechWomen and the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI).

“Through these programmes, the United States government will continue to help create a more peaceful, stable, and prosperous future for Nigeria,” Ibelli added.

Medun acknowledged the commitment of the first set of participants to the successful completion of the six weeks capacity building programme and noted that the second batch of the training will commence in the next few weeks.

“We hope that they are able to leverage the skills they have acquired from their participation in this program to contribute to the growth of small businesses in their local communities,” Medun said.

The U.S African Development Foundation is an independent U.S. government agency established by Congress to invest directly in African grassroots enterprises and social entrepreneurs. USADF creates pathways to prosperity for marginalized populations and undeserved communities across the continent.

A court in India has set Feb. 18, for the sentencing of those convicted in the case of a series of deadly bomb explosions in Ahmedabad in 2008.

The explosion claimed 56 lives, special public prosecutor Amit Patel said.

Last week, a court found 49 persons guilty in the case.

READ ALSO:Indian police arrest three for alleged ‘online auction’ of women

The prosecution demanded the court sentenced the convicts to death.

“The court said it will decide on Feb. 18, Patel was quoted as saying by India TV broadcaster.

The series of 21 blasts killed 56 people and left over 200 others injured within or more than an hour in Ahmedabad in 2008.

Two days after the deadly explosions, the police said they found more bombs in the neighbouring city of Surat. (Sputnik/NAN)

The Federal Government, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have launched the Jubilee Fellows Fund to address youth unemployment in the country.

This is an innovative financing instrument that will enable a diverse set of stakeholders to support the roll-out and implementation of the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme (NJFP).

During the launch, the EU signed a development cooperation agreement of €55 million with the Federal Government out of which €44 million is earmarked for the NJFP.

The NJFP, which was initiated in 2021, is a government led youth employment initiative that will place 20,000 young Nigerian graduates annually with one-year paid work placements in private and public sector companies across the country.

A statement by the Acting Head of Communications, UNDP Nigeria, Alison Clement, yesterday said there was critical need for diverse support and resource mobilisation, beyond traditional public finance and international aid to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and address some of the country’s biggest challenges, like youth unemployment.

She said the Jubilee Fellows Fund provides an opportunity for a wide range of stakeholders, including the private sector, start-ups, foundations, international financial institutions, philanthropists and multilateral and bilateral donors to contribute funding towards the implementation of the NJFP, helping to provide a solution to the high rate of unemployment of young people.

Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, in his remarks, declared that “youth unemployment continues to be one of the most ardent challenges facing Nigeria today. The Federal Government is working tirelessly to reduce unemployment through various policies that support existing businesses, encourage start-ups and build an efficient workforce.”

The future of the international military presence in Mali will be the subject of consultations in Paris on the eve of a summit meeting of the European Union and the African Union.

High-ranking representatives of the EU, the African states in the region and other international participants were set to attend the informal meeting on Wednesday evening.

According to a statement from the Élysée Palace yesterday, the meeting is expected to focus on the fight against terrorism in the Sahel.

It is not clear whether decisions will be made and announced today after the meeting.

The goal is a coordinated approach, the statement said, adding that simply moving bases from Mali to a neighbouring country was not a solution.

France, in particular, sees little prospect of maintaining its military presence in the West African country.

Tensions had recently increased, especially between the government in Mali, which came to power in a coup, and the former colonial power France.

Meanwhile, there had already been disputes about the presence of Russian mercenaries in Mali and about a flight ban that also affected the German Armed Forces.

In Germany, too, there is a debate about the continuation of the Bundeswehr’s Mali mission, with more than 1,300 troops in the country.

The current mandate is valid until May 31.

Hong Kong Police on Tuesday arrested Tommy Yuen, a 41-year-old singer, for suspected sedition and money laundering.

The Hong Kong Police’s national security department confirmed that Yuen was arrested for public comments and online posts that authorities deemed carried “seditious intent”.

Senior Superintendent Steve Li told reporters that “he hoped to incite hatred towards the Hong Kong government and to stoke discontent among the Hong Kong public’’.

He declined to confirm whether the arrested man was Yuen.

Yuen couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

In November 2021, Li said the man had performed a song broadcast live online with the words “Liberate Hong Kong Revolution of our Time”, a popular protest slogan during the city’s protracted 2019 pro-democracy protests.

READ ALSO: Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong activists convicted for Tiananmen vigil

Li said this slogan had already been found by a Hong Kong court to be capable of inciting people to commit secession in the city’s first national security case last year involving a former waiter, Tong Ying-kit, who was jailed for nine years.

Another man was also arrested by the Police, Li added, in connection with the case that also involved suspected money laundering.

Yuen was well known in Hong Kong for his advocacy of democratic causes including during live concerts and protest marches.

His Facebook page carries the words “We Die for Fight”.

China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in June 2020 punishing acts of subversion, terrorism, collusion with foreign forces and secession with possible life imprisonment.

Critics, including Western governments, say the law has been used to silence dissent, with scores of pro-democracy campaigners arrested, civil society groups disbanded and free speech curtailed.

Hong Kong and Chinese authorities say the law has brought stability to the city after mass anti-government protests.

Another Hong Kong pop star, Denise Ho, was detained by the Police in December for a separate national security case, but released on police bail pending further investigations.

(Reuters/NAN)

Tensions around Ukraine can be defused only through dialogue as all major European actors are looking for ways to engage Russia, Franco Frattini, President of the Italian State Council, said in an interview with Sputnik.

“The issue with Ukraine can be solved only through a permanent dialogue, in which individual countries are still involved.

“For example, Emmanuel Macron’s France is very active, as well as Italy with Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who had telephone conversations with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, including recently.

“And the Italian concept was outlined the other day in Parliament by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, we are for dialogue with Russia, but we expect Russia not to commit dangerous actions,’’ Frattini said.

Read Also: Scholz, Zelenskiy play down talk of NATO membership for Ukraine

France, Italy and Germany, which the politician described as countries of goodwill, perfectly understand the importance of dialogue, while the U.S. has so far shown the stance of “negotiators who prefer dialogue to coercive actions,” according to Frattini.

As for NATO, Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, will resign soon so the role of the alliance in the tensions will become clear under the new leadership.

The politician said, describing the meeting of Russia-NATO Council, held in January, as a very important signal.

“It is obvious that there may be some threats in the negotiations and somewhat complicated relations. The main thing is that these threats do not become a reality,” Frattini said.

The West and Kiev have repeatedly accused Russia of troop build-up near the country’s border with Ukraine and allegedly planning an invasion.

Russia has dismissed the accusations and pointed to NATO’s military activity near its borders and warned the alliance’s actions are a threat to its national security.

(Sputnik/NAN)