Thursday, April 18

Day: April 14, 2016

Should we scrap benefits and pay everyone £100 a week whether they work or not?
14Apr By Sumon AdminNo Comments
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Should we scrap benefits and pay everyone £100 a week whether they work or not?

    A Britain where the government pays every adult the basic cost of living. Whether rich or poor – or, crucially, whether you’re in paid employment or not – everyone gets the same weekly amount, with no strings attached. The harsh, punitive model of modern “welfare” is a distant memory; passing in and out of employment in the so-called gig economy is now something everyone can afford. The positive consequences extend into the distance: women are newly financially independent and able to exit abusive relationships, public health is noticeably improved, and people are able to devote the time to caring that an ever-ageing society increasingly demands. All the political parties are signed up: just as the welfare state underpinned the 20th century, so this new idea defines the 21...
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North Koreans: Brutal work abroad better than life back home
14Apr By Sumon AdminNo Comments
Asia, ENGLISH

North Koreans: Brutal work abroad better than life back home

    One North Korean who worked abroad says that as a waitress in China, she was forced to put up with male customers who groped her and tried to get her drunk. Two others recall the frozen bodies of their countrymen stored in Russian logging camps. Another says he toiled for up to 16 hours a day at a Kuwaiti construction site surrounded by wire fences. As difficult as those lives were, the four workers told The Associated Press, it beat staying in the North. The jobs actually conveyed status back home, and were so coveted that people used bribes and family connections to get them. "I beat the odds of 1 in 12 to become a waitress ... People's views of jobs in North Korea are totally different from here," said Lee Soung Hee, 42, who worked at a North Korean-run restaurant in th...
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Pahela Baishakh, Halkhata, and memories
14Apr By Sumon AdminNo Comments
Bangladesh, ENGLISH

Pahela Baishakh, Halkhata, and memories

Anindya J Ayan: What were Bangla New Year and Halkhata celebrations like back in the ‘50's or ‘60’s? How did Bangalis welcome the New Year in those days? Were the celebrations similar to as they are today? In the quest of finding the answers to these queries, I went to my grandfather’s younger brother, Ram Charan Shil, who is the oldest living member of our family. Having lived for nearly a century, he has seen it all – how the days have changed over the time, turning gold into ashes. As I asked him to share his experiences, the old man glanced outside the window. He kept staring at the distant horizon while trying to recollect his memories of the long lost days. After a few moments of pin drop silence, he returned to the present from his walk down the memory lane, and turned to me. “Back ...
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Takeaway boss admits to 10 hygiene breaches
14Apr By Sumon AdminNo Comments
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Takeaway boss admits to 10 hygiene breaches

    AN Indian chef running a takeaway business out of the Nine Elms pub kitchen has been fined more than £7,500 after showing a lack of food hygiene. Mahbub Chowdhury, of Plymouth Street, took over the kitchen under the business of Yeahya Flavour of Asia in February last year after it had been out of use for some time. Environmental health officers visited the 45-year-old repeatedly over the following 12 months, witnessing cross contamination and filthy working conditions. On one of the most recent visits, Chowdhury explained a milk bottle filled with water and fecal matter was being used to wash himself after toilet breaks. In total, Chowdhury admitted 10 charges of breaching health and safety food hygiene regulations at Swindon Magistrates’ Court yesterday. Phil Wirth, prose...
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Building collapses in Tenerife tourist hotspot like pack of cards after powerful explosion leaving at least two feared dead
14Apr By Sumon AdminNo Comments
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Building collapses in Tenerife tourist hotspot like pack of cards after powerful explosion leaving at least two feared dead

    At least two people are feared dead and several trapped after a four-storey building collapsed in a Tenerife resort popular with Brit holidaymakers. The building is located in the Los Cristianos neighborhood, in the south of the island. Tenerife is the largest of the seven Canary islands and has a British expat community of around 10,000. Eight people are believed to be trapped under the rubble. The building is said to have collapsed at around 9.30am local time, sparking panic among the locals. The injured include a 57-year-old woman, who is said to be in serious condition and a 28-year-old man who suffered minor cuts and bruises. Both were taken to hospital for treatment. The third victim is a 55-year-old woman who was said to be in a state of shock and was treated at the...
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