During his mission to Mauritania, the European Union’s Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela signed a budget agreement with Minister of Economy and Finance and handed over EU-distributed security equipment. He also met with the President of the country, the Prime Minister and three other members of the government. During these meetings, Commissioner Síkela focused on further development within the Global Gateway strategy, specifically enhancing Mauritania’s economic resilience, infrastructure, and security which align with Europe’s strategic objectives for energy diversification, sustainable development, and security.“I knew very well why I chose Mauritania for my first official mission as Commissioner for International…
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QUESTION: Let’s start with Syria. And you’ve described this moment as one of both promise and peril. SECRETARY BLINKEN: That’s right. QUESTION: You have what seems like a de facto government that is a designated terrorist group and you’ve said that the U.S. has been in contact with HTS. What specifically have they said? I know there are other groups operating in the country as well. What have they said about how they might govern? SECRETARY BLINKEN: What we’ve heard them say is positive. The question is: What are they actually going to do? We brought together with Jordan countries…
The Commission and the Swiss Government have concluded negotiations on the association of Switzerland to all three pillars of Horizon Europe, the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation and the Euratom research and training programme. The signing of the Agreement on Swiss participation in Union programmes is expected to take place in 2025, pending the completion of all necessary validations on both sides. Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, said:“Switzerland’s association to Horizon Europe and the Euratom programmes brings the long-standing cooperation between Switzerland and the European Union to a higher level. This strengthened cooperation will…
Agreement will facilitate effective implementation of a corporate-wide ergonomics programWASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Amazon have entered into a corporate-wide settlement to help better protect employees from hazardous working conditions leading to serious lower back and other musculoskeletal disorders at Amazon facilities. The settlement agreement resolves the department’s multiple ergonomics cases against Amazon.com Services LLC, in the first major multi-site investigation brought by OSHA in over a decade. The parties had been scheduled to begin trials in 10 cases before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission between January…
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an award of $3.5 million to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry for employment and training services for people in the state’s communities affected by the Sibanye-Stillwater mine layoffs. The department’s Employment and Training Administration oversees the award, which will allow the state to provide retraining and skills development for eligible individuals affected by the layoff as well as other dislocated workers in Carbon, Golden Valley, Meagher, Musselshell, Park, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Wheatland and Yellowstone counties. “The Employment and Training Administration is committed to ensuring Montana workers laid off by Sibanye-Stillwater have access…
Mr. Guterres was speaking on Wednesday to reporters in Pretoria, South Africa, where he met with Government officials in connection with the country’s presidency of the G20 group of industrial nations. ‘Signs of hope’ “As we speak, we are witnessing the reshaping of the Middle East, with the changes in the correlation of forces among the key regional actors,” he said, stressing that the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and statehood must be constantly reaffirmed. “But we also see some signs of hope, and signs of hope mainly coming from the end of the Syrian dictatorship,” he added.…
The United States is imposing sanctions today on Georgian Minister of Internal Affairs Vakhtang Gomelauri and the Deputy Head of the Ministry’s Special Task’s Department Mirza Kezevadze under the Global Magnitsky sanctions program. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible for brutal and violent crackdowns on members of the media, opposition, and protesters, including during demonstrations throughout 2024. The Department of State is also taking further steps to impose visa restrictions on additional Georgian individuals and their family members, including law enforcement and security officials who were involved in the violence against protesters, and municipal government officials who abused their…
Calls on next administration, incoming Congress to continue focus on student success, program longevityWASHINGTON – The Department of Labor today announced new actions to secure the long-term stability of the Job Corps program and ensure this critical program operates within Congressionally appropriated funding levels. Specifically, the department will enter into negotiations with contractors who operate the non-federally operated Job Corps Centers nationwide in order to achieve savings that minimally impact services to students at those centers. The department will also temporarily pause operations at the Woodstock Job Corps Center in Woodstock, Maryland, and the Whitney M. Young Jr. Job Corps…
The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský about the latest developments in Syria, where Czechia has served as the protecting power for U.S. interests since 2012. The Secretary affirmed the U.S. desire to continue this arrangement and expressed appreciation for Czechia’s willingness to help U.S. citizens in Syria, even after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. During their call, Secretary Blinken also highlighted other areas of cooperation reflecting our deeply-shared values, including Czechia’s significant military, political, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine; collaboration on Taiwan and the strategic challenges posed by the PRC;…
Boludo Holding Co. fired worker who cooperated with federal investigators MINNEAPOLIS – Four Minneapolis restaurants with shared ownership will pay $105,784 in back wages, damages and penalties to resolve violations identified by U.S. Department of Labor, including illegally firing an employee who cooperated with investigators.The department’s Wage and Hour Division found Boludo Holding Co. and its owners, Jerad Rassmussen and Facundo Defraia, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime provisions in several ways and deprived 51 employees of $44,915 in earned overtime wages at Boludo El 38, Boludo Downtown, Boludo Uptown and Boludo Como, and terminated one worker at its…