World
Czech unemployment is the lowest in Europe. That may be a bad thing.
For the previous three years, Jan labored as a scaffolder for a constructing firm throughout the border in Germany. Not too long ago, he returned to the Czech Republic after discovering a job at a neighborhood building agency.
However his good friend, Petr, is now heading in the other way. “Due to the pandemic, I got here house. Now restrictions have ended, I’m going overseas,” he mentioned in a quiet pub in Olomouc, japanese Czech Republic.
The Czech economic system has lengthy confronted a dilemma. It has maintained one of many lowest unemployment charges throughout Europe lately. It now, actually, has the bottom fee throughout the entire of the EU, at simply 2.2 %, in accordance with a current replace printed by Eurostat, the bloc’s statistical workplace.
However economists warn that the speed is low due to a scarcity of staff, a priority for Czech industries.
On the finish of January 2022, the Labor Workplace registered 267,076 job seekers. However the next month there have been greater than 364,000 job vacancies, which means that for each obtainable job there are solely 0.7 candidates, in accordance with reviews from Jana Steckerová, an economist on the Business Financial institution (KB), a neighborhood financial institution.
Lowest on the continent
The precise unemployment fee within the Czech Republic varies as a result of totally different metrics and classifications, however nonetheless continues to be one of many lowest on the continent. The newest estimate from the Czech Statistical Workplace, which counts labor-force pattern surveys, put unemployment at 2.3 % within the fourth quarter of 2021. However the Czech Labor Workplace, a part of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, says it was 3.6 %.
The variety of unemployed folks throughout the EU is falling — down from 7.5% in January 2021 to almost 6.2% in January 2022 — as economies get well from the COVID-19 pandemic.
A spokesperson for the Czech Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs mentioned the unemployment fee is certainly “very low” and no important adjustments are anticipated within the close to future.
“On the similar time, nonetheless, we have now a whole bunch of 1000’s of obtainable jobs,” the spokesperson mentioned. “Individuals who wish to work can nonetheless discover a appropriate job within the Czech Republic.”
One cause for this divergence is the COVID-19 pandemic. Specialists say the worldwide well being disaster has altered folks’s strategy to work. Somewhat than wage and placement, the primary concern now could be job safety. Staff have gotten extra picky and affected person. In January 2022, a complete of 90,021 folks obtained unemployment advantages, solely a 3rd of all job seekers, in accordance with the Labor Workplace.
The warfare in Ukraine
Nevertheless, considerations have been raised about longer-term issues. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 has seen greater than 2.2 million refugees, primarily ladies and kids, flee into central Europe, in accordance with the UN refugee company. Greater than 100,000 have entered Czech Republic to this point.
“It’s untimely to foretell the influence of the warfare in Ukraine on the Czech labor market,” mentioned the spokesperson for the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. An estimated 195,000 Ukrainians have been working within the Czech Republic final December, a three-fold improve since 2018, in accordance with reviews by the Czech Labor Workplace. Round a 3rd of all foreigners who stay within the Czech Republic are Ukrainian, many in short-term and low-paid jobs.
Earlier this month, the Czech authorities imposed a state of emergency in a bid to assist its paperwork address the variety of refugees. This week, Vít Rakušan, the inside minister, warned that Prague’s heart for registering refugees is overwhelmed, and it was pressured to shut final Monday.
Michal Skořepa, an analyst at Česká spořitelna, the nation’s largest financial institution, has argued the refugee disaster might result in a slight improve in unemployment. On the one hand, he informed native media this week, Ukrainian staff might head again house, both to take up arms or be part of the humanitarian help. It stays unclear what number of Ukrainian nationals have left the Czech Republic because the warfare started.
There can even be an finish to Ukrainian males coming to the Czech Republic. On February 25, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, signed a common mobilization that forbids males between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the nation.
This can be a massive concern for the Czech Republic’s building trade, which has usually relied on Ukrainian staff, particularly as Czech builders migrate for better-paying jobs in Germany or western Europe. About one in 5 staff have left the trade since 2010, Pavel Dolák, an skilled on the development from the consulting firm KPMG, lately informed ČTK, a neighborhood information outlet.
Then again, plans are underway to assimilate Ukrainian refugees into the Czech Republic’s labor pressure. Its authorities is trying into wavering work permits, normally a requirement for non-EU residents, for Ukrainains. Faculties, which have confronted extreme issues with recruitment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are being suggested to supply short-term and part-time employment.
“Appropriate for ladies”
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, noting that the overwhelming majority of Ukrainian refugees are ladies, burdened that lots of the jobs obtainable within the Czech Republic are “appropriate for ladies.”
Had the warfare in Ukraine not began, the brand new Czech authorities, which took workplace in December, might need loved a profitable 12 months economically. Earlier than the warfare, the Czech economic system was anticipated to develop by 3.1 % in 2022.
Buoyed by financial restoration, in December the five-party coalition authorities rejected the draft price range set by the outgoing prime minister, Andrej Babis, whose administration markedly elevated state expenditure, an issue additionally exacerbated by the pandemic.
The general public finance steadiness hit a deficit of 6.1 % of GDP in 2021, almost double EU limits, when the price range deficit reached a document €16.2 billion. Petr Fiala, the brand new prime minister, campaigned ultimately October’s common election on the promise to considerably minimize state spending and tighten the state purse.
In early February, his cupboard authorized a draft price range for 2022 that can minimize spending by round €3.1 billion and improve income assortment by round €2.4 billion. “We’ll save on the expenditure aspect and we are going to higher handle taxpayers’ cash,” Fiala promised.
Beneath these plans, the federal government says it should scale back the price range deficit to round €10.8 billion for 2022, in comparison with the €14.6 billion envisioned by the previous authorities’s draft price range that was rejected in December.
Nevertheless, the warfare in Ukraine places Fiala’s austerity measures in danger. Gas costs are spiking. The euro is falling towards the Czech koruna, decrease buying energy for imports. Inflation, now round 9.9 %, is predicted to quickly hit double-figures. The federal government could also be pressured to change its price range cuts earlier than parliamentarians vote on it on the finish of this month.
For staff, meaning a better price of dwelling, which any improve in wages gained’t have the ability to compensate for, particularly if the Ukraine warfare dents financial exercise.
This week, the Czech Statistical Workplace launched its newest knowledge on earnings. Though the common gross wage rose to round €1,590 per thirty days within the final quarter of 2021, the excessive fee of inflation meant in actual phrases wages fell by greater than two %.
Within the final quarter of 2021, inflation stood at 6.1 %. At the moment, it’s round 9.9 % — and more likely to carry on rising.
World
Jay-Z’s Accuser Can Remain Anonymous, Judge Criticizes His Lawyer’s ‘Relentless’ Filings
The woman accusing Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexually assaulting her when she was 13 can proceed anonymously (“at least for now”) in her lawsuit against the rappers, a judge ruled Thursday.
New York Judge Analisa Torres also condemned the legal team representing Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) for the “relentless filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks [on accuser’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee],” according to a court order obtained by Variety. “Since Carter’s attorney first appeared in this case seventeen days ago, he has submitted a litany of letters and motions attempting to impugn the character of Plaintiff’s lawyer [Buzbee].”
Judge Torres continues, calling the complaints “inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources, and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client [Jay-Z].”
Jane Doe, who filed her original lawsuit against Combs in October, and re-filed it with Carter’s name in early December, will remain anonymous at this early stage of the litigation. She could still be required by the court to reveal her identity.
Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Carter, recently asked the judge to dismiss the entertainer from the woman’s lawsuit. He cited a report from NBC News that revealed the accuser had admitted to some “inconsistencies and outright impossibilities” in her allegations. His team has also issued public statements referring to Buzbee as a “1-800 lawyer” who is “in the pursuit of money and fame.”
Judge Torres denied Carter’s request to dismiss the case. Representatives for Carter did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
In the last few weeks, Buzbee issued his own lawsuit against Roc Nation, the entertainment company owned by Carter, claiming they are using “shadowy operatives” to bribe his former clients into filing “frivolous” complaints against him. Carter has also sued Buzbee for defamation.
Jane Doe, who alleges she was 13 when Combs and Carter raped her in 2000, says she encountered the pair at an afterparty for the MTV Music Video Awards.
Carter responded to the allegation almost immediately. “You have made a terrible error in judgment thinking that all ‘celebrities’ are the same,” Carter wrote in a letter addressing Buzbee. “I’m not from your moral world. I’m a young man who made it out of the project of Brooklyn. We don’t play these types of games. We have very strict codes and honor. We protect children, you seem to exploit people for personal gain. Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics, will believe the idiotic claims you have levied against me that, if not for the seriousness surrounding harm to kids, would be laughable.”
Combs has been held in a Brooklyn jail since September. He will remain there until his trial is scheduled to begin in May.
World
China unveils world's largest amphibious warship
China has launched the first of its new line of amphibious assault ships and its biggest warship yet, strengthening what is already the world’s largest navy.
The Sichuan, a type 076 new-generation amphibious assault ship, was put into the water at a launch and naming ceremony on Friday.
With a full load displacement of 40,000 tons, the warship ranks among the world’s largest amphibious assault ships, featuring a dual-island superstructure and full-length flight deck, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) said in a statement.
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China Bugle, an news outlet associated with the PLAN’s news media center, reported the ship will play a key role in transforming and developing the Chinese navy and enhancing its combat capabilities in the far seas.
The Sichuan is capable of launching fighter jets and unmanned drones from an electromagnetic catapult. It is designed to carry ground troops in landing craft with air support.
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The ship also features “arrester technology” that Chinese researchers boast will allow fighter jets to land on its deck, similar to an aircraft carrier.
China launched its first amphibious assault ship, a type 075 class warship called the Hainan, in 2019.
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The PLANmi has been working on modernizing its forces for more than a decade, with the aim of being able to operate globally rather than being restricted to waters near the Chinese mainland. China first managed to launch fighter jets with the new electromagnetic technology on its homemade aircraft carrier, the Fujian, which launched two years ago.
The Sichuan will now undergo additional tests at sea.
China has the largest navy in the world and is consistently trying to upgrade its fleet. Recently, researchers found that the country is working on designing a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which would allow it to deploy its ships in distant waters without needing a base to refuel.
The U.S. Navy currently has 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers deployed in strategic locations globally, including in the Asia-Pacific.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
Health worker displaced by Israeli attacks in Gaza dies of ‘extreme cold’
Many people in Gaza lack adequate shelter and are malnourished after more than a year of Israeli attacks and blockades.
A Palestinian healthcare worker has died due to “extreme” weather conditions, according to a statement by the enclave’s Ministry of Health, as severe cold compounds the hardship faced by people displaced by Israel’s relentless attacks.
The body of Al-Hakim Ahmed al-Zaharneh, who worked at the European Gaza Hospital, was found inside his tent in al-Mawasi area, west of the city of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, the ministry said on Friday.
“This incident comes in light of the difficult humanitarian conditions that displaced citizens are experiencing, as the suffering of Gaza residents increases due to low temperatures and the lack of heating means in tents,” the ministry said.
The ministry said earlier that four Palestinian babies have died in tents in recent days amid the cold weather and widespread malnutrition.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said that the number of casualties in vulnerable groups is increasing due to worsening weather conditions.
“For 14 months now, people here have been lacking basic necessities to help them survive these difficult conditions – even in summer,” he said.
“Now in winter, the temperature has dropped very low, [and] people in tent camps feel the cold as being [colder] than the actual levels.”
He said that mothers often lack the strength or ability to breastfeed as they are malnourished and unwell.
“The conditions are worse for vulnerable groups like babies and, in the absence of [humanitarian aid], it is natural that deaths will happen.”
The vast majority of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million residents have been displaced at least once since war broke out with the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, 2023, with many people living in tents that offer little protection from the cold, rain and flooding.
The United Nations and other organisations have repeatedly decried the worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza, as Israeli attacks and blockades severely curtail access to food, water, medicine and other supplies.
A leading United States government organisation monitoring food crises around the world withdrew a new report this week warning of imminent famine in north Gaza under what it called Israel’s “near-total blockade,” after the US asked for its retraction, US officials told The Associated Press.
The move follows public criticism of the report from the US ambassador to Israel.
The report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) had warned that a “famine scenario” was unfolding in northern Gaza where Israel launched a renewed offensive in early October.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the director of Gaza’s Health Ministry told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces stormed the Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few remaining medical facilities in north Gaza, and forced the 350 people there to evacuate, including all the patients and staff. He said contact with the hospital had been lost.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed at least 45,436 Palestinians and wounded 108,038 since October 7, 2023, according to figures released on Friday by Gaza’s Health Ministry.
An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day and more than 200 were taken captive.
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