In the World
Cuba to allow multiple jobs
HAVANA - Cuba has issued a decree that allows workers to hold multiple government jobs for the first time under an overhaul of the island's labor system.The measure appears aimed at filling necessary positions in a shrinking work force, and giving Cubans the chance to increase income in a country where the average monthly salary is about $20.
It also seems designed to prevent Cubans from engaging in non-sanctioned activities to earn money, a common practice. The decree allows Cubans to obtain labor rights and retirement benefits only with jobs that are "legally established."
- AP
Zimbabwean says coalition still on
HARARE, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's troubled coalition government is in no danger of collapsing despite accusations that President Robert Mugabe's party is blocking reform, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said yesterday.Tsvangirai, a former opposition leader who joined Mugabe in the unity government in February, spoke to reporters a day after one of Tsvangirai's top deputies said their party was considering disengaging from the coalition.
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change has complained about harassment, arrests of Mugabe's opponents, and Mugabe's unilateral appointments. But Tsvangirai said leaders must stand by their political commitments. "There are frustrations," he said of the comments Monday from his deputy about disengaging. But "I can assure you there's no pulling out of this agreement."
- AP
U.S. lawyer freed from Belarus jail
MINSK, Belarus - An ailing American lawyer who was imprisoned in Belarus last year on charges of using fake documents and attempted industrial espionage was freed last night after a presidential pardon.Emanuel Zeltser, a 55-year-old diabetic, was sentenced to three years in prison in August 2008 after being convicted on charges his supporters called politically motivated. The move came as the authoritarian Belarus seeks better ties with the West.
The Russian-born Zeltser is a high-profile lawyer who headed the non-governmental American Russian Law Institute in New York. He is a renowned expert on organized crime and money laundering, particularly in former Soviet republics.
- AP
Elsewhere:
International health experts recommended that children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with chronic diseases stay away from the annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia to prevent catching swine flu. The warning comes as Muslims have raised questions about the flu risk to the millions attending the annual pilgrimage, which takes place this year in December.
The Dutch Supreme Court upheld the war crimes conviction of businessman Frans van Anraat for selling chemicals to Saddam Hussein that his regime in Iraq turned into poison gas and unleashed on Kurds and Iranians in 1988. Anraat received a 16 1/2-year sentence.
