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Gender pay gap: Parliament adopts new rules on binding pay-transparency measures 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:37 GMT

New legislation will require EU companies to disclose information that makes it easier for employees to compare salaries and to expose existing gender pay gaps, Plenary session.Under the rules -adopted on Thursday by Parliament’s plenary by 427 votes to 79 against and 76 abstentions-, pay structures to compare pay levels will have to be based on gender-neutral criteria and include gender-neutral job evaluation and classification systems. Vacancy notices and job titles will have to be gender neutral and recruitment processes led in a non-discriminatory manner.If pay reporting shows a gender pay gap of at least 5%, employers will have to conduct a joint pay assessment in cooperation with their workers’ representatives. Member states will have to put in place effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, such as fines, for employers that infringe the rules. A worker who has suffered harm as a result of an infringement will have the right to claim compensation. For the first time, ...

Ask Amy: I’m devastated that I wasn’t discovered at the school play

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:37 GMT

Dear Amy: I am a major theater kid!I love everything about the theater. In 2020, I won a regional award from my production of “Guys and Dolls” (I was Sarah). This was right before COVID hit.In 2021, I started to do the school plays at my high school. I got some decent roles but none as big as the ones I got before.At our school’s production of “The Sound of Music” (I was Marta), a casting agent came to cast people for an off-Broadway play. I didn’t hear much about it and thought no one got picked.A few days later one of my friends told me they picked seven kids from our production.I was devastated, as I have been performing all my life, and thought I was really good at it.This is even more disappointing because it is my junior year and I’m considering going to a college for theater.Should I quit?Supporting Role SadnessDear Supporting Role: To respond, I’m turning to an expert, my friend Mo Rocca. Mo is a grown-up theater kid who is a sought-after actor on television and had a leadin...

Family of man ‘eaten alive by bed bugs’ in Georgia jail wants answers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:37 GMT

By Natasha Pollard | WANFATLANTA, Georgia (WANF) — A man died at the Fulton County Jail from being eaten alive by insects and bed bugs says the family attorney.According to police LaShawn Thompson was arrested for misdemeanor simple battery in Atlanta on June 12.He was taken to the Fulton County Jail and placed in the psychiatric wing after officials determined he had mental issues.Family attorney Michael D. Harper released a statement saying Thompson was in jail for three months when he was found dead in a filthy jail cell after being eaten alive by bed bugs and insects. The family also obtained open records which stated that the detention officers and medical staff at the jail noticed that Mr. Thompson was deteriorating, but did nothing to administer aid to him or to help him.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Fake food deliveries, drones and lax security: how drugs get into California’s juvenile halls Crime and Public Safety | Inmate ...

Harriette Cole: It didn’t end well with this co-worker, and now she’s back

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:37 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have some negative history with a woman who is now back in my life through work.We worked together years ago, and it didn’t end well. I didn’t like the way she handled certain things, and I let her know how I felt.Now, here we are again, working together on a project. I wonder if I should clear the air and acknowledge that things didn’t go so well last time.Should I say that I hope we will work better this go-round or just leave it alone? As I recall it, I was the one who complained before. But I know it was awkward for both of us.AwkwardDEAR AWKWARD: If it feels potentially awkward now, you can say something positive to her about this new experience. You can tell her you look forward to working together on the project at hand. You may also recommend that you two come up with a way of working together that is mutually beneficial for both of you.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: My son won’t come out of his room, and I’...

Drought will cause crop failures in Spain, farmers warn

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:37 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Drought now affects 60% of the Spanish countryside and is causing “irreversible losses” to more than 3.5 million hectares of crops, with some regions writing off wheat and barley for this year entirely, the main Spanish farmers association says. Wheat and barley are expected to fail in four major growing regions and are badly affected in three more, the Coordinator of Farmers and Ranchers Organizations says in a new report. Olives and nuts are experiencing problems due to Spain’s long-term drought, which is also affecting farmers’ ability to irrigate corn, sunflowers, rice and cotton. Source

Suspect extradited from Pakistan over 2005 UK police slaying

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:37 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A 74-year-old man extradited from Pakistan appeared in a London court Thursday to face a murder charge in the death of a police officer who was fatally shot while responding to a bank robbery almost two decades ago.Piran Ditta Khan attended a brief hearing at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court. He is charged with killing Constable Sharon Beshenivsky, 38, who was gunned down outside a travel agency in the northern England city of Bradford on Nov. 18, 2005. Beshenivsky’s colleague Constable Theresa Milburn was seriously injured.Khan also faces charges of robbery, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon.Beshenivsky’s slaying shocked Britain, where most police officers do not carry guns. Six men were arrested but Khan, who was suspected of being the armed gang’s organizer, had fled abroad. U.K. prosecutors authorized charges against Khan in 2006, and he was arrested in Pakistan ...

Spanish farmers’ association: 60% of countryside affected by drought, many crops in 4 regions will fail entirely

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:37 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spanish farmers’ association: 60% of countryside affected by drought, many crops in 4 regions will fail entirely.Source

Arrest made in deadly shooting of Salvadoran woman visiting Maryland for grandson’s funeral

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:37 GMT

A Maryland man has been arrested and charged in the shooting death of a woman visiting the U.S. for a funeral.Troy Medley, 36, of Baltimore, was charged in last month’s death of Lidia Chinchilla De Carillo, 62, of El Salvador. There appears to be no connection between Medley and De Carillo, according to Prince George’s County police.More Prince George’s County NewsMore Local NewsDe Carillo had been visiting Prince George’s County for her grandson’s funeral, NBC Washington reported.Police said they found De Carillo with a gunshot wound around on March 28 at 9:10 p.m. in the 600 block of Drum Avenue in Capitol Heights — only steps away from her family’s home, according to NBC Washington. She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.Medley faces charges of first- and second-degree murder, assault and firearms offenses, among others.Police said he’s been in custody since April 6 on unrelated charges in Baltimore, where he will stay...

9-centimeter-tall Chihuahua named world’s shortest living dog

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:37 GMT

Pearl, a 2-year-old chihuahua, has officially been named the world’s shortest living dog by Guinness World Records, the organization announced this week.The tiny pet, who is just a little over 9 centimeters tall, comes from a lineage of petite pooches — her now deceased aunt, Miracle Milly, was the previous record holder for shortest living dog.The record-keeping institution said Pearl is both “shorter than a popsicle stick” and about as long as a dollar bill. She also weighs a mighty 1.22 pounds.“We’re blessed to have her,” said Vanesa Semler, Pearl’s owner. “And to have this unique opportunity to break our own record and share with the world this amazing news.”Pearl, a 2-year-old Chihuaha, measured in at just over 9 centimeters tall. April 2023. (Guinness World Records)Pearl’s official measurement was completed using a dog measuring wicket at the Florida veterinarian’s office where she was born. She was measured thr...

La ciudad de Nueva York nombra a su primera “zarina anti ratas”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:37 GMT

(CNN) — La búsqueda de la primera “zarina anti ratas” de la ciudad de Nueva York llegó a su fin.Kathleen Corradi fue nombrada como directora de mitigación de roedores de la ciudad, anunció este miércoles el alcalde de la ciudad Eric Adams.Corradi coordinará agencias de la ciudad como los Departamentos de Salud y Salud Mental, Parques y Recreación y Saneamiento y encontrará “formas innovadoras de cortar las fuentes de alimento de las ratas” y utilizará “nuevas tecnologías para detectar y exterminar poblaciones de ratas”, dijo la oficina de Adams en un comunicado este miércoles.La ciudad también anunció la creación de una “Zona de exclusión de ratas de Harlem” que cubre gran parte de la mitad norte de Manhattan, donde se gastarán US$ 3,5 millones para mejorar y aumentar las inspecciones, usar equipos como cebos y trampas, y endurecer los pisos en algunas viviendas públicas para evitar que las ratas hagan madrigueras.“La mitigación de ratas es más que un problema de calidad de vi...