Number of refugees in Czechia decreases
In April of this year, only 130 people applied for asylum in the Czech Republic. This is the lowest figure in the last eight years. Most applicants are from Ukraine, Vietnam, Mongolia, and Georgia.
According to the Migration Policy Department of the Czech Ministry of the Interior, the number of asylum seekers has been declining over the past two years. After the Velvet Revolution, 85,000 refugees arrived in the Czech Republic. Only slightly more than three thousand of them were granted asylum in the country.
EU wants to imprison for illegal migrants
The European Commission has proposed new measures to combat illegal immigration. In particular, it recommends toughening penalties for those who employ illegal immigrants and increasing police checks at suspicious enterprises fivefold. The measures were proposed by EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini as a draft directive. If adopted, it must be incorporated into the national legislation of all 27 EU member states.
According to Frattini, up to 16% of businesses in the EU operate without the necessary reporting. A significant portion of this economic activity comes from the work of illegal immigrants. Employers find it profitable to hire them because they cost several times less than legally employed workers. At the same time, in many European countries, penalties for employers of illegal immigrants are relatively lenient.
The number of foreign workers without work permits in the EU is estimated in the hundreds of thousands. Frattini proposes toughening criminal liability for hiring illegal immigrants, including imprisonment for company executives and large fines for major companies. At the same time, to improve the detection of such crimes, it is proposed to increase police raids on enterprises suspected of violating hiring rules fivefold.
Frattini's proposals may face objections from some EU countries, as traditionally the European Commission does not interfere in matters of criminal legislation.
Minorities make up one-third of US population
The number of Americans belonging to ethnic and racial minorities has exceeded 100 million, constituting about one-third of the US population, Reuters reports citing data from the Census Bureau.
The Hispanic population is growing the fastest, reaching 44.3 million in 2006, or about 15% of the country's residents. The number of black Americans is increasing slightly slower, reaching 40.2 million by mid-2006. About 15 million people are of Asian race.
'The number of those now commonly called 'minorities' exceeds the total US population in 1910,' stressed Census Bureau head Louis Kincannon. In four US states and the District of Columbia, at the time of the census, the number of ethnic minorities exceeded the number of whites, traditionally called the 'majority.'
Cyprus and Malta to join eurozone in 2008
Cyprus and Malta have received a positive response from the European Commission and the European Central Bank to their application to join the eurozone in 2008, reports the Associated Press.
These island states are expected to become the 14th and 15th countries in the single European currency area. To date, the euro is the currency of 13 of the 27 EU members: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain.
Kuwait unpegs its dinar from US dollar
Kuwait has abandoned the peg of its currency, the dinar, to the US dollar. Instead, the country's central bank has pegged the exchange rate to a basket of currencies, reports the Associated Press.
According to Kuwaiti monetary authorities, the decline of the dollar over the past two years has led to 'local inflation.' Currently, one Kuwaiti dinar is worth 3.459 US dollars, making it the most valuable currency unit in the world.
According to the governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait, Sheikh Salem Abdul Aziz al-Sabah, the measures to switch to a multi-currency peg were taken in the national interest. He clarified that the US dollar remains in the currency basket. The exact composition of the basket is not disclosed; it is only known that it includes currencies of countries with which Kuwait has trade and financial relations.
Kuwait pegged its currency to the dollar in 2003 as part of a plan to adopt a unified Gulf currency by 2010. Despite the current decision, Kuwaiti authorities have announced that they are not abandoning plans for monetary integration with other countries. The group of countries preparing to introduce a single currency includes, besides Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.
EU authorities agree to cut roaming prices
The European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the European Parliament have reached a preliminary agreement to nearly halve roaming charges for phone calls between EU member states. The new tariffs are expected to take effect later this year after approval by all EU states and the European Parliament, and roaming charges for a European subscriber in any other EU country will not exceed 49 euro cents per minute for outgoing calls and 24 euro cents for incoming calls.
Initially, members of the European Parliament's industry committee proposed setting tariffs at 40 euro cents per minute for outgoing calls and 15 euro cents for incoming calls. However, the governments of most EU countries insisted on a price of 60 and 30 euro cents, while the UK and France wanted to keep the existing operator tariffs.
According to an agreement reached between the EU institutions, the price of roaming will also decrease in the coming years. In 2008, the cost of an outgoing roaming call will be 46 euro cents, an incoming call - 22 euro cents, and a year later - 43 and 19 euro cents respectively.
Dubai begins fight against smoking
Dubai is launching an organized offensive against smokers. From May 31 – World No Tobacco Day – tobacco will become persona non grata in all official government institutions of the emirate. The next stage of the fight for public health will be September 15, when a ban on smoking in shopping malls and entertainment venues comes into effect. Until November 15, smoking will still be allowed in catering establishments, hairdressers, hotels, and cinemas. From January 1 of next year, fines for smoking in prohibited places will be introduced in the emirate. The amounts of fines have not yet been agreed upon, reports IS 'Russian Emirates'. Due to the innovations, a rise in the price of cigarettes is also expected, which in the UAE are still cheaper than in most Western countries.
Dubai is not the first emirate to be concerned about the health of the population. In Sharjah, smoking hookah in coffee shops and cigarettes in public places has long been banned. Tobacco has been vetoed in all federal departments in Abu Dhabi.
Smoking will be banned in Canadian hotels
From September 1, 2007, smoking will be banned in all hotels of the Canadian hotel chain Howard Johnson (total capacity of 3,500 rooms). According to representatives of the chain, this decision is related to the state policy aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle; moreover, more and more guests suffer from respiratory diseases and complain about the smell of tobacco smoke. According to a study conducted by J.D. Power and Associates in 2006, 79% of tourists would prefer to stay not in special non-smoking hotel rooms, but in hotels where smoking is banned throughout the entire premises. Thus, the Howard Johnson hotels will undergo disinfection and air purification, after which they will receive a special certificate.