Supermarkets
Haiti asks US, UN to send troops after president’s assassination
Haiti has asked Washington and the UN for troops to secure its ports, airport and other strategic sites after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise opened a power vacuum in the crisis-hit Caribbean nation, an official said Friday. The United States has already said it will send FBI and other agents to Port-au-Prince, two days after Moise was shot dead in his home. In the wake of the slaying “we thought that mercenaries could destroy some infrastructure to create chaos … During a conversation with the US secretary of state and the UN we made this request,” elections minister Mathias Pierre told AFP. The US State Department and Pentagon both confirmed receiving a request for “security and investigative assistance” and said officials remain in contact with Port-au-Prince, but did not s...
US workers enticed with bonuses, time off to get coronavirus vaccine
As Covid-19 vaccination drives get into gear across the United States, some businesses are offering transportation, paid time off and bonuses of up to $500 to encourage workers to get the jab. Labor-intensive industries like slaughterhouses, supermarkets, and farms, whose workers are at higher risk of contracting the virus, have taken the lead, with several large grocery chains offering two to four hours of paid leave time for employees to get vaccinated. “Providing accommodations so employees can receive this critical vaccine is one more way we can support them and eliminate the need to choose between earning their wages and protecting their well-being,” Jason Hart, CEO of supermarket chain Aldi, said in January. Others have taken advantage of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention re...
Brazil hospitals pushed to limit as coronavirus death toll soars
Hospitals in Brazil’s main cities are reaching capacity, health officials have warned, as the country recorded the world’s highest COVID-19 death toll over the past week, triggering tighter restrictions on Thursday in its most populous state. Intensive care wards for treating COVID-19 patients have reached critical occupancy levels over 90% in 15 of 27 state capitals, according to biomedical center Fiocruz. In Porto Alegre, the largest city in southern Brazil, there are no free intensive care units (ICUs), and occupancy has also hit 100% in two other state capitals, Fiocruz reported. The Health Ministry on Wednesday reported a record 2,286 deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, as new infections rose by 79,876. With more than 270,000 deaths, Brazil’s pandemic death toll over the past y...
Germany to close most shops from December 16-January 10 – draft proposal
Germany is planning to close most shops from Wednesday until Jan. 10 as it tightens coronavirus restrictions and tries to rein in the spread of the disease, according to a draft government proposal seen by Reuters on Sunday. The draft was prepared head of a meeting later in the day between Chancellor Angela Merkel and state leaders. She has favoured stricter pan-German measures but was previously unable to get agreement from the nation’s 16 states. However, some states have since clamped down on their own, and momentum supporting stricter harmonized measures has been building. The draft proposal would allow only essential shops such as supermarkets and pharmacies, as well as banks, to remain open. Schools will also be basically closed during the period, and employers will be asked to close...
Marcus Rashford launches petition calling on UK government to take more action on child hunger
Reuters Marcus Rashford has launched an online petition calling on the United Kingdom government to provide free school meals for more children. In June, the Manchester United striker successfully lobbied the government to extend its policy of providing free school meals for underprivileged children into the summer months through the school holidays. The 22-year-old also partnered with FareShare and helped to raise £20million to help provide free meals to those in need amid the coronavirus pandemic, while he has since worked with supermarkets and food brands to create a taskforce with the aim of tackling child food poverty. Rashford’s work in helping to tackle child hunger led to the England international being awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, after which he vowed to continu...
China bans US chickens, shuts Pepsi plant
China banned imports from a top US poultry producer and ordered a Beijing Pepsi factory to close Sunday as authorities clamped down on food production and distribution amid a new coronavirus cluster in the capital. Health officials also reported 22 new virus cases in Beijing, where they have tested more than two million residents as they seek to contain a wave of new infections linked to a wholesale market in the capital. Imports of frozen chicken from Tyson Foods have been “temporarily suspended”, the General Administration of Customs said, after a virus outbreak was found at one of the company’s production facilities in the US. Products from the firm that have already arrived in China will be confiscated, the statement said. US food and drinks giant PepsiCo was also ordered to shut down ...
