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The Italian constitutional court has ruled that migrants with work permits of just six months or more are eligible to receive a baby bonus as well as a maternity allowance. Italian constitutional court judges determined that the previous rules, which only allowed migrants with long-term residency to qualify for the baby bonus and maternity allowance, were unconstitutional after a hearing earlier this week. According to a report from the European Union-funded website InfoMigrants, the constitutional court found that the previous rules conflicted with two articles of the Italian constitution dealing with equality before the law and the right of asylum. The court also found the previous policy contradicted Article 34 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which states , “Everyone residing and moving legally within the European Union is entitled to social security benefits and social advantages in accordance with Union law and national laws and practices.” Crisis: Italian … [Read more...] about Italy to Grant Baby Bonus to Migrants with Short-Term Work Permits

A nine-year-old boy in Austria was forced to take a test outside in freezing temperatures after his school refused to recognize his exemption from wearing a mask in class. In the Austrian region of Styria in the town of Voitsberg on Tuesday, a nine-year-old boy named Jason was forced to complete a test outdoors in the cold winter weather for violating the elementary school’s Chinese coronavirus rules because he could not wear a mask for medical reasons. The teacher, along with the boy’s parents, agreed to have him work on the test outside as the nine-year-old wished to participate in class. However, despite getting consent from the child’s parents, the Austrian Directorate of Education said that the move was not legal, Kronen Zeitung reports . On Friday, Austrian media reported that the school had rejected Jason’s medical exemption from wearing a mask in the school because it had been signed by a doctor in the city of Graz who was known to be critical of vaccinations. … [Read more...] about Austrian School had Maskless 9-Year-Old Take Test Outside in the Cold

LONDON (Reuters) – The BBC was guilty of serious failings over Jimmy Savile, the late TV presenter revealed to have been one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders, but senior managers did not know what he was up to, a major report said on Thursday. In 2012, British police said Savile, one of the Britain’s best-known celebrities of the 1970s and 1980s, had abused hundreds of victims, mainly youngsters, at hospitals and at BBC premises over six decades until his death aged 84 in 2011. Thursday’s report by former Appeal Court judge Janet Smith, commissioned by the publicly-funded broadcaster in the wake of those revelations, concluded Savile had abused 72 victims in relation to his BBC work over almost 50 years. His crimes included raping a 10-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl. Smith said while there were some reports made by staff about Savile’s conduct, these were never escalated due to a culture of “not complaining about anything”, while the BBC’s stars were treated with … [Read more...] about REPORT: BBC Guilty of ‘Serious Failings’ Over Sex Offender Jimmy Savile

An Asian hate crime forum for London’s Metropolitan Police has been tied in a report from a British newspaper to the alleged Chinese spy operating in Westminster. This week, the UK’s domestic security service, MI5, claimed that the founder of the British Chinese Project, Christine Lee had been attempting to gain influence within the House of Commons on behalf of the communist government in Beijing. Lee was also revealed to have contributed around £700,000 in political donations, the vast majority of which was funnelled to left-wing politicians in the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties. On Sunday, a report from The Telegraph claimed that one of Lee’s former associates in the British Chinese Project, Pek-san Tan, currently has a chair on the board of the Metropolitan Police force’s Anti-Hate Crime ESEA (East and Southeast Asian) Forum. The Met established the group in the wake of the Chinese coronavirus in order to safeguard members of the Chinese diaspora in Britain … [Read more...] about The Met’s Asian Hate Crime Group Connected to Chinese Spy: Report

A retired BBC producer has been given a 20 month suspended sentence for possessing 832 indecent images of children. Victor Melleney, 76, who when raided and arrested by the police in 2018 was found to be in possession of 832 child abuse images and illegal weapons, has been handed a lenient 22-month suspended sentence by Kingston Crown Court, receiving 20 months for the child sex abuse images and 2 months for owning three tasers and a CS gas spray. The 22-month sentence was suspended because Judge Simon Bryan QC believed prison would be “particularly challenging” for Melleney due to his poor health, including a recent heart attack, and the coronavirus pandemic. Judge Bryan also said that a factor in the decision to suspend the sentence was because it would only have been a “relatively short custodial term”, the Daily Mail reports . The retired BBC producer – who previously worked on top BBC shows such as investigative journalism series Panorama and political debating … [Read more...] about BBC Producer Spared Jail After Being Caught with Child Sex Images

Investigations into sexual abuse by late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile have widened after a wave of new allegations, the British Health Secretary said on Thursday. In all 41 National Health Service organisations are now investigating abuse by Savile, one of the biggest TV stars in Britain in the 1970s and 1980s, revealed as a prolific sex abuser after his death. Inquiries at 28 hospitals, published in June, found that Savile abused vulnerable patients in scores of hospitals and claimed to have performed oral sex acts on dead bodies. Lawyers for Savile’s victims said that it was concerning to see new worries emerge. An investigation into alleged abuse by Savile in schools and children’s homes would be delayed, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said. The transformation of the image of a once-celebrated TV figure shocked Britain and prompted national soul-searching. A wide-ranging investigation into how British institutions dealt with the protection of children from sexual abuse was … [Read more...] about Former BBC Presenter Savile Abuse Inquiry Widens

BERLIN (AP) – The Austrian government on Sunday presented revised plans for its proposed COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which it said will now apply to all residents age 18 and over, rather than 14 as originally intended. Officials said that a phased introduction will give people plenty of opportunity to comply. The government announced nearly two months ago that it would implement a general vaccine mandate early this year, becoming the first European country to do so. In early December, it produced a first draft, calling for the measure to be introduced in February and foreseeing fines of up to 3,600 euros ($4,100) for people who flout it. Key aspects of the plan remain in the final version, which the government aims to have parliament approve on Thursday, but officials said consultations with two opposition parties and others showed the need for significant changes to details. Chancellor Karl Nehammer said there had been concern about teenagers being punished, hence the change in … [Read more...] about Austria Outlines Vaccine Mandate Legislation for February Rollout

2 With the omicron coronavirus variant spreading at a rate that world health officials are calling unprecedented , a growing chorus of experts are saying that boosters are a must — and that people should get them as soon as possible. But does the type of vaccine you get for your booster matter to how protected you’ll be against omicron? Early data indicate that omicron is likely two to three times as contagious as the delta variant, and being fully vaccinated with two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccines or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson is no longer enough protection, Contra Costa County Public Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano noted Tuesday. “You need to be boostered to have strong protection against omicron,” Farnitano said. “If you thought you were safe with just two doses, that is no longer enough. Get your booster.” Dr. Anthony Fauci echoed that message on Tuesday, saying that omicron will “for sure” become the dominant variant … [Read more...] about Moderna booster vs. Pfizer: Does brand of vaccine matter for how well protected you’ll be against omicron?