New wave of street protest, strikes challenge Hollande's labor code reform

In the latest protest against the French government's plans to reform the country's labor laws, thousands of workers and students walked out in French cities on Tuesday to call for the withdrawal of the bill.

Germany to adopt integration law for refugees

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition partners agreed Thursday to adopt a new law to facilitate integration of refugees into society and the labor market.

Turkey plans to introduce work permits for Syrian refugees, minister says

Turkey plans to offer Syrian refugees work permits in order to encourage fewer of them to migrate, Volkan Bozkır, Turkey's minister for European Affairs, said on Monday, amid EU pressure to reduce the flow of migrants.

Organized crime makes growing profit from migrants in Italy

Criminal organizations, both national and transnational, appear to make increasing illegal profit from human influx in connection with the migrant crisis that is affecting Italy.

Number of new firms opened by Syrians in Turkey on rise

Syrian migrants are becoming an economic actor in Turkey not only in terms of their labor power but also their entrepreneurial skills, with the number of companies opened by Syrians increasing 40-fold between 2010 and 2014, according to new data.

North Korea Lifts Kaesong Entry Ban on Seoul Officials

North Korea has lifted a ban that had kept two South Korean officials from entering a factory complex it jointly manages with the South.

Syrians recruited as cheap agricultural workers in Turkey

Scores of Syrian refugees fleeing the bloody civil war in their country are being employed in seasonal positions in Turkey.

Migrant workers in Australia being exploited on farms, factories ( report )

Migrant workers in Australia are being subjected to slave-like conditions, sexual propositions and black market labor gangs on farms and factories supplying the country's biggest food businesses.

S. African president cancels visit to Indonesia due to violence

South African President Jacob Zuma has cancelled his visit to Indonesia in order to attend to matters at home relating to the attacks on foreign nationals, the Presidency said on Saturday.

18,000 Egyptians have returned home from Libya in past two weeks (Officials)

A plane carrying 313 Egyptians who had been working in Libya arrived in Cairo on Friday from the Tunisian city of Djerba, bringing the total number of Egyptians who have managed to flee the deteriorating security situation in the last two weeks to around 18,000.

More than 25,000 Egyptians flee Libya (around 1.5 million Egyptians worked in the oil-rich country)

More than 25,000 Egyptians have returned from neighboring Libya since ISIS group posted a video earlier this month of the beheadings of Christian compatriots, the foreign ministry said Friday.

Hungarian PM's call for halt to immigration makes opposition furious

Many of Hungary's opposition parties have issued angry statements on Monday in the wake of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's demand that economic immigration be halted.

The prime minister, speaking to Hungary's television channel M1's news magazine on Sunday from Paris where he attended the solidarity rally, called on Brussels to initiate a strict policy limiting immigration to the European Union.

Bulgaria questions Cameron’s plan to limit EU migrant rights in UK

Some of the amendments proposed by UK prime minister David Cameron to the free movement of labour force raise questions about their compatibility with the principle of non-discrimination between EU citizens, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov said.

David Cameron warns of EU exit over migrant cuts

British Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday promised tough curbs on welfare for EU migrants and warned European leaders that blocking them could put Britain's EU membership in doubt.

Jerusalem Mayor: We cannot discriminate against Arabs

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat spoke out strongly in an interview with Army Radio on Friday against the actions of Ashkelon Mayor Itamar Shimoni, who stopped the city’s employment of Arab workers doing renovation to bomb shelters in local daycare centers, in response to the terror attack in Jerusalem by Arabs from East Jerusalem earlier this week.

Jerusalem mayor: Revoke citizenship of terrorists' families

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Friday called for Israel to revoke the citizenship of terrorists' families who support attacks against Israelis.

"We must be extremely focused [in or efforts] against evil people, to locate them and deal with them firmly," Barkat told Army Radio.

Deputy British PM calls for limits on EU migration

LONDON: Migration to Britain from countries joining the European Union should be restricted, the deputy prime minister urged Monday, entering a touchstone debate on immigration and Europe nine months from a general election.

Currently, new members of the EU can wait up to seven years before their citizens gain the right to live and work in other nations in the bloc.

But Nick Clegg, who leads the Liberal Democrats, junior poartner in Britain's coalition government, is to propose an extension to this due to economic differences between countries, according to a released copy of a speech to be given later on Monday.

Ukraine’s Parliament Introduces 1.5% Military Tax

Ukraine’s parliament amended its tax laws to introduce a 1.5-percent military tax based on workers' income, Parliament Speaker Oleksandr Turchynov said Thursday.

“With the goal of providing finances to raise the military capabilities of the state, it is suggested to temporarily introduce a new all-national tax, a military tax through January 1, 2015. This tax will be set at 1.5% from the incomes of individuals from their salaries, as well as from other income, compensation or other monetary awards that are transferred to the taxpayer," the amendment reads.

Hundreds of Chinese families seek wartime compensation from Japan

BEIJING —As relations between China and Japan plumb a new low, the descendants of hundreds of Chinese men forced to work in wartime Japan are taking big, modern-day Japanese corporates to court. They are seeking millions in compensation.
Japan invaded China in 1937 and ruled parts of it with a brutal hand for the next eight years. Chinese historians say nearly 40,000 men were taken to Japan against their will to work in mines and construction. Survivors say living conditions were appalling. Many did not make it back to China.

Thousands rally against closure of Coca-Cola bottling plants in Spain

Thousands took to the streets in Madrid on Saturday in protest at the closure of four bottling plants of US soft-drink giant Coca-Cola that would affect 1,250 workers.

Demonstrators, some coming from other Spanish cities, carried banners condemning the layoffs and calling for a boycott of Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola Iberian Partners, the multinational's only bottling company in Spain, said at the end of January the closures were needed to improve efficiency. But workers argue the layoffs are unjustified since the company is making a profit.