Precedent in english law

In a draft amendment to the Law on Social Insurance, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs suggested the period for paying social insurance premiums, to enter a retirement fund, should be reduced to 15 years and then to 10 years, for people to enjoy retirement pensions. As per the existing law issued in 2014, contracted laborers must pay social insurance for the full 20 years so they could obtain a pension when they retire, currently at 60 years and three months for men and at 55 years and four months for women. The ministry said the regulation is too "tight" as 20 years is a long period and many cannot work that many years under contracts only to pay enough insurance premiums. As a result, many have stopped halfway, choosing to give up on the retirement pension. In the long run, a large number of old people without pensions would create huge pressure on social welfare and healthcare funding. Vietnam is currently among the most rapidly aging countries in the … [Read more...] about Ministry seeks to cut social insurance contribution period to obtain pension

Beer sellers in Ho Chi Minh City last year complained that Heineken staff had asked them to not put on display or sell products of the Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corporation, such as Saigon Beer and Saigon Chill, according to the Vietnam Competition and Consumer Authority (VCCA). The staff allegedly threatened that if the seller continued to sell competitors’ products, they would cut support payment of several dozen million Vietnamese dong (VND10 million = $435) a month. Heineken has said it did not direct its employees to make such threats. The VCCA has demanded that Heineken Vietnam issues an public statement and require its employees to abide by the nation’s competition rules. Last year, beer consumption fell 22.6 percent because of Covid-19 impacts as well as the impact of a law increasing fines for driving under the influence. Heineken currently has a 40 percent share of the market, followed Sabeco with 34 percent. … [Read more...] about Heineken staff try to scuttle competition with threats

Gay parents hoping to adopt their biological children may find it harder to argue in court that they are not "deliberately" going against Singapore's stance against same-sex family units. This point was highlighted by Social and Family Development Minister Desmond Lee yesterday, in the wake of Monday's release of a High Court decision to grant a gay man's appeal to adopt his five-year-old biological child, who was conceived through commercial surrogacy in the United States. The judges in the case had recognised granting the adoption would go against "our public policy against the formation of same-sex family units", but found a lack of evidence that the man had set out to deliberately violate it, Mr Lee said. "After the publication of this judgment... it may be harder for future applicants doing the same to argue that they did not intentionally set out to do so." He admitted that since the ruling, concerns have been raised about the case's implications and whether it sets a … [Read more...] about Minister Desmond Lee addresses concerns over ruling in gay man’s adoption case

Annalena Baerbock has been named the Green party's first ever chancellor candidate, emphasizing at a press conference on Monday the unanimity with which she and co-leader Robert Habeck had made the decision, and the clarity of their purpose, first formulated at a party conference three years ago: To become a new broad church party for Germany. "Of course we didn't know then that we'd be standing here today," she said. "But what we knew was that we wanted to open our party up, that we wanted to make policies for a broad society: Inviting, and with clear objectives. And so today begins a new chapter for our party." Monday's announcement represents a remarkable rise for Baerbock. The 40-year-old stepped into the limelight at a party conference early in 2018. Wearing a black leather jacket, the still little-known regional politician — a resident of the eastern state of Brandenburg — stepped to the fore and wowed the gathering. Green delegates made her one of the party's two … [Read more...] about Annalena Baerbock: The Green Party’s candidate to succeed chancellor Angela Merkel

In February, German energy company RWE invoked an obscure agreement called the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) to sue the Netherlands for 1.4 billion euros ($1.67 billion) as compensation for phasing out coal by 2030. The case is the tip of a litigation iceberg, with another German energy company, Uniper , on Friday confirming it is taking the Netherlands to court over its coal exit, and in parallel is suing for a reported 1 billion euros under the ECT. Such claims are magnified due to an obscure "future earnings" clause. The treaty protects around 345 billion euros worth of fossil fuel infrastructure in the EU, Great Britain and Switzerland, according to analysis by cross-border journalist collective Investigate Europe. Concern is growing among EU politicians and climate activists that the investor-friendly ECT is slowing climate ambition. It is also shifting the climate action burden from fossil fuel companies to tax payers. Opponents say massive public payouts need instead … [Read more...] about Multi-billion euro lawsuits derail climate action