The first edition of the International Transport and Logistics Fair held in Cuba ended this Thursday with great joy but without much precision. Industry Minister Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila said nearly 40 contracts and more than 100 agreements and business intentions for land, sea and air had been signed.

The only information on it is the railway improvement project signed with a Chinese company, a project already attempted with Russia and shut down by Moscow due to repeated non-compliance by the Cuban side.

The Union of Cuban Railways (UFC) and Beijing Fanglian Technology signed “two letters of intent to gradually restore part of the railway infrastructure” last Tuesday, as the official press called the agreement.

The points of the pact include the restoration of the railway and locomotive workshops located in the Mariel Special Development Zone and the import of parts and equipment.

Luis Roberto Roses Hernández, general director of the UFC, said that this would make it possible to “acquire the necessary parts for the maintenance of large Chinese locomotives and the gradual improvement of their reliability, guaranteeing a better quality of service in freight and passenger traffic”.

Apart from this agreement, which for the time being reflects an intention, Rodríguez Dávila trusted that the event served to “renew old contacts and establish new ones” in order to restore the sustainable development of transport in Cuba.

“The supply deficit” is due to “the insufficient technical availability of the media and the diesel fuel due to the pressure from Washington”.

It was also time to blame the US for the poor quality of service. Carlos Alberto González González, deputy director of the Directorate of Passenger Transport, said that “the supply deficit” was due to “the insufficient technical availability of funds and diesel fuel due to the pressure exerted by Washington”. In addition, an official statement from the ministry highlights that “the complex context” – which also affects the cargo – is due to the “blockade by the United States government”.

In October 2019, Cuba experienced the prequel to the episode that just happened with China. At that time, the Russian state railway RZD signed an agreement with the Union of Cuban Railways to modernize the entire Cuban railway structure. Funding came from Moscow in the amount of 2,314 million dollars, which in this case was intended for the modernization of the infrastructure (1,000 kilometers of track, material, technology and training) and a traffic control center.

At the end of 2020, the director of RZD Sergey Pavlov temporarily ended the project. “Unfortunately, due to economic difficulties and quarantine restrictions on the island, we had to suspend our major modernization project for Cuba’s railway infrastructure, but we hope to resume work after the situation stabilizes,” he said.

During this phase, Russia sent locomotives to the island, but railway sector sources told 14ymedio that the machines were not adequate for the country’s reality. “They are high fuel consumers. They require a large amount of fuel to run compared to other locomotives on the market and it is already known that this is a problem here as the supply we have is not always stable,” they affirmed.

The standstill of the Russian railways continues to this day. In 2020, the Executive Secretary of the Russian-Cuban Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation Oleg Kucheriáviy warned of the massive cancellation of investments in Cuba due to non-compliance with Havana.

The official told the Russian press that of the 60 joint projects, only ten would be implemented, and at a meeting of the Senate Commission on International Affairs, he pointed out that the last meeting of the intergovernmental commission, which was to be held on the island, was due Canceled “silence” and “hesitation” on the part of the Cuban authorities.

None of this has improved, and collective transport is stuck in the past with nothing other than transporting some equipment that is clearly inadequate.

In addition, Yuri I. Borisov, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and responsible for economic relations with Cuba since 2018, said in reference to the Cuban side. “They’re complicated businessmen, I won’t hide it, the mentality of the past weighs on them all the time. During the negotiations, in the positions they take, it always seems that we are an outpost of the world revolution and they just have that to help us,” he revealed.

With the pandemic hitting the island particularly hard in 2021, none of that has improved and collective transport is stuck in the past, with nothing other than shipping some equipment that is clearly inadequate, like the electric buses of Japan or Belgium buses.

The only announcement backed by the authorities is the creation of the title of Transportation Engineering, a new career that will train professionals in the management of human and material resources in the sector.

“The new traffic engineer will participate in the technology transfer processes, act with economic conscience and respect the Cuban reality and master the legal elements related to his professional activity,” said Juan Cogollos, President of the National Careers Commission and professor-holder of the University of Cienfuegos, where the specialty is taught.

The new course lasts four years and includes subjects such as traffic engineering, electricity and automation, statistics and operational research, economics and process management, as well as traffic engineering and operations.

Authorities announced that graduates will be able to work in the Department of Transport and its business system, in the private sector and other organizations related to the field at a time when young people seem rather encouraged due to a lack of opportunities who leaving the island or the miserable salaries they get after years of study.

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07/10/2022 18:56 (act 07/10/2022 19:00)

Wave of protests following the death of Mahsa Amini ©APA/AFP

The State Institute of Forensic Medicine has ruled out police violence in connection with the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. According to the Misan news portal, the report on Amini’s death published on Friday stated that the Iranian Kurd had suffered from a thyroid disease since childhood. Investigations are said to have shown that the heart failure occurred because of previous illness after his arrest.

It was said that this led to his death. Police violence is ruled out because no traces of a blow to the head on the body were found. Amini’s parents have repeatedly denied their daughter’s previous illness in recent weeks. She was perfectly healthy until her arrest by the vice squad and all allegations to the contrary were false, the family said. The Iranian judiciary, in turn, accuses the Amini family of disrespecting the country’s laws and wanting to stir up political sentiment against the Iranian system with the case of their daughter.

The moral police arrested Amini in September because of her “anti-Islamic clothing”. She fell into a coma and died in hospital on September 16. The police deny the use of violence. The 22-year-old’s death has sparked nationwide protests against the veil requirement and Islamic leadership. Security forces also used violence against protesters, killing dozens of people.

On Friday night, the Iranian military said it was ready to fight the ongoing anti-system protests in the country. This was announced by army, Revolutionary Guard and police commanders in a joint letter to Iran’s supreme spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as reported by the ISNA news agency. “We will destroy the diabolical plans of the enemies of the Islamic Republic,” the commanders’ letter read.

According to news portal Entekhab, Sharif University in Tehran will remain closed until further notice. However, online classes are technically hardly possible due to government imposed internet blocks as the regime has severely restricted the internet.

We can expect Pierre Fitzgibbon to quickly return to his duties as Minister for Business and Innovation within the next CAQ government, and we can also hope that he will provide the political leadership needed to tackle the labor shortage problem that threatens to further undermine Quebec’s economic development.

Posted at 6:30am

The day after October 3, all major employers’ organizations congratulated Quebec’s Premier François Legault and the Coalition avenir Québec on their re-election, but also immediately insisted that the next government put the problem of labor shortages – work – at the top of its list of priorities Priorities.

Whether it’s the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Quebec Manufacturers and Exporters (MEQ) or the Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce (FCCQ), the organizations representing Quebec’s businesses are begging the next government to make labor shortages a priority to grant

In his words of congratulations, FCCQ President Charles Milliard reminds François Legault that, according to the latest available data, there are 271,000 job vacancies in Quebec.

Véronique Proulx, CEO of MEQ, in her message to the next government, specifies that 31,985 manufacturing jobs are currently unfilled, a shortage that has a direct impact on the economic side effects in the region, on the postponement of investments and on supply chains .

To meet this glaring need, there are no 36 solutions, Quebec must – at least temporarily – increase the intake of new immigrants beyond the extremely strict threshold of 50,000 prescribed by François Legault.

If Premier Legault has remained inflexible over the past few months on that absolute threshold of 50,000 new immigrants per year, we can understand that it was so as not to undermine its electoral base and worry certain constituents who continue to believe that the stranger one poses a threat to them and their way of life.

But just as François Legault ignored his promise to review Quebec’s electoral system during his first term, and now feels absolutely no commitment to that obligation, the prime minister will need to broaden his views on immigration on the cusp of new arrivals, which is what it is will enable companies to find available labour.

Fitzgibbon knows it and he can

If there’s anyone who knows how badly Quebec needs recruits to regenerate its workforce, it’s Pierre Fitzgibbon. For the past four years, as Minister for Business and Innovation, he has worked daily with dozens of entrepreneurs who have described and repeated to him the problems and threats they face.

Every time he’s been asked to comment on labor shortages over the past four years, Minister Fitzgibbons grimaced a little before feeding himself the guideline: Automating and digitizing industrial processes will make it possible to increase productivity from companies, reduce their labor requirements and increase prosperity.

Ultimately, this equation becomes possible when a company or an area of ​​activity reaches a level of maturity that allows it to make that quantitative leap, but to get there it is necessary to maintain a level of employment that only increases with the retirement of more than 150,000 employees per year.

Pierre Fitzgibbon has a certain superiority over François Legault, who has often forgiven him for being very liberal in interpreting certain codes of conduct that an elected official must respect. I meet with business leaders every week and they all tell me the same thing they have to tell the minister: ‘We are understaffed, we urgently need recruits. »

Recently, the mayor of Matagami in northern Quebec went even further, stating that the region simply lacks people and that at least 400 families need to settle there quickly to keep the infrastructure going.

Expanding the pool of available talent is therefore essential for the next Minister of Business and Innovation in his development vision if Québec is to reach its full growth potential.

The minister will need to show leadership to convince the prime minister and the CAQ group of the urgency of the problem in order to quickly increase the number of people available and willing to work to prevent Quebec’s economy from suffering any longer the damaging effects suffers from a lack of talent that plagues them.

The husband of Vice President Kamala Harris’ newly appointed top adviser is embroiled in a bribery and corruption scandal that could bankrupt Sin City.

Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones, 47, was an attorney for an environmental group when he allegedly struck an “illegal and corrupt deal” with Nevada’s Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak in 2018, killing a developer’s plans for a high-density housing development covering 2,400 acres near the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

Developer Jim Rhodes, under his company Gypsum Resources and backed by his creditors, is now suing the district and its board of directors for damages he claims totals more than $1 billion.

If successful, the settlement could wipe out Nevada County’s $1.5 billion budget, which is home to Las Vegas and its world-famous Strip.

Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones (left) is the husband of Megan Jones, Vice President Kamala Harris’ top adviser. Justin Jones is embroiled in a corruption scandal, can reveal

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak entered into an illegal and corrupt deal with Jones, court filings say

The deal scuttled real estate developer Jim Rhodes’ plans for a 2,400-acre community near the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. (Rhodes is pictured with wife Glenda)

Jones’ wife, Megan Jones, was named special assistant to the president and director of public engagement in the office of the vice president last month, according to her LinkedIn page. She had worked closely with former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for more than 20 years before his death in December last year.

Allegations against Jones include deleting emails – including many to his wife – when he tried to cover his tracks.

Rhodes, a well-known Vegas developer, claims he was a crime victim and that Justin Jones and Sisolak’s “shocking and grotesque violations of the law and Gypsum’s rights” rendered his country worthless and bankrupted him.

In court filings obtained by , Jones is accused of trading in his strong public support for Sisolak, then-commission chair and Democratic nominee for governor, and promising to dismiss an “inconvenient lawsuit” brought by “Save Red Rock ‘ was submitted to a conservation group of which he was legal counsel.

In exchange, Jones demanded Sisolak’s commitment to vote ‘no’ to Gypsum’s plans and to postpone a key vote until Jones himself was in office.

At the time, Jones was running for a seat on the commission, expecting a win. The environmental advocate had campaigned by promising to thwart Rhodes’ plans in his first 100 days in office.

According to the lawsuit now filed by Rhodes, Jones and Sisolak’s deal amounted to legal consideration – trading something of value (Jones’ campaign support and dismissal of the lawsuit) in exchange for an official lawsuit (Sisolak resisted the land- use vote and kicking the vote down the road.)

Once installed as commissioner, the lawsuit continues, Jones failed to resist and misled the ethics committee about the extent of his interest in derailing Rhodes’ plans so that he could vote against the developer’s motion.

Rhodes is now suing Clark County and the Board of Commissions for damages he claims totals more than $1 billion

The lawsuit states: “In addition to openly expressing personal animus against his nemesis Jim the Sprawl Developer, Jones had an even greater personal interest in seeing Gypsum’s major project application come to an end.

‘Jones acted as counsel for Save Red Rock in litigation over the very same motions that Commissioner Jones ultimately voted to reject. In fact, Jones misled the Ethics Committee so that he could vote against Gypsum’s waivers and motions.’

Rhodes’ attorneys point out that Jones was so personally invested in his opposition to Rhodes that on October 31, 2018, he posted a photo of himself in his Halloween costume of “The Red Rock Guy” on his Facebook page .

In fact, according to Rhodes’ attorneys, Jones was so personally invested in his opposition to Rhodes that on Oct. 31, 2018, he posted a photo of himself in his Halloween costume of “The Red Rock Guy” to his Facebook page.

The image included as an exhibit in their complaint is accompanied by the caption: “I dressed up as alternate superhero The Red Rock Guy for Halloween!

“My superpower makes a compelling case for preserving and repelling my nemesis, Jim the Sprawl developer!”

In his taped testimony, Jones repeatedly denied under oath that he ever used the word “nemesis” in reference to Rhodes.

Now Rhodes’ lawyers have accused Jones of destroying evidence to cover up his “crime”.

They have asked the court to impose “significant financial penalties” on Jones and the district, has learned, for alleging that the commissioner destroyed incriminating texts and emails.

Their move comes after a federal judge took the extraordinary step of ordering Jones to turn over his iPhone for forensic imaging after the commissioner failed to produce all the relevant materials he had been asked to provide, including any relevant communications he might have had with his wife. Megan Jones.

Megan worked for Harris in Nevada during her 2020 presidential campaign.

Megan, who is from Las Vegas, has been married to Jones since 1996 and they have two children together.

But any texts the 26-year-old couple may have exchanged about Jones’ maneuvers have long since been deleted.

Megan worked for Harris in Nevada during her 2020 presidential campaign. The vice president recently tapped Megan to bring her into her office as a special government employee ahead of the November midterm elections

Jones is accused of trading in his strong public support for Sisolak, then-commission chair and gubernatorial candidate, and promising to dismiss an “uncomfortable lawsuit” filed by Save Red Rock, the conservation group he was legal counsel for

If Rhodes is successful, the settlement could wipe out Nevada County’s $1.5 billion budget, which is home to Vegas and its world-famous Strip

Forensic examination of his phone revealed that Jones deleted all of his texts “en masse” on the day the commission voted on Gypsum’s motion.

According to the application, which was reviewed by , “Jones and the District have multiplied these procedures to try to hide the knowing destruction of evidence in this case.”

It added, “After months of delays, misrepresentations, filing processes and hearings, the bankruptcy court finally ordered imaging of Jones’ cellphone and iCloud accounts, which has uncovered another series of shameful and fraudulent acts.”

The forensic image revealed that “Jones destroyed all text messages shortly after the public vote on Gypsum’s land use proposals.”

Jones, according to the application, is obliged to preserve evidence. It said: “It cannot be disputed that Jones had relevant text messages that were not retained as required.

“But Jones went above and beyond, actively deleting untold information to hide his unlawful scheme.”

Jones’ lack of transparency was exposed primarily because not all parties had done the same thing.

He had blind-copied emails making his illicit offer to Sisolak to Andy Maggi, chairman of the Nevada Conservation League.

Megan, who is from Las Vegas, has been married to Jones since 1996 and they have two children together

The emails, obtained by Rhodes’ lawyers, say: “The offer was as simple as it was outrageous: Jones would trade environmental groups’ campaign support and sacking [of an ‘uncomfortable’ lawsuit] for Sisolak’s immediate commitment to vote ‘no’ to gypsum.’

In another note to Maggi, Jones wrote: “Well I’m doing my part. If Sisolak doesn’t want to play, it will blow up in his face.’

According to the lawsuit, “With that pressure … the deal was finalized, and Sisolak released a statement pledging to vote against Gypsum’s motions.”

According to Rhodes’ attorney Todd Bice, “They didn’t dispute it because of water. They didn’t deny it because of the traffic. They denied it because of a backroom deal and then eliminated the evidence to try to cover up that backroom deal.

Sisolak, the district and Jones have denied the allegations against them and continue to allege that Rhodes failed to meet various procedural requirements in his grand plan application.

That, they claim, and not some “backroom deals” killed its development.

The motion for evidence destruction sanctions will be heard Oct. 20 in federal court in Nevada.