Today’s newsletter covers Lego profits, costly online courses, oil spill avoided in the Red Sea, Romania’s optimism, and more.
Ireland plans to compensate families of healthcare workers who died of COVID-19
The compensation would amount to a one-off 100,000 euros (US$108,000) to approximately 20 families of workers in healthcare facilities who died from the coronavirus they caught while being at the frontline of the fight against COVID-19. Most of them died during the first wave of the pandemic.
Lego in 2021 again increased profit as people stayed at home
Lego again recorded significant growth in profit for the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic that forced families to stay at home. Lego’s net profit in 2021 grew by 34%, following a 19% growth in 2020.
Agreement to avoid a massive oil spill from tanker at the Red Sea
The United Nations and Houthi rebels in Yemen found an agreement to save crude oil from a damaged tanker at the Red Sea. The vessel risked sinking and causing an environmental catastrophe.
U.S. online university fined for misleading value of its degree to students
An online university was fined $22 million because of its poor value-for-money degree, misleading students on the real cost of its courses. Many students dropped out with debt. The university focused on enrollment numbers above “providing students with accurate information,” the judge said.
With Ukraine invasion, the opinion of Romanians on their country improved
In an opinion poll conducted in early March, Romanians who perceive the country goes in the right direction have almost doubled in only a month. The situation seems to remind Romania of the protection the European Union and NATO provide.
Former Spanish King will live in Abu Dhabi but can visit Spain
Now that investigations stopped against Juan Carlos I, King Felipe VI accepted his father’s request to periodically visit Spain.
U.N. Human Rights to visit the Chinese region of Xinjiang
The U.N. Human Rights will visit the Chinese region of Xinjiang in May. In the meantime, the results of its inquiry on the persecution of Uyghurs by the Chinese government in the region have been “almost ready” for publication for months.
