Why we walked out of meeting with federal government – Labour

Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, is facing mounting demand from Western consumers for ethical chocolate -- a product that is ecologically sound and made without child labour. In a widely publicised operation named Nawa 2, police picked up dozens of children in a crackdown in Soubre, the country's cocoa-producing heartland 400 kilometres (250 miles) west of the economic capital Abidjan.

For the first time in 20 years, child labour has increased around the world. Last year, 160 million youngsters were working, or 8.4 million more than in 2016. The Covid-19 crisis and resulting rise in poverty are often responsible. In Iraq, the number of children forced to work has increased steadily in recent decades due to conflict, forced displacement and economic challenges. Our correspondents Jack Hewson and Lucile Wassermann went to meet some of those who are trying to stem the scourge of child labour.

While most advanced economies are recovering from the worst effects of the pandemic, labour markets are facing a new and unexpected challenge: a shortage of workers. It's one of the issues business leaders are discussing at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Christophe Catoir, President of Adecco, tells FRANCE 24's Business Editor Kate Moody that the problem could persist for several years to come.

The Chinese fast fashion retail giant is facing allegations of child labor on social media. Shein debunked these claims with a TikTok video of their own. We tell you what we actually know about the fashion brands working conditions, in this edition of Truth or Fake.

The Chinese fast fashion retail giant Shein is facing allegations of child labour on TikTok. Shein then debunked these claims with a TikTok video of its own. In this edition of Truth or Fake, we take a closer look and tell you what we know about the brand's working conditions.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday.

The federal government says it is considering a nationwide ban on commercial motorcycles, popularly known as okada. Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation said motorcycles provide the means of transportation for terrorists and several approaches for containing insecurity were being considered.⁣ ⁣

A new report from the UN's International Labour Organization (ILO) shows that more than 27 million people are engaged in forced labour around the world. This Tuesday, Brussels is announcing new rules to ban goods made with forced labour or those imported into the bloc. The ILO report also raised alarm over the working conditions of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.⁣

Japan faces an existential threat with its birth rate at an all-time low, yet the island nation has still to fully embrace immigration as a solution to the population decline. To tackle the problem, the government has slowly turned to bringing in foreign workers. We take a closer look.

Starting in April, wide-eyed delivery robots will be allowed to use Japan's roads to deliver food and parcels. FRANCE 24's Solange Mougin explains how this could help the country's ageing workforce. But first, Disney cuts 7,000 jobs in a bid to make its streaming business profitable. Plus, Alphabet's stock tumbles as its newly presented AI-powered search bot makes a mistake in a demo video.

The German Minister labour, Hubertus Heil and his colleague for Development Cooperation, Svenja Schulze, are visiting Ghana as part of their tour that would take them to neighboring Ivory Coast as well. Key on their agenda is pushing for better cooperation between Germany and Africa. Hubertus Heil has been talking to DW about the visit and upcoming migration reforms in Germany targeted at Africa.