The Local

An Amazon distribution centre in the UK. Photo: Chris J Ratcliffe/AFP AFP [email protected] @thelocalitaly 20 December 2017 17:32 CET+01:00 Workers at Amazon's distribution centre in Italy went on strike for about two hours on Wednesday to demand better pay and conditions, the second time workers have walked off the job in less than a month. The workers at Amazon's Castel San Giovanni facility in the north of the country have been demanding better wages and a restructuring of work conditions for weeks. Some 500 workers previously observed a one-day strike on November 24th, to coincide with the US online retailer's 'Black Friday' sales bonanza, as did some 2,000 workers at six sites in Germany. "Employees on the day's first shift [between 05:00 and 13:00 GMT] stopped work during the last two hours," a company spokeswoman said. "A general meeting is under way and we do not know what action the movement will give," she said, adding that deliveries were not affected by the walkout. The Amazon facility employs about 400 full-time workers, ...ادامه مطلب

Italy has been chasing Amazon for taxes owed. Photo: Loic Venance/AFP Amazon has agreed to pay the Italian taxman €100 million to settle a dispute over suspected tax fraud, the Italian revenue service said on Friday. Italian authorities have been investigating Amazon for tax evasion in the period between 2011 and 2015, but the deal meant the case is now closed, it said in a statement. Citing investigators, Italian media reported in April that Amazon had established a mechanism to declare some €130 million of Italian profits in Luxembourg, which has a much lower corporate tax rate. Italy has previously forced other US inteet giants to pay up for taxes owed, including Apple, which in December 2015 agreed to pay €300 million to end a tax fraud investigation. Last May, Google agreed to pay €306 million. The tax authorities said on Friday that they would now seek "preventative agreements" with Amazon to ensure that the company properly pays its taxes on Italian eaings. It also "confirmed its commitment to a policy of fiscal control conceing Italian operations of inteet multinationals". Amazon said the deal conceed "historical mat, ...ادامه مطلب

A Twitter account claiming to belong to Anita Raja on Tuesday night "confirmed" media reports that the translator was behind the successful Elena Ferrante novels, sending Italian media into a frenzy. But by Wednesday moing, it seemed that the account was a fake. The account, was created on Tuesday evening, with a tweet saying it would only stay open temporarily to allow for an "explanation".It used the handle @AnitaRajaSta - 'Sta' being an abbreviation for the suame of Raja's husband, writer Domenico Staone - and followed 48 accounts of joualists and news organizations (including The Local Italy). "I confirm it. I'm Elena Ferrante. But this doesn't change anything regarding readers' relationships with Ferrante's books," the account posted, at one minute to midnight on Tuesday evening. It went on to say that the way Ferrante's identity had been 'revealed' had been "gross and dangerous", and said that Raja would not give any interviews regarding the novels. "They are and rema, ...ادامه مطلب

Ferrante gained fame for writing about the working class districts of Naples. Photo: Carlo Raso/FlickrOne of literature's unresolved mysteries appears to have been cracked with the unmasking of the true identity of Italian publishing sensation Elena Ferrante. In its wake, a literary row erupted on Monday over joualistic ethics and writers' right to protect their identities and the personal back stories that may, or may not, inform their work.Claudio Gatti, an Italian investigative joualist, says he has established that Ferrante is a pen name for Anita Raja, a Rome-based translator who is married to a well-known novelist, Domenico Staone.Ferrante's best-selling novels, particularly her Naples-based quartet, have been acclaimed for their intricate, compelling storytelling and insights into the nature of female friendship.Her success has been fuelled by media interest in the mystery over the author's identity with the until-now anonymous Ferrante having granted only a handful of int,elena ferrante,elena ferrante identity,elena ferrante amazon,elena ferrante anita raja,elena ferrante my brilliant friend,elena ferrante books,elena ferrante series,elena ferrante interview,elena ferrante new yorker,elena ferrante book 2 ...ادامه مطلب