Etc...

Now, that wasn't nice

Somewhere in Brazil there is a chief executive of Banpespa Bank who can't be pleased with the manager of one of its branches in São Paulo. Why? Because a court has ordered the payment of $9,100 to the manager's secretary for his actions toward her. Not that Banpespa can't afford the penalty; it's the principle of the thing. Exactly what did the manager do that was deemed over the top? Well, for starters, he ordered his subordinate to display a plastic turtle on her desk - as a reminder of how slowly she worked. Moreover, he nicknamed her "Magda," after a popular TV character who's known for being dim-witted. So she took him to court. Said the judge: "Jokes in the workplace are common [here], but they must not offend people."

This being World Refugee Day, many countries are likely to check their record in treating refugees. Some may turn to the US Committee for Refugees, a private aid group that grades performance. The organization considers the US one of the best when it comes to honoring a refugee's right to earn a livelihood once in the US, but one of the worst in terms of systematically denying entrance to asylum seekers. The latter opinion is primarily a factor of how Cubans and Haitians, fleeing on the high seas, are turned back. The countries the committee has determined do the best and worst job of offering asylum:

Best
Algeria
Ivory Coast
Ethiopia
Liberia
Venezuela

Worst
China
Iran
Lebanon
Malaysia
Pakistan
Russia
South Africa
Thailand
United States