Thousands of Canadian National Railway
workers go on strike
Reuters, Ottawa
About 3,000 workers of Canadian National Railway, the country’s largest railroad operator, went on strike on Tuesday, labor union Teamsters Canada said after both parties failed to resolve contract issues.
“Conductors, trainperson and yard workers at Canadian National Railway are now officially on strike,” the union said in a tweet http://bit.ly/2O10KW3.
UN envoy slams foreign interference, air strikes in Libya
AFP, United Nations
The UN’s Libya envoy pleaded with foreign actors to honor an arms embargo on the conflict-torn country as he said an attack on a Tripoli factory Monday may amount to a war crime.
Ghassan Salame accused unnamed countries of worsening the violence in Libya in a strongly worded address via video link to the United Nations Security Council in New York.
Donors pledge $2.6b for ‘last mile’ of polio eradication
Reuters, London
Donor governments and philanthropists pledged $2.6 billion on Tuesday to help fund a worldwide polio eradication plan that has taken decades to reach what global health specialists say is now the “last mile”.
The funding – almost of half of which came in a single donation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – will be used to immunise 450 million children against polio each year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement.
N Korea dismisses postponement of joint drills
AFP, Seoul
The United States must end its joint exercises with Seoul “once and for all” to facilitate dialogue with Pyongyang, North Korea said Tuesday, just days after the allies postponed planned drills.
The US and South Korea said Sunday they would delay annual joint aerial exercises slated for this month in an act of “goodwill” after months of deadlocked nuclear talks.
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon highest since 2008
AFP, Braslia, Brazil
Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil surged to nearly 10,000 square kilometers in the year to July 2019 — the highest in more than a decade, officials said Monday.
The 29.5 percent increase from the previous 12-month period comes after fires ravaged swathes of the Amazon this year, igniting a global outcry and diplomatic feud between President Jair Bolsonaro and European leaders.
Croatian teachers escalate strike to step up pressure on govt
Reuters, Zagreb
Croatian school teachers began a full nationwide strike on Tuesday, the leader of one of the top teachers’ unions said, in an escalation of their industrial action aimed at forcing the government to start talks on their demands for a wage hike.
Primary and secondary school teachers launched their strike on Oct. 10, but until now had organised the action in such a way that on some days classes were cancelled countrywide and on others the action was only in some areas.
