London’s Heathrow airport staff to strike ahead of FIFA World Cup

 About 700 workers involved in ground-handling, airside transport and cargo will strike for three days from November 18.

Hundreds of London’s Heathrow airport workers are set to walk out in the run-up to the FIFA World Cup over demands for better pay.

The Unite union said on Friday that 700 workers involved in ground-handling, airside transport and cargo, employed by the Emirates Group’s airport services subsidiary Dubai National Air Travel Agency (Dnata) and Menzies, will strike for three days starting November 18.

The World Cup 2022 will start in Qatar three days later, on November 20.

Qatar Airways, which has scheduled an additional 10 flights a week during the football tournament, will be particularly affected.

Unite regional officer Kevin Hall said in a statement: “Strike action will inevitably cause disruption, delays and cancellations to flights throughout Heathrow, with travellers to the World Cup particularly affected.”

The strike action at Europe’s busiest airport will lead to disruptions, cancellations and delays at Heathrow terminals 2, 3 and 4.

Other airlines, including Virgin, Singapore Airlines, Cathay-Pacific and Emirates, will also be affected, said Unite.

A Heathrow spokesperson told BBC broadcaster: “We are aware of proposed industrial action from Dnata and Menzies colleagues at Heathrow, and we are in discussions with our airline partners on what contingency plans they can implement to support their ground handling should the strike go ahead.”

The Doha-based competition will be the first time the World Cup will be held in the Middle East.

The event is projected to bring more than 1.2 million people to the country.

SOURCE: NEWS AGEN

Uganda: Parliament Approves Shs1.7 Trillion Loan Request

 Kampala, Uganda — Members of Parliament have approved a request by the government to borrow $464 million (about Shs1.7 trillion) to finance infrastructure and development needs of the budget despite objection from the opposition, who say the loan terms are unfair.

Referred to Parliament’s Committee on National Economy on Tuesday, the loan is to be sourced from Standard Chartered Bank, which will serve as “the lead arranger and agent” for Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), a Japanese insurance firm, and the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment & Export Credit (ICIEC), who will actually provide the money.

Committee Chairperson, John Bosco Ikojo and Hassan Kirumira, Katikamu South MP who presented the majority and minority reports respectively, were both uncomfortable with a clause that required Uganda to waive her sovereign immunity for assets at home and abroad, which implies that the lenders can go for the country’s assets in case of default.

“The committee recommends that the Ministry of Finance should renegotiate the provisions relating to the waiver of sovereign immunity to avoid exposing critical government assets to creditors in case of default,” said Ikojo.

Kirumira also tasked the Attorney General with the same.

“Attorney General needs to renegotiate the terms for Uganda so that we don’t sacrifice the country’s sovereignty and key national assets into the hands of the lender; the terms are unfavorable in their current state for a county like Uganda,” he said.

Shadow Finance Minister, Muhammad Kivumbi questioned the interest payment on the part of the loan supplied by ICIEC, which according to Islamic traditions does not accept interest on loans.

Finance State Minister, Henry Musasizi, however, dismissed the fears and said the government will ensure the final terms are negotiated in a manner that cushions Uganda’s assets.

On the interest payment for the ICIEC part of the loan, Musasizi said that, ‘the government of Uganda is dealing with Standard Chartered Bank as the lead arranger; all loans will be from Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) and in effect debt service payment will be to SCB because ICIEC did not make a specific request to Ministry of Finance’.

He also responded to the question on waiver of sovereign immunity.

“The Attorney General will bargain and conclude; what we are looking at are the financing terms and conditions and all of them have been presented to Parliament,” Musasizi said.

James Kaberuka, Kinkizi West MP said since the Attorney General will renegotiate the terms touching on sovereignty, the loan should be approved.

“Hon Members, you are the ones who will be raising matters of national importance on the state of roads and infrastructure in your area, how do you want the government to finance those projects?” he said.

Defending the loan request before Parliament’s Committee on National Economy yesterday, Musasizi said critical projects must be completed and that the releases of quarter two should be supported by cash flow, saying the loan offers the best terms compared to other available options.

Source: allafrica

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South Africa: Public Servants Given Go-Ahead to Strike

 Public Servants Association Given Go-Ahead to Strike After Wage Negotiations Fail

The Public Servants Association wage negotiations with the government deadlocked again this week. The union wants a 6.5% increase while the government dug in its heels at 3%. Public servants in the transport department, as well as home affairs are participating, while other key public service unions – police union Popcru, nursing union Denosa and National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) – are yet to issue a notice to strike.

Patrice Motsepe Nominated for ANC Presidency

Billionaire Patrice Motsepe has been nominated to stand against brother-in-law Cyril Ramaphosa in the race for the African National Congress party leadership at its 55th elective conference, to be held in December 2022, The Citizen reports. If he accepts the nomination, Motsepe may  join Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Tourism Minister Lindiswe Sisulu and former health minister Zweli Mkhize in the race for the presidency of the country.

Jagersfontein Residents Still Waiting For Assistance After Dam Disaster

The Department of Water and Sanitation is expected to open a case against Jagersfontein Developments over the September 2022 collapse of a tailings dam wall. Two people died and hundreds lost their homes when the town was engulfed in toxic sludge from the dam. Residents are calling on the mine to take full responsibility for the destruction. Human Rights lawyer Richard Spoor, who is representing the residents, says the government has not done enough to deal with the problem

By Esther Rose

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Trump calls for McConnell’s impeachment over “blackmail”

 Former President Donald Trump called for the impeachment of nemesis Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Thursday, just days ahead of a midterm election in which McConnell could take the reins of the upper chamber. Trump calls for the impeachment of Mitch McConnell, alleges blackmail© Provided by Washington Examiner

While theorizing that McConnell could buck the GOP and collude with the Democrats to “blow the debt ceiling up,” Trump insinuated that the Democrats may have blackmail on him and argued that impeachment could be a remedy if McConnell betrays the party.

Trump’s retort was prompted when he was pressed by the host of American Sunrise on Real America News about Democrats “scheming” to collude “with some of the RINOs,” an abbreviation for Republicans in name only, “to blow the debt ceiling up.”

“Mitch McConnell keeps allowing [them] to have it. I mean, they ought to impeach Mitch McConnell if he allows that. Frankly, Mitch McConnell, something has to be — they have something on him. How he approves this thing is incredible,” he said in the interview.

By Ryan King

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Coldest place on earth is heating up fast

 On a summer day in June 2020, a small town in the typically frigid Far East of Russia set a new world record — and not a good one. The temperature exceeded 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time ever in the region above the Arctic Circle. The World Meteorological Organization said the temperature was “more befitting the Mediterranean than the Arctic.”

One of the coldest places on Earth is on fire — and it’s getting worse© Provided by Inverse

2020’s record-breaking temperatures in Siberia hit home to the world what scientists knew: the Arctic was warming faster than the rest of the planet, creating devastating consequences like massive wildfires.

Two new studies reveal the extreme fire season in 2020 was no mere anomaly, but, rather, a pattern we can expect to become chillingly common in a warming world. These findings were published Thursday in the journal Science.

Wildfires will fuel global warming

One of the coldest places on Earth is on fire — and it’s getting worse© Provided by Inverse

The first study analyzes the relationship between wildfires and warming temperatures in the Siberian Arctic based on nearly four decades of satellite data spanning 1982 to 2020.

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Zelenskyy calls on world to protect Ukraine grain corridor

 Ukrainian leader says humanitarian corridor needs “reliable and long-term defence”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the international community to do more to protect the grain shipping corridor used to get food out of his country.

Zelenskyy said late on Tuesday the corridor was in need of “reliable and long-term defence” even as ships continued leave Ukrainian ports thanks to Turkey and the United Nations’ brokering of a deal to allow safe passage for shipments of grain and fertiliser.

“Russia must clearly be made aware that it will receive a tough response from the world to any steps to disrupt our food exports,” Zelenskyy said in a late-night address on social media.

“At issue here clearly are the lives of tens of millions of people.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier told his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he would consider rejoining the landmark agreement subject to security guarantees from Kyiv after Moscow suspended its involvement over a drone attack in occupied Crimea.

Moscow on Saturday said it would no longer participate in the deal after accusing Kyiv of carrying out a “terrorist” attack on Russian ships in coordination with “specialists” from the United Kingdom.

Kyiv has neither denied nor accepted responsibility for the attack, while London dismissed Moscow’s accusation as an “invented story”.

Russia on Monday fired missiles at Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, in what Putin said was retaliation for the attack on its Black Sea Fleet.

Washington condemned the missile strikes, accusing Moscow of “exacerbating human suffering” by targeting electricity and water supplies.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has worsened food shortages and the cost of living crisis sweeping the world, prompting a flurry of diplomatic activity to tame spiralling prices and avert famine in developing countries.

More than 9.5 million tonnes of grain and related products have been exported under the deal brokered in July, which aims to restore exports to prewar levels of 5 million tonnes each month.

Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Tuesday that eight loaded ships were expected to travel through the corridor on Thursday.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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COP27: Nobel Prize winners demand Egypt free political prisoners

Nobel Literature laureates urge world leaders to pressure Cairo to free dissidents, including Alaa Abd el-Fattah, ahead of the COP27 summit.

More than a dozen Nobel Literature laureates have called on world leaders to pressure the COP27 International Climate Conference host, Egypt, to free the “thousands” of political prisoners languishing in the country’s prisons, including prominent jailed Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah.

In the letter, sent to the United Nations, the European Council, and heads of state in France, the United Kingdom, the United States and France among others, the 15 Nobel laureates urged the leaders “to use every opportunity” during the conference “to bring the voices of the unjustly imprisoned into the room”.

COP27, which is organised by the UN, will be held in the Egyptian Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh from November 6 to 18, with the aim of bringing governments together to accelerate efforts to curb the world’s climate crisis.

“We urge you to use the opportunity that is now in your hands to help those most vulnerable, not just to the rising seas, but those imprisoned and forgotten – specifically in the very country that has the privilege of hosting you,” the laureates, who include the Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, the American poet Louise Gluck, the Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah, and the British author Kazuo Ishiguro, said.

“We ask you to use your plenary address to speak the names of the imprisoned, to call for their freedom, and to invite Egypt to turn a page and become a true partner in a different future: a future that respects human life and dignity,” they added.

Egypt has cracked down on dissent ahead of COP27, with an Indian environmental activist released on Monday after he had been detained the previous day.

Public protests are effectively banned in Egypt, following a crackdown on political dissent that began with the overthrow of the country’s first democratically elected leader Mohamed Morsi in 2013 by then-army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

El-Sisi, who was elected president in 2014, says security measures were needed to stabilise Egypt. The crackdown swept up liberal activists as well as members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Morsi died in 2019 while in government custody.

Ahead of the summit, Egyptian security forces have arrested nearly 70 people in connection with calls for protests to coincide with the gathering, according to a rights group.

By Monday, at least 67 people had been arrested in Cairo and other cities over the previous few days and had appeared in front of state security prosecution in relation to calls for protests on November 11, according to the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF), a non-government organisation.

“We ask you, in your address, to bring the voices of the unjustly imprisoned into the room. Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s powerful voice for democracy is close to being extinguished,” the laureates, who are the winners of what is arguably the most prestigious award in literature, said.

Abd el-Fattah has begun a full hunger strike ahead of the climate summit, with supporters saying he will either be dead or free when world leaders convene next week.

The activist said in a letter to his family that he would start a zero-calorie hunger strike on Tuesday and stop drinking water from November 6, when global climate talks are set to kick off. For months, the influential 40-year-old blogger has been on a partial hunger strike, consuming only 100 calories a day, prompting concerns for his health.

Abd el-Fattah, an outspoken dissident, rose to prominence with the 2011 pro-democracy uprisings that swept the Middle East and toppled longtime President Hosni Mubarak Egypt.

He was first sentenced in 2014 after being convicted of taking part in an unauthorised protest and allegedly assaulting a police officer. He was released in 2019 after serving a five-year term but was rearrested later that year in a crackdown that followed rare anti-government protests.

In December 2021, he was sentenced to another five-year term on charges of spreading false news. He also faces separate charges of misusing social media and joining a “terrorist” group – a reference to the banned Muslim Brotherhood, which authorities declared a “terrorist organisation” in 2013.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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