ARGENTINA
Unions vow strike
Unions yesterday vowed a general strike, drawing complaints from President Mauricio Macri as he prepares to host leaders and businesspeople for an economic forum. The strike threat raises pressure on Macri as he struggles to help the nation recover from recession ahead of mid-term legislative elections in October. Three major labor unions have called for a general stoppage, though it remains to be seen to what extent it will be followed. Macri said in a speech on Wednesday that the strike “does not help workers at all,” accusing unions of “mafia-like behavior.”
BRAZIL
Police strikes outlawed
The Supreme Court has ruled that police officers do not have the right to go on strike. The 7-3 ruling handed down on Wednesday afternoon said that strikes by military police officers who patrol the nation’s cities, federal police agents, civil police officers who conduct investigations and anyone else involved in public safety like firefighters, are unconstitutional.
UNITED STATES
Hammer suspect arrested
Authorities say a Virginia woman accused of using a hammer to smash a man’s car and boat at a gas station on Saturday last week before attacking him has been arrested. The Caroline County sheriff’s office said that 26-year-old Angela Jones was arrested on Wednesday in New Jersey. The sheriff’s office said witnesses saw Jones use a hammer to hit the car and boat it was towing. Authorities said she then attacked the man while referring to him as “rich” and “white.” Sheriff Tony Lippa told Masslive.com that Jones scratched and hit the man, but did not hit him with the hammer. The man and his wife told WTVR-TV in Richmond that they were driving from Florida to their home in Massachusetts when the incident happened. It was not immediately clear whether Jones had an attorney.
TURKEY
Militants killed in airstrike
F-16 warplanes on Wednesday launched airstrikes on Kurdish militants in the nation’s southeast, killing eight of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters, a provincial governor’s office said. PKK militants had opened fire on soldiers at a military outpost near the Iraqi border in the mountainous Cukurca area, triggering a clash between the two sides, the Hakkari governor’s office said in a statement. It said that the military had sent a drone to the area, which located the militants, before the F-16 jets carried out their strikes. One soldier was wounded in the clash and taken to a hospital for treatment.
PANAMA
Film distribution lamented
Latin America is producing ever more movies, but they are not being widely seen because of lack of foreign distribution, said Pituka Ortega told, the head of the nation’s International Film Festival said on Wednesday. “Latin American cinema is huge. There are countries with a consolidated industry and experience like Mexico, Argentina and Brazil,” but distribution is the biggest problem, because “while it’s great to produce, it’s futile” if audiences do not get to see the films, she said. “We can’t market like Hollywood, but we have to find a way to do so.” The comments were made on the last day of the week-long festival, which showcased more than 70 productions from 46 countries.
REBUILDING: A researcher said that it might seem counterintuitive to start talking about reconstruction amid the war with Russia, but it is ‘actually an urgent priority’ Italy is hosting the fourth annual conference on rebuilding Ukraine even as Russia escalates its war, inviting political and business leaders to Rome to promote public-private partnerships on defense, mining, energy and other projects as uncertainty grows about the US’ commitment to Kyiv’s defense. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were opening the meeting yesterday, which gets under way as Russia accelerated its aerial and ground attacks against Ukraine with another night of pounding missile and drone attacks on Kyiv. Italian organizers said that 100 official delegations were attending, as were 40 international organizations and development banks. There are
TARIFF ACTION: The US embassy said that the ‘political persecution’ against former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro disrespects the democratic traditions of the nation The US and Brazil on Wednesday escalated their row over US President Donald Trump’s support for former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, with Washington slapping a 50 percent tariff on one of its main steel suppliers. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva threatened to reciprocate. Trump has criticized the prosecution of Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly plotting to cling on to power after losing 2022 elections to Lula. Brasilia on Wednesday summoned Washington’s top envoy to the country to explain an embassy statement describing Bolsonaro as a victim of “political persecution” — echoing Trump’s description of the treatment of Bolsonaro as
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
CEREMONY EXPECTED: Abdullah Ocalan said he believes in the power of politics and social peace, not weapons, and called on the group to put that into practice The jailed leader of a Kurdish militant group yesterday renewed a call for his fighters to lay down their arms, days before a symbolic disarmament ceremony is expected to take place as a first concrete step in a peace process with the Turkish state. In a seven-minute video message broadcast on pro-Kurdish Medya Haber’s YouTube channel, Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said that the peace initiative had reached a stage that required practical steps. “It should be considered natural for you to publicly ensure the disarmament of the relevant groups in a way that addresses the expectations
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