BEIRUT: Air traffic controllers at Beirut airport are to hold a two-hour strike tomorrow in protest at the Lebanese parliament’s failure to approve long-delayed public sector pay increases.
The increases were approved by Lebanon’s government more than a year ago but have been held up by political deadlock and fears that significant wage rises will put more strain on the state’s already widening budget deficit. Air traffic controllers said yesterday they would suspend work between 11am and 1pm (0800 GMT to 1000 GMT) tomorrow in protest at the repeated delays to raising their pay.
The stoppage will coincide with the latest scheduled parliamentary session to discuss the proposed pay rises. Lebanon’s Finance Ministry said last week that the 2014 budget deficit is expected to widen to $5.1bn, or 10.7 percent of GDP, even without the proposed public service pay increases.
One dead in Khartoum protest
KHARTOUM: One person was killed yesterday in the Sudanese capital as police fired tear gas to disperse a demonstration over water shortages, police and witnesses said.
Hundreds of residents of southern Khartoum took to the streets after repeated cuts in drinking water supply to the area, blocking off a main road with rocks and tree branches, witnesses said.
Police said they intervened to disperse the crowds and reopen the road in the Mayo district. “One person suffered from (tear gas) inhalation and later died,” they said in a statement.
A witness, who declined to be named, said the police fired tear gas and “beat up the protesters with clubs”.
Hanan Omar Jadallah, a demonstrator, said that men, women and children took part. “The police fired tear gas at us and the smoke even went inside our homes,” she said.
Several areas of Khartoum have been hit by water cuts for the past month, a situation exacerbated by rising summer temperatures.
Interpol calls for policing aid to Yemen
SANA’A: Interpol head Ronald K. Noble, on his first visit to Yemen, met President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi yesterday and appealed for international aid for Sana’a to combat terrorism and maritime piracy. “The crimes which Yemen tackles on a daily basis, such as terrorism and maritime piracy have a global dimension and it is essential that they are provided the assistance they need, whether it is advanced technology or basics such as generators to keep their police stations open,” he said.
Agencies
