International
US rail companies, unions reach ‘tentative’ deal to avert strike
AFP | by Julie CHABANAS / Sebastian Smith
A jubilant President Joe Biden announced a tentative deal Thursday to avoid a crippling strike by railroad unions following all-night talks as the clock ran down on threats to disrupt US supply chains in the run-up to midterm elections.
“It feels good!” Biden told a tired-looking group of negotiators invited into the Oval Office after their sleepless night. “They should be home in bed,” he said.
Biden, who was personally calling into the negotiations as late as 9:00 pm on Wednesday, issued a pre-dawn statement announcing the preliminary resolution, which allows for a 24 percent wage increase between 2020 and 2024, including an immediate payout.
At a hastily organized celebration in the Rose Garden, Biden called the agreement “a big win for America” and said the “dignity” of railroad workers had been honored.
The deal was a relief after worries that a Friday deadline would trigger nationwide stoppages, snarling critical supplies to an economy in the midst of a jittery recovery from the Covid-era shutdown.
For Biden personally, a strike would have been politically damaging as he tries to steer his Democratic party’s uphill bid to hold on to Congress in November, with Republicans focusing heavily on high inflation.
Biden, in his initial statement, said “the hard work done to reach this tentative agreement means that our economy can avert the significant damage any shutdown would have brought.”
“These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned.”
The Association of American Railroads, which represents the nation’s freight railroads, welcomed the deal.
Major freight carrier Union Pacific said it “looks forward to the unions ratifying these agreements and working with employees as we focus on restoring supply chain fluidity.”
All-nighter
In the West Wing, exhausted staffers recounted an all-nighter which saw cabinet secretaries huddle with union leaders and rail executives at the Labor Department building.
“There were 20 plus hours in negotiations. At no point did anyone ever get to go home,” a senior official told reporters.
At 9:00 pm Wednesday, Biden called in and “his message was we have to get agreement — a shutdown is unacceptable — and that they need to respond in good faith to each other.”
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg made calls “throughout the day and night” and at 2:00 am, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh “called the White House and said it looks like a deal is coming together,” the official said.
Final details were ironed out, one of the union boards was woken at 3:00 am and two hours later the deal was announced.
“Failure was not an option,” the official said.
Inflation fears
Polls show voters are worried about soaring prices in the post-pandemic economy, where supply chain issues have been a constant scourge and annual inflation has surged to a 40-year high.
The Association of American Railroads had warned that a strike would bring 7,000 trains to a halt, costing $2 billion a day.
Farmers and retailers had warned that a strike would hit US supply chains already battered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There is no real substitute for moving agricultural goods,” warned American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall.
Recognizing the danger, Biden had appointed an arbitration panel back in July to facilitate the negotiations. Asked by reporters in the Rose Garden what Americans should do about rapidly rising food prices and other inflation, he said the railroad deal would bring relief.
“Rail’s moving and (inflation) is not going to go up,” Biden said.
Amtrak, the US rail passenger operator, which had announced plans to cancel long-distance train services if freight workers went on strike, said it would immediately get trains rolling again.
“Amtrak is working to quickly restore canceled trains and reaching out to impacted customers to accommodate on first available departures,” it said in a statement.
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America4 days agoDaniel Ortega’s last historic sandinista ally detained in Managua
-
Central America4 days agoHonduras sees ongoing killings of land defenders and attacks on press, warns NGO
-
Central America4 days agoGuatemala transfers top gang leaders to maximum security prison after funeral home massacre
-
International4 days agoTrump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
-
International3 days agoTrump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
-
International3 days agoStudy finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
-
Central America3 days agoCosta Rica faces historic vote on lifting presidential immunity for Rodrigo Chaves
-
International1 day agoIsrael says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
-
International1 day agoSeven inmates dead, 11 injured after violent riot in Veracruz prison
-
International5 hours agoU.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
-
International5 hours ago
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction