Afghan election officials on Tuesday reaffirmed their decision to expel nine lawmakers from parliament for voter fraud. The head of Afghanistan’s election commission, Fazel Ahmad Manawai, said Tuesday the officials are ready and willing to make public how they arrived at their decision. Their announcement came after one of the unseated politicians, Simeen Barakzai, vowed […]
Afghan Election Officials Reaffirm Decision to Expel 9 MPs
Afghan Election Officials Offer to Release Voter Fraud Findings
Afghan election officials say they stand by their decision to expel nine lawmakers from parliament for voter fraud, even though one of the unseated politicians vows to continue a hunger strike until she is reinstated. The head of Afghanistan’s election commission said Tuesday that they are ready and willing to make public how they arrived […]
Amnesty Calls for Probe of Indonesian Mine Killing
An international human rights group is demanding that Indonesian authorities investigate the deadly shooting of a striking worker by state security forces at a U.S.-run gold and copper mine. Six other striking miners were injured in Monday’s incident at the Freeport-McMoran Grasberg mine in the remote eastern province of Papua. Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific […]
Police Kill Miner in Indonesia Labor Strike
Union officials say Indonesian security forces opened fire on striking workers at a U.S.-run gold and copper mine early Monday, killing one miner and critically wounding another. Officials for the mine workers’ union say violence broke out when more than 1,000 workers at Freeport-McMoran’s Grasberg mine in easternmost Papua province pelted security forces with rocks. […]
Strike Forces Qantas to Cancel Flights
Thousands of Qantas Airways passengers face flight delays and cancellations because of a strike by its engineers. Australia’s flagship airline says 40 domestic flights will be cancelled. Another 27 domestic and 11 international flights will be delayed or rescheduled. The engineers’ union planned to walk off the job for four hours Monday as it fights […]
Afghan Female Lawmaker Stages Hunger Strike
An ousted female Afghan lawmaker has mounted a hunger strike to protest her expulsion from parliament over alleged vote fraud in last year’s parliamentary elections. Semin Barakzai has staged her political protest for more than a week in Kabul in a tent outside parliament. Dozens of lawmakers returned to parliament Saturday following a boycott of […]
French Teachers Strike to Protest Job Cuts
Thousands of teachers across France have taken to the streets in a one-day protest against education job cuts under President Nicolas Sarkozy’s new economic plan. The Education Ministry says more than one-in-four public primary school teachers and around one-in-five high school teachers failed to report for classes Tuesday. Some private school teachers also joined the […]
Opposition Strike Hits Bangladesh
Schools and businesses are shut down across Bangladesh as the country’s main opposition party and its allies hold a daylong strike to protest recent hikes in fuel prices. Thousands of police were deployed across the capital, Dhaka, to keep order and prevent widescale opposition protests. Transportation in and out of the city was largely disrupted […]
Spanish Teachers Strike to Protest Education Budget Cuts
Thousands of public school teachers in Spain’s central Madrid region went on strike Tuesday to protest education budget and staff cuts, as the country tries to improve its financial situation. The strikes are expected to last at least two days and will affect at least 300 schools. Teachers in other areas around the country are […]
Two-Day Separatist Strike Begins in Indian Kashmir
A general strike to demand the release of political prisoners in Indian Kashmir has shut down much of the region. Separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani, currently under house arrest, called for the two-day work stoppage to begin on Tuesday. Local media report businesses and public transportation were largely shut down in Srinagar, the capital of […]