North America
Chicago teacher strike ends after union vote
School teachers in Chicago, the USA’s third-largest school district, have voted to suspend a strike, ending a seven-day action that affected more than 350,000 students. Despite reaching a tentative agreement over the weekend, union members voted on Sunday to extend the strike, with negotiations stalling over teacher evaluations and job security. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel went to court on Monday to force teachers back into the classroom, asserting the strike endangered public health because thousands of public students rely on free school meals for basic nutrition. Union delegates then voted overwhelmingly yesterday to return to work today. The proposed contract, including pay rises and concessions on teacher evaluations and job security, will now go to a vote of the full membership of the union, which includes over 25,000 teachers.
Latin America
Leading Colombian drug baron captured in Venezuela
Daniel Barrera, one of Colombia’s most notorious drug traffickers, has been captured in Venezuela in a joint operation between Venezuelan, British and US intelligence agencies. Mr Barrera, known as “Crazy Barrera”, was taken in the city of San Cristobal, just over Colombia’s border with Venezuela. He had a $5m bounty on his head in the USA – the same as Osama bin Laden’s bounty – and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos described him as “perhaps the most wanted kingpin in recent times”. He was legendary in the cocaine business, both for his longevity and for his ability to work with all sides in Colombia’s 48-year civil conflict, from the Farc rebels to many of the various paramilitary and criminal gangs.
Explosion kills 26 at Mexican state gas plant
Twenty-six people have died in an explosion and subsequent fire at a gas plant in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Mexico’s state oil company, Pemex, said the fire broke out around lunchtime at its gas facility outside the city of Reynosa, near the US border. The cause of the blaze is yet to be established, but the fire has been extinguished. A similar accident occurred last week at another Pemex plant nearby, injuring four workers, and a third Pemex plant was hit by a fire on 13 August, with no injuries. Illegal tapping of pipelines in northern Mexico, usually by criminal gangs, is thought to be the cause of many accidents at Pemex facilities.
Middle East and Africa
Heavy fighting in Damascus, Aleppo and Syrian provinces
Heavy fighting continues across Syria. Activists said government forces were closing in on Hajar al-Aswad, a southern suburb of Damascus, and the situation for residents was desperate. State media boasted that troops had killed many of what they called “terrorists”. Amnesty International warned that indiscriminate air and artillery strikes were causing a dramatic rise in civilian casualties in the provinces of Idlib and Hama, but these had gone under-reported due to the focus of the world media on Damascus and Aleppo. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has arrived in Damascus to meet President Bashar al-Assad and other officials. He had earlier called for a half of violence by both sides and insisted on a peaceful solution without foreign intervention.
Asia and Russia
Russia expels USAID development and pro-democracy agency
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced it will close its offices in Russia following an order from the authorities there to cease operations. The Russian government has accused the agency of meddling in politics, and given the US until October 1 to close the mission. USAID has worked in Russia for two decades, spending nearly $3bn on aid and democratic programmes. The expulsion follows a government crackdown on pro-democracy groups, with President Vladimir Putin alleging earlier this year that protests surrounding his re-election were orchestrated by US-funded NGOs. One such group, to which he may have been referring, is Golos, which exposed electoral fraud at least year’s parliamentary elections and sparked huge anti-Kremlin street protests. Golos is partly funded by USAID. In a statement, the Russian foreign ministry said: “the decision was taken mainly because the work of the agency’s officials far from always responded to the stated goals of development and humanitarian cooperation. We are talking about attempts to influence political processes through its grants”.
Japan to phase out nuclear power
The Japanese government has partially approved a plan – without a specific deadline – to phase out nuclear power after last year’s Fukushima disaster, officials say. The government unveiled the plan to drop nuclear energy by the 2030s on Friday, but its feasibility was opposed by the business sector. The government has also launched a new nuclear safety regulatory agency. Nuclear power has become a key public issue in Japan after a tsunami in March 2011 struck the coast near Tokyo, and led to a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plants. Before the disaster, Japan had wanted to raise its nuclear energy use to 50% by 2030. Under the country’s new energy policy, there would be a shift in favour of the use of renewable energy, as well as oil, coal and gas.
Australasia
Australian parliament rejects gay marriage bill
Australian members of parliament have overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would have legalised gay marriages after days of heated debate. The House of Representatives voted 98 to 42 against the bill, with one MP resigning a key post after making controversial comments against it. Though Australia does not currently permit gay marriage, some states allow civil unions. Gay rights activists have called the decision a “slap in the face”. The ruling Labour party did not whip their MPs and were allowed to vote on their beliefs, while the opposition were instructed to oppose it. Both Prime Minister Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbot voted against the bill.
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