All posts tagged: convenes

Merz convenes Germany’s security council over looming jet fuel crunch – POLITICO

Merz convenes Germany’s security council over looming jet fuel crunch – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

While admitting the current situation is “tense,” Merz said the country had sufficient access to the key fuels at the moment. But, he added, “if conditions worsen, we are prepared to act,” and insisted “all available instruments” would be used to ensure security of supply. Germany’s National Security Council, which is composed of key government ministers and sectoral experts, was set up last year to coordinate rapid responses to major threats. The decision to convene the group signals Berlin believes the jet fuel shortage could become a significant problem. Economy Minister Katherina Reiche last week unveiled contingency plans and is set to meet with fuel suppliers, airline representatives and airport operators on Monday. Germany’s move to prepare for a possible crisis situation contrasts with Brussels’ efforts to downplay concerns. EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas on Friday said there was “no indication” of jet fuel shortages — even as airlines including KLM and Lufthansa cut back on flights in response to skyrocketing fuel prices. Industry experts warn that even if shipping flows through the Strait of …

Global energy body convenes summit on unlocking emergency oil reserves – POLITICO

Global energy body convenes summit on unlocking emergency oil reserves – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

BRUSSELS — The head of the International Energy Agency on Tuesday summoned an extraordinary meeting to decide whether to tap millions of barrels of emergency oil supplies amid soaring energy costs. The meeting, to be held at an undisclosed time on Tuesday, will “assess the current security of supply and market conditions to inform a subsequent decision on whether to make emergency stocks of IEA countries available to the market,” the agency’s chief, Fatih Birol, said in an emailed statement. The IEA’s 31 members — mostly advanced Western economies — have grown increasingly panicked as Iran and a U.S.-Israeli coalition trade airstrikes, imperilling critical supply chains and energy infrastructure across the Gulf. Merchant shipping has also abandoned the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for 20 percent of the world’s energy trade, prompting fears of price spikes. Source link

Argentina’s Senate Convenes for Final Labor Reform Vote, as Unions and Opposition March in Protest

Argentina’s Senate Convenes for Final Labor Reform Vote, as Unions and Opposition March in Protest

Published by Sam Flores

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — A coalition of labor unions, opposition parties and left-wing organizations marched through downtown Buenos Aires on Friday, in protest of President Javier Milei’s sweeping labor overhaul to be debated in the Senate in the coming hours. The bill, which grants employers greater flexibility in matters of hiring, firing, severance and collective bargaining, has drawn fierce opposition from labor unions and their Peronist allies, who argue it would roll back measures that protect workers from abuse and Argentina’s notoriously frequent economic shocks. “It makes me incredibly angry. Passing a law is one thing, but implementing it is another,” said Ariel Somer, a 48-year-old railway worker protesting near Congress. “In Argentina, progress only happens when workers organize. We will find ways to resist.” Supported by allies of the ruling La Libertad Avanza party, the initiative’s approval would provide Milei with a major legislative victory. He could then showcase these profound economic reforms during his Sunday address at the opening of the ordinary sessions of Congress. The legislation won initial support from the Senate …

Watch live: House convenes hearing on Coast Guard law enforcement efforts

Watch live: House convenes hearing on Coast Guard law enforcement efforts

Published by Sam Flores

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials will testify Tuesday morning before a House Transportation Committee panel on the U.S. Coast Guard‘s (USCG) law enforcement efforts. The hearing comes amid the Trump administration‘s strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and after Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was ousted earlier this month. The U.S. government has… Source link

Netanyahu convenes cabinet on settler violence in the West Bank that continues unabated

Netanyahu convenes cabinet on settler violence in the West Bank that continues unabated

Published by Sam Flores

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s prime minister met with top security officials to discuss a rising tide of Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, an Israeli official said Friday, as fresh allegations surfaced of Israeli settlers hurling rocks at passing Palestinian vehicles in the West Bank village of Huwara. Huwara Mayor Jihad Ouda said the stone throwing was quickly followed by a huge fire at a nearby scrapyard. Flames lit up the evening sky and sent massive columns of smoke into the air, images and video on social media showed. The military said it had reports that Israelis set the fire and that police were investigating. The U.N. humanitarian office documented 29 attacks by settlers in the West Bank from Nov. 11-17, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Friday. The attacks caused 11 injuries and damage to 10 homes, two mosques and nearly two dozen vehicles, as well as damage to crops, livestock, and roughly 1,000 trees and saplings, he said. Israeli forces have killed more than 200 Palestinians in the West Bank so far …