BRUSSELS: The third and final day of a national strike in Belgium on Wednesday grounded most flights at Brussels Airport and disrupted public transport.
The strike, organized by the country’s main unions, is the latest in a series of protests against the coalition government led by Prime Minister Bart De Wever. Demonstrators oppose the government’s proposed pension and labor market reforms.
Brussels Airport canceled all departing flights as well as 110 of its 203 planned incoming flights.
Belgium’s other main airport Charleroi Airport said on its website that it also expected significant disruption due to staff shortages and would be unable to guarantee scheduled landings and takeoffs.
Local media reported that the final day of the strike was expected to be the most disruptive with schools, public transport, and the private sector affected as well.
A protest is planned in Brussels for Wednesday afternoon. A similar demonstration in October drew about 80,000 participants.
“The budget message from the De Wever government is harsh: work longer and harder for less security regarding pensions, health and purchasing power,” socialist Union ABVV-FGTB said on its website.
Gert Truyens, chair of the ACLVB liberal union, told the Belgian public broadcaster VRT he regretted unions had not been consulted by the national government.
“Agreements are not made in the streets at the picket lines; that happens at the negotiating table, but you need to be given the chance,” Truyens said.
Although the government reached an agreement on next year’s budget on Monday after months of tense negotiations, it did not avert the strike.
The government plans a new tax on banks and tax increases on airplane tickets and natural gas. Together with cuts in spending, this should lower the government deficit by 9.2 billion euros ($10.6 billion) by 2029.
The budget deficit of the euro zone’s sixth-largest economy is set to hit 4.5 percent of gross domestic product this year, with debt of 104.7 percent of GDP, according to the central bank — well above the maximum agreed under EU budget rules.
Belgian national strike disrupts schools, flights and public transport
https://arab.news/24849
Belgian national strike disrupts schools, flights and public transport
- The strike, organized by the country’s main unions, is the latest in a series of protests against the coalition government led by Prime Minister Bart De Wever
Muslim World League commits resources to help victims of Indonesia flooding
- Floods, landslides on Sumatra island killed more than 800 people and injured 4,200 others
- Al-Issa is in Jakarta this week for meetings with Indonesian officials, religious leaders
JAKARTA: The Muslim World League is ready to mobilize its resources to support relief efforts in Indonesia, its chief said on Friday during a visit to the Southeast Asian country, which was recently hit by its most devastating floods and landslides in decades.
At least 867 people were killed and more than 4,200 others injured after the disasters inundated three provinces on Indonesia’s Sumatra island in late November.
More than 121,000 homes were destroyed and more than 1,100 public infrastructure sites were severely affected in about 50 cities and regencies in the region, where emergency support has been limited due to the collapse of roads and bridges. About 1.1 million people were displaced at one point and for days communities were cut off from basic supplies, power and communication.
“I conveyed my sincere condolences to H.E. for the victims of the recent devastating floods and landslides across various regions of the Republic,” MWL Secretary-general Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa said on X, following his meeting with President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta.
“Furthermore, I confirmed the MWL’s commitment to mobilizing all its resources to provide relief and support to those impacted by this terrible calamity.”
Despite offers from several countries and international organizations, Indonesia is not accepting international humanitarian aid, as the central government has yet to declare the Sumatra floods a national emergency,
Al-Issa arrived in Jakarta on Wednesday at the invitation of the Indonesian government for meetings with officials and religious leaders.
On Saturday, he is scheduled to attend talks on interreligious harmony alongside Indonesian Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar.
The MWL is an international non-government Islamic organization founded in Saudi Arabia in 1962. Its work is focused on promoting and clarifying the worldwide understanding of Islam, with headquarters in Makkah and offices around the world.
Din Syamsuddin, former chairman of Indonesia’s second-biggest Muslim group, Muhammadiyah, told Arab News that Al-Issa’s visit brought a “positive message” to promote global unity in the Muslim world.
“We see the visit as an appreciation for Indonesia as the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, where there is unity and harmony amid religious and ethnic diversity,” he said.
“In the context of the visit of the secretary-general of the Muslim World League, from Indonesia we would like to call on Muslims around the world to unite. (The MWL) has a strategic and central role to play for this purpose.”
