Oecd warns of overheating in irish economy

Britain could be brought by a standstill by a wave of strikes hitting “every sector of the economy”, a union chief warned this morning.

Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), joined striking rail workers at Euston Station taking part in a picket line.

Just one in five trains are running across the country because of the mass walkout by members of the RMT and TSSA unions.

He warned that industrial action is likely to spread across industries in the coming months, saying people “are fed up with the way they’ve been treated”.

But Mr Lynch stopped short of predicting a General Strike, saying that could only be done by the TUC.

Mr Lynch said: “What you are going to get is a wave of solidarity action, generalised strike action, synchronised action.

“And you’ll see it in every sector of the economy, in education, in health, wider parts of the transport system, in all sectors, the private sector as well.

“People are fed up with the way they’ve been treated. The British worker is basically underpaid and gets no dignity or respect in the workplace.

“We’ve got to change that so we get a square deal for everyone in Britain – and that’s what the unions are determined to do.”

He said the rail strike “won’t be broken” until there is a settlement to the dispute as he refused to put an end date on the industrial action.

Speaking in front of a picket line at Euston station, the RMT general secretary told the PA news agency: “We don’t have a fixed programme – I don’t have a whiteboard saying it starts on this day and it ends on that day.

“We won’t be broken. We are determined to get a settlement.

“People have shown on the picket lines they are determined to dig in, we’re not going to waste our members’ efforts.

“We will take the action that our members want to take as we go along, so we’re not going to be broken.

“We will continue the fight until we get a settlement.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Yet again, for the sixth time since June, union leaders are opting to inflict misery and disrupt the day-to-day lives of millions instead of working with industry to agree a deal that will bring our railways into the 21st century.

“Today, thousands of A-level students across the country, many of whom have spent the majority of their college years studying at home due to the pandemic, are now being denied the chance to celebrate their hard work and dedication face to face with peers and teachers.

“It’s clear strikes are not the powerful tool they once were and union chiefs are no longer able to bring the country to a standstill as, unlike them, the world has changed and people simply work from home.

“All these strikes are doing is hurting those people the unions claim to represent, many of whom will again be out of pocket and forced to miss a day’s work.

“We urge union bosses to do the right thing by their members and let them have their say on Network Rail’s very fair deal, which will deliver the reforms our rail system urgently needs.

“It’s time to get off the picket lines and back around the negotiating table – the future of our railway depends on it.”

Representative image (Image: AP)

Ukraine said Russia had started creating a military strike force aimed at President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih, as NATO moved closer to the most significant expansion of the alliance in decades as it responds to the invasion of Ukraine.

The U.S. Senate and the Italian parliament both approved onWednesday Finland and Sweden’s accession to the 30-member North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Under NATO membership, which must be ratified by all 30 member states, an attack on one member is an attack against all.

“This historic vote sends an important signal of thesustained, bipartisan U.S. commitment to NATO, and to ensuringour Alliance is prepared to meet the challenges of today andtomorrow,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement.

Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, has repeatedly warned Finland and Sweden against joining NATO.

NATO’s 30 allies signed the accession protocol last month, allowing them to join the U.S.-led nuclear-armed alliance once its members ratify the decision.

Ratification could take up to a year.

Ukraine on Wednesday dismissed suggestions by former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder that Russia wanted a “negotiated solution” to the five-month war and said any dialogue would be contingent on a Russian ceasefire and withdrawal of its troops.

Tentative attempts at peace talks in March went nowhere.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Thursday that Ukraine was seeking an opportunity to speak “directly” with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help end the war.

In an interview with SCMP, Zelenskiy urged China to use its political and economic influence over Russia to bring an end to the fighting.

“It’s a very powerful state. It’s a powerful economy  So(it) can politically, economically influence Russia. And Chinais (also a) permanent member of the U.N. Security Council,” thereport quoted Zelenskiy as saying.

NEW SOUTHERN OFFENSIVE

Ukraine on Wednesday night said Russia was engaged in considerable military activity in the east, northeast and south of the country and warned that Moscow could be preparing new offensive operations in southern Ukraine.

Dmytro Zhyvytsky, governor of Sumy region on the border with Russia, said three towns had been shelled by Russian forces on Wednesday, with a total of 55 missiles fired. There were no injuries, but homes and commercial premises were damaged.

He said eight artillery shells hit residential parts of Krasnopilska community.

Reuters was not able to verify battlefield reports.

Russia denies it targets civilians, but many towns and cities have been destroyed and thousands of civilians killed in the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two. Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Russian forces of war crimes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops in Ukraine in what he said was a “special military operation” to rid the country of fascists. Ukraine and the West said Putin launched an unprovoked “imperial” land grab.

The war has sparked a global energy and food crisis. Russia and Ukraine produce about one third of global wheat and Russia is the main energy supplier to Europe.

An agreement between Moscow and Kyiv, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, to allow safe passage of grain ships from Ukraine has been hailed as a rare diplomatic success in the war.

The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain since the war started passed through the Bosphorus Strait on Wednesday.

The ship, Razoni, left Odesa on the Black Sea early on Monday carrying 26,527 tonnes of corn to the Lebanese port of Tripoli.

A senior Turkish official said three ships could leave Ukrainian ports daily following the Razoni’s departure, while Ukraine’s infrastructure minister said 17 more ships had been loaded with agricultural produce and were waiting to set sail.

Germany will fail to meet its gas stocks target set by the government to avoid a winter energy crisis amid a Russian supply squeeze, the country’s regulator has warned.

Klaus Mueller, president of the Federal Network Agency, said there was “hardly a chance” of meeting the November benchmark because some storage sites were already depleted.

He also cautioned that Germany – Europe’s biggest economy – faced two tough winters.

The country is currently in the second phase of a three-stage emergency plan to reduce its heavy dependence on Russian gas following the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine .

Ukraine news live: Russia calls proposal to demilitarise nuclear plant ‘unacceptable’

Moscow has drastically cut flows to Europe via the Nord Stream pipeline since mid-June and is currently supplying only 20% of agreed volumes, blaming technical issues.

However, the move is widely seen as politically motivated in retaliation for sanctions prompting accusations of the Kremlin using energy as a “weapon”.

Germany has already hit its first target for gas storage facilities to be 75% full by 1 September.

The next goals are for stock levels to be at 85% by 1 October and 95% the following month.

Mr Mueller told the news website t-online: “I don’t expect we will achieve the next storage targets as quickly as the first one.

Reaching the 85% target by autumn was “not impossible, but very ambitious”, especially if heating was already being used, he said.

He added: “We fall short of an average level of 95% by 1 November in all our projections.

“There’s hardly a chance of achieving that because some storage sites started at a very low level.”

Mr Mueller said Germans should save gas as they face potential problems for a couple of years.

He went on: “It’s not just about one winter, it’s about at least two and the next winter could be even tougher.

“It’s not just about one winter but rather at least two. And the second winter could be even harder.

“We’ve got to save a lot of gas for at least another year.

“To put it clearly: it’s going to be at least two stressful winters.”

Mr Mueller pointed out that shortages in the coming winter were “probable” in some regions.

“The shortfalls will probably be temporary at first and then could stop or return repeatedly,” he said, which may see gas having to be transported into affected areas.

Household energy bills in Germany are set to soar this winter, while energy shortfalls threaten to hinder economic growth.