News / News Bulletin

Belgians protest government’s social, economic policies

Tuesday, 24 May 2016 6:12 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 24 May 2016 6:12 PM ]

Belgium police arrest protesters. AFP

Here is a round-up of global news developments:

Belgian police clash with protesters angry at the government’s social and economic policies. The rally was called by trade unions, which are against imposing 45-hour-working weeks on workers. Belgium has been the scene of protests against the austerity measures of the government over the past two years.
French police have clashed with striking oil workers who blocked roads near a refinery in the southern port of Marseille. Police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse the workers. The protesters are outraged by the government’s proposed labor reforms.
Greece has started evacuating a group of refugees from a squalid makeshift camp on its border with Macedonia. The government says the evacuation is part of efforts to move most of the asylum seekers from Idomeni to better organized camps at former facilities near Greece’s second city Thessaloniki.
An Egyptian forensics official says human remains from the crashed EgyptAir flight suggest that there was an explosion onboard the plane. The official based the assessment on the small size of body parts recovered so far. However, the head of the forensics team described the theory as just mere assumptions.
Iran’s Fifth Assembly of Experts convenes for the first time, electing Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati as its new chairman. In a message to the meeting, Iran’s leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei noted that the body is shouldering a huge responsibility in guarding the Islamic and revolutionary identity of the establishment.
A Turkish opposition leader has argued against introducing a presidential system in the country. Speaking at the parliament, Devlet Bahcheli warned that the move would inevitably lead to despotism. Bahcheli noted that a presidential system would be costly for Turkey in the long term.
At least five people have been killed in a bomb attack in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar. According to local officials, the explosion happened when a vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Shah Wali Kot district. Four others sustained injuries. So far, no claim of responsibility.
Demonstrators stage a protest rally in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo. They call on interim President Michel Temer and his government to resign. This is the fourth rally against Temer’s unelected government since President Dilma Rousseff was suspended pending a trial.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

Belgium