Colombia’s Congress approves historic labor reform, Petro withdraws referendumMultiple articles in the reform seek to make it more difficult companies to perpetually employ workers on a temporary basis, including those who are employed in the so-called gig economy. Companies will have to pay extra compensation for labor between 7PM and 6AM Some 69,000 “community mothers,” men and women who provide care and education to kids from the neighborhood, will be formally integrated into and paid by the Family Welfare Institute. Some 400,000 students who do an internship are granted full labor rights and be paid in full for their services.Workers who work on Sundays and holidays will be paid double instead of 175% of the normal wage. The government and its coalition in Congress conceded in demanding menstrual leave for women, which was left out of the reform.
https://colombiareports.com/colombias-congress-approves-labor-reform-petro-withdraws-referendum/New Rio de Janeiro law requires public hospitals to display anti-abortion signsA new law has just come into force in Rio de Janeiro requiring all public hospitals and clinics run by the municipal government to display anti-abortion signs bearing messages such as: “Did you know that the unborn child is discarded as hospital waste?” Reproductive rights activists view the act as the latest example of a growing trend across Brazil to further restrict access to abortion in a country that already has some of the world’s most restrictive laws.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/19/rio-de-janeiro-anti-abortion-signsArgentina: unemployment hits record figuresThe employment rate was 44.4% (13.3 million people), with 42% in informal jobs and 36.3% lacking pension contributions. Formal salaried jobs dropped by 200,000, informal by 100,000, while self-employment grew by 100,000. Greater Buenos Aires saw the highest unemployment at 9.1% (9.7% excluding the capital), followed by the Pampas region at 7.4%.Patagonia had the lowest at 4.9%. Joblessness was higher for women (9%) than men (7%), with 71.4% of the unemployed having up to hugh-school education.
https://en.mercopress.com/2025/06/20/argentina-unemployment-hits-record-figuresSecurity review launched after activists break into RAF basePalestine Action said the activists evaded security and claimed they had put the air-to-air refuelling tankers "out of service". However, RAF engineers are assessing the damage and a defence source told the BBC they did not expect the incident to affect operations. In a statement, a Palestine Action spokesperson said: "Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US and Israeli fighter jets."
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx24nppdx0lohttps://archive.ph/iuHkQEmployees at firm that supplied grape-pickers for champagne on trial for human traffickingThe workers, from countries including Mali, Mauritania, Ivory Coast and Senegal, were allegedly given too little food – either rice or sandwiches that were rotting. They were said to be transported to vineyards crammed into the back of vans, standing up, with no seats or windows. Some told investigators they worked for 10 hours with only a 30-minute break and were threatened if they wanted to rest or drink water.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/19/grape-pickers-trial-human-trafficking-francePutin says Russia has shared peace proposals with Israel and IranHe said Moscow asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure the security of Russian personnel who are working to construct two more reactors at the nuclear power plant in Iran’s port of Bushehr and that he also raised the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump. “Prime Minister Netanyahu has agreed with that, and President Trump has promised to support our legitimate demands,” Putin said. But he strongly rejected allegations that Moscow has failed to back its ally, Tehran, saying the Kremlin has maintained good ties with both Iran and Israel. He noted that Israel is home to nearly 2 million people from Russia and other former Soviet nations, “a factor that we always have taken into account.”
https://apnews.com/article/russia-putin-ukraine-economy-b4555dfe8cdc05d0e98dc351e5846b67Israeli army attacks cause near-total collapse of internet in Iran, sparking concerns over censorship Leading internet activity monitor NetBlocks announced on Wednesday that Iran is now experiencing a near-total collapse of internet activity, which they linked to ongoing Israeli army attacks. The monitor cited live data from several areas, which showed significant disconnection across the country, which they said meant that internet access had become largely inaccessible.
https://www.newarab.com/news/israeli-attacks-cause-near-total-collapse-internet-iranMaersk temporarily halts operations at Israel's Haifa port after Iran strikes In a statement released on Friday, Maersk said it decided to suspend operations after “careful analysis of threat risk reports in the context of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, specifically regarding the potential risks of calling Israeli ports and the ensuing implications for the safety of our vessel crews”. Maersk said it was in close contact with customers "impacted by this decision and are working to provide alternative transport solutions to minimise disruption".
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/maersk-temporarily-halts-operations-israels-haifa-port-after-iran-strikesThai PM apologises over leaked call with Hun Sen as crisis threatens to topple governmentIn the leaked call, Paetongtarn – daughter of the populist former leader Thaksin Shinawatra – discusses an ongoing border dispute with Hun Sen, who is known to be a friend of her family. In the recording, she can be heard criticising a senior Thai military commander who she said “just wanted to look tough”, describing him as an opponent. Addressing Hun Sen as “uncle”, she adds that if there were anything he wanted to “just let me know, I’ll take care of it”. Paetongtarn told a press conference on Thursday: “I would like to apologise for the leaked audio of my conversation with a Cambodian leader which has caused public resentment.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/20/thai-prime-minister-paetongtarn-shinawatra-apologises-phone-leak-crisis-cambodia-hun-senArmed men in western Niger kill 34 soldiers and wound 14, authorities say Armed men killed 34 soldiers and wounded 14 others in western Niger near the tri-state border with Mali and Burkina Faso, the defense ministry said. The attack was carred out around 9 a.m. Thursday in Banibangou by attackers using eight vehicles and more than 200 motorbikes, the ministry said in a statement.
https://apnews.com/article/niger-attack-jihadism-alqaida-islamic-state-sahel-5b159ad379e7ec76fd16261e10a8ab19