Argentina approves labour Bill as thousands take to street in oppositionARGENTINA’S Senate approved a labour law overhaul crucial to President Javier Milei’s shock therapy programme yesterday, after hours of debate unfolded alongside mass protests outside Congress. Thousands of workers mobilised by trade unions converged on Congress on Wednesday, blocking traffic and clashing with police. Security forces fired water cannons and rubber bullets as some protesters lobbed rocks and Molotov cocktails — authorities said they made at least 15 arrests.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/argentina-approves-labour-bill-thousands-take-street-oppositionEcuador military accused of restricting press access; HRW condemnAccording to that report, the head of the Joint Command of Ecuador’s armed forces, Henry Delgado, would have instructed commanders on Jan. 28 to evaluate journalists for any coverage and to avoid accrediting outlets and communicators whose position, in his view, could damage the institution’s image. Goebertus said the measures “filter media by editorial line, punish criticism, seek to control public discourse and censor the press,” and described them as practices typical of institutions that “fear public scrutiny.”
https://en.mercopress.com/2026/02/11/ecuador-military-accused-of-restricting-press-access-hrw-condemnChile impunity fears as riot officer who blinded protester walks freeAfter a 14-month trial, a Santiago court delivered its unanimous verdict last month that Crespo shot and blinded Gatica – but absolved him of any wrongdoing, invoking the principle of legitimate defence. “I am not happy with the outcome,” Gatica told the media outside the courthouse. “I think that it is relevant for the good of democracy that these cases do not result in impunity.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/12/chile-riot-police-blinded-protester-aquittedLufthansa flights in Germany grounded in strike actions Lufthansa said the industrial actions, called by the Vereinigung Cockpit and UFO unions, had led to extensive cancellations, but did not give a specific figure. The two unions had called for the 24-hour walkouts on Tuesday. Vereinigung Cockpit downed tools on flights departing from Germany as part of a dispute over the pension system for pilots at the airline and its Lufthansa Cargo unit.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/lufthansa-flights-germany-grounded-strike-actionsItalian PM vows to secure borders and approves bill allowing naval blockades The bill is the latest step in the crackdown on irregular immigration by Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government, which has included tough measures against charity rescue ships, harsher jail terms for human smugglers and schemes aimed at swiftly repatriating people.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/12/italy-migration-giorgia-meloni-borders-naval-blockades-billMinisters ‘betray’ NHS workers with below-inflation pay award, unions sayMore than 1.4 million NHS nurses, paramedics, midwives and hospital porters will be left worse off by the “act of political cowardice and financial betrayal of NHS workers,” said Unite. The government imposed the pay award recommended by the discredited Pay Review Body (PRB) process which most health unions boycotted in favour of direct talks with the government last September.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/ministers-betray-nhs-workers-below-inflation-pay-award-unions-sayCorbyn alleges UK ‘complicity’ after Streeting’s admission of Gaza abusesIn the trove of messages published by Sky News on Monday – meant to show transparency over Streeting’s own ties to Mandelson – the health secretary argued last year in favour of recognising Palestine as a state. “Morally and politically, I think we need to join France,” Streeting wrote in July 2025. “Morally, because Israel is committing war crimes before our eyes. Their government talks the language of ethnic cleansing and I have met with our own medics out there who describe the most chilling and distressing scenes of calculated brutality against women and children.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/12/corbyn-alleges-uk-complicity-after-streetings-admission-of-gaza-abuseshttps://archive.ph/blpmWMigros warehouse workers’ struggle continues despite Turkish police pressure and dismissalsMigros, which has 3,789 stores and employs approximately 63,000 people including subcontractors, announced that it would give warehouse workers a 28 percent raise. The starting wage at Migros warehouses is 28,000 Turkish Liras (TL), while the average wage is 36,000 TL. As of 2026, the monthly minimum wage in Turkey has been set at 28,000 TL. The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) announced the 2025 inflation rate as 31 percent, while the independent Inflation Research Group (ENAG) said it was 56 percent.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/02/10/ftit-f10.htmlIsraeli president ends a fraught Australia visit to comfort Jews as Gaza war protests followAuthorities estimated 10,000 protesters shut down several downtown Melbourne streets with a rally Thursday evening as Herzog left the country. The largest protest of his visit was mostly peaceful, with only a single demonstrator facing a charge of assaulting a police officer, a police statement said. Earlier, Herzog challenged protesters to target Iran, which he described as an “empire of evil” that had killed tens of thousands of its own citizens.
https://apnews.com/article/australia-israel-president-herzog-melbourne-antisemitism-8729580864d4479a6d0bf065a8d4d475New Zealand’s capital city faces environmental disaster from massive sewage leakBeaches across Wellington’s south coast are closed indefinitely due to bacterial levels far above safe limits. Residents have been warned to avoid the water, not collect shellfish, and keep children and dogs away from the shoreline. Repairs are expected to take months.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/02/11/pvnt-f11.htmlEx-prime minister’s son leads Bangladesh’s first election since 2024 uprising that ousted HasinaOfficial results were expected on Friday but initial projections showed the Bangladesh Nationalist Party leading with 151 seats — enough to have a majority and form a new government with prospects for the BNP’s Tarique Rahman becoming the country’s next leader, according to Dhaka-based Jamuna TV.
https://apnews.com/article/bangladesh-election-hasina-bnp-3662258dc5c44535c839e7bcc4baed43300 million on the streets in a historic national strike in IndiaOne of the major demands of the strike was the withdrawal of the trade deals India has recently agreed to with the US and the EU. The CTUs, SKM, and left parties in India have called the deals a surrender of the country’s sovereignty and harmful to the interests of the millions of farmers in the country as they allow open access of Indian markets to foreign farm products. Another key demand was the withdrawal of the four new labor codes brought by the Modi government despite long term opposition by the trade unions, and withdrawal of a new rural employment guarantee act called the VB GRAM G Act.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2026/02/12/300-million-on-the-streets-in-a-historic-national-strike-in-india/