General strike paralyzes India

The General Strike called by the ten largest central trade unions CTU’s on Tuesday, September 2 was a tumultuous success. The trade union and communist leaders who had anticipated a maximum of one hundred million workers participating in the strike were flabbergasted at the sight of more than 150 million coming out on a total one-day general strike that paralyzed India. CPI General secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said, “Great success I should say. [The response] was more than expected. It is one of the biggest a

Source: General strike paralyzes India

Germany, Austria welcome thousands of Syrian refugees – NY Daily News

Germany is bracing for roughly 800,000 migrants from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.The offer of assistance from Germany and Austria was hailed by the global human rights group Amnesty International. “After endless examples of shameful treatment by governments of refugees and migrants in Europe, it is a relief to finally see a sliver of humanity,” said the group’s deputy director for Europe, Gauri van Gulik. “The pragmatic and human approach applied here should become the rule, not the exception.”Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose nation was overrun by migrants who tied up traffic and mass transit, said many of the travelers are not even from war-torn regions. “They just want to live the kind of life that we have,” said Orban. “And I understand that, but this is impossible. If we let everybody in, it’s going to destroy Europe.”As quickly as the migrants were moved to other nations, they continued to pour into Hungary. Travelers still heading west arrived in Budapest soon after the others departed. In what was billed as a one-time deal, the government provided 90 buses to transport the migrants out of Hungary.When Hungarian officials announced the end of the free rides to the Austrian border, the determined migrants simply set out on foot. About 300 started walking from the main train station in Budapest, while another 200 set off from a refugee camp near the city of Gyor.Wassim al-Hassan, who traveled by boat from Syria to Greece, was among those walking away from the station. “The Hungarian police will not let us get on trains to Austria,” said the 29-year-old mechanical engineer. “We are going by foot, and hoping we will be picked up by buses.”Anti-immigrant authorities in Hungary have struggled to handle the massive influx, futilely trying to require each person to report to a government-run refugee center and apply for asylum as required by the 28-member European Union. With News Wire Services

Source: Germany, Austria welcome thousands of Syrian refugees – NY Daily News

Kentucky gay marriage row: Rally for jailed clerk Kim Davis – BBC News

Hundreds gather in support of a county clerk in the state of Kentucky jailed for refusing to issue marriage licences to gay couples.

Source: Kentucky gay marriage row: Rally for jailed clerk Kim Davis – BBC News