Boeing’s defence division expanding near St Louis
St Louis — Union members who assemble Boeing’s fighter jets in the St Louis area have “overwhelmingly voted” to reject the company’s contract offer on Sunday, with the company now preparing for an imminent strike.
Boeing’s proposal, which was sent on Tuesday to more than 3,200 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837, included a 20% general wage increase over four years and a $5,000 ratification bonus, as well as more vacation time and sick leave.
Boeing said it was disappointed, and no further talks were planned. Boeing’s defence division is expanding manufacturing facilities in the St Louis area for the new US Air Force fighter, the F-47, after it won the contract earlier this year. Reuters
Thirteen dead in Nigeria boat accident
Abuja — Thirteen people were confirmed dead with dozens more missing after a boat ferrying about 100 passengers capsized on Saturday in Niger state in north-central Nigeria as they headed to market, authorities said on Sunday.
Twenty-six people, mostly women and children, were rescued from the wooden boat, said Yusuf Lemu, an official of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency.
Local official Isiyaku Akilu said the boat driver, who was among those rescued, could not confirm the number of passengers on the boat. It was unclear what caused the accident, he said.
Adamu Ahmad, a member of the boat drivers' union, confirmed that the boat was overloaded. He said it was a large wooden boat and efforts are being made to recover more bodies. Reuters
Iran executes two dissidents for sabotage
Tehran — Iran executed two members of the banned Mujahideen-e-Khalq group for attacking civilian infrastructure with homemade projectiles, the judiciary news outlet Mizan said on Sunday, amid criticism from Amnesty International over a “grossly unfair” trial.
Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani-Eslamloo, identified as “operational elements” of the group, were sentenced to death in September 2024, a verdict upheld by the Supreme Court, which denied their request for a retrial, Mizan said.
The defendants were indicted with “moharebeh” — an Islamic term meaning waging war against God — destroying public property and “membership in a terrorist organisation with the aim of disrupting national security”.
Maryam Rajavi, who leads the National Council of Resistance of Iran of which the Mujahideen-e-Khalq is the main force, hailed their “unwavering resistance under torture, pressure and threats, fulfilled their solemn pledge to God and the people with pride and dignity”. Reuters
Three people killed in train crash in Germany
Berlin — Three people were killed and others seriously injured when a passenger train derailed in southwestern Germany on Sunday, police said in a statement.
There were about 100 people on board, police in the city of Stuttgart said, adding that two carriages had left the tracks between the towns of Riedlingen and Munderkingen.
The train was on a roughly 90 km (55 mile) route between Sigmaringen and Ulm, a police spokesperson said earlier on Sunday. The cause of the crash was under investigation, the police statement said. Reuters
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