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Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po stated today (December 14th) that public consultation on the new fiscal years budget is about to begin. One of the key issues will be how to further expand the scope and areas of economic development, accelerate the cultivation and application of innovative technologies, expedite the optimization of the industrial structure, create more high-quality jobs, and add momentum to high-quality development. We look forward to more concrete suggestions from everyone, working together to build a better future for Hong Kong.On December 14, the Sansha Maritime Safety Administration issued a navigation warning stating that rocket debris will fall in certain waters of the South China Sea between 10:15 and 12:15 on December 16, and entry is prohibited.On December 14th, a political funds income and expenditure report revealed that at least five branches of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Mie, Osaka, Yamaguchi, Nagasaki, and Kagoshima prefectures used political funds to pay for entertainment venues such as bars and nightclubs. In 2023, these expenditures totaled approximately 1.11 million yen (about 50,000 yuan). According to regulations, LDP branches are not required to record single political fund expenditures of less than 50,000 yen (about 2,264 yuan), suggesting the actual amount of political funds involved in the alleged misuse may be higher. In response to the allegations, the Osaka branch claimed the expenditures were "intended to create a smooth communication environment." The Mie and Nagasaki branches stated they would strengthen their management.On December 14th, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that two U.S. Army soldiers and one civilian translator were killed and three others wounded in an attack in Syria on December 13th. The Department of Defense stated that the attack was carried out by militants from the extremist group ISIS, and the attackers were killed. In response, U.S. President Trump stated that retaliatory action would be taken. Also on December 13th, Nourdin Baba, a spokesman for the Syrian transitional governments Interior Ministry, said that the gunman who attacked a joint Syrian-U.S. patrol in Homs province in central Syria was a Syrian security officer who may have held extremist views.On December 14th, local time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is preparing for meetings with the United States and European allies in the coming days. He will travel to Berlin to meet with US and European representatives to discuss "building the foundations of peace." Zelenskyy stated that this series of consultations is "decisive" for Ukraine, and that Ukraines core objective is "to achieve a decent and just peace." Earlier that day, Germany announced that it would host a US and Ukrainian delegation on the 14th to hold talks on issues such as the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire and to prepare for the summit of European leaders, including Zelenskyy, to be held in Berlin on the 15th. According to previous reports, US Presidential Envoy Witkov and former White House senior advisor Jared Kushner have already departed for Germany to meet with Zelenskyy and other European leaders.

Amazon union vote counts are scheduled on Thursday; turnout in Alabama has decreased

Haiden Holmes

Mar 31, 2022 10:40

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Reuters reports that On Thursday afternoon, labor board authorities anticipate to begin tallying ballots cast by Amazon.com Inc warehouse employees in New York City and Alabama in separate races that will determine if Amazon sees a U.S. workplace unionize for the first time.


Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama, voted in a re-election after rejecting joining the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) by a more than 2-to-1 majority last year. After discovering that Amazon had tampered with the vote, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ordered a rerun.


The RWDSU reported on Wednesday that voter turnout in Alabama was down from last year. In the current election, around 39 percent of the 6,143 employees authorized to receive postal votes voted, down from more than 50 percent in 2021.


Workers in New York City's Staten Island borough had several hours remaining to vote on Wednesday, although turnout was not yet known.


The counts for Bessemer and Staten Island are provisionally slated to begin at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, but that might change, according to an NLRB representative. Counting might take many days.


According to John Logan, a labor expert at San Francisco State University, the low participation may speak well for Amazon's union supporters.


"Supporters are more likely to be strong union voters," he added, adding that generalization was difficult. "Even a close election will be a type of morale booster and moral win for the RWDSU."


Amazon forwarded questions about the vote count and turnout to the National Labor Relations Board.


Parties in the Bessemer election, according to the RWDSU, have disputed hundreds of votes as invalid for counting, citing, for example, voters' employment dates, job classification, or other concerns.


These issues will be resolved once the remaining votes are tallied, and they have the potential to change the result of a tight election.

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