Main world news of the week March 27 — April 2
Ursula von der Leyen may become the new NATO head
Several NATO member states have backed the candidacy of the president of the European Commission for the post of secretary general. The term of the current secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, ends in September of this year.
Technically, there are no elections for the new head of the bloc. It is appointed by the countries of the alliance as a result of negotiations. And this could be a risk for Mrs. von der Leyen.
Experts believe that Britain will veto her candidacy, arguing that her achievements as Germany's defense minister are questionable. Britain is much more willing to support its representative, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.
However, there is one more alternative. Theoretically, the countries of the alliance could extend Stoltenberg's term of office until April 2024. In total, he held his post for almost 9 years and received three mandate extensions.
Strikes in Germany and Israel
Major national disturbances erupted in two countries. Following France, people took to the streets in Germany. However, unlike the French, the Germans are protesting not against the pension reform, but because of the lack of progress in the revision of working conditions.
On March 27, almost all employees of the transportation system went on a warning strike. This paralyzed airports, train stations, and river stations. Luxembourg was also affected - the Grand Duchy missed out on some of the raw materials for the steel industry supplied by the rivers.
Unionists and strikers want a wage increase of 10 percent at once. This is the biggest strike in Germany since 1992.
Israel is also on strike this week. People once again took to the streets to show their opposition to the country's judicial reforms.
The new regulations would greatly expand the government's power over the branch of the judiciary. If passed, it would allow the appointment of proxies to the Supreme Court and, according to the opposition, would significantly affect the principles of equality in the country.
The mass protests, in which more than 40,000 people took to the streets of cities, led the Israeli president and the head of the Israeli opposition to call on Prime Minister Netanyahu to abandon the reform immediately.
Unknown disease in the U.S.
The seven experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have contracted an unidentified disease. All were on the research team inspecting and treating homes in the town of East Palestine after the Feb. 3 train wreck.
Back then, as a result of wrecking and burning wagons, large amounts of hazardous chemicals were released into the soil, air, and local rivers. U.S. officials assured us that the chemicals were not hazardous to human health. A few days later, however, people began complaining of a sore throat, coughing, nausea, and migraine attacks.
The CDC also reported that 7 out of 15 experts who worked at the scene of the accident had identical symptoms. However, according to the CDC, the symptoms disappeared the next day and the experts had already returned to work.
