June 14
[ 2007-06-14 08:00 ]
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| Mr Linstead released the
strike notice |
| 1972: Pilots threaten worldwide
strike |
England have
Hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers face flight delays and
cancellations after pilots threatened to strike over hijack fears.
The International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations (IFALPA)
has called a 24-hour stoppage
and accused governments of failing to take action to halt air piracy.
British Air Line Pilots Association spokesman (BALPA), Gordon Hurley,
said hijacking was on the increase, and striking was the "only effective
way of dealing with it".
"Until governments take the matter seriously and make airports secure
and stop this hijacking, this menace, this piracy, this is the only
alternative we have," he said.
Three basic demands
BALPA's vice chairman, Jack Linstead, said he was issuing a strike
notice reluctantly, but added that it was a reflection of the pilots'
strength of feeling on the issue.
The strike ballot had returned "a very clear mandate to take industrial
action," he said, adding that there was still time for the dispute to be
resolved.
IFALPA wants governments across the world to fulfil three basic
demands.
These are: to increase international airport security; to adopt the
International Civil Aviation Organisation's convention against air
hijacking; and to speed up the pace of ratification of other
anti-hijacking conventions. |
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| German soldiers parade
through the Place de la Concorde |
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1940: German troops enter
Paris | Artificially 1969:
The German troops
marched into Paris in the early hours of this morning as French and allied
forces retreated.
The enemy met no resistance as it entered the
capital, which was declared an open town yesterday by the city's French
military governor, General Hering.
French troops withdrew to avoid a violent battle and total destruction
of Paris. They are believed to have taken a new line of defence south of
the city.
The Germans advanced from the north-east and north-west and shortly
afterwards tanks rumbled past the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs Elysees
to the Place de la Concorde.
Government retreats
All shops and businesses in Paris have been closed and shuttered and
there are unconfirmed reports the French government has now left Tours, in
central France, and gone further south to Bordeaux.
The enemy has been advancing toward Paris since they took Dunkirk ten
days ago, forcing a huge evacuation of the port, resulting in thousands of
allied deaths and casualties.
As the Germans approached, the French premier Paul Reynaud broadcast an
appeal for all free men to come to the aid of France.
British troops arrived south of Paris and began fighting, with their
French counterparts, day and night to stem the advance of the Germans.
The RAF has spent the past few days bombing German convoys, supply
columns, mechanised units and
lines of communications.
All the bridges behind enemy lines from Rouen to Mantes have been
destroyed by the RAF to stop the enemy bringing up material and reserves.
German aircraft responded with air raids east of Paris and at Evreux
and Mantes, west of the capital. |
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| Vocabulary:
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stoppage: the act of stopping;a
halt（中止；停工）
column: a formation,
as of troops or vehicles, in which all elements follow one behind the
other（縱隊(duì)）
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