Greek truck drivers refuse to deliver fuel

STOP RISING FUEL PRICES NOW!

] Spanish fisherman say almost the entire Spanish fleet, the largest in Europe, remained in port on Friday. Trawlers and larger commercial boats also remained docked at ports across Portugal. And in Italy, about 12,000 fisherman joined the strike. French fisherman have already been on strike for two weeks, at times blocking oil terminals and disrupting shipping traffic. In Madrid Friday, fishermen gathered outside the Environment, Agriculture and Fishing Ministry, where they handed out more than 20 tons of free fish to try to win public support. The fisherman say rapidly rising fuel costs are threatening their livelihoods. Spanish Economy Minister Pedro Solbes told reporters Friday the government is looking into ways to help the fishermen but can not cut fuel taxes. [url:
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-05-30-voa50.cfm[/url]

] Truckers and taxi drivers slowed traffic around Paris' business district to a crawl Tuesday in a protest over rising fuel prices, and hundreds of fishermen demonstrated in London to demand government help. Dozens of trucks and taxis in Paris drove slowly toward and around the headquarters of oil giant Total SA in La Defense, site of the main financial district, to protest a new tax on heavily polluting vehicles. Authorities said the operation snarled traffic on several highways. Farmers elsewhere in France blocked ports and oil terminals as part of protests started by fishermen last month demanding government aid to help compensate for high fuel costs. Fishermen from around the United Kingdom demonstrated in central London on Tuesday to demand their government’s help in coping with soaring fuel prices. Hundreds of fishermen gathered outside the London headquarters of the department responsible for food, seeking financial support for an industry they say is especially vulnerable to rising fuel costs. Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organizations, said the cost of fuel for fishing boats was making it impossible for many in the industry to keep going. “Boats are going out to sea and fish for five days in terrible conditions and we’re not getting enough to even pay our crews," he said. World oil prices have been climbing for months, and topped $135 a barrel on May 22. They have since fallen slightly but remain at near-record levels. [url:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/03/world/main4149995.shtml[/url]

] Protests broke out in India and Malaysia on Thursday as consumers reacted angrily to sharp fuel price hikes that could undermine governments in both countries. With global oil prices soaring, authorities in the two countries said a day earlier they were slashing fuel subsidies that were draining government coffers. In Malaysia, gasoline pump prices jumped 41 percent overnight and diesel prices surged a stunning 67 percent. The gasoline price hike in India, the second this year, was smaller _ about 11 percent in the capital, New Delhi _ but will still weigh on consumers. India also raised prices on diesel and cooking gas. The most pronounced protests were in India’s West Bengal state, where schools and businesses were closed and flights and trains canceled. Shops were also shuttered and roads emptied in the southern state of Kerala, with protests also reported in the central city of Indore. India’s communist parties, which control both Kerala and West Bengal, have called for a week of protests across the country, saying import duties on oil should be further cut instead of raising retail prices. In Malaysia, long lines of vehicles formed at gasoline stations overnight to fill up before midnight when the new pricing came into effect, and brawls broke out as some motorists tried to cut in line. On Thursday, gas stations were mostly deserted. The opposition Democratic Action Party staged a small protest in downtown Kuala Lumpur and vowed more rallies to demand the government back down from the plan. “There is a sense of public outrage ... both on the increase and the manner in which it was done," said DAP chief Lim Kit Siang. But many Malaysians appeared resigned to the cut in fuel subsidies. More [url:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/05/ap/world/main4155978.shtml[/url]

See also: Oil barrels back in $5 surge June 5, 2008: Oil surges more than $5; Crude responds to the dollar’s drop as the European Central Bank president suggests a rate hike that would strengthen the euro.

] Oil prices rose back above $128 a barrel Thursday after the dollar fell in response to comments by European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet suggesting the bank could raise interest rates. At the pump, meanwhile, gas prices rose to a new record near $3.99, and appeared likely to hit $4 soon. Light, sweet crude for July delivery rose as high as $128.26 before retreating slightly to settle up $5.49 at $127.79 on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), easily regaining all ground lost earlier in the week. Thursday’s price rise marked the biggest one-day gain in dollar terms on record, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and Nymex. In percentage terms, crude rose 4.49%, which was not a record. The largest percentage gain came on March 23, 1998, when oil prices rose 15.29% to $16.51 a barrel, according to EIA. Dollar vs. oil: Trichet spoke after the ECB left a key interest rate unchanged amid concerns about inflation. While Trichet said a change in rates was not a certainty, he said some of the bank’s governors favor an increase. “Oil, which was very weak, rallied on those comments," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago. “They’re out of step with the U.S., which is weakening the dollar." [url=http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/05/markets/oil_prices.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008060515:
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] Some 90,000 hauliers stopped work at midnight on Sunday (2200 GMT) and are expected to stage blockades and demonstrations in coming days. Reports suggest traffic between Spain and France has been disrupted. The Spanish government says it is preparing a package of measures to assist the transport sector. These measures include emergency loans, more flexible contracts and cash payments to older lorry drivers who are willing to retire. Wide support Most of the hauliers are self-employed, or working for small and medium-sized haulage companies, and they have warned that supermarkets will run out of goods within days. They are receiving strike support from counterparts in south-eastern France, who had threatened to disrupt the flow of traffic along one of the main border routes into Spain. A police spokesman in the province of Gerona told Spanish news agency Efe that cross border traffic is completely blocked. The drivers want the Spanish government to establish, by law, a minimum price for their services, and to ensure that haulage contracts better reflect the fluctuating cost of fuel. Their strike follows action by hauliers in France and other European countries. They are following the lead of Spanish fishermen, many of whom are already on strike because of soaring fuel costs. Fishermen in the northern regions of Galicia and Cantabria are expected to join the strike on Monday. [url:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/europe/7443257.stm[/url]

See also: Asian markets fall on oil price, economic woes... Asian markets fall on oil prices worries 9 June `08 - Indian stock index down 3.6 percent tracking Wall Street’s losses

] Asian stock markets fell sharply Monday, tracking Wall Street’s losses amid growing concern over record oil prices and sluggishness in the U.S. economy. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 308.06, or 2.1 percent, to 14,181.38. Markets in South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and New Zealand were all down 1 percent or more. Indian shares were hardest hit, with the benchmark Sensex falling as much as 4.4 percent before recovering some. By midday, it was down 3.6 percent at 15,023.21. Investors were spooked after figures released Friday showed the U.S. jobless rate jumped from 5 percent to 5.5 percent in May, the biggest gain in more than 20 years — stoking fears about the health of the world’s largest economy and a vital Asian export market. [url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25049570/:
Alarming oil prices[/url]

] The protest over soaring fuel costs began at midnight Sunday. Antonio Onieva, president of Madrid’s station owners organization, told reporters that by 5:30 p.m., 15 percent of the capital’s outlets had run out of fuel. Manuel Amado, president of Catalonia’s owners' federation, said 40 percent of Catalonia’s 1,714 stations had sold out. The stoppage led to lengthy lines at many gasoline stations across the country as drivers rushed to fill up. Truckers also blocked a number of roads around the country, including some leading into the center of Barcelona and the international border with France. “We are the ones who move the goods that this country needs to keep working. If we stop because we haven’t got the money to buy fuel then the country will stop," Julio Villascusa, president of the transport association Fenadismer, told Cadena SER radio. Fenadismer said more than 90,000 drivers have been called to take part in the strike. The strike was not expected to have a major effect on city food markets until later in the week. There was almost no movement of trucks early Monday at Mercamadrid, the main wholesale food market for the Spanish capital. [url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1812886,00.html?xid=feed-rss-netzero:
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] The planned halt in fuel deliveries could affect up to 10 percent of U.K.'s gas stations. Brown assured Britons emergency measures have been put in place to ensure fuel would still be available to drivers. A spokesman of Brown said, “The most responsible thing the public can do is to continue to buy as normal." Among the measures being implemented are for Shell service stations on two highways, Fleet on M3 and Taunton Deane on M5, to carry sufficient supply of fuel at all times. Brown has the option of exercising extra powers provided by the 1976 Energy Act, if the fuel crisis would worsen. Unite, the truck drivers' union, is slated to meet with haulers in an attempt to negotiate their demand for a 13 percent salary increase. Brown’s spokesman added, “We do not believe that any strike action is justified because that would disproportionately impact on the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in the country not involved in this dispute." [url:
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011227457[/url]

See also: Spain, Portugal Truckers' Strike Turns Violent, Kills Two Picketers Two striking truck drivers died in Portugal and Spain while one picketer was injured as protests against high fuel cost in the two countries turned violent on Tuesday.

] A 52-year-old Portuguese driver who climbed a truck to prevent it from passing through a strikers' barricade fell under the wheels and died near Alcanena in northern Lisbon. A striking Spanish driver was run over by a non-striking truck driver while manning a picket line in Granada. The driver was arrested. In the port of Motril near Granada, police clashed with picketers trying to prevent tankers from delivering fuel cargo to petrol stations, injuring one of the strikers. One picketer was detained by police and two other strikers were arrested in Irun at the French border for puncturing lorry tires to prevent the trucks from operating. The Spanish truckers' strike started on Monday with picketers using trucks to block roads in major cities. The blockade caused traffic jams up to 10 kilometers long and shortage of fuel and food supplies in petrol stations and supermarkets. The strikers are demanding cuts in fuel taxes and the imposition of a minimum price for fuel. The government is offering lower social security payments and financial facilities for retiring drivers. [url:
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011232481[/url]

] At least 87 percent of all containers in Busan, South Korea’s largest port city, were locked down Thursday. Busan’s seven ports handle 76 percent of all South Korea’s shipping. The strike was called by the Korea Cargo Transport Workers Union who accused the government of inadequately dealing with the rising price of crude oil. It urged all members to march the streets Friday to dramatize their discontent. On Sunday, the government announced it will earmark at least $9.77 billion in the next two years as part of a comprehensive policy package to assist its citizens mitigate the effects of rising fuel cost. The 13,000-strong union on Monday unanimously approved launching a strike. Union leader Kim Dal-shik was quoted by Xinhuanet as saying,“We plan to hold further negotiations with the government and cargo owners until Thursday, and if the negotiations fail, it will engage in industrial action the next day." Strikers want the government to lower the cost of diesel, increase hauling fees and introduce a standard price system for truckers. [url:
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011256811[/url]

] Hundreds of tractors clogged traffic as they converged on Brussels, while truckers and taxi drivers staged a go-slow on the city’s inner ring road. The protests came a day before European Union leaders meet in the city to discuss how to tackle the high cost of oil. Amid growing anger at the price of fuel, protests by truckers, fishermen and others have erupted from Spain to India, South Korea and Nepal in recent weeks. A fuel protest two weeks ago by French and Italian fishermen in Brussels turned violent, while British truckers jammed a major highway leading into London. “The cost of petrol is so high that we have nothing left to live on. It represents 47 percent of our income," said Marc Thomas, a self-employed truck driver in Brussels. Belgian farmers say rising fuel prices are driving up costs while global competition is cutting the price of their products. “We have had it up to here. We just can’t make ends meet with the prices at which we sell our products," said Anne-Marie Tasiaux, head of a regional farmers' union which distributed free milk and eggs to passers-by in the centre of Brussels. [url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/europe/2008/06/19/161632/Fuel%2Dprice.htm:
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