Briefly

UNITED KINGDOM

Union warns of biggest rail strike in decades

Britain's railway network is facing its biggest strike action in more than three decades later this month in a row over pay as inflation erodes earnings, a union has announced. Rail union RMT said more than 50,000 workers will take part in a three-day national strike coinciding with major events including the Glastonbury music festival, an Elton John concert and an England cricket match. The strikes are planned for June 21, 23 and 25, the biggest dispute on Britain's railway network since 1989, according to the RMT.Transport Secretary Grant Shapps described the move as "incredibly disappointing". The British capital was hit by a Tube strike on Monday, while the country faces further travel disruptions as UK airlines cancel flights on a daily basis owing to a lack of staff.

FRANCE

Eight on trial for stealing Banksy from attack site

Seven Frenchmen and an Italian were scheduled to go on trial in Paris on Wednesday for stealing a work by graffiti artist Banksy that had been sprayed onto an emergency door of the Bataclan theater in Paris to honor victims of the November 2015 attacks. In June 2018, Banksy created a mural of a veiled female figure in a mournful pose on a fire exit door of the concert venue, where 90 people were killed in attacks by Islamist gunmen that caused 130 fatalities in Paris and its outskirts. The door, stolen in January 2019, was found in 2020 in a farmhouse by the Italian police and given back to France. Banksy, whose real identity is unknown, has become one of the most well-known personalities of the modern art scene with a series of inspired works in public places that combine street art techniques with topical themes.

Agencies via Xinhua