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North American Edition
19th November 2025
 
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THE HOT STORY

Airlines eye push to pay controllers during future shutdowns

Airlines for America (A4A), representing major U.S. carriers, will urge Congress to permanently prevent aviation disruptions during government shutdowns by ensuring pay for air traffic controllers and key Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) staff. In a Senate hearing, A4A CEO Chris Sununu will cite the recent 43-day shutdown that disrupted 6m passengers and 50,000 flights, calling it a “serious safety, human and economic” issue. FAA-imposed flight cuts on 40 airports caused 7,100 cancellations. Nick Daniels of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association will also support legislation, stressing families should not bear the cost of political gridlock. The FAA remains 3,500 controllers short of staffing targets.
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STRATEGY

WHO to shed over 2,000 jobs by mid-2026

The Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) forecasts that its workforce will shrink by 2,371 posts by June 2026 after Donald Trump withdrew the US from the agency. “This year has been one of the most difficult in WHO’s history, as we have navigated a painful but necessary process of prioritisation and realignment that has resulted in a significant reduction in our global workforce,” said Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a message to staff, adding that the process was now nearing an end. “We are now preparing to move forward with our reshaped and renewed Organisation,” he added.
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WORKFORCE

Spirit workers accept pay cuts in deal

Spirit Airlines has reached tentative agreements with its pilot and flight attendant unions for pay and benefit cuts as part of its Chapter 11 restructuring. The Air Line Pilots Association agreed to an 8% pay cut and reduced retirement contributions from 16% to 8%, with gradual restorations starting in 2028. Flight attendants will retain base pay and healthcare, but overtime and ground holding pay will be trimmed, with improvements set for 2027. The agreements, pending member and court approval, will take effect in 2026 and revert to original terms once the airline posts a 7.5% pre-tax margin over three quarters.
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TECHNOLOGY

Microsoft launches tool to help companies manage AI agents

Microsoft has introduced Agent 365, a management platform for businesses to oversee AI agents - automated programs that are expected to reach 1.3bn in use by 2028. The tool allows IT staff to monitor, secure, and control AI agents across platforms including Microsoft and Salesforce. Agents can be quarantined if they misbehave or pose cybersecurity risks. “Business leaders want to measure ROI and manage these agents just like employees,” said Judson Althoff, Microsoft’s commercial CEO. While some firms have seen success with AI agents, others have faced implementation challenges, raising concerns about the technology’s maturity and the potential for an AI market bubble.

Outage at Cloudflare disrupts internet services

Web infrastructure company Cloudflare said it experienced problems across its network on Tuesday, curtailing access to some popular websites. In a statement, the firm said it had seen "a spike in unusual traffic to one of Cloudflare's services" on Tuesday morning, which had caused errors for traffic passing through its network. Impacted companies included social media platform X, ChatGPT, Shopify, Dropbox, Coinbase, and Moody's.
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ECONOMY

Consumers face rising utility costs

An analysis by The Century Foundation reveals that utility bill delinquencies in the U.S. have increased by 9.7% annually, reaching $789. This rise coincides with a 12% increase in monthly energy costs. Julie Margetta Morgan, president of the think tank, noted that consumers typically prioritize utility payments. Nearly 6m households face severe utility debt, risking collection agency involvement. Mike Pierce, executive director of Protect Borrowers, said: "Voters are frustrated and families are hurting." The Trump administration claims it is not responsible for rising utility prices, attributing them to state regulations.
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SUSTAINABILITY

Momentum grows at COP30 for 'road map' to quit fossil fuels

Almost 20 government ministers and more than 80 countries at the UN COP30 climate summit in Brazil have called on the almost 200 nations to sign up for a 'road map' away from fossil fuel use. Supporters said that none of the options to accelerate the shift included in a draft agreement were sufficient, and they called on Brazil to do more. Panama’s climate envoy, Juan Carlos Monterrey Gómez, told the Financial Times that any road map would need a “lot of flexibility” to allow for the different circumstances of countries.
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INTERNATIONAL

New Zealand's top court says Uber drivers are employees

New Zealand’s Supreme Court has sided with a lower court’s ruling that drivers of Uber should be treated as employees. The country's highest court unanimously dismissed the rideshare company’s appeal of a 2022 ruling by the Employment Court, which had said four Uber drivers were employees of the business rather than contractors. The Workers First Union said the judgement "paves the way for thousands of Workers First Union members to pursue full employment rights, including restitution for historic underpayment of wages and entitlements," and that it would now be advancing collective bargaining.

Vietnam to raise minimum wage by 7%

Vietnam - which Reuters notes is a regional manufacturing hub with cheap labor costs that attract foreign investors - is to raise the minimum wage by 7% in the new year. The new monthly minimum wage will range from 3.7m dong to 5.31m dong ($141-$202) per month, depending on region. Vietnam last raised its minimum wage a year and a half ago.

The key role of nomadic women in Iran

Nomadic women are vital to Iran's tribal communities, contributing to social and economic sustainability, Deputy Cultural Heritage Minister Ali Darabi has said. At a recent gathering focused on developing entrepreneurial skills, Darabi highlighted these women's role as guardians of culture and essential support for nomadic societies. He noted a 2024 project aimed at empowering these women in West and Central Asia, which included documenting traditional knowledge and integrating it into policymaking. “We believe that sustainable development emerges from within culture and from the heart of living communities,” Darabi said. “It is time for indigenous knowledge and climate wisdom, alongside modern science, to be placed at the center of the country's development and cultural policymaking.”

Kela director apologizes over worker comments

Lasse Lehtonen, the Director General of the Social Insurance Institution (Kela), the government agency that provides basic economic security for everyone living in Finland, has apologized for comments that offended staff. In an interview with Helsingin Sanomat, Lehtonen suggested that it is a job seekers' market, and Kela has "no particular need to retain its staff until the very last minute." During an ensuing board meeting, he acknowledged that his remarks about the job market and staff retention were inappropriate. "My comments have not shown the respect that the professionals working at Kela deserve, and for that I apologize," a statement from Lehtonen read. He noted that the agency will continue to discuss the matter with its employees.
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OTHER

Cost of a Thanksgiving dinner down 5% from 2024

The cost of a classic Thanksgiving dinner for ten has fallen 5% from 2024 to $55.18, marking a third consecutive annual decline, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. This year’s drop, driven by steep discounting on turkey, down 16.3%, brings the total to its lowest since 2021, although prices for half the meal’s components – including sweet potatoes and frozen peas – have risen, by 37% and 17.2% respectively. The total remains 13% higher than in 2019, before pandemic-driven inflation.
 
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