New round of strikes in Berlin disrupts public transport

Berlin experienced a new round of transport strikes on Monday, bringing the German capital's public transit system to a standstill and forcing commuters to seek alternative transportation.

The strike, sparked by disputes over higher wages for about 16,000 employees of Berlin's public transport operator BVG (Berlin Transport Company), began at 03:00 on Monday and will last 24 hours.

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New round of strikes in Berlin disrupts public transport

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New round of strikes in Berlin disrupts public transport

Organized by Germany's largest trade union Verdi, the warning strike is set to halt services for trams, underground trains and most buses across the city, putting additional pressure on BVG. This is the second warning strike in less than three weeks.

Tram, underground train, and most bus services will be suspended during the strike, with the exception of the S-Bahn light rail network, causing disruption to public transport.

A visitor from Sweden said he had to delay multiple plans due to the strike.

"In the middle of the night, I was searching for a train, for everything. There was nothing. And then I had to take a taxi. And that's all. I had not suspected that something could happen in Berlin like this, but right now it's only the S-Bahn," he said.

Since Feb 6, several German cities have seen repeated transport strikes at the call of German service industry unions over wage disputes.

On Monday, strikes also affected cities in the states of Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia, heavily restricting public transportation and suspending some train services. Strikes are set to spread to more than 30 other cities and regions across the country from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Over 900 suspected Ebola cases, including 101 confirmed ones, have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on social media on Sunday.

The DRC government announced Saturday that a new wave of Ebola outbreaks has spread further in the country, with all passenger flights being suspended in Bunia, capital of Ituri province in eastern DRC, also one of the hardest-hit areas.

The WHO on Friday raised the public health risk level of the current Ebola outbreak in the DRC from "high" to "very high", as the global risk remains "low".