England's resident doctors start 5-day walkout

Resident doctors, referred to as junior doctors in England started a five-day walkout on Friday to protest the decrease in income caused by rising living costs.

This marks the 13th such strike by doctors in England over the past two years.

The walkout may pose a significant risk of postponements in surgeries and appointments within the Britain's National Health Service (NHS).

The walkout is organized by the British Medical Association (BMA), which emphasized that the strike is not the doctors' preferred course of action. However, prolonged issues and a severe staffing shortage have compelled them to take to the streets once again.

"So there are more doctors in the last year left the NHS than they did in the last decade. They're going to other countries, they're going to other industries here in the UK because they aren't being valued. We think a fair offer which values doctors to keep them in the NHS and also adds more doctors to health system is what patients need," said Jack Fletcher, a doctor.

Resident doctors represent the first step for medical students entering the workforce. However, the continuous rise in living costs has led to dissatisfaction with the income of these young professionals.

This strike is the 13th large-scale action taken by health-care workers in the UK since March 2023, with participation from tens of thousands of BMA resident doctors.

The NHS has stated that it will strive to maintain normal hospital operations. However, the previous strike has resulted in approximately 54,000 cancellation or rescheduling of surgeries and appointments.

This latest strike is projected to cost the UK government around 240 million pounds.

England's resident doctors start 5-day walkout

England's resident doctors start 5-day walkout

England's resident doctors start 5-day walkout

England's resident doctors start 5-day walkout

England's resident doctors start 5-day walkout

Voting in Chile's presidential runoff election opened on Sunday, with leftist candidate Jeannette Jara facing Republican contender Jose Antonio Kast.

According to Chile's Electoral Service, voting began at 08:00 local time (1100 GMT) and will end at 18:00 (2100 GMT) the same day, with more than 15 million registered voters eligible to cast ballots.

In this round of voting, the candidate who receives the most votes will win the election. The president-elect will take office on March 11 next year.

No candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round on Nov. 16, meaning Jara and Kast, who won 26.85 percent and 23.92 percent, respectively, advanced to the runoff.

The two candidates have focused on improving social security, tackling illegal immigration and other issues in a bid to win over voters.

Voting begins in Chilean presidential runoff