Auto plants in Spain were paralysed and Portugal’s main airport banned planes from refueling Wednesday as a third day of strikes by thousands of truckers caused heightened chaos and shortages. Truckers in Thailand also threatened to strike next week while their counterparts in South Korea plan to stop work on Friday, as the outrage over soaring fuel prices intensified around the world.
Tens of thousands of truck drivers launched stoppages in France, Portugal and Spain on Monday to demand government help to cope with the rising price of fuel caused by rocketing oil prices, which last week reached almost 140 dollars a barrel. The protests have paralysed roads, causing huge tailbacks, notably on the French-Spanish border and around major Spanish cities, and left supermarkets short of fresh produce and some petrol stations without supplies. Two strikers were run over by vehicles and killed at picket lines on Tuesday. The Spanish auto plants of Seat, Nissan, Renault, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Mercedes Benz said they had cut or halted production as the strike left them short of parts. More
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