German cabin crew calls for Lufthansa strikes

Germany’s Independent Flight Attendants’ Organization said Thursday that it will launch a series of strikes in July against Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.XE) and its subsidiary airlines as part of a wider wage dispute with the German airline.

The organization, known as UFO, said strike votes will first be carried out in Lufthansa’s Eurowings and Germanwings subsidiaries beginning next week. A strike vote for the Lufthansa parent company will be held after the union finalizes its wage demands, it said.

UFO is the union for flight cabin crew members in Germany and represents more than 30,000 cabin crew workers nationwide. The union said it most recently met in February with Lufthansa, which announced last Friday that all talks with UFO across the company had ended.

"Lufthansa has managed to consciously escalate wage disputes with their employees, against all reason and shareholders’ interests," UFO Deputy Chairman Daniel Flohr said. "The conclusive rejection of all discussions with UFO is merely the tip of the iceberg."

The first strike votes will be held beginning next week and last for two weeks, it said. UFO said it will name the first concrete strike dates–which will still be in July–after voting has concluded.

Russia to release 100 illegally captured whales

Russian officials have launched an operation to release nearly 100 illegally captured whales whose confinement in Russia’s far east has become a rallying cry for environmentalists.

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A state TV reporter made the announcement during President Vladimir Putin’s live Q&A show on Thursday, saying that by “coincidence” the operation began just before the start of the show.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Gordeyev said during the show that the operation to fully re-introduce the mammals back into the wild would take at least four months.

The condition of whales kept in cramped conditions in Russia’s far east has drawn international concern, and Putin personally ordered authorities to investigate the case and release the animals.

Russian prosecutors have brought criminal charges against four companies keeping the whales.

Hong Kongers protest extradition bill through art

Art as a form of protest has been important to this campaign as it was to the so-called Occupy movement five years ago.

Protesters in Hong Kong have threatened to take to the streets again if the government does not fully meet their demands.

And while memories of the massive crowds that took to the city’s streets last week are still fresh, there was also a quieter side to the demonstrations.

Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride reports.

Trump supporters build private US-Mexico border wall

Grassroots conservative group in US raises millions of dollars on private land to build border wall to deter migrants.

US President Donald Trump’s promise to build a wall along the US-Mexico border using military money has been halted by a judge, who says it is unconstitutional.

But that hasn’t deterred a conservative group who’ve taken matters into their own hands by building their own barrier. And they say it has Trump’s blessing.

Al Jazeera’s Heidi Zhou-Castro reports from Juarez, Mexico

Kroger Co. Q1 adjusted earnings Inline With Estimates

Kroger Co. (KR) reported a profit for first quarter that declined from the same period last year.

The company’s profit totaled $772 million, or $0.95 per share. This compares with $2026 million, or $2.37 per share, in last year’s first quarter.

Excluding items, Kroger Co. reported adjusted earnings of $586 million or $0.72 per share for the period.

Analysts had expected the company to earn $0.72 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

The company’s revenue for the quarter fell 1.2% to $37.25 billion from $37.72 billion last year.

Kroger Co. earnings at a glance:

-Earnings (Q1): $586 Mln. vs. $626 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q1): $0.72 vs. $0.73 last year.
-Analysts Estimate: $0.72
-Revenue (Q1): $37.25 Bln vs. $37.72 Bln last year.

-Guidance:
Full year EPS guidance: $2.15 – $2.25

U.S. current-account deficit falls 9.4% in first quarter

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The U.S. current-account deficit, a measures of the nation’s debt to other countries, fell 9.4% in the first quarter mostly because of a smaller deficit in goods. The current-account deficit shrank to $130.4 billion from a revised $143.9 billion in the fourth quarter. The deficit in goods declined to $216.5 billion from $232.3 billion, reflecting ongoing trade wars and slower global growth. The current account reveals if a country is a net lender or debtor. The current account deficit was equal to 2.5% of GDP in the first quarter, down from a six-year high of 2.8% at the end of 2018. It’s still well below a peak of 6.3% in 2005, however.

What China's youth thinks about America

Chinese citizens weigh in on the US, trade tensions

FBN’s Connell McShane on talks to people in China about the country’s trade war with the U.S.

Has China become anti-American because of escalating trade tensions? Not so far.

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FOX Business, this week, asked Chinese citizens to explain their views on America as trade negotiations between the two largest economies in the world remained strained.  Some people, especially younger generations, still look at the country with admiration.

“America is the biggest developed country and China is the biggest developing country. So the relationship between them will be important in the world. I don’t think this kind of trade war will affect the lives of people…It’s kind of political stuff,” a woman told Connell McShane who is reporting from China this week.

Chinese students, who welcome the opportunity to study in America, are also watching the trade situation in hopes it won't limit these opportunities. Another woman McShane spoke with said she was worried that the trade war would place more limits on students from China coming to study in the United States.

WATCH: CHINA CAN 'VERY EASILY WIPE OUT' US RAILROAD SYSTEM, REP. GARAMENDI WARNS

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China’s population grew to 1.4 billion in 2017.

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