Strikes bring German railways to standstill, hit 4 airports

BERLIN (AP) — An eight-hour strike has brought Germany’s railways to a standstill, while walkouts also are underway at four major German airports in a parallel pay dispute. The EVG rail workers union called for members to walk out between 3 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Friday. Germany’s main train operator, state-owned Deutsche Bahn, announced shortly after that call on Wednesday that it was canceling long-distance services and that most regional trains also would be canceled. Another union, ver.di, called security and service workers at Duesseldorf, Cologne-Bonn and Hamburg airports out on strike on Thursday and Friday. Stuttgart airport was also affected on Friday, with all departures canceled.