FRANCE

Taxis gathered early on Monday morning, blocking the roads near the city's main airports, Charles de Gaulle and Orly, as well as around the business district of La Défense.

The result was car chaos as traffic jams also grew around Boulevard Raspail in central Paris and commuters struggled to get into the French capital. 

A “go-slow” protest was also being held on the A4, beginning at Lognes, a town in the greater Paris region of Ile-de-France, while on the A106 an estimated 200 taxis were protesting at Chevilly-Larue and there were about 50 taxis at Chilly-Mazarin.

So, what's the protest all about?

The taxi drivers, driving instructors and ambulance workers are voicing their opposition to the LOM  - the new transport law currently under consideration in the French parliament.

A spokesperson for the taxi division of the SUD union, Adil Karami told the French press that the new law would "destroy the balance between traditional taxis and private minicabs (VTCs)."

Karim Asnoun from the taxi division of the hard left CGT union said the new law "plans to give VTCs the same rights of taxis, such as the freedom to use bus lanes and social security agreements without subjecting them to the same constraints."

www.thelocal.fr
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BERLIN (AP) — New parents got the fright of their lives in Germany after accidentally forgetting their newborn in the taxi taking them home from hospital.

Hamburg police said Monday that the couple took the baby's one-year-old sibling out of the car, paid the driver and said goodbye — then realized someone was missing as the taxi pulled away.

Dad's attempt to catch the cab on foot failed and the driver, unaware of his sleeping stowaway, parked the taxi in an underground garage to go for lunch.

It wasn't until the driver picked up a fare at the airport that the underage passenger made its presence known.

The driver swiftly called police and after a quick check-up from an ambulance crew the baby and its grateful parents were reunited.

https://thepublicsradio.org
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DUBLIN HAILO DRIVER

A TAXI DRIVER who sexually assaulted three young women in Dublin over little more than a fortnight has been jailed for five years.

Mansoor Uddin, 41, of Castleway, Adamstown, Lucan, previously pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to carrying out the trio of attacks between January 30, 2016 and February 16, 2016.

The father-of-three had his taxi licence revoked after he admitted to the charges back in February this year.

His sentencing was adjourned until this month as a previously ordered psychological report has not been completed.

Handing Uddin a five-year prison sentence today, Judge Sinéad Ní Chulacháin said she considered the vulnerability of his victims and the element of "planned targeting" involved in reaching her judgement.

She also referred to the fact that the Pakistan native refused to stop his taxi when asked and carried out the attacks in places where he knew help was not at hand.

Fortnight of attacks

The court previously heard how Uddin's first victim, a 19-year-old German national, continually pushed his hand away as he rubbed her knee and leg while driving.

He also touched her chest area and rubbed her cheek, telling her that she was "the most beautiful girl of the night" and had "a beautiful heart".

The woman bit Uddin's finger when he touched her face and told him she wanted to get out of the taxi before escaping.

The second victim, a 20-year-old woman, got into Uddin’s cab in an upset state having had an argument with her boyfriend.

He wiped away her tears and rubbed her face and lip before brushing his hand down the right side of her body.

The third woman, an 18-year-old school girl, got into his taxi just an hour later before he immediately began rubbing her leg and told her how soft her skin was.

The teenager pushed him away before he attempted to get his hand into her underwear, smiling and telling her she was "really young" when she told him her age.

Uddin then became angry when the girl unsuccessfully tried to take a photo of his identification after accepting a call from a friend – leaning across her and opening her door before ordering her to get out of his taxi.

Gardaí used CCTV footage, a database of registered public service vehicles and a computer generated likeness from the first victim to identify Uddin.

Detectives also used GPS co-ordinates from the HAILO taxi app, which confirmed that Uddin had travelled the three routes his victims told them about.

src=Irish Post