Watch French unions set for major protest

French unions set for major protest


President Nicolas Sarkozy's pension reform has brought about a showdown with powerful unions who sunk a previous effort 15 years ago
ollowing a close Monday vote in the French senate that raised the country's official minimum retirement age from 60 to 62, several major labour unions have vowed to strike for the fourth time in a month, viewing this week as a defining moment in a showdown between labour and President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Three prior protests have attracted crowds numbering in the hundreds of thousands but have not halted Sarkozy's pension reform plan. This time, the unions have threatened to stretch Tuesday's strikes past the one day they have previously lasted.

Sarkozy faces re-election in 2012, and his opinion poll ratings are at all-time lows. David Assouline, an opposition leader, accused Sarkozy of trying to provoke a "showdown" and bring unions "to their knees".

The 174 to 159 Monday vote to raise the retirement age shut the door on the most controversial aspect of the reform package, which Sarkozy's administration hopes to pass by the end of the month. The senate also voted to raise the minimum age to receive a full state pension from 65 to 67.

Strike will halt train and air transportation

The walkout will hurt air transit in and out of Paris particularly hard: Half of all the flights landing and departing the Orly airport will be cancelled, along with a third of the flights at Charles de Gaulle and Beauvais-Tille airports, the AFP news agency reported.

While two-thirds of the high-speed TGV trains were expected to be cancelled, those running between Paris and London were due to operate normally.

The oil industry and education workers have also joined in the strike. Employees at France's biggest oil port, Fos-Lavera, have now halted work for 15 straight days, and the education ministry predicted that more than a fourth of the country's elementary and pre-kindergarten teachers would strike on Tuesday.

Unions have threatened to extend the strike beyond Tuesday; it is technically open-ended and subject to a renewal vote by workers.

One poll of around 1,000 people published in the newspaper Le Parisien found that 69 per cent of the respondents supported the new strike, while 61 per cent supported a "continuous and lasting" one.

Like other European governments looking at austerity measures, France faces a yawning deficit and a need to improve its finances if it hopes to retain a AAA credit rating, enabling the country to borrow money at a lower interest rate.

Francois Chereque, the head of the French union CFDT, told French iTele on Sunday that Tuesday's strike is "one of the last chances to make the government retreat".

The reform bill has already been approved in its entirety by the lower house of France's parliament, the National Assembly. The senate is now voting on it piece by piece.
Coppied by http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/10/20101012051949142.html

Watch UK set to open 7/7 bombings inquest

UK set to open 7/7 bombings inquest
nquiry to examine whether police and intelligence services could have prevented attacks on London transportation opens.


nquests into the deaths of 52 people killed in a series of bombings on London's transport network in on July 7, 2005 are set to open in the United Kingdom.

The inquiry, which begins on Monday, will examine whether the police or the MI5 domestic intelligence service could have stopped the bombers, two of whom had been monitored the previous year.

Families of victims and survivors have failed in their calls for a full public inquiry into the near-simultaneous attacks on three metro trains and a bus. But the inquests will provide the first chance to challenge official accounts, which the families have labelled as insufficient, inaccurate and misleading.

"It is disgraceful that there has never been a public, judicial examination of all the facts which is truly independent of the government, the police and the security service," Clifford Tibber, a lawyer whose firm represents families of six of the victims, said.

"These inquests represent the first opportunity for a public examination of the facts and to consider, if there were failings, what lessons have been learned."

Bombers monitored

In the immediate aftermath of the bombings, officials stated that the four men - Mohammad Sidique Khan, Shehzad Tanweer, Hasib Hussain, and Germaine Lindsay - who detonated their devices on the trains and bus during rush hour, were unknown to authorities.

But in the years since the attacks, it was revealed that two of the bombers had been on the radar of the security services, but were not deemed significant threats.

THE 7/7 ATTACKS


08:50am Shehzad Tanweer kills seven and injures 171 on train between Liverpool Street and Aldgate East
08:50am Mohammed Siddique Khan kills six and injures 163 on train at Edgeware Road
08:50am Germaine Lindsay kills 26 and injures 340 on train between King's Cross and Russell Square
09:47am Hasib Hussain kills 13 and injures 110 on a bus in Tavistock Square
Evidence at a number of court cases has shown that Tanweer and Khan, the organisers of the attacks, were photographed, recorded and followed by intelligence operatives several times in early 2004 in the company of plotters later jailed for planning other attacks using fertiliser-based bombs.

"I want the inquests to look at whether any mistakes were made or flawed systems were in place," said Ros Morley, whose husband Colin, died in one of the metro bombings.

"Innocent citizens in the UK and worldwide need to know that they are protected now and in the future."
Coppied by http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/10/2010101142746938333.html

Watches Regional cities set sights on Sydneysiders

Regional cities set sights on Sydneysiders


ELIZABETH JACKSON: Residents of regional centres in New South Wales will be asked to send postcards encouraging friends and family to move to their city.

It's part of the Evocities campaign which aims to lure Sydneysiders out of the big smoke and into the regions.

Barbara Miller filed this report from Orange in Central Western New South Wales, one of the seven cities involved.

(Noise from inside a cafe)

BILL PARIANOS: Post divorce, post a lot of things, post job, post career move. Just decided that I wanted to make a change and actually make a change out of Sydney. And Orange, the great food culture seemed like an obvious choice.

BARBARA MILLER: Bill and Lisa Parianos moved from Sydney to Orange around three years ago and set up a cafe. They say they've never looked back.

LISA PARIANOS: We opened, obviously there was a need in Orange for a cafe. And people were very passionate about their coffee and we filled that niche I think. We are surprised, blown away with the response.

BARBARA MILLER: The Evo in Evocities stands for Energy, Vision and Opportunity. And the seven cities marketing themselves as having that are Albury, Armidale, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange, Tamworth and Wagga Wagga.

EXTRACT FROM RADIO ADVERTISEMENT: Please honk when you hear the time that you use up every day in travelling to and from work. One hour (honking), two hours (honking), three hours (honking).

It may be time to consider starting a new life in a new city. Visit Evocities.com.au...

BARBARA MILLER: This is rush hour in Orange at the main intersection in town. Cars at each light change are only backing up maybe two, three maximum four.

I have to say last night I was starting to almost get a little stressed as I drove through the centre of town for evening rush hour. It was just a little bit busier than I might have expected. But things flowing very well this morning.
Coppied by http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2010/s3032902.htm

S Africa workers hold mass protests

Million set to march in S Africa

Strikes began last week and saw clashes between protesters and police [
South African civil servants are marching across the country over a wage dispute, with more than one million people expected to participate in strikes.

Labour unions planned the action on Thursday as part of continued pressure on the government to agree to improved pay terms and benefits.

Around 1.3 million state workers have been on strike since last Wednesday, picketing outside schools, hospitals and government offices.

A day after they began, the strikes became violent with police using rubber bullets and water cannons against teachers and other civil servants, who threw stones and bricks at them when trying to enter a hospital in Johannesburg.

The unions have set a deadline of September 2 for the government to provide a 8.6 per cent rise in salaries and a 1,000 rand ($138) monthly housing allowance, otherwise more state workers are slated to join the strikes.

Government 'worried'

The South African government is offering a seven per cent pay hike and 630 rand for housing.

Government services and the economy have already been disrupted by the strikes.

Themba Maseko, the government spokesman, said the strike had raised concern and efforts were being made to resolve it.

"We're obviously worried about the strike, especially the impact it is having on the lives of ordinary South Africans. We're actually at a point where our students are supposed to be writing their examinations in about 50 days' time," he told Al Jazeera.

"Many South Africans who are ill [and] need urgent medical treatment are being deprived of the opportunity to get that treatment. We also have a lot of South African citizens who want to volunteer their services by assisting hospitals; by assisting learners to prepare for their examininations and yet they are being prevented from doing so.
coppied by http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/08/20108265325707917.html

Australian vote set to end in hung parliament

Watch Australian vote set to end in hung parliament

Australia appears to be heading for its first hung parliament for 70 years, following yesterday's election, with neither the ruling Labor Party nor the opposition Liberal-National Coalition sure of securing a majority.

A minority government, supported by up to four independent MPs and one Green, seems the most likely scenario. However, it could take several days – possibly a fortnight – for postal and early votes to be counted, determining the outcome in the most closely fought seats. What was clear last night was that voters had turned on Labor, punishing it for its mistakes in government and for dumping its own leader, Kevin Rudd, in favour of Julia Gillard, the country's first female Prime Minister. A national swing against the party of more than 5 per cent benefited not only the conservative Coalition but the Greens; many voters were infuriated by the government's ditching of an emissions trading scheme (ETS).

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The Greens won Melbourne, their first seat in the House of Representatives, and are set to hold the balance of power in the Senate, or upper house. In other history-making events, Australia's first indigenous MP, Ken Wyatt, was elected in Western Australia, while the country's youngest politician, 20-year-old Wyatt Roy, triumphed in Longman, north of Brisbane. The Greens' MP, Adam Bandt, has indicated that he will give his support to Labor. However, he will be courted in days to come by both main parties, as will the independents.

In a speech to the party faithful in Melbourne, Welsh-born Ms Gillard made a point of congratulating Mr Bandt and the three independents whose seats are assured (a fourth remained in the balance last night). She said Labor had "a good track record of working positively and productively with independents in the lower house and with Greens in the Senate".

Tony Abbott, of the Coalition, who has barely slept in recent days such was his determination to capture every last vote, warned his supporters against "premature triumphalism". But he told the crowd gathered in a Sydney hotel: "What's clear tonight is that the Labor Party has definitely lost its majority, and what that means is that the government has lost its legitimacy."

Coppied by http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/australian-vote-set-to-end-in-hung-parliament-2058860.html

Baa sayes is hope that Union and BAA set for talks to avert airports strike

BAA says it hopes that an agreement can be concluded quickly
We are enjoy now this Union and BAA set for talks to avert airports strike
Talks are due to begin later in an attempt to avert a strike that could close six UK airports later this month.

The talks between BAA and the Unite union - backed by the conciliation service Acas - are set to take place at an undisclosed location.

Security staff, engineers, and firefighters have voted to strike over a 1.5% pay offer.

Strikes could close Heathrow, Stansted, Southampton, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports, BAA has warned.

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BAA said it hoped to "quickly conclude an agreement, in the interests of the travelling public, our airlines and our staff".

The two sides will begin efforts to reach a settlement on the same day that members of Unite are scheduled to meet to discuss strike tactics.

If Unite decides to announce strike dates after that meeting, walkouts could begin in the week beginning 23 August, as it has to give the company seven days' notice.

Some analysts have suggested that Unite may target the August Bank Holiday weekend starting on 28 August for the maximum impact, but the union's leaders have refused to confirm that.

If strikes do take place, the six airports would have to close because essential workers such as firefighters and security staff are due to take part.

BAA has said it regrets "the uncertainty this vote has already caused our passengers and airline customers".

On a turnout of about 50%, Unite members voted by three to one in favour of strike action.

The union describes BAA's offer of a pay rise worth up to 1.5% as "measly".

But BAA says it is a fair proposal after a year in which it has seen a decline in passengers due to the impacts of recession and volcanic ash.
Coppied by http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10982663