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UK civil servants plan massive strike

Up to 270,000 civil servants are to strike for 48 hours across the UK, in what will be the biggest industrial action by the sector in two decades.

The parliament, courts, job centers, tax offices, museums and emergency police call centers are among some of the services that will be affected by the move.

The massive walkout, called by the British Public and Commercial Services Union, is over changes to the civil service redundancy scheme.

The union says that according to the plan civil servants will lose up to one-third of their entitlements, worth tens of thousands of pounds.

"The government is tearing up the contracts of low-paid civil and public servants whilst it claims it can do nothing about bankers' bonuses because of contractual obligations," General Secretary Mark Serwotka told the BBC.

He added that the strike will show the importance of civil servants to the society - those who "touch our everyday lives from the cradle to the grave".

Cabinet Office Minister Tessa Jowell, meanwhile, said the decision to strike was "very disappointing".

Backing the government's redundancy scheme, she stressed that "this package brings the civil service more into line with the rest of the public sector and still offers more generous terms than much of the private sector."

The walkout - planned ahead of the general election - is expected to be the biggest industrial unrest in the civil service since 1987.

US, S Korea begin joint war game, irking N Korea

The United States and South Korea kick off their joint annual military exercise despite North Korean threats of using 'merciless physical force' in reaction to the drills.

Some 18,000 American soldiers and an undisclosed number of South Korean troops are taking part in the 10-day war game which include live-firing by US Marines, aerial attack drills and urban warfare training.

The exercises, code-named 'Key Resolve and Foal Eagle,' are aimed at practicing how to deploy US reinforcements in time of an emergency on the Korean peninsula, US military spokesman Kim Yong-kyu said.

Officials in Seoul and Washington insist the drills are purely defensive, but North Korea has denounced the maneuvers as a rehearsal for invasion, demanding their cancellation.

Pyongyang warned it would further enhance its nuclear capability and break off dialogue with the United States in response to the drills.

On Sunday, the North's military also threatened to use "merciless physical force" in response to the warlike measure by the two allies, saying it was no longer bound by the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

The war game comes amid efforts spearheaded by the US to force the North to rejoin international disarmament talks on halting its atomic weapons program in return for aid.

The North pulled out of the six-nation weapons talks last April following what it described as US provocative statements undermining its national security and not living to its commitments.

Pyongyang then reengaged in missile testing which prompted US-led efforts in the United Nations to impose tougher sanctions on the country.
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Russian commercial pilots ordered out of Iran

Iran is expelling Russian pilots who work for its civilian airlines in a move that may be connected with Moscow’s willingness to support international sanctions against Tehran.




"Upon an order from the President [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad], the Road and Transportation Ministry has given a two-month period, after which all Russian pilots will have to leave the country," the Fars news agency quoted Iranian Transportation Minister Hamid Behbahani as saying on Saturday.

He said Iran has many professional and specialist pilots, and there was "no need to bring in pilots from abroad."

Aleksandr Pikaev from the Institute of World Economy and International Relations told RT there can be two reasons for the Iranian actions.

“One of them is indeed that Iranians decided to punish Russia for the possible support of anti-Iranian sanctions which might be adopted by UN Security Council quite soon,” he said. “Or, alternatively, the other version is that there were several airline crashes in Iran, airline crashes of Russian origin with Russian crews. And probably Iranians may believe that Russian crews are not professional enough to pilot Iranian civilian aircraft.”

Watch full interview with Aleksandr Pikaev


The Russians have now been given two months to leave. It's thought to be a sign of Tehran's growing frustration with Moscow for potentially supporting new sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear program.

Earlier this week, President Medvedev said Russia might back further restrictions, so long as they do not affect Iranian civilians.

Iran's recent move to begin enriching uranium to 20 percent drew international criticism, with some nations calling for harsher sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Tehran claims that it is developing its nuclear technologies strictly for civilian energy purposes, while other countries see Tehran’s efforts as an attempt to build a nuclear weapon.

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Earthquake rocks eastern Turkey

An earthquake of 6.0 magnitude has rocked eastern Turkey, killing at least 41 people, and injuring 100 others.

The quake struck at 04:32am local time (02:32 GMT) on Monday, in the eastern province of Elazig, about 550km (340 miles) east of Ankara, the country's capital, and caught many people in their sleep.

The quake affected six villages near the town of Kovancilar, toppling stone or mud-brick homes and minarets of mosques, officials said.

The worst-hit area was the village of Okcular where some 17 people were reported killed.

Aftershocks

CNN-Turk television said rescue teams dispatched to the area were working to save six people trapped under rubble.
in depth

The quake was followed by more than 30 aftershocks, the strongest measuring 4.1, according to Istanbul's Kandilli Observatory seismology centre.

Al Jazeera's Serpil Karacan, reporting from Turkey, said the military was "involved in rescue efforts" and that it was in control of some of the roads.

"The population [in the affected area] is not high and for that reason the death toll may not be as high as it would have been in the city centre.

"We've had a very wet winter and in this [affected] place there are mud houses and their ceilings are very heavy. They have been taking a lot of water this year and that may have contributed to the damage we see," she said.

At least four of the victims were young sisters, according to the private Dogan news agency.

Nursel Sengezer, a reporter for the agency in Karakocan, said two more children were buried under rubble in the village of Yukari Kanatli.

Villages 'flattened'

"Everything has been knocked down, there is not a stone in place," Yadin Apaydin, an administrator for the village of Yukari Kanatli, said.

"Everything has been knocked down, there is not a stone in place"

Yadin Apaydin, village administrator

Authorities blocked access to Okcular village, to facilitate the entry and exit of ambulances and rescue teams on the village's narrow roads.

"The village is totally flattened," Hasan Demirdag, Okcular's administrator, told NTV television.

The quake was felt in neighbouring provinces of Tunceli, Bingol and Diyarbakir where residents fled to the streets in panic and spent the night outdoors.

The epicentre was in eastern Turkey, 45km (28 miles) west of the town of Bingol, and 625km (388 miles) east of Ankara.

Deadly earthquakes are frequent in Turkey,which is crossed by several active fault-lines.

Two powerful tremors in the heavily populated northwest claimed about 20,000 lives in August and November 1999.

In 2007, an earthquake measuring 5.7 damaged buildings in Elazig.

In 2003, an earthquake measuring 6.4 magnitude collapsed a school dormitory in the neighbouring province of Bingol province, killing 83 children.

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