AFP – The British public sector employees are on strike Wednesday against pension reforms, a move that will disrupt schools, airports, hospitals and municipal services, including trade unions and expect that it will be the "most important in a generation."

More than a thousand events are planned across the country and the organizers hope that two million people observe this work stoppage, more so than during the previous day's strike in June for the same reason.

The government wants to delay the age of retirement in the public sector to 66 years in 2020 – against 60 for the most current, and increase contributions, as part of its austerity plan.

Negotiations taking place for several months are currently at an impasse, the government citing the increase in life expectancy and the need to restore a balance with the private sector.

AFP – The semifinals of the Masters oppose Switzerland's Roger Federer to David Ferrer of Spain and Czech Tomas Berdych in French Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Saturday in London.

Berdych has qualified by winning face Ferrer in straight sets 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, eliminating the Serbian Novak Djokovic, who was beaten in the afternoon by his compatriot Janko Tipsarevic in three sets 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Ferrer made a bad deal since it would certainly have preferred to meet Tsonga rather than Federer, who has always fought in eleven matches, including a final Masters in 2007 in Shanghai.Janko Tipsarevic.

The other shows will feature two players who know little, their only confrontation to date have turned in favor of Czech early October in the semifinals of the tournament in Beijing (6-4, 3-6, 6-1 ).

The shape of the moment, Tsonga seems to have slightly above after victory over Nadal, while Berdych was beaten by Djokovic at the end of the roll after passing a point in the defeat against Tipsarevic.

The two adversaries, aged 26, are very powerful serve and forehand and a tennis practice quite close, even if Tsonga is brought to the net than his opponent.

AFP – A month after the historic election of October 23 in Tunisia, 217 elected to the Constituent Assembly will meet Tuesday for the first time, a solemn inauguration during which they must lay the foundations of the new organization of power in the country.

The Constituent Assembly meets after a month of negotiations between the main political forces from the polls: the Islamist Ennahda, the first party with 89 elected officials, and the two Left parties Congress for the Republic (29 elected) and Ettakatol (20 seats) .

The session will start at 10:00 (0900 GMT) in the palace that housed the old Bey at Bardo parliament in the western suburbs of Tunis.

Other forces are represented in the Constituent Assembly Initiative, Kamel Morjane, a former Minister Ben Ali (5 seats), Afek Tunes (Liberals, 4 seats), the PCOT (communists, 3 seats). The last sixteen seats are distributed among all small parties and independents.

FRANCE: Danielle Mitterrand again hospitalized

AFP – Danielle Mitterrand, 87, wife of former president, was Friday night in a Paris hospital, with quite a state of fatigue, told the AFP relatives of his son Jean-Christophe and Gilbert who were at his side.

Mrs. Mitterrand has already been admitted to hospital Georges Pompidou in September to respiratory failure. It nevertheless participated in the October 21 anniversary of 25 years of France Libertés – Fondation Danielle Mitterrand. On that day, "she was tired, but very present" intellectually, testified to AFP William Bourdon, a lawyer for the association and member of its board of directors.

AFP – The House voted Wednesday Budget 2012, the last finance bill that already includes the five-year number of steps the new government austerity plan, before handing over to the Senate where the majority of the left is about to reshape entirely.

By 315 votes against 198, the National Assembly adopted the budget marked by rigorous background of public debt crisis in the eurozone and denounced as "unfair" and "obsolete" by the left.

The text, which combines targeted tax increases and cuts in public spending, also includes several measures of the new austerity plan announced on November 7 by François Fillon.

"No government in history has taken action as courageous as those we are going to vote in a presidential term," said Minister of Economy, Baroin, in an interview with Les Echos.

Budget and colleague, Valérie Pécresse, has repeatedly stressed throughout the debate objectives "intangible" public deficit back to zero in 2016.

The controversial tax on sodas to the imposition exceptional high incomes, to cut one billion euros in spending, the budget in 2012 was set to music a part of the austerity plan first announced in late August .

He takes the head of a country adrift … and a new transitional government until early elections expected to take the February 19, 2012. Lucas Papademos, the new strong man of Athens, arrived November 10 to the rescue of a country on the precipice, should not be unemployed.

Under pressure from Brussels and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to return as soon as possible his country, whose debt reached 162% of GDP, economic stability, the new prime minister will also tackle another challenge: operate a new Ministry with many political sensitivities.Is unpublished, the tenors of socialist PASOK will not only share power with the conservative New Democracy (ND) … but also with members of the Popular Orthodox Alert (Laos), the only far-right party of country.

"Cast a wide net"

If this policy mix is ​​simply a "political strategy" to "attract broad support in Parliament and to carry out the rescue plan drawn up in Brussels on 27 October," said Alexia Kefalas, the corresponding FRANCE 24 in Athens, this alliance of parties is nevertheless surprising.

First, because participation of Laos, a xenophobic party, is an unprecedented since 1974 and the end of the dictatorship of the colonels.

Greek Socialist Prime Minister George Papandreou has officially announced his resignation Wednesday evening, when the Greeks were waiting in an atmosphere supercharged media the name of his successor who should lead an executive agreement after lengthy negotiations.

"I extend my best wishes for success to the new prime minister," Mr. Papandreou said, without mentioning the name of his successor, that most of the media saw as the president of the Greek Parliament Philippos Petsalnikos, 60.

Papandreou said that the new government "political consensus" would launch "strong message" to the European partners of Greece "Greek we know our responsibilities and cooperate."

Mr.It is the outcome that should be announced the composition of the new Greek government and the name of its leader.

Wednesday, the governor of the Bank of Greece, George Provopoulos, expressed the general frustration in Greece against the risk of bankruptcy of the country quickly, noting that the training "immediate" the new government was "imperative" to "ensure the future of the country in the euro area "and save its banking system.

He also wanted a "strong government" to implement the plan adopted by the European debt in the euro area in late October and the additional austerity from the country.

The tapping scandal in Britain in the media group of Rupert Murdoch rebounded Friday with a new arrest and activation of a compensation fund for victims, according to News International, which oversees the British newspapers of the empire.

These new developments occur within days of the reconvening, November 10, James Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch and News International boss, before the British parliamentarians who are investigating the case.

A new arrest took place Friday in connection with the scandal. News International, publisher of several newspapers including the late British tabloid News of the World and the Sun, "confirmed that (his) employee (s) was arrested."

According to British media, it would be Jamie Pyatt, who has worked 20 years for the Sun.It could be the first employee of this newspaper to be arrested in this case, since the journalists arrested so far in this scandal and whose identity was revealed only worked at News of the World.

News International also announced Friday that his plan to compensate victims was now operational, hoping to avoid prosecution.

The main interest rate by the European Central Bank (ECB), it declined Thursday to the surprise of a quarter point to 1.25%, is the central tool at its disposal to influence the award credit and control the evolution of prices in the euro zone.

After several successive cuts at the height of the financial crisis, it was set at 1%, its lowest level ever, for nearly two years before the ECB points out in April to 1.25%, and in July 1.5%.

The new outbreak of the debt crisis in the area ended abruptly this cycle of monetary tightening, and finally forced the new president of the institution Mario Draghi to turn back, five months after the last increase.

This instrument, used in the weekly refinancing operations the ECB to supply the banks with liquidity, is the true barometer of the cost of credit in the 17 countries in the euro area.

Banks that want to refinance short-term can do so by paying interest on the amount they borrow from central banks in their respective countries. This interest is calculated from the current rate to the ECB.

The banks then pass in principle that the interests of rent credits they grant to their own customers.