26/11/2011 BBC Weekend News

Good afternoon. The Government has confirmed that an improved offer on

public sector pensions could be withdrawn if an agreement with

unions can't be reached. More than two million workers are preparing

to strike on Wednesday and the leader of one of the biggest unions

involved accused the Government of misinformation. Our Political

correspondent, Robin Brant has more details. Trade union members have

taken to the streets already this year. If Wednesday's walkout goes

ahead, it will be the biggest protest in a generation, two

million could stay at home. But as that day approaches, the talk from

the top of Government's got noticeably tougher and ministers

have repeated the warning that they could withdraw their improved offer.

These days of action are very damaging to the economy. They cost

money. We don't want this thing going into 2012. We need to get an

agreement reached. We're very close to agreement with the trade unions

on the basis of what is a generous offer. That's why we've said it's

conditional. It's clear that two distinct views of what comes next

are now emerging, an the leader of one of the country's biggest unions

says they're not close to a deal. The misinformation that is coming

from the Government is absolutely criminal. When you look at what is

actually happening to public service workers and the impression

that being given that in some way this improved offer is so good that

it should be taken by everybody, but where is the improved offer?

Thousands of National Health Service non-emergency operations

could be postponed. At Heathrow, they're preparing for delays of up

to 12 hours. In Northern Ireland, the entire public transport network

will shut down. Widespread disruption, but there's some

support. I'm willing to take the pain of a day without a few of the

services for them to support what they need in future. They need to

stand up for what they think is right. I can see how it's justified.

I think perhaps it could have been a bit more negotiation going on

when the last offer went on the table and then to think about what

to do. People are living longer and the Government believes taxpayers

can't afford to fund the current deal. But the unions see the

proposals as a kind of retrospective robbery. Wednesday's

strike will show the scale of their anger. One union negotiator has

told the BBC, let's get Wednesday out of the way, then hope to get

something done by the end of the year.

There's been a furious response from Pakistan after NATO

helicopters and fighter jets attacked two military outposts on

Pakistani territory. At least 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in

the incident, near the border with Afghanistan. Islamabad has

retaliated by shutting down vital NATO supply routes. From there,

Orla Guerin sent this report. It was in this remote terrain that

NATO struck. This is Mohmand in Pakistan's tribal belt. The army

says the area has been cleared of insurgents and there was no

militant activity when NATO struck. No excuse for mistaken identity.

Pakistan says NATO helicopters and fighter aircraft opened fire on two

check posts. NATO knew the location of the check posts, according to a

senior Pakistani official. "We gave them the grid references," he said.

NATO commanders have offered condolences and promised to

investigate. We have to look into this case as it happened in a very

rugged part of the country, a very deserted part of the country and in

the middle of the night, where it was pitch dark. We have to look

into the incident in detail, come to the conclusion and then talk to

the Pakistani side. Pakistan's Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani,

says his country's independence and sovereignty have been attacked.

Within hours Pakistan hit back, sealing its border to NATO traffic.

Convoys crossed Pakistan with crucial supplies, making their way

to the Afghan capital, Kabul. And to Kandahar, the second largest

city. Now the trucks are blocked and NATO has lost a lifeline. The

Pakistan army says all options are on the table and it reserves the

right to retaliate. Pakistan says this was an unprovoked attack.

Afghan and NATO sources have told the BBC the helicopters were on an

operation when they came under fire from the Pakistani side. Either way,

this episode has created a new crisis in Pakistan's relations with

the West. A series of bomb attacks in Iraq

has killed at least 15 people. The first explosions happened west of

Baghdad in a mainly Sunni area, where labourerers wait for work.

Later, three more bombs went off in the city centre. It's the second

wave of attacks in Iraq this week. There have been more clashes

between pro-democracy protesters and security forces in Egypt. Riot

police have been firing volleys of tear gas and demonstrators are

throwing stones and petrol bombs. The latest violence comes ahead of

elections due to be held on Monday. Northern Ireland's First Minister,

Peter Robinson, says he wants to see an end to segregation between

Catholics and Protestants. Speaking at the annual conference in Belfast,

he called for a shared education system and the end of the "them and

us" society. Mark Simpson has this report, which does contain some

flash photography. A Protestant party for Protestant people, that's

how many viewed the DUP, but in recent years it's been reaching out.

And now Ian Paisley's successor, Peter Robinson, is trying to go

further. He says he wants to end the segregation between prop stants

and Catholics in Northern Ireland schools. And in society here in

general. Conflict of this last 40 years created terrible divisions.

It became a case of them and us. That attitude deepened divisions

even further. If we want a better society, it can't be them and us.

It can only be all of us. APPLAUSE

Peter Robinson knows that talking about change in Northern Ireland is

easy. Delivering it will be much more difficult. The divisions still

run deep, especially in parts of Belfast. The city has 49 walls

which keep Catholics and Protestants apart. The education

system is divided too, with only around 5% of schools fully

integrated. There are even two different transfer tests from

primary to secondary school, one taken mainly by Protestant kids,

the other mainly by Catholics. Do people believe that more

integration would actually work? think it's a really good idea. It's

definitely possible. No, never. Definitely not. People just need to

realise how similar we actually are and that when we do work as a team,

magical things can happen. It will take a decade, maybe, but the main

thing is to get it started now. Some believe it will take much

longer than that, maybe generations. But at least the political debate

has begun. An elderly widow has died after

trying to stop a mugger stealing her handbag, in which she kept her

husband's ashes for 17 years. Nellie Gerraghty, who was 79, was

found unconscious with head injuries in an alleyway in Oldham.

Two boys, aged 14 and 17, have been arrested.

The travel company Thomas Cook has made a deal with banks to ease its

financial problems. The company has been hit by a fall in the number of

customers for holidays in the Middle East. It's reached agreement

to double its overdraft to �200 million.

An unmanned rocket, carrying the Curiosity probe heading for Mars