Greece; labor unions call for 48-hour strike

Greece's two main labor unions covering civil servants and the private sector - Adedy and Gsee - have called a 48-hour strike to protest austerity measures due to be voted on next week. The unions said Wednesday that the strike on November 6-7 will be accompanied by demonstrations in central Athens on both days. Previous such protests have turned violent. "We will strike to stop the measures from being voted in Parliament," Ilias Iliopoulos, general secretary of public sector union ADEDY said on Wednesday. "We won't allow the government to hurt Greek people any more." The strike call came as the finance minister submitted an amended 2013 budget that raised the country's debt and deficit forecasts for next year.