but in berlin today, german chancellor anga merkel said austerity measures are still the only way for european nations could recover. she dismissed calls to abandon or scale back the plans. in britain, thousands of police officers and other public sector workers staged a one-day national strike, protesting changes in their pensions. union leaders estimated more than 400,000 civil servants joined a march that snaked through london. the government said it was 150,000. we have a report from tom bradby of "independent television news." >> reporter: if u were aroun in the '60s o '70s or '80s, the word "strike" will carry a resonance that was not reflected in what we saw today. one hardly felt as if the country was grinding to a halt. that doesn't mean people weren't angry. >> very angry! because i've worked all my life in her service and what's more i had free higher education year after year. >> reporter: the strike took in a cross section of the public sector, n.h.s.ers in whales police officers, immigration staff, prison officers aren't allowed to strikeut here in rrg onhe they did. the

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