16/06/2011 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today, with me, Tim Willcox.

Political paralysis in Greece over how to deal with the country's debt

crisis. His this potentially the beginning of the end of the euro?

What we need most today is unity. We need to move on from these

national quarrels and get back to the sense of our common destiny.

The long-time deputy to Osama Bin Laden is named as Al-Qaeda's new

chief. He vows to continue the campaign against the West.

Cashing in on the booming economies. What will it mean for Europe's

energy supply if Russia plugs into China?

And how Vancouver became a riot zone after a lost game of ice

Welcome. With Greece in political and financial turmoil, French

President Nicolas Sarkozy has called on Europe to urgently reach

an agreement in helping Athens and preserving the stability of the

eurozone. Our task, he said, is to defend and safeguard the euro.

Without the euro, there is no Europe. In Greece itself, Prime

Minister George Papandreou is expected to announce a Cabinet

reshuffle which she hopes will help get his austerity measures through

Parliament. The streets of central Athens this

morning. Like the eurozone itself, in a bit of a mess. A new

government is coming and a vote of confidence in parliament. In a

country all but bankrupt, people are reaching the end of their

tether. TRANSLATION: And think the Prime

Minister is trying, but when it actually achieve anything? -- I

think. They should have taken action year ago, this woman says.

Yesterday more frustration erupted onto the streets again. A violent

protest against massive austerity measures and job losses, much of it

couched in nationalist terms. Many Greeks wonder whether the high

price of staying in the euro is still worth paying. And the rest of

Europe is worried. They have already given billions degrees but

the medicine has not worked. Now they need to raise more money to

keep Greece afloat. There is a sense that nobody knows what to do

next. A sense of paralysis. TRANSLATION: We need unity. We have

got to move beyond national quarrels. We have to defend a

single currency and a European institutions. Earlier this week,

finance ministers spend hours discussing how to pay for a second

Greig but could not agree. Germany and others want private bondholders

like big banks to take their share of the pain. The European Central

Bank and the French say imposing losses on the private sector could

panic the markets and make financial jitters spread. European

leaders on the -- meeting here next week to talk about Greece. They

will probably find a compromise eventually. The stakes are too high

for them to fail. But if the Greeks themselves no longer accept the

terms of the deal, the crisis will deepen, and that could affect us

all. Let's cross live to Athens and

joined our correspondent. George Papandreou is announcing a

reshuffle soon, we think. Will it make it less or more likely that

these measures will work? We're waiting to see what the

constitution of this new government will look like an there are many

serious political commentators who believe George Papandreou is having

trouble attracting the right calibre of people that will give

the Socialists the confidence to pass these austerity measures. For

example, one man touted as being a potential Finance Minister, who is

a former vice-president of the Council, is out of the country, and

George Papandreou is hoping to have his counsel sworn in. Other members

of the international community will be also struck by the possible

appointment of a minister who does not speak English. Another minister

who does speak fluent English has been saying the same message.

George Papandreou had his standing ovation from some of the socialist

but others sat on their hands because they were not impressed.

This will decide whether or not Greece will carry those austerity

measures forward on Sunday. Will Athens get this latest amount

of cash or will it have to default on its debt? We will discuss what

it means for the eurozone and other general issues with Megan Greene.

Some people are describing this as a leaning moment? We might see the

eurozone unravel with Greece. George Papandreou has a bit of time

but only a little bit. Most ministers are against these

austerity measures and most importantly, so is the public. So

even if this next package is passed, the power of this government will

be limited and see Greece plunged into a crisis soon. The economy has

produced more globally compared with others, but does it have the

potential to unleash a huge amount of destruction? It does. It could

do this through general market jitters and contagion, although it

is largely Greek banks and pension funds that are holding Greek

government debt. But you also have to think, who is next? The answer

to that is clearly Portugal and after that Ireland. If it agrees

defaults, it is not clear that Ireland and Portugal would. But

they might think that they could go through a few more pain for years

or go through the same thing that Greece has done. The implications

on the banking system in the eurozone are huge and I think we

might start to see some of these peripheral countries move out of

the eurozone. Would it not be cheaper in the long run for the

banks to take a haircut and keep piling money in degrees? Absolutely.

It is a question of who is paying for this. Some of the core

countries would rather see the bridge for countries pay for it

than their banks. Thank you. If the new leader of Al-Qaeda, Ayman Al-

Zawahiri, has vowed to continue the grip's holy war against the United

States, Israel and their allies. A familiar face, now in charge of

Al-Qaeda. This is the most recent video of Ayman Al-Zawahiri,

released only last week. He has been the group's strategic driving

force the years, so no surprise that he has succeeded Bin Laden.

The videotape was in collaboration of Bin Laden but if you read

beneath the lines, he is saying, I am the boss now, listen to me, this

is my instruction and strategy. two men were close but it was Al-

Zawahiri to radicalised at Bin Laden in the 90s, got him to think

big, broad and his message and took the fight for America. The 9/11

attacks were masterminded by others but they were part of Al-Zawahiri's

strategy to punish the West for supporting Israel. This conflict

for him has been personal. We have tried our best to establish an

Islamic state and society. If here he is imprisoned after the

assassination of Anwar Sadat, the Egyptian President. He fled to

Afghanistan. He helped form their parliament. He is different from

Bin Laden in terms of vision, so he will focus on the Middle East and

already, I think, he will produce a series of five or 6 very long

lectures. It is all about the Middle East and how the next

generation, the Islamists and Al- Qaeda, will explode this

opportunity. He may not have much time. Ayman Al-Zawahiri has a $25

million bounty on his head and US intelligence has been closing in on

key Al-Qaeda operatives, removing them one by one. He could well be

next. Al-Qaeda has suffered many deadly

blows in recent years, so what sort of organisation does Al-Zawahiri

inherit? The affiliates appear to be established. Indonesia appears

to be seeking an Islamist state. Training camps have been

established in Pakistan. In Yemen, several hundred people believed to

be members of an affiliate are in the Arabian peninsula. All across

North Africa, the group has been a bold and kidnap and ransom. Let's

go it at Oxford studio, where we can speak to Dr Ishtiaq Ahmad, who

is a widely published expert on security. It is said he was

selected after consideration. Does that imply this was a fiercely

competitive election? It was at absolutely clear right from the

beginning when Bin Laden died that Ayman Al-Zawahiri will be the

likely replacement, although there had been people within the

organisation who have been critical of Al-Zawahiri, and obviously,

anybody close to the founding charismatic personalities such as

Bin Laden, they would be people who would be jealous of him. But I

think it took six weeks for the leader and successor to Bin Laden

to appear in Al-Qaeda and in my opinion, for now, we can only

speculate as to whether it will help Al-Qaeda overcome the

leadership crisis or it will take Al-Qaeda to awards the downward

slide it has been on for some time. When you look at what has been

happening across North Africa and the Arab Spring, they don't seem to

have had any presence in that at all thus far? Al-Zawahiri's credit

so far is that Al-Qaeda began as an organisation which was specific,

meaning that they wanted the withdrawal of American troops from

the Holy Land. And then Al-Zawahiri was the one who basically through

his influence on Bin Laden. He globalised his world-view and

brought in all of these Palestine, Kashmir macro and other world

issues. It was a broader and Middle-Eastern specific review.

When the revolutions have taken place, we find that the radical

Islam is no way. But it might be a temporary phenomenon. There is

uncertainty as to which way these revolutions or emerging

developments in the Middle East and North Africa will go. Al-Qaeda has

historically tried on grievances, real or imaginary, as they emanate

from these transitory and uncertain times in the Muslim world. Thank

you. Let's have a look at the Bay's

other news. The radical Muslim cleric, Abu Bakar Bashir, has been

jailed for 15 years for organising an Islamic militant group and being

involved in the 2002 barley bombings. His conviction was

overturned. A Russian envoy says he can

envisage a future for Libby were -- for Libya where coal Gaddafi

remains in the country but power moves to the opposition. Mikhail

Margelov said Gaddafi had lost credibility among his people.

With the thousands of people already having fled northern Syria

into Turkey, there reports the Syrian army is now moving in on

another town in the north. Human rights activities said dozens of

tanks, personnel carriers and trucks have moved into Jisr al-

Shughour. In Britain, a juror who contacted a

defender and five Facebook, causing a trial to collapse, has been

jailed for eight months for contempt of court. In the first

case of its kind in the UK, Joanne Fraill admitted breaking the rules

covering trials which prevent jurors investigating cases and

making direct contact with defendants.

The BBC Trust has ordered the BBC to apologise after a programme

revealing that the manufacturing of clothing for Primark. He is said it

is more likely than not that footage of a Bangalore workshop and

young boys working was not genuine. A bomb has exploded outside the

Nigerian capital at police headquarters. It is claimed at

least six people were killed. Police believe a suicide bomber was

behind the attack. If Nigeria's police force is

charged with protecting the country's citizens. But as plumes

of dark smoke rose from the car- park of their own headquarters, it

was clear they had failed to even protect themselves. A blast that

was heard across the capital said buildings and other vehicles on

fire. This man was on his way to work as the bomb exploded.

sought the blast in the air and that is when I knew it was a bomb.

A fee emergency services scramble to the scene and began the big task

of working out how many had died. The police said they believe the

bombing to be the work of an Islamist group. They are believed

to be opposed to Western education. Two years ago, hundreds of people

died when a security force destroyed the compound and killed

their leader. In the last few weeks, attacks on police stations have

On Tuesday, the head of the Nigerian police service travel to

the north taking reinforcements and equipment and promising to end the

Boko Haram problem within a few months. This bomb explosion in

Abuja or may well have been their response.

Vancouver has been voted one of the world's best cities for five years,

after last night, that reputation might need reassessing all because

of a lost ice hockey game. Angry fans set fire in the streets.

According to the police force, it took a small army of offers to get

the chaos under control. They had come expecting to see

their team triumph. Instead of the Vancouver her fans

experienced only humiliation as Boston one at the British just a

Stanley Cup. He -- this prestigious the Cup.

Are several hours, downtown Vancouver was turned into a riot

zone. There were running battles between

some fans and the police. Others a smashed shop windows and

there were reports of widespread looting.

For those not involved in the violence, there was only

embarrassment. This is wrong for the city. This is not a reputation

we want. After the Olympics, we did so much to bring the city to where

it is today and this is what we do now? This is not what the City

wants. Fire crews were called into action

as the mob set light to vehicles and piles of rubbish. A plume of

black smoke could be seen over the Vancouver skyline. The City has

paid a high price for sporting defeat.

One of Russia's richest men is planning to invest billions of

dollars in a scheme to sell electricity to China. Oleg

Deripaska wants to build a series of hydro-electric dams in Eastern

Siberia and export the power southwards to cash in on Asia's

booming economies. Our Moscow Correspondent, Daniel Sandford,

travelled to Kodinsk to see one of the dams that is now almost

complete. Putting the finishing touches to

what will be one of the world's most powerful hydro-electric dams.

This was built in their Siberian well done us. It is due to start

generating next April. Producing electricity from Siberia's huge

water resources is back in fashion. Russia has woken up to the huge

market for power on its doorstep. This enormous network of hydro-

electric dams that is planned for eastern Siberia has the potential

to generate a vast amount of electricity. Where I am standing is

a good deal closer to China than it is to the big population centres of

European Russia and -- Russia. Leading the charge to turn water

into cash is Oleg Deripaska. How soon do you think you can be

shipping significant amounts of electricity to China. Five years.

And how much could you be shipping within five years? Up to 15 key

locks. I mean, 15 billion kilowatts. And the infrastructure in terms of

grid infrastructure. You need to reinforce the three existing points

and build one more bread. Russia already has an agreement

with China to sell up to 60 billion kilowatt hours per year within a

decade. More than enough to power Greece or Hong Kong. It could

prevent the banning of 20 million tonnes of coal each year.

Environmentalists say the experience from previous dams has

been that great river stagnate and valuable Forest are wasted.

They say they are building these new dams on Siberian rivers to save

the planet than greenhouse gases, so the question is whether we are

ready to destroy the Siberian environment.

And the new power station is coming at a price. Remote Siberian towns

have had to be destroyed before the waters rise.

Former residents are already mourning their way of life.

TRANSLATION: The most tragic thing is the elderly people who started

dying within a year because they lost their village houses and their

neighbours. In return had been given flats with nothing but a

television for company. In another almost abandoned village,

we found another villager refusing to leave until he was paid

compensation. TRANSLATION: Nobody needs this

power plant anywhere. There are other plants on this weather that

work at half capacity and now it turns out this is all about exports

to China. At times the resources hidden in

Russia as well done us seem almost endless. Hydro-electric power, oil,

gas, coal, all there in abundance. Landscapes left almost untouched by

man will be swept aside in the rush for profits.

Let's talk to James Nixey. With this irresistible riches

potentially coming from China, what will this mean for Europe's power

suppliers. It is tricky. Russia currently directs 95% of energy to

Europe. That will change slowly. Russia itself is a difficult

partner at times and that means it theoretically threatens to go east,

but it cannot do that soon. Russia has a weak southern flank and the

Arctic north. Russia is spread thinly. Should Europe be looking 10

years down the line at what is going to be a depleted power

supply? Very much so. Russia's own reserves are dwindling. It cannot

access reserves in the North just yet. So, really, Europe need to be

looking at a Diversity of energy supply is. There is this pipeline

which is being discussed between Russia and China at the moment, it

has not been signed off, but these two countries are tricky

negotiators, aren't they? It will be interesting to see he backs down

in terms of pricing. They also not equal. China is a rising power. It

looks upon Russia as something of a quarry. Russia, on the other hand,

thinks of itself as an equal partner. So really it our

perceptions of Russia and China need to alter. There is only one

rising superpower in the world and that is China. Russia is a poor

player in Asia. In terms of the volume of gas, I was reading

somewhere that they might take the equivalent of all the gas consumed

by the EU by 2030. We are talking about huge quantities. China

requires huge quantities. The South East region requires it. It is not

easy for Russia to get that energy from the EU or China. The pipelines

have not been built yet. The lots of places have significant reserves

in the Caspian Sea, by example. Briefly on the gas prices in China,

presumably that is under state control so does not reflect the

market price. Does that mean they are selling the gas at a loss?

is true. The Chinese drive a hard bargain. As far as this is

concerned, china is indeed playing with the cards in its favour.

A quick reminder of our main headline, Nicolas Sarkozy has urged

European leaders to reach an urgent agreement on the best way to help

Greece preserve the Eurozone. I'll -- Al-Qaeda has planned to

continue its holy war under its new leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. He was

the second in command to a Osama Bin Laden.

And so news just come in from the United States, up the congressmen

Anthony Wheeler has just announced his resignation from Congress

following there has text messages that he had sent to various people,

various women, of himself in boxer shorts.

That is it from the programme. Goodbye.

Sunshine and showers today, tomorrow you'll be lucky to stay

dry. It will turn increasingly cloudy and wet and will be breezy

cloudy and wet and will be breezy as well. This weather front well

developed through the night edging its way towards the south-west of

the UK. Isobars tightening up. Bright enough to start through

eastern areas of the UK, then slowly clouds will gather in the

vain band. Do easternmost areas it will be cloudy with patchy

outbreaks of rain. The further south you are, a spell of heavy

rain through the afternoon. As we have seen today, that could cause

spray on the road. For the south- west of England, a grey and wet

start stained wet throughout the day. 25 mm of rain. Cloudy across

Wales. Northern Ireland having a different day. Sunny spells and

scattered showers. The rain will start of heavy across