21/02/2012 World News Today

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

lifeline but with numerous strings attached. Five years in recession,

life for the Greeks will get even tougher. I am relieved that we are

still in the Eurozone but I think life will get much worse.

The Red Cross calls for daily ceasefires as the bombardment of

Holmes's claims dozens more lives. -- bombardment of Homs.

We are live in Christchurch in New Zealand to mark the first

anniversary of one of the country's darkest days.

Also coming up, a reputation in tatters. Dominique Strauss-Kahn,

the former IMF boss wants front runner for the French presidency is

questioned by police over a prostitution ring.

And someone with something to smile about in austerity it Spain. But

she is not what she seems. It was the longest of nights, the

finance ministers in Brussels all getting a personal sense of the

Greek word marriage on. In the end, the Greek Prime Minister liked it,

as did the EU president, Jose Manuel grosso. Even so, the second

bail-out has been agreed, with numerous strings attached, but

cannot be implemented? -- was a Manuel Barroso. Greeks will see yet

more spending interned -- in return from the -- in return for the bail-

out. In a moment, we will see what former Prime Minister George

Papandreou mix of that. Four two years, Greece has been the

epicentre of the Eurozone crisis. Now after months of bitter argument,

the country has been granted the biggest bail-out in history. The

threat of bankruptcy has been lifted and Europe have breathed a

sigh of relief. Greece has made its choice. We now have to focus on the

next step, constructing a far wall that is large enough to prevent

contagion within the Eurozone. 12 hours, ministers and officials

argued over how to reduce Greece's debt mountain and how to prevent

the country defaulting and threatening the European economy.

But risks remain. There are downsize risks. It is not an easy

programme, it is very ambitious. The bail-out is aimed at reducing

Greek debt. Private investors have agreed to take big losses, 107

billion euros. Greece will get a loan of 130 billion euros, and the

hope is that by 2020, the debt will be down to 120% of GDP.

The deal is intended to draw a line under months of violent protest. It

period when a Greek Prime Minister was forced to stand down and an --

a period of increased hostility against Germany foreign --

insisting on more austerity. On the streets of Athens today, further

protest. There is particular anger that under the deal, the country

will have to accept permanent monitors to ensure that it lives up

to its promises. The mood, as in recent demonstrations, was fearful

and resentful. I am relieved that we are still in the Eurozone but I

think life will get much worse year. TRANSLATION: The people will be

even worse after last year. The measures will deepen the recession.

Families know that more austerity is coming in exchange for the new

bail-out. This man is a bus driver and his wages have already been cut

by 400 euros a month. Now, he is threatened with losing his job.

am afraid that I will not have enough money to buy the basics for

my children and for the family. gamble with this new bail-out is

that Greece is being asked to embrace further cuts whilst its

economy is in freefall. It does not solve the great problem because the

burden on the Greek is very high and intense. I am afraid that we

will meet again in six months' time to discuss the great situation

again. What a massive bail-out has done is to buy the Eurozone time to

strengthen its banks and to shore up the defences around of a weaker

European countries. For the moment, Greece has avoided bankruptcy but

it faces years of hardship. As we saw in that report, the

former Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou resigned in November,

stepping aside for a government of national unity. What is his verdict

on events in Brussels? Zeinab Badawi has been speaking to him in

Athens. It is the only interview he has done. I have heard many experts

over the last few years talking about the possible outcomes and the

Domesday -- doomsayers. We will not enter the Euro one we will not a

fault. -- Exeter the Euro and we will not default. Of course, it

means we need to do hard work. But we will demand, and I use that

respectively, more respect. We have made major sacrifices. More respect

from you -- from who? International analysts. Do you think this has

engendered humiliation? I think there is pressure on Greece and

much speculation about what will happen with Greece, if Greece will

default and leave the Euro. This has been a pain in Greece, it has

contributed to the recession. People will not invest, people are

feeling that if they take their money out of the banks, they will

not consume, and this deal gives us breathing space to make these major

changes. On the question of sovereignty, and the German bashing

that we have seen here, with effigies of the Chancellor Merkel,

and the German flag being burnt, do you have sympathies with that kind

of you when you see the protesters? They say they are being controlled

by the European Union, specifically the paymaster of the EU, Berlin.

think we need more democracy and our European institutions. -- in

our European institutions. Particularly in Greece, with this

kind of programme, people think that there is ownership and the

programme, they need to feel ownership about what Europe is

doing. The moment, citizens in Europe feel this empowered. They

look to Brussels and stronger countries and they say, who is

making the decisions? I think this is a question for Europe. You can

see it from the Germans point of view, they say, why should we work

until we are 65 so that Greek train drivers can retire at 50? In order

that they have a minimum wage which when it was 700 euros, was much

higher than a lot of other countries. Why should we support

that kind of Greek state, do you sympathise with that you?

understand that you and very often I have said that we have to

understand citizens of other countries that are helping us. They

want to see that we changed. But I think there is also problems in the

Eurozone, of which make it quite unique. We are a family, but we

have not really understood how deeply interconnected we are in

Europe. That is why we need more economic Government's --

governments, but we need to get away with populism, prejudice and

extremism. Is that what you are seeing here? I'm seeing this around

Europe, forces that are prejudicial, even racist, trying to scapegoat

the real problems. George Papandreou was speaking to Zeinab

Badawi. Syrian opposition activists say at least 30 people have been

killed in the city of Homs as government forces continued to

shell the district of Baba Amr. 20, including for my children are said

to have been killed. The Red Cross is the only international aid

agency operating inside Syria and is calling for a daily ceasefires

to deal with the wounded. Bombardment was unleashed in the

early morning and went on relentlessly. Hundreds of shells

and rockets slammed into Baba Amr, which has been under siege for two

weeks. Several hundred rebel fighters from the Free Syrian Army

are entrenched here but many civilians are also trapped, some of

them paying the price. At the improvised field hospitals, doctors

were struggling to save the lives of the wounded, including this baby

hit by shrapnel from an exploding rockets. Activist said that some

buildings were reduced to rubble by the intensity of the shelling. One

of the heaviest since the siege began. Tanks and armoured vehicles

were on the move in the district immediately adjacent. It is not

clear whether the bombardment was the prelude she -- prelude to the

ground offensive the Government has threatened. Human rights groups say

such an attack would result in a massacre. They have called on the

world to intervene. The International Red Cross is trying

to mediate a truce to get supplies in an civilians out. No result so

far. -- and civilians out. Western and Arab count -- Western and Arab

partners are planning for a meeting on Friday to step up opposition to

the regime but there was still no clear way ahead. The Syrian regime

is going to be under increasing pressure, which will create space

for all of us to push hard on a transition. We will intensify our

diplomatic out reached -- outreach to those countries still supporting

the regime. But the world is not united. Russia and China continued

to resist the idea of regime change and accuse the West of fuelling

civil war. They advocate dialogue but there is very little of that

going on. A resident of Forteviot who managed

to escape from the city speaks to us now. -- Homs. What is the

information you're getting from inside Homs? AUDIO PROBLEMS... We

have no medical supplies... So make people are dying in their houses.

Of sickness and power -- of sickness and hunger or by shelling.

Thank you very much. I'm sorry, the line is very bad and it is

difficult to make out what you're saying.

Gunmen have killed at least nine people at polling stations in Yemen

where elections are taking place for the new president to replace

Ali Abdullah Saleh. There is only one candidate on the ballot, the

current Vice President, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

Leon Panetta has apologised after copies of the Koran were allegedly

burnt by American forces in Kabul. Following angry protests, officials

told the BBC that Americans took the holy books after suspicions

that prisoners were using them to send messages.

A Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike in an Israeli jail for over

two months has agreed to end his protest. He will be released in

April. He is widely believed to be a member of a militant Islamist

group which Israel regards as a terrorist organisation.

Sotheby's has announced that The Scream will be sold in New York in

May. There were painted by F are Moon Beach is expected to fetch

more than $80 million. -- Munch. Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been

detained by police on suspicion of being involved in a prostitution

ring. Charges of rape against a hotel worker were dismissed last

year. It is accused that he -- it is alleged that he used funds to...

Another very difficult day for a man once tipped to be President.

Another extraordinary turn in the life and tribulations of Dominique

Strauss-Kahn. Quite a fall from grace for a man who could have been

a presidential hopeful in two once time. This was an investigation

that has been rumbling on for some months. It is called the Carlton

affair, named after a hotel in Lille where Mr Strauss-Kahn

allegedly attended orgies. It is alleged that women were supplied at

his request by high-ranking officials and businessmen. Not just

in Lille but also in Paris and Washington where he was serving as

the leader of the IMF. It is sent in French reports that some of

these businessmen paid for the prostitutes out of corporate funds

from a very big construction company. And that he knew these

were prostitutes. He has denied that although he has not denied

sleeping with the women. He has publicly denied that he knew they

were prostitutes. His lawyer went on a French baroque -- French

television station to say that "I challenge you to recognise a

prostitute without a close off and a ordinary woman without her close

off. " As I understand it, having sex

with prostitutes in France is not illegal. What are the specific

charges? There is no charge for sleeping

with prostitutes, but there is a charge for supplying prostitutes,

known as Pennyburn. In this case, he has put distance between himself

and the hiring of the prostitutes. The allegation is that he wanted to

keep a distance because he was serving of the head of the IMF and

these people were doing his bidding. He denies this charge. As for the

Socialist Party, I would think the reason number of people within the

party who were breathing a huge sigh of relief. If this had come

out earlier -- had not come out earlier and he had not been

arrested in May and had managed to get the ticket for the Socialist

Party to stand in the presidential elections, this could have blown up

in the final two bombs of the presidential campaign. That might

well have derailed the party's best chance in 20 years of winning the

One year ago, an earthquake devastated New Zealand's second

biggest city, chairs -- Christchurch. The centre of the

city was left in ruins. Today people were marking the anniversary

with events from a round the country and a two-minute silence.

We can cross now to Christchurch to my colleague Lucy Hawking.

Still some remote -- morning here in Christchurch. To mark that

devastating moment a year ago today when a massive earthquake hit this

city, devastating parts of it and killing 185 people. The service

about to get under way is for families of victims. That is

poignant, because where we are standing is in the Square on the

edge of the central business district, an area that had been

completely devastated. But this was whether to the large hospitals were

set up on that day, concerts -- coincidentally to doctors'

conventions what taking place in time, so the doctors came to help.

The damage one year on is still shocking, there are still many

buildings that need to be brought down, and they took the in to see

it yesterday. New Zealanders call it the quake

that changed and nation. One year on, at the centre of Christchurch

is still completely off limits. Street after street destroyed and

still dangerous. For the Dean of the city this is as close as he and

his congregation can get to the cathedral. Most of us are getting

on with our lives, and we live with this reality that we could have

more quakes, and we live with the reality of a city that could get

more devastated. But in the midst of it all, there is hope.

This is the sight of the Canterbury Television building. The building

was one of the first to be cleared, and of visual reminder may be gone,

but tributes from a round the world remain.

It took 160 years to build Christchurch and on the 24 seconds

to rip apart the satyr of it. This used to be the middle of New

Zealand's second biggest city. 50,000 people came into work here

every day. Now it is home to just a few demolition workers, but

crucially also construction workers - a $2 million plan is in process

to rebuild this part of Christchurch.

The nearby port of Lyttleton was the closest suburb to the epicentre.

This mobile phone footage captures the full force of the quake. Alex

Herbert showed her as the damage to his home. The house had to be

pulled down. On so many different levels, the past year has been a

tough one. The aftershocks always get your heart jumping, but we get

used to them a little bit. The fear for us is more financial, and

social, than anything else at this stage. We have lost a lot of

friends, but have gone, and that time, lost a lot of businesses, the

bars... This whole event has strengthened my resolve to be in

this time, because it turns out that things we laugh about it goes

so much deeper than the buildings, and it is the people, the geography,

and this rare thing this debt -- these days which is a committee

that cares about each other. You can feel the remarkable sense

of community here. On a golden evening in Lyttleton, this festival

is a moment to celebrate that. A stitching circle started sewing

hearts as out symbol of hope. have people walking by with jackets

and uniforms, so we had the opportunity to give these people

one, and they have ended up all over the world. So it was a chance

to say thank you to those people. The attitude in Christchurch is one

of stoicism and the -- resilience. But with years of rebuilding and

uncertainty ahead, people here have little choice.

It is that stoicism and resilience that is so apparent as you talk to

people here in Christchurch. So as you can see, this memorial service

about to get under way. The Army band playing, it will be a sad day

for the people of New Zealand, not just for the people in this city.

If we are not sure how many people will show up, many people have said

they want to mark this day with their family, quietly and on their

own. Nearly 40 children have frozen to

death in Afghanistan, according to Afghan officials, as the country

experiences one of its harshest winters in decades. About 40,000

people are living in makeshift camps, with only basic shelter and

little food or clothes. Many have arrived in recent weeks to escape

fighting and insecurity. As Andrew North reports from Kabul,

it's also raising new questions about the capacity of the Afghan

government. It could be a scene from the last

century, but this is Afghanistan at 2012. They fled to Kabul for safety

- now this family are overwhelmed by the cold. Born three months ago,

the little one has already fallen sick. Just 22 years old, this one -

- and he cannot feel -- he cannot keep them warm. TRANSLATION: We

took my daughter to the doctor's, but the medicine did not help and

we cannot afford to go again. Across Kabul, it is the same story

for thousands of people displaced by fighting, now living in

makeshift camps. Some help is coming in - these hats have been

donated by people in Britain. But it is just touching the surface of

the problem. At some camps, they only have tense to shelter from

Afghanistan's harshest winter in decades. This is home for this

family, and where the baby daughter died last week, the other daughter

asks her father when she has gone. -- where she has gone.

We were up all night, trying to keep her warm, he says. We did not

have enough blankets. Then we heard her cough, and it was her last

breath. It is heartbreaking what has

happened to this family. And to so many others this winter. But it is

also has a telling about life in Afghanistan, more than ten years

since the fall of the Taliban. Despite all the billions that have

been spent here, the Afghan Government and its Western backers

still cannot do anything as simple as protect people against the cold

weather. Nearly 40 children have died in

Kabul so far this winter. The Afghan minister responsible can

only offer apologies. TRANSLATION: I am sorry for what has happened,

especially to the children. They do not have the support they need, and

they are the future of our country. But if Afghanistan still cannot

cope with its own winter, that future looks bleak.

It seems the Mona Lisa is such an important painting that it's even

worth us looking at copies of it. The Prado Museum in Madrid has put

on show an alternative version which was painted by one of

Leonardo Da Vinci's assistants. We're told that seeing the copy

will help us understand how Da Vinci worked, because the theory is

that both paintings were produced at the same time.

It is a famous stair. A familiar pose. But for a long time, this

painting attracted little attention. Because it used to look like this.

We now know that the black background was painted on at a much

later date. When removed, it revealed something strikingly

similar to that on the Vinci's Mona Lisa.

The painting has been part of the Prada's collection for centuries.

It was thought to be painted in the decades following de Vinci's

original, and it was only when the Louvre asked to use it for an

exhibition, but the discovery was made.

In if we compare what is beneath the CERN -- the surface here, with

what is beneath the surface at the the Louvre picture, you can see

there are things going on which are not apparent on the surface.

Because those alterations, those changes, those slight modifications

are in both pictures, it is very likely that this was painted by an

artist who was working at the same pace as Leonardo.

It is not that the artist was one of da Vinci's apprentices, who

achieved a very close copy of possibly the first -- most famous

painting of the -- in the world. A reminder of our main news. The

Greek Prime Minister says the agreement of another big bail-out

from the eurozone it is at -- an historic opportunity to move

towards stability. Lucas Papademos said the 130 billion you would deal

was in the interests of the Greek people. There would be much more

pain dull for the Greeks. And Syrian opposition activists say

at least 50, including four children, have been killed by

government forces across Syria on Tuesday, thirty of them during a

heavy bombardment of the city of Homs. During the day hundreds of

shells have been fired into the rebel-held Baba Amr district of the

Tonight will be another frost-free night for most of us. But for the

day tomorrow, the winds pick up. Also a lot of cloud and heavy rain

a round. That is due to weather fronts coming in. Across parts of

Northern Ireland and Scotland at first. Much thicker cloud elsewhere,

the rain is likely to be heavy at times particularly through Western

Scotland and north-west England. By 3:00pm, temperatures of nine or ten

degrees across northern counties. A wet afternoon for the Midlands, but

parts of Kent and Sussex holding on to the dried weather. The rain may

be heavy at times across parts of Wiltshire and Hampshire, and across

south-west England it is a wet afternoon. Temperatures should get

to ten or 11 degrees. When you add on the strength of the south-

westerly breeze it will not feel very pleasant. Northern Ireland

stays damp and drizzly, highs of 13 to 14 Celsius. Cloudy with

outbreaks of rain across much of Scotland, however, eastern Scotland