:00:09. > :00:13.New York police cleared the first anti- capitalist camp that inspired
:00:13. > :00:19.a worldwide protest movement. More than 70 protesters were arrested
:00:19. > :00:24.for defying orders to leave. But most of those Diddley voluntary.
:00:24. > :00:34.Based around of the park in riot gear. They are trying to block off
:00:34. > :00:43.
:00:43. > :00:49.every street right now. They are Welcome to GMT. In the programme,
:00:49. > :00:52.heading for victory. Spanish polls put the right-wing candidate in the
:00:52. > :00:55.lead, but winning the election will beat the easy part. I'll be
:00:55. > :00:59.reporting from Spain, where the Socialist government is bracing
:00:59. > :01:03.itself for defeat as the economy heads into even deeper crisis.
:01:03. > :01:13.Syria's opposition leaders meet Russian officials. Can Moscow
:01:13. > :01:13.
:01:13. > :01:16.really played honest broker? It is 1230 in London, 8:30pm in Hong Kong
:01:16. > :01:20.and 7:30am in New York, where police have closed down the
:01:20. > :01:25.original occupy Wall Street encampment. It saw several arrests
:01:25. > :01:28.and accusations of heavy hand it must from the protesters. They'd
:01:28. > :01:33.been in the city's parks since September, spawning a protest
:01:33. > :01:35.movement that spread across the Atlantic to Europe. The Europe --
:01:35. > :01:45.the New York authorities said the encampments became a health hazard
:01:45. > :01:59.
:01:59. > :02:04.and say the protesters can return I am sorry, we've got a problem
:02:04. > :02:10.with that report. It just came in a few minutes ago. Let's go to a
:02:10. > :02:18.report we've also got from Humphrey Hawksley, on the events of that
:02:18. > :02:25.night-time operation, clearing Zuccotti Park. Stay calm, do not
:02:25. > :02:28.give up! It is 1am and police start to evicted protesters from there it
:02:28. > :02:31.two a month old encampment in the shadow of Wall Street. Those who
:02:31. > :02:39.came here to demonstrate against corporate greed and the gap between
:02:39. > :02:43.rich and poor are being ordered out. The whole world is watching!
:02:43. > :02:47.police say they are clearing the park to clean it. The owners have
:02:48. > :02:52.complained about the dirty conditions. Some chained themselves
:02:52. > :02:58.together in protest. Others go. They're angry confrontations
:02:58. > :03:04.between the police and the protesters. At about 3:25am they
:03:04. > :03:08.started with arrests. It immediately escalated into punching.
:03:08. > :03:12.The police pushed a big group of us. The woman in front of me had a
:03:12. > :03:16.whole bunch of people behind her and couldn't back up. The police
:03:16. > :03:22.started beating her with batons. I went to helper but we got sprayed
:03:22. > :03:26.with pepper spray. What is going on in this city that you think this is
:03:26. > :03:30.necessary? The one so from the rows of riot police lining the streets,
:03:30. > :03:33.blocking off access to the park as the protesters were removed. The
:03:33. > :03:37.protesters are angry about being evicted. They've been told they can
:03:37. > :03:41.go back but they've got to go back without any tents, so they know
:03:41. > :03:47.this is the end of their encampment. Already they are planning to move
:03:47. > :03:51.somewhere else in the city. This was the scene in the middle of the
:03:51. > :03:56.night. Those who came here to make their voices heard against what
:03:56. > :04:04.they see as corporate excess left without a place to protest. What do
:04:04. > :04:10.you think about the fact you've been evicted? I think it's sad but
:04:10. > :04:15.maybe it's what we needed. I think it will just make us stronger.
:04:15. > :04:20.protesters are roaming the streets of trying to regroup. Some want to
:04:20. > :04:22.retake the park once it's been cleaned. Others say their powerful
:04:22. > :04:32.anti- capitalist message has been heard and it doesn't matter where
:04:32. > :04:36.Staying with the US but turning to political rather than financial
:04:36. > :04:39.leadership, we can see that trying to prove you can run the country is
:04:39. > :04:43.no easy task. The Republican Party are holding a series of debates
:04:43. > :04:47.between the party members hoping to be nominated as a candidate for
:04:47. > :04:50.next year's elections. Last week, Texas Governor Rick Perry had an
:04:50. > :04:55.absent-minded moment and forgot which government department he
:04:55. > :04:59.would cut if he got into power. Yesterday it was White House
:04:59. > :05:03.hopeful Herman Cain's turned to go a little bit blank, when a reporter
:05:03. > :05:08.from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asked him about one of the biggest
:05:08. > :05:18.foreign policy stories of the year. So you agreed with President Obama
:05:18. > :05:30.
:05:30. > :05:36.on Libya? OK, Libya. President Obama supported the uprising -
:05:36. > :05:40.correct? President Obama called for the removal of Gaddafi, I want to
:05:40. > :05:45.make sure we are talking about the same thing before I say yes, I
:05:45. > :05:55.agree, or no, I didn't agree. I do not agree with the way he handled
:05:55. > :06:07.
:06:07. > :06:13.I've got to go back... I've got all this stuff twirling around in my
:06:13. > :06:17.head. Herman Cain there. We will have more on that, on the
:06:17. > :06:21.Republican nomination race, later in the programme. Let's take a look
:06:21. > :06:25.at some of the other stories making headlines around the world. Syrian
:06:25. > :06:29.opposition activists say at least 80 people were killed on Monday by
:06:29. > :06:33.government forces. The opposition is responding to the latest
:06:33. > :06:37.violence with a multi- pronged a diplomatic offensive. Their
:06:37. > :06:44.representatives have held talks in Moscow with the Russian Foreign
:06:44. > :06:47.Minister, Sergei Lavrov. The head of the Syrian National Council has
:06:47. > :06:51.been speaking to reporters in Moscow after that meeting with the
:06:51. > :06:58.Russian Foreign Minister. He is part of what he had to say.
:06:58. > :07:04.wanted to explain to our Russian Bent -- friends about our point of
:07:04. > :07:10.view. About the need to adopt these decisions by the Arab League,
:07:10. > :07:16.Russia and the international community, so that we can form a
:07:16. > :07:26.force that will put pressure on the regime, that would prevent it from
:07:26. > :07:27.
:07:27. > :07:33.getting away, from stopping the killings. Let's go now to Daniel
:07:33. > :07:37.Sandford, our correspondent in Moscow. What exactly is Moscow up
:07:37. > :07:42.to? On the one hand, they seem to veto any suggestion of taking
:07:42. > :07:46.action at the UN, but here they are talking to the opposition. Russia's
:07:46. > :07:50.position is they don't believe that further sanctions on necessary or
:07:50. > :07:54.useful. They don't want to see any kind of unnecessary pressure
:07:54. > :07:58.towards regime change in Syria. But what they do want to see is some
:07:58. > :08:01.kind of negotiated solution. They recognise there are some legitimate
:08:01. > :08:04.complaints by the opposition in Syria, and what they want to see is
:08:04. > :08:08.the Syrian government and opposition talking together. What
:08:08. > :08:12.is at the meeting today for Russia is to try and persuade the Russian
:08:12. > :08:16.-- the opposition groups to get around the table to negotiate this.
:08:16. > :08:21.But the opposition group's view is, we want to see pressure from
:08:21. > :08:29.countries like Russia on President Al-Assad to resign before we will
:08:29. > :08:32.get into that process. They want to see Assad making clear commitments
:08:32. > :08:35.towards democracy before they will get round the table with him.
:08:35. > :08:41.there is a challenge on the ground for the Russian position. We are
:08:41. > :08:47.hearing that dozens of people, possibly as many as 70 or 80 shot
:08:47. > :08:52.yesterday and today in Syria. How does that help Russia when asking
:08:52. > :08:57.the Syrian opposition to get into a dialogue? It doesn't help at all.
:08:57. > :09:02.Russia is finding itself, as it was over Libya, slightly isolated. At
:09:02. > :09:05.least a Bolivia, Russia had not vetoed these Council resolutions.
:09:05. > :09:10.On Syria, they are saying they would oppose any further sanctions.
:09:10. > :09:13.They are getting themselves in a position where they are starting to
:09:13. > :09:16.see the opposition interior as a supporter of President Assad.
:09:16. > :09:21.That's causing big problems. The opposition groups are saying that
:09:21. > :09:24.Russia is having the wool pulled over its eyes by the Syrian regime
:09:24. > :09:27.and that Russia should start listening to the views of the
:09:27. > :09:33.Syrian people. That is what they've been saying, what was described as
:09:33. > :09:36.very Sybil talks today. I have to say, listening to the press
:09:36. > :09:41.conference after the meeting, it doesn't sound like the two
:09:41. > :09:46.positions have changed very much. The opposition are still saying
:09:46. > :09:49.they want more pressure from Russia on President Assad to stand down,
:09:49. > :09:52.or at the very least make very concrete moves towards
:09:52. > :09:57.democratisation. Do you get the impression that the opposition
:09:57. > :10:02.movement is there simply because it feels it has did, rather than it
:10:02. > :10:08.really does think that Moscow can be some kind of honest broker able
:10:08. > :10:11.to have influence over the Damascus government? I got the impression as
:10:11. > :10:16.they went into these talks that they came here genuinely hoping
:10:16. > :10:20.they could persuade the Russian government, to convince them of
:10:20. > :10:23.their credentials and what they were trying to achieve. It didn't
:10:23. > :10:27.sound from the press conference afterwards that they felt they'd
:10:27. > :10:31.manage to do much persuading. They said it was a perfectly decent
:10:31. > :10:35.discussion and that both sides have listened to each other, but they
:10:35. > :10:39.didn't sound as though they felt that they'd managed to change
:10:39. > :10:43.Russia's position. A British minister has called for the release
:10:43. > :10:48.of political prisoners in Burma. A number of prisoners were due to be
:10:48. > :10:50.released this week but this appears to have been delayed. The
:10:50. > :10:54.international development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, is visiting Burma.
:10:54. > :10:57.It's the first such visit by a British minister for a generation.
:10:57. > :11:01.He told me that the reforms being introduced by the government are
:11:01. > :11:06.grounds for cautious optimism, as he put it, but that more needed to
:11:06. > :11:10.be done. Australia's Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, is pushing to
:11:10. > :11:13.overturn a ban on sales of uranium to India. The move would remove a
:11:13. > :11:17.diplomatic thorn between the two countries and comes ahead of a
:11:17. > :11:20.visit by US President Barack Obama. The ban was introduced four years
:11:20. > :11:24.ago because India had not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
:11:24. > :11:28.treaty. Julia Gillard said a change in policy would strengthen
:11:28. > :11:32.Australia's connection with what she called dynamic, democratic
:11:32. > :11:37.India. As India rises and brings hundreds of millions of people out
:11:37. > :11:42.of poverty, it will need more energy, it is looking to supply 40
:11:42. > :11:46.% of that energy need through nuclear energy. We are a very big
:11:46. > :11:53.supplier of uranium. So having access to this new and growing
:11:53. > :11:58.market is good for Australian jobs. Italy's new appointed Prime
:11:58. > :12:01.Minister is holding talks with representatives of the two largest
:12:01. > :12:05.political parties today, as he seeks to form a new government
:12:05. > :12:08.which can steer Italy through its debt crisis. Their votes will be
:12:08. > :12:18.crucial in a confidence vote likely this week, which would seal the
:12:18. > :12:20.
:12:20. > :12:23.Back to US politics, the Republican Party are holding a series of
:12:23. > :12:27.debates between the members hoping to be nominated as a candidate for
:12:27. > :12:30.next year's elections. Last week, Texas Governor Rick Perry had what
:12:31. > :12:35.can only be described as an absent- minded moment and forgot which
:12:35. > :12:39.government department he would cad if he got into power. Yesterday, it
:12:39. > :12:42.was White House hope for Herman Cain's turn to go a bit blank when
:12:42. > :12:46.a reporter from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asked him about
:12:46. > :12:55.one of the biggest foreign policy stories of the year. Joining me now
:12:55. > :13:00.from Virginia is Dr Larry Sabato, from the University of Virginia.
:13:00. > :13:03.The hopefuls seem to be making a habit of this. Yes, we've learnt
:13:03. > :13:07.two important scientific developments from the Republicans.
:13:07. > :13:12.Brain freeze is real and apparently it's communicable. I don't know if
:13:12. > :13:16.would -- if it will spread between the two we've seen so far.
:13:16. > :13:22.President Obama with a huge smile on his face. They are doing his
:13:22. > :13:27.work for him. They are. Of course, the White House believes in the end
:13:27. > :13:31.that the most credible candidate who will be nominated his former
:13:31. > :13:36.Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. They are preparing for a very close
:13:36. > :13:41.competitive battle with him. But obviously, to the extent that the
:13:41. > :13:45.other republicans can embarrass me to rob me, it helps a lot. --
:13:45. > :13:49.embarrassed Mitt Romney. What is it about American politics that throws
:13:49. > :13:55.up this kind of thing? Sitting here on the other side of the pond, it
:13:55. > :14:03.is laughable that men who aspire to the highest office some would say
:14:03. > :14:07.in the world could be like this. Well, I have to be honest with you,
:14:07. > :14:10.Ivor followed politics for 40 or 50 years and I can tell you honestly
:14:10. > :14:15.this is one of the weakest of fields that I've ever seen in
:14:15. > :14:21.either party. That just enhances Mitt Romney's standing, because he
:14:21. > :14:24.is a major player. But most of the other Republican candidates are not
:14:24. > :14:28.really major players, even in their own estates. Texas Governor Rick
:14:28. > :14:32.Perry would be but a number of the others don't even have a home base.
:14:33. > :14:36.This is not an impressive group of opponents. In the end, one would
:14:36. > :14:41.assume that this would mean that the one who is impressive would be
:14:41. > :14:46.nominated. Does it make a difference in the end, because one
:14:46. > :14:53.remembers George W Bush and his brain freeze moments in his
:14:53. > :14:57.campaign. There he was, he was there for eight years. It depends
:14:57. > :15:02.on the opposition. In the case of Texas Governor Rick Perry, I think
:15:03. > :15:08.the brain freeze has heard him. That was just a devastating moment.
:15:08. > :15:12.It has been played and replayed on almost every television channel. It
:15:12. > :15:16.makes him look quite foolish and unprepared. As far as Herman Cain
:15:16. > :15:19.is concerned, this is just the latest in a long series of
:15:19. > :15:23.incidents that suggest to most reasonable people that he is not
:15:23. > :15:33.prepared to be President. I think the sexual harassment charges are
:15:33. > :15:35.
:15:35. > :15:45.more serious for him and are indeed Still to come on GMT: Could this
:15:45. > :15:47.
:15:48. > :15:55.man put the Spanish economy back on First, let's get all the business
:15:55. > :15:59.news. This big debate in Europe, some people say we need to go for
:15:59. > :16:03.growth, others say we have to have austerity and cut. In a way, we're
:16:03. > :16:08.getting some of the answer to that. The new eurozone growth figures are
:16:08. > :16:12.out today. Yes, it is a tough balance.
:16:12. > :16:22.Spending cuts and tax increases are killing of potential growth. For
:16:22. > :16:28.
:16:28. > :16:38.the last three months, eurozone GDP came in and at 0.2%. Germany came
:16:38. > :16:40.
:16:40. > :16:44.in at 0.5%, France at 0.4%. France was better than expected. Greece is
:16:44. > :16:47.Bock down in recession, down by 5.2%. It is better than previous
:16:47. > :16:55.quarters but still a horrible number. This highlights the tough
:16:55. > :17:01.dilemma facing eurozone leaders. We have to make a choice - either
:17:01. > :17:05.belt-tightening or growth. When we look at the Hyde debt numbers in
:17:05. > :17:10.most European countries, it means belt-tightening. You have to accept
:17:10. > :17:13.it will cost growth, but if you do it together with measures that can
:17:13. > :17:17.stimulate and increase growth in the medium term, I think it is the
:17:17. > :17:20.right way to go. It is the right way to go, but the
:17:20. > :17:25.markets want to see what measures are going to be put in place to
:17:25. > :17:31.drive growth. You have to grow yourself out of debt.
:17:31. > :17:38.Tough times or road, including four companies. Richard Branson has been
:17:39. > :17:42.saying, do not let go of some of your more ethical thought.
:17:42. > :17:46.-- thoughts. Absolutely. We will focus on that
:17:46. > :17:54.later if we have more time. I want to focus on the credit rating
:17:54. > :17:57.agencies. The EU has never for given the three big ratings
:17:57. > :18:01.agencies for not giving enough warning about the crisis that hit
:18:01. > :18:05.in 2008, for not revealing some of the uncomfortable truths about the
:18:05. > :18:12.debt that some European countries were sitting on, as well as not
:18:12. > :18:16.giving Europe the credit for post crisis reforms. There is some
:18:16. > :18:22.discussion for an alternative to these three.
:18:22. > :18:25.TRANSLATION: I believe this will start the discussion again that an
:18:25. > :18:29.independent European ratings agency should be founded. That would give
:18:29. > :18:35.an alternative to the American -- the American agencies which are
:18:35. > :18:40.quite dependent on private enterprise.
:18:40. > :18:50.More business later on. For more on the Occupy a Wall
:18:50. > :19:02.
:19:02. > :19:06.Street movement, have a look at our the headlines: Police in New York
:19:06. > :19:09.have carried out an operation to clear and the Wall Street
:19:09. > :19:15.campaigners from their protest camp. In a meeting with Syrian opposition
:19:15. > :19:20.leaders, Russia's Foreign Minister has restated the position that they
:19:20. > :19:29.should engage in dialogue with President Assad.
:19:29. > :19:39.The Chinese artist Ai Weiwei says he has paid the first instalment of
:19:39. > :19:40.
:19:40. > :19:45.a tax bill. The down payment would allow his company to lodge an
:19:45. > :19:54.appeal against his tax demand. He called the payment the price of
:19:54. > :19:57.freedom of speech. Our correspondent joins us. Bring us up
:19:57. > :20:01.to date. He has described his recent life as
:20:01. > :20:05.being like a Hollywood movie. It began earlier this year when the
:20:05. > :20:10.artist was detained for three months without access to a lawyer.
:20:10. > :20:16.He was then released. The authorities said he had not paid
:20:16. > :20:19.his tax. It is something denied by the artist. He says he has paid
:20:19. > :20:24.this bond in order to allow him to fight his case. Much of the money
:20:24. > :20:31.for that Bond has come from his supporters, thousands of supporters
:20:31. > :20:37.who have made online donations. In some cases they have literally
:20:37. > :20:41.throw it over the wall of his studio. Here is what he had to save.
:20:42. > :20:48.Only by doing is do we have a chance to make an appeal. I do not
:20:48. > :20:55.think we can win the case. The whole thing is politically
:20:55. > :21:05.motivated. You will never get a fair trial in China. I see this as
:21:05. > :21:10.a ransom. A few months ago I was kidnapped. This is a payment for
:21:10. > :21:15.the price of freedom of speech. This is not just for me. If you see
:21:15. > :21:24.the report from the young -- the support from the young people,
:21:25. > :21:31.everybody expecting me to fight, to make sure that this kind of action
:21:31. > :21:35.never happens to anyone else. These are the true lives of many people.
:21:36. > :21:40.In my case it is more public. I have a chance to talk about it
:21:40. > :21:43.openly. How this case now precedes really
:21:43. > :21:48.is not clear. We have seen so many developments throughout the past
:21:48. > :21:53.few months. When I met the artist last week he simply said that he
:21:53. > :22:02.did not know what to expect. He added that the authorities simply
:22:03. > :22:07.make up the rules as they go along. Another eurozone country that is
:22:07. > :22:10.suffering is Spain. The country's governing Socialist Party seems to
:22:10. > :22:14.be heading for his worst ever defeat in this week's general
:22:14. > :22:18.election. The opposition Popular Party is promising economic
:22:18. > :22:21.recovery and new jobs. Under pressure from the EU to continue
:22:21. > :22:28.with austerity measures, can be really turn Spain's fortunes
:22:28. > :22:33.around? This report contains flash photography.
:22:33. > :22:43.This was once a Spanish-born town. Today it is a symbol of the
:22:43. > :22:43.
:22:43. > :22:48.country's crisis. Manuel took me to see why. This is
:22:48. > :22:54.their factory he worked out before Spain's economy crashed, wiping a
:22:54. > :23:00.business. TRANSLATION: There are no opportunities here today, nothing.
:23:00. > :23:04.This place was dependent on doors, and that is all gone.
:23:04. > :23:11.Spain's deep economic crisis is a major burden for the Socialist
:23:11. > :23:16.government and the campaign trail. Wide by Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba,
:23:16. > :23:21.the Socialists are still fighting this election. Using scare tactics
:23:21. > :23:27.to rally support, they warned that the conservative Popular Party
:23:27. > :23:30.plans to decimate the welfare state with spending cuts. TRANSLATION:
:23:30. > :23:35.The people who are suffering most in this crisis are traditional
:23:35. > :23:38.voters, the Socialist electorate, so it is hard to convince them.
:23:39. > :23:47.What we're saying is, yes, things are tough now but they will be much
:23:47. > :23:51.worse under the Popular Party. proof they point to Castile-La
:23:51. > :23:56.Mancha. Pharmacists here have not been paid for dispensing
:23:56. > :24:00.prescription medicines for six months. The Popular Party insists
:24:00. > :24:04.it is tending to a sick economy after years of reckless spending
:24:04. > :24:11.under the Socialists. Above all, the opposition is framing itself as
:24:11. > :24:20.the party of change. A policy plans are deliberately vague. We need a
:24:20. > :24:24.new policy and a new government. That is the way to make things
:24:24. > :24:28.change and to start building the confidence and trust that we need.
:24:28. > :24:31.With the entire eurozone in crisis, voters you know that whoever wins
:24:31. > :24:35.this election will have to take tough decisions. There will be
:24:36. > :24:39.bigger spending cuts. Both of the main parties are planning to --
:24:40. > :24:44.promising to create jobs. There is deep scepticism here that anyone
:24:44. > :24:51.can actually deliver on that. Most people know that the fate of Spain
:24:51. > :24:55.is linked to outside forces. Eurozone leaders and investors are
:24:55. > :25:01.watching closely to see if the government can turn his economy
:25:01. > :25:04.around and avert a bail-out. -- turned this economy around.
:25:04. > :25:09.You might be wondering what to get your nearest and dearest for
:25:09. > :25:13.Christmas. Nothing says I Love You Like a diamond. If you have $15
:25:13. > :25:18.million burning a hole in your pocket our correspondent has the
:25:19. > :25:23.perfect suggestion for that very special gift.
:25:23. > :25:29.It is called the Sun drop, one of the rarest coloured diamonds in the
:25:29. > :25:33.world. At 110 carats it is probably a little large Ford you ring finger.
:25:33. > :25:39.It is also the biggest diamond of its kind ever to be put up for
:25:39. > :25:43.auction, but will it sell in these times of global financial crisis?
:25:43. > :25:52.$15 million is a very correct estimate, I think, for this diamond.
:25:52. > :25:57.This time last year in Geneva we sold a diamond for $46 million.
:25:57. > :26:02.There are buyers for important, rare coloured diamonds. Ever since
:26:02. > :26:08.the economic downturn began in 2008, Business in gemstones has been
:26:08. > :26:15.burning. Some people clearly still have money. What is more, jewels
:26:15. > :26:24.like these will not lose their value as quickly as the euro or the
:26:24. > :26:28.dollar. Auctioneers are expecting a storm of bids.
:26:28. > :26:35.We are coming to the end of GMT. Before we go, a reminder of our
:26:36. > :26:40.main story. Police in New York's City have closed down the original
:26:40. > :26:45.calcite occupy encampment. There were accusations of heavy
:26:45. > :26:49.handedness from the protesters. They have been in Zuccotti Park