that. even when they don't agree with all of his policies. >> thank you both very much for staying up at this unearthly hour. we'll actually actually be back. that's how late this is with a show at our regular time. with the latest on the race for the white house and the crisis in syria. that's tonight, 9:00 eastern. hello and welcome to our viewers around the world and the united states. on this hour -- >> your days are numbered and it is time and past time for you to transfer power responsibly and peacefully. >> pressure builds on syria's president and some u.s. lawmakers are talking about arming rebel fighters. the falklands are flaring again. argentina's president accuses britain and wants u.n. intervention to prevent a war. >> claim to be the conservative

alternative to mitt romney. i stand here to be the conservative alternative to barack obama. an unexpected clean state clean sweep for rick santorum and once again all bet are off for the republican race for the presidential nomination. the military is sold on the syrian city has continued for a fifth day. opposition groups say since friday, hundreds of people have been killed by troops loyal to president assad. homs, the third biggest city, appears to have been laid waste. residents say they have been hit by an almost constant barrage of mortars and rockets. this video was shot by an anti-regime activist and posted on the internet. activists report 42 people have been killed there in the last eight hours or so. now you're looking at live images streaming from homs. residents also say snipers are on roof tops and tanks are

reportedly close to the city's center. but there is no sign yet that ground forces are preparing to move in. we're also told there is no electricity, phones are down, and women and children are seeking shelter in what looks like a basement. again, this is video shot by an activist, and we cannot confirm its authenticity. >> anti-air tanks, four anti-air tanks have been shooting at buildings. the tanks, the shells. the enemy has been shooting with rockets like yesterday as well. no one can leave. no one can come in. as usual, no doctors can go out, no doctors can come in. they shot at the ambulance today as well, the red cross ambulance. >> as this crisis deepens, cnn has been told by two u.s. officials the pentagon is now looking at military options. everything from support for the opposition to outright military

strikes. these officials stress that president obama is still focused on diplomatic action and no decision on military intervention has been made. but some lawmakers led by senator john mccain wants the u.s. to consider arming syrian rebels. >> i think we've figured out a contact group, a joint coalition, and we should start considering all options, including arming the opposition. the bloodletting has to stop. >> and america's ambassador to the u.n. sent a message to president assad calling on him to immediately step down. >> your days are numbered and it is time and past time for you to transfer power responsibly and peacefully. the longer you hang on, the more damage you do yourself, your family, your interests and indeed, your country. >> never before in four decades of assad family rule has syria been this isolated.

france, italy, spain, belgium, britain and germany have pulled their ambassadors from damascus. saudi arabia, the uae, bahrain are not only recalling their ambassadors but say they'll expel their envoys saying their presence in their country was useless. we're going to get the latest from homs in syria. an opposition activist joins us now on the phone from the city. omar, tell us, it seems relatively quiet now. we have heard reports that as many as 47 people have been killed in the past eight hours. >> reporter: okay. there is nonstop shelling. you can't hear prayer. the people in my area saying their prayers to save

themselves. okay? until now, 42 in homs. >> you're saying the shelling is continuing at this point. it is shelling by tanks. is it mortar fire? is it rocket fire? do you know? >> yeah. they are using tanks, russian tanks, and they are using mortars and cannons. they are using everything. and there is helicopter sometimes in the sky. >> and what is the target here? where are the shells and the rockets landing? inside residential areas? are homes and houses being hit?

>> okay. they targeted the civilian houses. they target everything and yesterday they targets the water container which is, it provides the whole neighborhood with water and the day before they target the hospital. now, we don't have this hospital now. we've taken the injured -- >> there was one filled hospital left when we spoke with one activist inside homs 24 hours ago. are you saying that has now been destroyed which is why you're using the mosque? >> one of the ships, the other one, it was in the next -- the

neighborhood which called. >> right. what is the position right now of the tanks? because that is one of the big concerns. that's what a lot of people are very afraid of. when the tanks might move into the city. when ground forces might move in. what can you see as far as the tanks are concerned? and syrian army troops? >> you can see the tanks by good zoom with the camera. until now, they are still surrounding the area, not very close. >> are you still there? are you still with us? >> yeah. i can hear you. >> you were saying that shelling from a distance, from outside

the city, although the tanks moving into the city. >> i want to tell you they are using the internet connection. they are cutting the cell phone and the phone. >> if you can get to a safe place, we appreciate you giving us the very latest from the city of homs. he is an opposition activist telling us there are tanks on the outskirts of the city. the city is being hit by mortar rounds and artillery rounds as well as tank fire and at times, helicopter fire as well. we've seen this time and time again. the activists using the satellite phones to get information out because the syrian regime has cut the phone lines as well as the internet. trying their best to ensure this information does not reach the outside world.

moving on, a decades old territorial dispute is resurfacing in the south atlantic. over a group of british islands known as the talklands. now argentina's president is accusing great britain of militarizing the region and says she is taking the issue to the united nations. in a speech on tuesday, the president directly appealed to british prime minister david cameron. >> i want to ask the prime minister of england to give peace a chance to give peace a chance. >> britain's decision to send one of its newest and most advanced warships and a nuclear submarine to the talklands has heightened tensions. so, too, the arrival of one high profile member of the royal air force.

cnn dan rivers is there. >> reporter: like any other service man far from home, flight lieutenant william wales immersed himself in his job immediately getting his bearings on this remote cluster of islands that's closer to antarctica than london. it just so happens this search and rescue pilot is the heir to the british throne and it so happens his routine deployment here has infuriated the argentine government. it is approaching the 30th anniversary of argentina's invasion of the islands. the occupation lasted two and a half months but dramatically ended after a british task force arrived and won the short but bitter war that followed. cemeterying british prime minister margaret thatcher's reputation as the iron lady. historians say argentina, spain, france, and britain have all variously claimed the islands but it was the british who colonized it, building the

capital port stanley in 1983 despite argentina's continued insistence of sovereignty. these days, stanley has all the trappings of british culture and not a tango bar to be seen. no surprise, the answer to this question. how would you feel about being argentinian? >> oh, no, i'm british. i want to stay that way. >> reporter: in argentina, that's not how they see it. tensions are inflamed. anti-british riots and stone rhetoric from the government reports its planning and economic blockade. like in 1982, the british royal navy is again sailing toward the islands and an advanced warship is on its way, although the british insists deployment is routine. local journalist sharon jaafari says most islanders are confident the u.k. will stand by them. >> i feel safer now than i've ever felt in my entire life. as a child, we were threatened with the argentines if we were

naughty. >> some residents don't care about the politics. but this pristine looking beach is a former minefield from the '82 war. not even the wildlife here can escape the legacy of conflict. the fact that there are penguins here gives you an idea of just how far south these islands are. people come in cruise ships to see them. but while they may be remote, they're now not so insignificant. because out there, offshore, vast quantities of oil have been found. and it is fueling the war of words with argentina, with prince william caught in the middle and all the islanders here hoping there won't be another conflict. dan rivers, cnn, on the falkland islands. tempers are once again in the rise in the streets of the greek capital when world report continues, we'll show you how proposed austerity measures in greece are already taking a toll.

and later, emergency locations have been put in the ukraine to save people from the cold. but europe's big chill is still claiming victims. from ferrari technoly to develop its suspension system? or what if we told you that ferrari borrowed technology from cadillac to develop its suspension system? magnetic ride control -- pioneered by cadillac, perfected in the 556-horsepower cts-v. we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs.

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$4 billion in extra spending cuts. that's a key condition before receiving $170 billion bailout from europe. euro's own leaders will continue to support greece to keep it as part of the euro. >> we want greece in the euro. the condition has made it clear from the beginning that this very important, not only for greece but for the euro to keep greece. we are urging the parties to make a commitment to the common goals. i think it is very important for them. >> all of this continues to spark outrage among many greeks, directed at both their government and their foreign lenders. protesters burned a german flag outside the athens parliament, accusing berlin and other countries of trying to choke greases by insisting on such

deep cuts. unions called a 24-hour strike and thousands took to the streets. >> responding to a call by the unions, protesters gather in the athens to vent their anger against the new austerity measures. a new bailout package would bring. cutbacks put in place since greece's first bailout package has caused severe shortages in supplies and is undermining it. some sat outside parliament today. >> in my school, the problem is very difficult. we don't have electricity in the classroom. one. second, very difficult with the heating. the pupils, it is very difficult to follow the school teacher because they don't have gas for heating. it is the problem inside the classroom and very difficult to think, to write. >> the teachers are also feeling the squeeze in their pockets. >> in the last two years, our

salary has been cut about 25% almost. and the worst thing is that in the future, we see much more cuts coming. and our work is, has been more difficult. our salaries cut down and this is not going to be better. >> nowadays, schools are closing. they laid off the teachers. you can't find a job at the public school at the moment. salaries are going down. everything is going up and we don't, we can't live. you cannot live like that. >> reporter: as last-minute details on the bailout are being ironed out that will bring more austerity to greece, the education ministry is introducing food coupons in schools after reports that a

number of students have been fainting in classrooms from malnutrition. cnn, athens. iranian lawmakers are summoning president mahmoud ahmadinejad for a please explain over his nation's economy. this is the first time there have been enough votes to make it happen. they say he will be required to appear before parliament within a month. analysts say this is part of a long simmering tension between mr. ahmadinejad and some hard line clerics who suspect he is trying to undermine their ultimate authority. meantime, hezbollah is openly admitting what many have long suspected, that it has been supported by iran for the last three decades. the group's leader says tehran provides financial and material aid but he denies taking orders from tehran. just the cash.

the damage is over but the worst has been done in this latest round of flooding in queensland and new south wales. our reporter is back with the levels and what we can expect in the coming days in australia. those levels are quite high right now. >> they're extremely high, dangerously high. they're at record stages right now. it will take some time for them to come back down. it will be days at a time. in fact, for some of these, it will be a couple weeks before we can get into a normal, as far as the levels here. there is st. george. this is the town we have saved because of the levy. the levy has held so we have avoided complete disaster here but nevertheless, it has flooded in some parts here. look at this expected crest. 14 meters. we've reached 13.95. and the record crest was set back in 13.4. that has been obliterated by the latest rise as a result of all

the rain we have been about over the last several weeks across queensland. the diamonds you see here, the red ones, those are the river gauges, the stations on the river and those are the ones reporting a major flooding. we're going to have a while here to go as all that water continues to drain down to the south. we'll watch that closely. let me show you some of the pictures. we're dealing not only with the flooding that has been left because of all the rain but now the secondary problems that we talked about. this water sewage treatment plant in st. george there has failed as a result of all the flooding. they've sustained some damage. so residents are being warned as far as the contaminated water is concerned there. that's a problem there. and of course, the farmers, the agriculture has been hit in significant fashion here. my goodness, we don't have to remind you what happened there in the last couple of years. after so many years of drought, all of a sudden the last three

years, we've just exploded with the am of arraign we've received in queensland and new south wales. we have this little trough that will continue to pour down some showers and thunderstorm activity but it will happen east of where we have the flooding there. that is certainly some excellent news. and i will leave you with a category almost 4 storm here in the south pacific. we're watching this very closely for our good friends in vanuatu. by far the most populated island but this bears watching as it continues heading to the southeast. we'll go north and talk snow when i see you in the next hour. >> we'll look forward to that. thank you. rick santorum is on a roll. he has upended the race to challenge barack obama with a stunning three-state sweep. we'll have all the latest coverage with jonathan mann coming up next. my retirement plan at work is a big deal... thanks... so i'm glad it's with fidelity. they offer me one-on-one guidance to help me choose my investments. not just with my savings plan here at work.

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♪ downloaded it in the himalayas ♪ ♪ while meditating like a true playa ♪ ♪ now when he's surfing down in chile'a ♪ ♪ he can see when his score is in danger ♪ ♪ if you're a mobile type on the go ♪ ♪ i suggest you take a tip from my bro ♪ ♪ and download the app that lets you know ♪ ♪ at free-credit-score-dot-com now let's go. ♪ vo: offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com™. rick santorum whose chance were dismissed had a huge upset, once again about the appeal to conservative voters, it is also a blow to newt gingrich who saw himself as the chief earn thety to mr. romney. john mann is here to look at all the numbers. these wins are a huge lift for

rick santorum. for the first time i guess since iowa. he is now being seen it's a a serious candidate. this means a lot in terms of money and momentum. >> if you want to talk numbers, here's what you need to know. three out of three. rick santorum won everything in these three contests doing much better than i think even his own campaign expected. if mitt romney thought it was going to get easier on his path to the white house, surprise. republicans in the states of missouri and minnesota and colorado all had ideas of their own. let's have a look at the numbers. let's start in the state of minute minute. we thought santorum would do well there because among republicans, there are a lot of social conservatives and a lot of evangelicals. the victory was so complete, so clear, rick santorum with 45% of the vote. mitt romney down in third place with about a third as many votes as santorum got. that's minnesota. missouri was interesting because this is a state where newt gingrich chose not to run. and here, rick santorum's margin

of vectry was even more dramatic. more than double what mitt romney got. 55% to 25%. a real blowout in missouri. we were potentially expecting that. what nobody was expecting was what happened in colorado. this is a state that mitt romney won with 60% of the vote last time. 60%. instead, it went to rick santorum with 40%. mitt romney with 35%. this is just barely half. a little more than half of what he got last time. newt gingrich was further down with 13%. colorado, also a surprise blowout. it was closer for a time but when it finally emerged, it didn't seem all that close at all. here's what santorum had to say himself a short time ago. >> ladies and gentlemen, i don't stand here to claim to be the conservative alternative to mitt romney. i stand here to be the conservative alternative to barack obama. >> portraying himself in

presidential terms. a short time ago we got in touch with one of our regular commentators to talk about santorum savoring the big victories. >> rick santorum is a social conservative. his message to the base of the party is, we're not happy with mitt romney and if we are one-on-one against mitt romney, the conservative base can defeat him. the problem is, there is still newt gingrich and a divided opposition. as long as both santorum and gingrich continue to win primaries, romney will do pretty well. >> one remarkable thing about tonight's surprise, rick santorum, well, he even lasted long enough to enjoy it. he was not anyone's august favorite and some people suggested earlier, he might be among the first casualties of the long caucus and primary process. >> thank you! >> back in the old days like just four years ago, candidates who didn't do well in the primaries dropped out of the race. they had to.

when votes dried up, donations dried up. the campaigns couldn't go on traveling, advertising, paying for salaries and office space. they just didn't have the cash. but this is the first election powered by super pacs. new fundraising organizations established under a precedent setting supreme court decision that came just two years ago. and even a single donor is enough to keep a super pac funded and a campaign in contention. the casino billionaire donated millions to the winning our future super pac to back newt gingrich. pay pal billionaires now with the venture firm founders fund, donated to endorse liberty super pac to back ron paul. and billionaire foster freeze has been giving to the red, white and blue fund super pac which has been backing rick santorum. >> well, it's like, i've got to keep that for my wife. she could kill me if she really found out. i think i want to keep that under the radar. it will be reported eventually.

i just believe in santorum. i believe in what he can do for the country. >> foster freeze was actually at rick santorum's side a short time ago when santorum gave his victory speech and that's no coincidence. freeze is one of the reasons that santorum is still in the race and why he can still be hoping to win it. >> all about the money. thanks, john. we return to the crisis in syria. the secret behind president assad's grip on power. it seem the asyrian leader has an ability to use internal divisions to his advantage. we'll explain that just ahead. some say it is a cry for help. others a violent protest of a life they did not choose. coming up, we'll tell you why dozens of women in afghanistan are landing in the hospital burn unit. allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems...

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he wrote in a way that they lived on in our minds generation after generation. >> charles dickens and his enduring appeal as the world marks 200 years since his birth. and an in-depth look at bashar al assad. how he has managed to cling to

power as calls for his overthrow grow louder. those stories are coming up this half-hour. first as always, a look at the headlines. the u.s. ambassador to the united nations susan rice said syrian president bashar al assad's days are numbered. meanwhile senior obama officials say the pentagon has begun an internal review of the u.s. military capabilities in the region. procedure is considered a typical move to inform the president of his options when he calls for them. argentina's president said she'll file a complaint with the united nations over britain's plans to deploy a warship and nuclear submarine to the falkland islands which argentina calls the maldinas. lebanon's hezbollah chief confirms what many world leaders have long suspected. that iran does provide the

shiite military group with military and financial support and has done so since 1982. he made the announcement. he says with the highest authority when public went to support. the results are in. there has been an unexpected clean sweep in the u.s. political scene. republican presidential candidate rick santorum is celebrating after the winning three-state contest on tuesday. the former senator won the colorado caucuses and is projected to win the minnesota caucuses and missouri primary. people have been protesting and dying in syria for almost a year now and through it all, president bashar al assad has kept an iron grip on power. while his loyal military has played a significant role, nick robertson reports, there is a lot more to it than just that.

>> reporter: in syria, there are two realities. the government's, this is a battle against terrorist gangs guided by foreign hands. and the other, the carnage at the hands of government forces, the rest of the world sees. bashar al assad is on the offensive. he makes no apologies. and his only public speech this year, he spelled out the future. his way or the highway. syrians must either support reforms or offer a constitutional change or face the brutal might of his army. so far, the few to sign up to the president's version of the future like this man, a struggling to find support.

[ speaking in foreign language ] >> we need a thousand signatures to register, he said. we want intellectuals, doctors, lawyers. we've had to look elsewhere. hardly surprising. they believed assad once before but were tricked. >> translator: the last time the government said this in 2005, he says, we were arrested. not long after, forming a party. russia is pushing assad to initiate roundtable talks but the answer from the opposition is already no. unless one crucial condition is met. >> the first condition that will help us provide such environment is for president assad to step down. without this condition, without the stepping down, the conditions would not be conducive to the dialogue about how to transition into democracy. >> the main issue is his credibility. i don't think the opposition believes in any of his offers

while he is at the same time saying that he is going to crush them, and that they are agents of israel and the united states. >> besides his military might, assad's other asset is the opposition's visions which reflect syria's volatile mixture. secular muslim brotherhood, hard liners islamists, urban, middle class, poor, and above all, sunni. observers say assad exploits. >> the regime has played games and has managed to divide, to play on all the divisions, capitalize on all the international local, region, internal divisions. >> assad, and his father before him, have ruled this way for close to 40 years. masters of divide and conquer. according to western diplomats,

he appears confident and the opposition is far more fragmented than it was several months ago. and that's not the only problem for activist leaders. with every death, bitterness is building, it harder for them to lead their people to the kind of compromise needed to avoid civil war. assad is playing by his rules, and right now, there is nothing to stop him. nic robertson, cnn, london. the entire staff of an elementary school in south los angeles is being replaced. the move is temporary while authorities investigate sex abuse allegations that center on two teachers. school officials say the dramatic step was needed to restore community confidence. while some parents applaud the move, others say it is disruptive and goes way too far. here's the story. >> reporter: parents and students storm the gates

of-mile-an-hour monty elementary school in south l.a. this morning. more than 120 staff members spent the first of two school holidays packing up boxes, closing up classroom and finishing grades before a bran new staff takes over on thursday. >> it is really sad in there. you have a lot of teachers crying. they don't want to be outside of the classroom them want to be with their students. >> reporter: lausd officials say the district s called hundreds of laid off teachers as they are trying to build up a new staff for the school that has been the focus of a sexual abuse investigation. l.a. county sheriff's deputies say 61-year-old markburg took disturbing photos and fed students bodily fluids in cookies and spoons. investigators say 49-year-old martin springer fondled two girls. >> the district wanted to give as you little band-aid. the problem is gone. no more problems. >> reporter: mothers and fathers wore band-aids after signing a petition developed by a

community group called happy valley enterprises. they don't support the district's new plan. >> this is in the middle of the year. it will affect the students. it is not good. they're having exams coming up. and this change is affecting everyone now. >> reporter: officials plan to have the new staff in place by thursday. the school is one of the biggest elementary schools in los angeles. with about 1,500 students. turning to afghanistan, a disturbing trend among women in the western province of harat. dozens of women have been showing up in hospital with burns they gave themselves. a desperate cry for help in the only way they know how. here's nick. >> reporter: two-thirds of the women admitted to this unit die. for the rest, survival normally means lying about what brought them here. >> translator: the gas blew up. i was in the kitchen. it burned me. i wear no pain could be greater than what i suffer now.

she was married off to her cousin, age 10. doctors say after six years of abuse from her mother and sister-in-law she became an opium addict. her suffering silent, no one to cry to. then one day, she committed the only act of protest she could think of. >> she burned herself because of domestic violence at home. for her, she poured the oil. because of violence at home. >> reporter: it has taken months for her to admit what happened in private. in public she insists she is another accident. here again, these women are silent. also a victim of self-mutilation. her wounds are still raw and her instinct of self-preservation still means she calls what happened another cooking

accident. >> seemingly she is saying it was the gas but when the patient comes to emergency room, here you will smell the fuel. self-immolation is a taboo in our society. the shame of it. >> reporter: the truth would bring shame on her family and that could mean they kill her. self-immolation is almost an epidemic here. 83 suspected cases in this hospital in the last ten months. a record. many ask why here? some say it is because such abuse is common in nearby iran. others, the oppression, the strangle holed these women feel in their lives is so intense so this bid to die is the only way they can speak out about the brutality of their life. they carry scars now forever from a devastating and brief moment in which they felt they had a voice. as their suffering in the past and future continues in silence.

cnn.

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this will be a memorable winter for many in europe as they struggle with a brutal blast of cold and snow. our meteorologist back with us once again at the cnn weather center with the very latest on this. and everybody wants to know across europe, when will it get a little warmer? >> it will get a little less cold, can we say that? less cold. we can't use the word warm. not going to be in the cards here, i don't think. we'll still be into the deep freeze. but it will moderate just a little bit over the next couple days. let's show you what has been happening across europe. an unbelievable winter here that, well, it started very mild. but my goodness, if we changed the menu, look at this. temperature in kiev at this

hour, in moscow, day in and day out, 20 to 25 degrees below zero. that's where we've been over the last few days. not just the cold temperatures. we have mixed the cold with the moisture and we've gone blockbuster snowstorms. we want to take you to the czech republic into bosnia where we have been air lifting folks. that's how bad it has been. we've been air lifting people out. they've been essentially cut off from civilization as a result of meters of snow that have been continuously piling on here. it has been very difficult for crews there to clean this up. when the snow rates get to a certain point, the traffic accidents there. it is just a nightmare here. the temperatures are not helping. we're not melting by any means. even the daytime temperatures are staying well below zero. what is happening here? i want to check in and show you some of the reasoning here behind it. on the map behind me, you'll see what is happening.

this is area of high pressure we've been about. if we were to categorize high pressures which we don't, like we do low pressure, say a hurricane in the atlantic, this would be a category five monster here. this essentially dropped down. and it has been with us over the last several weeks. this very cold high pressure which has allowed temperatures to stay well below normal. the jet stream has also dropped down. unusually, we had snow in tripoly. the jet stream dropping into the mediterranean and we have these lows that developed along the southern end of it. there has been your belt. very heavy snowfall. that is the pattern that continues. i think it will continue into the next week, although the snow is abating a little bit here. we're still going to be talking about some accumulation for the southern balkans here. a slight moderation in temperatures but it probably won't be noticed by too many people here, john.

>> okay. there's your good news. >> minus 23 in kiev. thanks, ivan. europe's homeless are being hit hardest during this record breaking big freeze. many are literally losing life and limb because of their exposure to the bitter cold. senior international correspondent matthew reports from a hospital in ukraine and a warning, some viewers will find parts of this report disturbing. >> reporter: this is the impact of freezing temperatures. when you've got nowhere to live. he was found half frozen, sleeping at a bus stand in kiev. his toes and fingers blackened by frostbite. it's badly affected his feet and hands, the doctor tells me. there is also painful frostbite on his nose and face, he says. and another casualty of the cold. >> i mean, there are huge problems in ukraine at the moment with the cold. people are really getting

severely injured and worse. we're going to see somebody being prepared for surgery. apparently they're going to have their hand amputated. there have been instances over the past week or so of people having their legs amputated because of the cold. and it gets much worse. just through this window here, you can see over there. there is a body that has been shrouded in a white sheet. somebody who was a victim of this freezing winter. >> reporter: at a mobile soup kitchen, one of 11 now applying the streets of kiev. city officials admit the problem are increasing but they say it is not through lack of effort to help on their part. i think it is just a tragic coincidence, the deputy head of kiev, tells me. we're putting three time more money into helping the homeless than last year.

but the weather is a harsh test, he says. back in the hospital, another homeless patient is being prep for surgery. his frost bitten hand, say doctors, can't be saved. for many, in freezing ukraine, the test of the weather is proving harsh indeed. matthew chance, cnn, kiev. still ahead this hour, a buy centennial. it is just one of the places where people are gather ordering the celebrate the author who brought us ebenezer scrooge and oliver twist. capital one's new cash rewards card

gives you a 50 percent annual bonus. so you earn 50 percent more cash. if you're not satisfied with 50% more cash, send it back! i'll be right here, waiting for it. who wouldn't want more cash? [ insects chirping ] i'll take it. i'll make it rain up in here. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? sorry i'll clean this up. shouldn't have made it rain.

castro cat made a rare television appearance on monday. he attended for the first two volumes of his memoirs. he appeared in good spirits but was visibly frail. his voice sounded a little hoarse. he was last seen in april when he attended the closing ceremony of a communist party congress. the work of charles dickens is known around the world. his victoria era novels spoke of social injustice and the struggles of the working class with a perspective that's still relevant even today. a look at how the writer's bicentennial birthday is being celebrated there. >> reporter: britain is celebrating 200 years of one of

its greatest authors, charles dickens. prince charles and his wife camilla came here. this is where charles dickens is buried. prince charles laid a wreath there. he was yoind by filmmakers, writers, but also more than 200 direct descendants of charles dickens. it was the biggest gathering of the dickens family ever. we had a chance to speak with mark dickens, the great, great grandson of charles dickens. >> we in the family are completely bold over by the phenomenal interest worldwide of charles dickens. we know he was a great man and we're terribly proud to be related to him but this has completely taken us by surprise. >> reporter: as you can imagine, there are events happening all across the country. there is a dickens read-a-thon where they will be going through all of charles dickens' classic works, and even the politicians are getting in on it. the culture minister is going to be giving a card copy of dickens

classics to every member of the cabinet. and it is tailored to either their personality or their jobs. for example, prime minister david cameron is getting a copy of great expectations, reflecting his political ambitions and hard time, inspiration, perhaps, for the bleak economic climate the country is currently in. now, as for liberal democrats, he is getting a copy of oliver twist. that can be interpreted in many different ways. but for fans of dickens, they say the main reason that we should continue to read dickens works today is because his universal themes of poverty and social injustice are still very much relevant today. >> he writes in a way that in a sense prefigured cinema. he wrote in a way where the characters are so vivid and so powerful, they've lived on in our minds in generation after generation after generation. and been an inspiration for future wrights and filmmakers.

social injustice, the bureaucracy of the law, the bureaucracy of government. those things haven't gone away, sadly. and a lot of the themes that he writes about are as relevant today as they ever were. and i think dickens rather sadly, if he was looking around, there are many things that he would notice that have changed. >> reporter: it is not just britain celebrating the boring of dickens. more than 54 countries are holding commemorative events today. the organizers of dickens' 2012 say they believe that this could be a record year for sales by work of charles dickens. cnn, london. >> i know a you too people who could do with a copy of a christmas carol. moving on, iran is working on spreading soft power around the world. especially in latin america. [ speaking in foreign language ]

>> reporter: they've just launch ad 24-hour spanish language satellite tv channel. apparently to downer u.s. dominance in the americas. iran has tried to stem the influence of western culture at home. the government just left a ban on toys and dolls associated with, yes, the u.s. cartoon family, the simpsons. it comes on last month's ban on barbie dolls, oddly enough work the western character who's do get the stamp of approval are spiderman and superman. the morality police say it is because they fight for the oppressed. and finally, what has to be the most insanely complicated music video ever made. the group okay girl used almost 300 it goodars, 55 pianos and a chevy. it all came together to make some beautiful music. here's jeanne moos. >> reporter: why just play the car radio when you can may the car? ♪

>> reporter: it is so unusual, we had to make up a name for it. drive by what? >> i guess it is drive by rock 'n' roll is what it is. >> reporter: rock 'n' roll in over 1100 home made instruments like glass jars and pipes. the group okay go has gone and done it again after making music videos on tread mills. with a dozen leaping dogs. and with a goldberg contraption big enough to fill aware house, now okay go is going on the road. lead singer damien says it took four months of prep and four days of shooting in the california desert on a two-mile track in a car that deployed seven arms. >> if you're off by a little bit, you rip the arm off the car. we broke dozens of those arms. >> reporter: his fellow band members turned levers to deploy the article. arm that tickled the ivories on

55 pianos. >> each piano, we had to tune the bottom half to one note so no matter where you hit it, you get the same note. >> reporter: damien had to take a stunt driving course. he says the trekky part wasn't driving fast. it was driving at the perfect speed. have the guitar solo is about 42 which doesn't sound like much but on an unpaved road on the edge of a cliff with some turns in it, it is scary. >> reporter: did he say guitar solo? >> the it goodaguitars were pla a fishing line. chevrolet paid for the project and gave okay go total creative freedom as well as the new chevy sonic. in exchange, chevy got to use okay go's materials in a commercial that first aired on the super bowl. the car even ran over hoses that blew air into tube as.

to commemorate the video, okay go is selling car air fresheners with their faces on they will. each guy is a different scent. >> i think i might be new car smell. i hope i'm new car smell. >> reporter: new car smell. >> new car smell note of a dusty guitar. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> did we get it? >> that's world report for this hour. keep in touch with me on twitter. you can find me at cnn. piers morgan is up next. whwhatat m makakeses t thehe r ststorore e didiffffererene?

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