>> this is a bbc world news. funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global

expertise for a wide range of companies. let our global expertise work for you. >> i am in singapore. >> i am in london. anger in athens as the european union and welcomes greek parliament's austerity measurements. this rupture in the uk as hundreds of thousands of public sector workers go on strike. >> saudi arabia says it will not issue permits for people from indonesia and the philippines, and venezuela suspends a summit over speculation over president chavez. >> this is wednesday puree o.

the european union has welcomed the vote from the greek parliament in favor of ferocious spending cuts and tax rises. bill was passed by just 20 votes. greece looks certain to default on its massive debts. protesting against the proposed cuts. >> fierce clashes continue after they voted to impose tax increases and spending cuts in an attempt to avoid a crop secure a good -- to avoid bankruptcy. earlier, they attempted to protests harsh austerity

measures. thousands gathered outside parliament. there are volleys of teargas being aimed at the crowd, and the crowd certainly has a sense of tension, knowing within an mps aree impis' -- supposed to vote. dozens of protesters were injured there were running battles with protesters charging police lines. the police used tear gas and stun grenades. some of the protesters threw last bonds, -- platforms, and the fighting spread to neighborhoods. george papandreou says it is time to face up to a historic challenge. he said the greek people do not want this to fail, because if these measures fail, greece will fail. in the event the austerity measures passed by those the handful of votes, the way is now

open for greece to receive 10 billion pounds in an emergency loans and avoid bankruptcy. the response on the streets was one of fury. this woman said, let the prime minister come down here and see if he can live on 300 euros a month. european leaders say it is good for the euro zone. that may be true in the short term, but these cuts have little popular support. tonight crowds were herded into a metro station, and police showed little restraint. yes, the government one, but there are serious doubts about whether these measures can be implemented. >> hundreds of thousands of public servants from teachers to tax officers and coastguardsman to driving test examiners are going on strike to protest changes to their pensions.

industrial action started a couple hours ago, but the biggest impact will be felt later in the morning when courts will be affected. travelers may also face disruptions. our industry correspondent has the latest. >> thousands of schools will be closed. many job centers will be shut, and air travelers will face long queues at airports. that is one of the impact as hundreds of thousands of public serv it -- public-sector workers go on strike. on the eve of the biggest industrial action to be seen in years, the prime minister attacked. >> i do not believe there is any case for industrial action tomorrow, because talks are still ongoing. it is only a minority of unions who have taken the decision to strike, but i want to see as many mothers and fathers as possible able to take their children to school.

>> of the same time in london and elsewhere unions were rallying the troops. they reject the claim that the proposed changes are fair. >> we are striking because the government has made it clear they intend to make our members worked eight years longer, pay thousands of pounds more and get half of what they currently get. it is completely unfair, and we are striking to try to stop it. >> what impact will it have some? they expect around 100,000 civil servants to withdraw their labour. a third of schools in england are likely to close. another third will be partially affected, means one-third will be open. one leader describes that as overly optimistic. how much sympathy is for the

strike? >> i think investor confidence in terms of putting new business into the u.k. could be hit. >> this evening at heathrow, the strike got under way. it is understood some immigration officers did not report to work, but the destruction may only be a taste of what is to come. the next step is likely to be in late summer or early autumn, and if the deal cannot be done, some unions are warning of more widespread industrial action. >> thousands of protesters have been arrested in minsk, the capital of belarus. good they gathered in the city center to show their anger at the government. security forces pulled people from the street. they have sworn to strike hard against any consent.

they sent this report. >> there is no word, and nobody has said anything. every wednesday there are gatherings like this. give people know if they say anything, they will be detained, but that does not stop the police from detaining people. we saw about 2000 people to attain -- detained. >> let's crossover to rico, because there has been a development in some domestic servants in saudi arabia. >> as we reported, indonesia and saudi arabian officials have been meeting to discuss the status of domestic workers

employed in the country. this follows a maid who was convicted of killing her saudi employer. the bbc postgame is head -- kb is in manila. she explains what led to that. >> they are in a similar position. they have a lot of leaders in saudi arabia. they have more than a million people working in saudi arabia, and they have been asking for better conditions and more guarantees for the safety of women, and back here in the philippines for example, people are really scared if they go to countries like saudi arabia, they may be of use -- abused, so

these countries are asking for better pay and better condition, so they are saying they can get money from better places. >> they have contributed hundreds of millions to the philippine coffers through remittances. what impact is this going to have on domestic workers in the philippines announced? >> it is going to have a huge of fact on domestic work. the government is trying to protect domestic workers. they want decent conditions, and that is why they are fighting this. they are trying to demand better conditions, but there are many people who desperately need the money. most of these people do not have qualifications. they do not have many options. when people were arrested in the airport, they dress up as nuns.

this is the level the philippine government did not want to work in. it is one thing to say we do not want people to work in these countries, but the people who do not have many options, even with very limited guarantees, it is better than nothing. >> flash floods triggered by heavy rains have killed 11 people and forced evacuation south of the country. this has affected port communities. some people were completely washed away in russian waters. 13 people are still missing. the international media giant news corp. is all but giving up on its investment into the social networking website my space. the media group has sold a

majority stake. a washington journalist puts those share price at 35 million u.s. dollars that is a fraction of what was paid six years ago. venezuela has continuing speculation over the health of president hugo chavez. he is having medical treatment in cuba but appears to be making a smooth recovery and is expected to return to host a meeting. >> spending time with his friend in cuba, president chavez is recuperating. on tuesday he reassured about the state of his health, but the picture changed again. government officials released a statement postponing a regional meeting of heads of state due to be held next week, saying the

president's recuperation had to come first. reporters gathered to pray for the president's health. >> i hope he comes by soon, but he needs to look after himself. we cannot have another president. >> i hope he recovers quickly and that god protect him. >> president chavez has been away for almost a month, and his absence is keenly felt. he appears often in public. his ministers have insisted he is recuperating and will return shortly. >> president chavez in the process of of full recovery, and he has not stopped exercising his constitutional duties. >> opposition has complained they know very little about the state of his health and who is running the country.

>> it is a profoundly irresponsible president who did not help entering the times of anguish and serious problems. >> venezuela is asking if the president can recover in time for celebration marking 200 years since independence from spain. >> live from singapore and london. still to come, as part of our season, we meet the chinese actress who has found success in both asia and hollywood. >> a dissident display. an exhibition of photographs by the chinese artists opens in new york. in the most violent protests, hundreds in word entered -- were injured.

they used tear gas to disperse the centers. now this is a result of over -- of accusations of corruption curio -- of corruption. >> the most violent protests since the downfall of the former president mubarak, but is this a continuation of the movement? this is how they have described the men who. a military council warned of a serious plan to cause disorder in the country, but protesters say this exactly the same man who used to be employed by mubarak's costs regime to its bearish -- mubarak's regime. they complained about a

proposed slowness in punishment. by midday, clashes had stopped, and their success will depend on whether they're able to garner public support. so far, they do not seem to have achieved either. some people are calling for the downfall of the military council. others are calling for the resignation of the interior minister, but so far, there is not a set of political demands. what is common is a feeling of acute anger against the police forces. >> you can find much more on all of our stories on our bbc news website or follow me on this winter -- on twitter. >> this is tuesday. i am in singapore. >> aren't inane headlines. despite violent protests on the

streets of athens, the european union over a controversial austerity package. >> hundreds of public sector workers are going on strike over government plans to change their pensions. in cambodia, the initial hearing in the trial of the four surviving members of the khmer rouge is today. the charges are for the deaths of 2 million. the trial is likely to last for years. i am joined from the cambodian capital. thank you for joining us. the tribunal has been sitting since monday. what has come out of it so far? >> pretty much as we'd suspect,

the defendants are making various objectives to being on trial. he says he faces a double jeopardy. he was already convicted by revolutionary tribunal in 1979. others argue about such things as the statute of limitations. we have had a taste of how the defendant is going to react on trial. we were wondering how much cooperation they are going to get. they have been regularly standing up, saying they are going to the bathroom. we have seen the defendant's coming and going on a regular basis over the last four days. >> how does the case proceed from here? >> it is now down to the trial judges to consider all these objections they have heard from the defense as well as various things about the witness list. once they have completed those, and people have hope they will go forward fairly swiftly to the substantial trial phase, and

this is when they will hear testimony from witnesses and from the four surviving leaders. >> cambodians have been asking the trial live on national television. how have they been reacting so far? >> many have said how delighted they are to see these senior leaders in court after all this time, but they never thought it would be brought to justice. just the initial hearing is enough to restore some of the faith that justice will be done, but a lot of people are extremely angry about how they have been behaving. they said, we were forced to work as slave laborers. with these people complaining about being shut up now, they are pretty disgusted with the situation. >> thank you so much for an update. in other news, authorities say they have arrested six people

and seized a small amount of enriched uranium allegedly smuggled from russia. officials say the mix of moldovia and russian nationals were looking to sell at least 1 kg to a buyer from an unnamed muslim country. they said they have been following the suspects since march. a bbc reporter being held is both physically and psychologically frail according to a colleague. the authorities have charged with the association with the islamist group. he says the allegations are unfounded. three men convicted for a plot to blow up a synagogue in new york city have been sentenced to time in jail. they were arrested in the sting operations withmissiles two yea. they describe him as a buffoon who would never have organized

the plot without the help of fbi informants and agents. the most lucrative film industry remains in america, but the biggest film market is now in china. now hollywood wants a greater slice of the action there. he has found success in both countries with films like "nemours of a geisha" and "house of flying dagger's." we talk about working in hollywood and asia. >> people think of action movies. the process is different, but i think the goal is the same. everybody wants to make good movies. i think china right now the market is very strong and active, so there is a lot of hollywood producers fed will

come to china -- that will come to china. >> china has 1.3 billion people, but chinese film and its influence extends beyond that. you see this as a form of soft power? the ability for china to influence culturally as opposed to economic might? >> yes. i have to say that, because i agree. we had a movie, a local chinese film, and it was called "let apple with sly -- let the bullets fly," and only in china in a $100 million, which is a large measure of success, so i think more people care about movies, even though you have a lot of piracy. that bothers the industry a lot, but people have this money.

they want to spend it, and the movie is the best way. they enjoy and support these movies as well. >> do you think piracy is holding back the chinese movie industry and the ability for international movies to be made in china? >> very much so. each time we make a movie, we want the producers to return, but the piracy really killed us, and that is something i think we have a long way to go, and i do not know. probably soon the government will have something to do with this, but it is very strong. after a new movie comes out in the future, maybe one week, you

can get a $1 dvd already. it is pretty sad. >> a that is the chinese actress. an exhibition of photos by the artist wei in new york. >> the dissident artist will not be attending. he has been banned from speaking publicly since he was released last week from nearly three months in detention. his supporters are challenging china's the man that he paid nearly $2 million -- savannah he paid nearly $2 million in fines. -- demand he paid nearly $2 million in fines. >> long before he became the most nationally are wrapped in region renowned dissident now, he spent years in -- long before he became the most nationally renowned dissident, he spent

time in new york. now an exhibition has opened in the city. include 227 photographs taken by the artist between nine teen 83 and 1993, -- 19 83 and 1993, selected from his time in the united states, a time that helped shape his art and politics. >> i think what makes indifferent is he is a visual artist who has a perspective on these issues. he has been living outside of china. he understands how the world works. i think that has influenced him. >> from demonstrations in the

east village in 1998 to bill clinton's first presidential campaign, since then, the artist who helped design the birds nest stadium for the 2008 beijing olympics has come into serious conflict with the government for his outspoken views. he has an order to pay $2 million in fines and unpaid taxes. the photos are a timely reminder of all life spent never far from the camera postulants. >> you have been watching the bbc. >> time for a quick reminder of our main news. police in athens fought running battles with those protesting austerity measures. the european union welcomed the vote in favor of the cuts. that is all from us in london and singapore. we will see you in a little while.

good bye for now. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. ♪

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