n is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. shell. and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> welcome to news day on the bbc. the headlines this hour -- the euro's own deal is done but now

the french president said greece should never have been allowed to join the single currency. final results are declared in tunisia's first free election. an islamic party wins the share of the vote. the great escape, thousands leave the thai capital bangkok as rising waters floods in. >> queen elizabeth ii's royal succession is discussed. broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world this is news day. >> the french president nicholas sarkozy said it was wrong to let greece join the

currency. he said they shouldn't have been allowed to join the euro because its economic figures were false. the agreement reached in brussels has triggered a rally as will grant reports. >> the day after their high stakes meeting in brussel, euro's own leaders return home to show the deal to their electorates. >> for his part the french president said he would never have allowed to greece to join the euro in the first place. >> neither ms. merkle or myself were in power when it was decided. it was a mistake. greece entered with figures that were false and they weren't ready. their economy wasn't ready for integration into the euro zone. it was a decision taken in 2001 and for which we are now paying the consequences.

>> he did stress that he trusted the greek government to negotiate a part out of its debt crisis. but his comments provoked a defiant response from athens. >> greece is in the middle of the storm but is not the source of the problem. we see this with portugal, ireland, spain. we see the discussion happened. it doesn't have to scapegoat a particular european country. >> with the bailout front now heading to china to drum up support for the plan, mr. sarkozy said he had spoken to his chinese counter part. president sarkozy said he would welcome fresh investment but was sure that europe could cope on its own. >> if the chinese who have 60% of the worldwide reserves decide to invest in the euro rather than the dollar then why we fuse? after all, there's nothing to negotiate.

our independence will not be affected in any way. why should we affect if the chinese have deposited our funds in our funds or banks? >> there are still many questions about the finer details of the bailout package. but mr. sarkozy was clear about one thing. if agreement hadn't been reached in brussels, he said the repercussions would have been catastrophic for the rest of the world. >> violence has erupted in sidi bouzid the birthplace of the revolution. police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of protestors. ennahda was the winner of the largest number of seats. our correspondent gave us the latest situation in tunisia. >> we're getting reports as tuesday initiaian -- tunisian

police were called to the city sidi bouzid. a party in the election was eliminated. election officials said they were canceling seats won by the popular list party which was led by a local businessman in six electoral districts because of finance violations. this party won many of the votes in sidi bouzid which is why these people came to the streets and is really a reminder of what started this arab spring at the very end of last year with people coming out to the streets to express their dismay. this is a democratic process in action people going to the streets as they were never allowed to do under their former president. an act that was banned under

ben alid's regime. thousands of members of the ennahda party banned from people living abroad. some people are saying that the fact that this party is back in the country is the reason that they voted for them. if you like a show a defiance in the face of their former president, a hated president. >> now a desperate situation is developing in bangkok. >> that's right. thousands of ress accidents are fleeing the capital. so far more than 365 people have died in bangkok's worst flood in decades. thousands have left the northern suburbs. the city center is now completely surrounded by water. the coordinator of a loke cally

flood relief center joins me on the line from there. tell us, how is the situation like where you are in central bangkok? >> right now in the center of bangkok is still dry, thankfully. but the water is not far from us. up north where i am is called victory monument which is right in the middle bangkok. the water is 10 to 15 kill om -- kilometers away. and both are threatening the central area of bangkok at the moment. >> now, how are you helping people there because your organize doesn't get any -- organization doesn't get any funding from the government?

>> this center that we have established is done through several of the organizations and volunteers. actually, though we do not receive direct funding from the government, we served in several functions including to mobilize volunteers and we also design innovative tools for flood relief such as the raft made of p.v.c. tube and plastic bottles. and the water treatment can be thrown into the water and improve the quality of the water in a matter of days. >> that's right because there are shortages, very crucial things like water, eggs as well.

your organizations has been sending daily emergency bags to the very individuals who were helping. what more are you doing? >> at this point i have to express that the -- shortage of water is critical. [indiscernible] >> i'm afraid i'll have to cut in there because unfortunately we're having difficult hearing you there but thank you very much for your comments there. >> now a 13-year-old boy has been rescued from the rubble of an apartment building more than 100 hours after an earthquake struck there in eastern turkey. aftershocks are continuing to reach the region hampering rescue and recovery efforts.

two and a half how sand injured. >> hundreds are dead, 2,000 buildings have been destroyed and thousands more are too dangerous to live in. the discovery of a teenager alive in the rubble has lit up an otherwise dark situation. strapped to a stretcher and protected by a neck brace, he was carried out of the rubble by a team of rescuers. the head of one of the rescue teams was a 13-year-old. he was taken to the hospital but was in reasonably good health. >> in total around 190 people have been rescued from the rubble. but they like thousands of others are now homeless. government and international aid has arrived in the devastated region and cities

around town. it's now five days after the quake hit but aftershocks continue and few want to return to their homes but wet weather and freezing temperatures are making life very difficult for the survivors. people are becoming desperate and impatient. the local kurdish population has found itself in conflict with the central government and anger is rising again, just one more complicated factor in this very difficult situation. >> the commonwealth leaders are due to discuss changes to the royal session in the city of perth. the queen arrived amid 2008 security. the leaders are expected to agree to overturn session laws to give daughters equal rights to the throne. duncan, tell us, why is this change in the law so significant.

>> well, it's significant for the 16 countries in the common wealth for whom the queen is the head of state. and the whole idea, the whole theme of this conference in many ways and that goes towards the royal family as well is one of modernization it's being driven by david cameron says for males to supersede is an ana crow nism in the 21st century and doesn't play on the common wealth based on values an human rights. he made the point that gender equality is one of the most basic human rights. he's pushing for these changes. there will be changes for a future monarch to marry catholics in the future. they want to see that change as well. it's a package of reforms to bring this institution up to date. and there won't be any great decent on this. i think there's gent agreement

that this institution does need to change and bring itself into the 21st century. >> now, you talk of these changes there, but there are a few other issues that are being discussed by leaders as well. >> very much so. the broader things if you like if you like climate change, sustainability economic development, food issues, all those issues will be discussed but there are other specific issues that could be more contentious things like stopping the criminalality of home sex shes. they still have laws banning homosexuals. there will be discussions about whether those things should be repealed in the whole spirit of modernizing the common wealth. but the biggest thing will be discussing the reform of the common wealth herself. and the queen made reference to this she said she was looking forward to her leaders bringing

in common wealth into a fresh and fit state for tomorrow. the common wealth itself has commissioned a report looking at its futurer. and there's a 200 page report and it concluded that the common wealth is in danger of becoming irrelevant. in a world full of g 20's, european unions with the debt crisis, common wealth doesn't feature. and they say we should get back to the days for example where the common wealth helped bring an end to apartheid, an end to white rule in what was rodisha putting pressure like in you ganda. those things are in the past. those are things they want to do to make the common wealth relevant to the issues. and they hope they can bring this institution back into the 21st century. >> duncan kennedy there in perth. now you're watching news day in

singapore live. >> still to come -- town and country, population is putting strains on rural india. and let there be sight. the new medical research that could stop people going blind. >> an alleged israeli spy has arrived in tel aviv after being freed in egypt as par of a prisoner exchange in israel. he was detained in june and accused of spying by the egyptian authorities. in return of his release, israel released prisoners. they want to still do business. ben reports. >> back in israel after being freed by egypt in the latest prisoner exchange. 27-year-old grapel was arrested in june on suspicion of spying a charge denied by israel and

his family. his mother met him at the airport. the u.s. congressman was also president. grapel who studied law in the united states had been working for a refugee agency when he was seized. the u.s. which gives egypt millions of dollars in age. his facebook contained a picture of him wearing an israeli uniform. >> at the crossing some bowed in prayer or kissed the ground as they walked back toer egyptian soil. >> when asked, this man said he had been treated well but that he had been unable to make contract with his family while in custody. others said that they never expected to be released. >> some commentators said these

images were both to supported homes for egypt's new leaders. relations between egypt and israel had been strained. and the improvement is seen as important for the peace deal that's held since 1979 is considered a pillar of stability in a turbulent region. ben ander "bbc news." >> this is news day on the bbc. the headlines. the french president nicholas sarkozy had said that it was an error to admit greece into the you yo in 2001. final reports are declared in tunisia's first free election. an islamic party wins the largest share of the vote. now 7 billion that will be the size of the population. much of the world's population

lives in asia. followed closely by india who has over 1.2 billion. but it's set to overtake china the world's most populace country. asia's growth rate is about 1% a year. as the population grows country's like india are taking new challenges as they face a shrinking amount of thailand. we met one farmer in punjab who is struggling to make ends meet. >> this farmer lives here. his nine-member family squeezed into two rooms sharing sbace their cattle. his father once owned 18 acres of land. enough for a life of plenty. but that changed as the life was carved up with every succeeding generation. what's left is not enough to

support them. >> we live well but now each of us own three acres. and it's going to get divided further for the next generation. >> punjab once india's breadbasket growing much of the country's food. but in the past five decades, the number of farms have doubled. small pockets of land that are no longer productive, a rich fertile region is becoming like this. >> there's almost no land to go around. this used to be a rich state. now, it's a struggle to survive. instead, farmland is being cleared for other projects. across the land, construction is at full swing as far tracts of land are transforms. development at the urban rich

this village is like any other you'll see in rural india. but across the street high-rises being built. it's typical of what's happening in india but particularly here in the north of delhi. robbing india of land that could be used to feed its population. many farmers attempted into selling their inheritance and making some quick money even if it's short lived. >> the farmers aren't willing to go into farming anybody. it's really a serious problem. but it's a problem they're feeling intense because of if low productivity that are being generated in the small farms. >> india adds 16 million to its population every year. but with less land, feeding the country is going to be a challenge.

>> now for more, i'm joined on the phone by the director of population first and working on population and health issues. now thank you for joining us. the world's seventh billion baby is expected to be born in india. how significant is this milestone? >> it's a big milestone because we are growing at a very fast rate. i think it's very important the challenge facing us that every time they should have all the rights to grow and live a life of dignity. i look at it as a very symbolic thing that a child -- that the seventh billionth child is

being born in india. >> what challenges does it face in dealing with the very likely drain on resources? >> i think the major issue is it is an organization that is likely to happen. that's going to put tremendous pressure on the resources that, you know, that are available. also things on the ecology like manth and many other things that are going to be a major issue. the strategy between the states economic development and social development on the other hand which have -- the fact that five states are going add 50% of the population growth. we need to really invest in

those things. >> right. with the preference of having boys are you worried about having a huge gender gap? >> yes, this is one of the major issues and unfortunately, from someone to 2011, this whole thing of sex selection is a phenomenon. it's happening in rural areas. it's happening all over the country. every state has recorded a decline in it. that is something worrisome. and the gender gap increasing. it's not that we will have less number of girls but considering the mind set behind the practice, more and more will be denied the rights, you know, particularly with the terms of economic independence and access to -- >> i'm afraid we'll have to leave it there but thank you so

much for zwroining us. >> over to deborah. you got news of a medical breakthrough. >> indeed. i do. british researchers hope they have found therapy. the gene therapy could transform the lives of many. >> jonathan wyatt is going blind. he can just see about enough to work from home. but 10 years ago he was a successful courtroom barrister. he had to abandon his job because he began making mistakes. >> i was reading out a statement to the court and i made a mistake. and the judge turned to me and snapped. can't you read, mr. winer? i then decided it was time to put my wig down and leave advocacy. >> jonathan is losing his sight

because of a faulty gene. he's the first patient in the world to take part in an exarmental -- ex-per mental operation. >> we can stop further degeneration and reserve the vision that he already has. >> in jonathan's case, cells in the back of the eye have been dying leaving only the ones in the middle. doctors hope to stop further degeneration by injecting new working copies of the faulty gene to keep the remaining cells alive. >> jonathan's operation is just about to begin. there is a little bit of tension because one small slip and his retina could tear and the attempt to save his sight would have failed. >> the procedure has never been

carried out before. >> now the riskiest part as the needle is inserted by a foot-operated control. so has the operation been success snfl >> it went very well indeed. actually no problems. so far so good? >> no problems. >> jonathan claims he can already see better. but it's far too soon-to-be sure whether there's a real lasting improvement. if it does work gene therapy could be used to treat a wide variety of sight disorders. >> and that's all from news day. thanks for watching. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation.

union bank. and shell. >> this is kim - about to feel one of his favorite sensations. at shell, were developing more efficient fuels in countries like malaysia that can help us get the most from our energy resources. lets use energy more efficiently. lets go. >> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you?

>> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles. 

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