captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> welcome to "european journal ," here in the berlin. >> thank you for joining us. >> coming up this hour, police and protesters clashed in athens as trade unions staged a strike. angela merkel clashes with the opposition and head of the summit on thursday. an empty chair as europe honors a cuban dissident in his absence. police in greece and fired tear gas at protesters in athens as

protests erupted in demonstrations over the government's austerity measures. workers are holding a nationwide strike against reforms approved by parliament this morning. these were condition for greece to receive a massive bailout from the eu. >> protest in athens escalated into violence soon after they began. demonstrators set fire to a crash can and a car outside of a luxury hotel. -- to a trash can and a car. they were shouting dc -- the es. most people protested peacefully. starting on the first of january, employers will no longer be bound by wage

agreements negotiated earlier with unions. severance pay will be cut by half. >> we have to stop this law from coming into force because this will destroy our children's future. this is a disgrace. the workers have a responsibility and duty treact to this and organize resistance to these policies and fight back against the politicians. >> the general strike began early wednesday. ferry's reined at anchor in the port. in athens, the trash has not been collected in days. the action brought to the railway network to a standstill. airports were distorted. more strikes will cripple the bus transportation.

>> the debt crisis will be top of the agenda at a two-day eu summit beginning on thursday in brussels. germany's opposition added to the pressure on angela merkel to accept the idea of joint eurobonds. the have -- these have been put forward by some eu leaders as a possible solution to the debt crisis. angela merkel remains adamantly opposed. >> the chancellor communicating through text messages on them. on wednesday, she had to get her message across in a more conventional manner. she presented a nine. plan for stabilizing the euro with strict rules for troubled states and their creditors. >> if a country is unable to service their debt, then, and i will say it again, private creditors will have to bear a share the burden. it is important to me that in

the future financial aid must remain a last resort. >> she rected a prosal issue eurobonds. the government said that that would remove the incentive for countries to impose fiscal discipline. the opposition says that it would restore confidence in the euro. >> we need closer political cooperation and in this context it would be sensible to think about to be limited issue of eurobonds. >> of the u.n. rejected out of hand a useful instrument to bring about more stability. >> chancellor merkel shows no sign of bowling down and is likely to come under more pressure on thursday. >> we spoke to our political correspondent and we pointed out that germany does not seem to be united behind angela merkel on the issue of eurobonds. >> that's right.

chancellor merkel is standing a bit along with respect to the opposition there. two of the leading social democrats have come out strongly in favor of eurobonds. the former finance minister but his view and the "financial times, deutschland,: both men are quick to qualify their support. they say that they should only be introduced to cover a limited amount of public debt and only on the condition that fiscal policy be more closely coordinated in the euro zone area. they talk specifically about taxes on capital gains and corporate taxation. they said th competion between member states must be avoided. they also extended their list of conditions to wage policies and welfare policies. all of this would require a much

closer political union within the euro sound. 8 does not seem that chaellor merkel is going that far yet nor will many of her colleagues at the summit. -- it does not seem and that angela merkel is going that far. >> dramatic events in several countries put the euros on back in the spotlight. strikes it turned violent in greece, the parliament in ireland apoved the plan to accept a bailout from the european union and the imf. ireland is the second euros on country to receive international aid after greece. -- ireland is the second euro z one country to receive international aid. moody's has been morning spain that they could be downgraded. they do not expect madrid to have to accept a bailout.

this would put tremendous pressure on the euros on if this happened. euroeuro zone worries that affected the market today. we have this summary from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> it is the middle of the week and the markets are still flat lining. the dax stood at about 7000 points mainly because of economic data from the u.s. has been better than expected. and just to production rose while prices stayed low. the low inflation data shows that interest rates might remain low which is a good fact for stock markets. car shares have been driven down but only in germany. registration numbers went down by 7% in november.

this shows that there is still no sign of better times for the carmaker's ahead. >> we will look at the numbers. the dax finished slightly lower at 7016 points. the euro stocks index did not enjoy much of a rebound and finished at 2841. the dow jones trading lower this hour, 11,470 points. the spanish construction firm a cm has sweetened its takeover bid for its rival. the the biggest the drug -- the biggest builder in germany said that the offer should be rejected. the initial bid of 2.7 billion euros was too low. the top executives from qatar

holdings and -- have been meeting to discuss the takeover battle. qatar holding could be playing a mediator role in the takeover battle. more businesscoming up in just a bit. >> we turn our attention to iran where the state media says that 39 people have been killed and dozens more wounded in a suicide bombing. diaz it -- the official news agency said that the attack took place outside of a mosque where many people gathered at head of an important day in the shi'a calendar. there has been numerous seat train attacks in recent years. the russian court has suddenly postponed a verdict in the money-laundering trial of 8 jailed oil tycoon. thno reason was given for

the delay. this came as a surprise. critics of the kremlin said that the trial is politically motivated and coming just six months before the presidential election. police say they have detained at least 1000 people in moscow in a bid to prevent ethnic clashes. scuffles erupted outside as a train station after slavic russians gathered and shouted slogans aimed at ethnic minorities from the southern caucasus. there was speculation that some people were planning a rally to counter rating by racist to begi. -- rioting by racist hooligans. there are accusations that a prime minister depart in -- took

part in assassinations and organ trafficking in coast of love. he was declared the winner of the first election since independence. -- there are accusations that the prime minister of -- took part in the assassinations and organ trafficking in kosovo. the council of europe's says that he led a mafia-style crime ring inside of the kosovo liberation army. it is believed that they sold the kidneys of serbian soldiers. >> it is impossible to do something like that but there is a political desire t damage to the democratic process after an election.

>> the reports followed a two- year investigation. it alleges that they were aware of the activities. >> they are studying the report and we would like -- we would not want to comment before we read it. >> people are skeptical about the accusations. >> anything is possible that i can hardly imagine it. i cannot judge of this is true. >> some people are exploiting this. i'm not convinced of this. >> thaci might have some difficult questions to answer. international my tears have pointed to irregularities in the election. >> how would you like to work more and get paid less? -- international monitors have

pointed to irregularities in the election. > salaries have risen over the decade but here in germany, that is not the case. many german workers are earning considerably less. according to a survey, germany came in last place. >> german workers are productive and their products are in demand around the world but economic strength comes at least partly at the expense of workers' pay. salaries in germany have shrunk while they grow elsewhere. wages and salaries fell in germany by 4.5% in the last decade. by comparison, pay increased by 25% on a worldwide average. the international labor organization says that while wages are falling in germany, productivity is actually increasing. that might make german producers more competitive on global markets but ultimately this

threatens consumption that tom, according to the ilo. >> turbulence in the global aviation sector will continue into next year according to the international air transport association. the estimate that air carriers will post a 40% dip in profits in 2011 because of slower growth and more expensive jet fuel. economic growth in asia will have a positive impact. on next year will be marked by a two step recovery in aviation industry. european airlines will underperform because of the debt crisis and austerity measures while markets in the asia- pacific region will grow strongly requiring more air travel. siemens seems to have found a solution for their struggling subsidiary. they will be sold to french software company. in return, they will purchase a 15% share in the company.

-- recently announced a loss of over 4000 dogs -- 4000 jobs. the restructuring means that -- will move up to become the second-biggest i.t. consulting firm. now, back to megyn. >> an empty chair instead of the prize winner was present at a ceremony in france honoring human rights. the cuban dissident guillermo farinas was not allowed to travel to strasbourg to collect his award. he used a recorded message instead to call for the release of all political prisoners in cuba. >> a symbolic vacant chair and the european parliament. the president of the assembly appealed to the cuban authorities to allow guillermo farinas to travel to strasbourg it to collect the prize. >> this empty chair, this they

could place beside me is assembled and it shows how important this price is and how necessary it remains. we must raise our voices to protect all of those who risk their lives in the battle for freedom. >> guillermo farinas is a psychologist and journalist to continues to write articles critical of the cuban regime. he recently went on a hunger strike for 133 days. in a message to the european parliament, he pleaded for solidarity. >> anyone who is afraid of allowing people like this to travel has good reason to be afraid. like other dictatorships, this regime will not survive. >> the european parliament hopes that by awarding the prize to guillermo farinas, it would alter his cause for the release of political prisoners in cuba. -- it would bolster his cost for the release of political

prisoners in cuba. >> we will look at how obesity

>> obesity is becoming a growing problem around the world. a recent report by the organization for economic cooperation and develop -- development revealed some disturbing figures. after a survey of 33 best allies country, on average one in two people is overweight and 50% are obese. -- after a survey of the 33 industrialized countries. this takes into account weight and height. some feel that this method is too limited. however, the statistics are a cause for concern. >> too much fatty food, too much sugar. around the world, people are piling on the pounds. the consequences weigh heavily.

in the united states, 68% of people are overweight. onen three is clsed as morbidly obese. in europe, britain is the fattest nations. they're, 61% of people are overweight and one in four is obese. germany is roughly on a par with the oecd average. the japanese, widely perceived as being among the more slender people, are also getting fatter. obesity is not just a problem for those affected, this is putting atrain on health services aund the wod. being overweight or obese increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes and the the physical strain of carrying the extra pounds leads to bone and joint problems. obesity can reduce a person's life expectancy by 8-10 years.

research suggests that fat people are more likely to be unemployed and on an average of 18% bonds and earning an average of 18% less than people that are not -- and earning on average 18% less than people who are not fat. the better educated people are, the more likely they are to stay slim. >> the problem with being overweight is not just confined to industrialized countries. this is also on the rise in some american economies. in the past, they have been forced to grapple with malnutrition. now, many have seen an increase in the number of overweight people. in brazil, a 50% of the overweight and 14% as obese. >> always at the beach, always looking good, that is the stereotypical view of

resilience. the other side of the story is very different. a new study by the brazilian health ministry has found that every second brazilian is over weight and the trend is increasing. a number of factors are to blame. people have more money but they are also more stressed out of work. ty are getting less physical exercise and they are eating more fast food. >> people have gotten used to eating in fact all the time. people here use any excuse to eat. that is why we are getting fatter. >> there are many opportunities in brazil to git delicious food. people eat for enjoyment, not because they are hungry. >> this is a pediatrician who specializes in dealing with children with weight problems. this 8-year-old was overweight

at the age of 5 and his cholesterol lowers work way too high. -- his cholesterol levels were way too high. >> these days, the number of overweight children, especially the boys, has reached 30%. this is a national problem that is causing problems for our health service. >> he must make major changes to his diet and lifestyle. before, he used to spend most of his time watching television and playing video games. he played little sport and ate a lot of snacks. that is now over, exercises on the menu. >> the doctor said that we had serious problems. we had to change his lifestyle which has changed our lives as well. >> he is now playing more

sports. he goes swimming four times a week. he is much more active generally, says his mother. obesity is a problem affecting all levels of brazilian society. there are a number of problem aimed at combating the problem. the university of sao paulo has designed a course for overweight girls. >> i was lonely at school and always being picked on. here, i feel welcome. >> brazil seems to have acknowledge that obesity is a problem but even so, losing the extra weight is still a challenge. >> as we heard from that young brazilian girl, people who are overweight often feel excluded or discriminated against.

societies and doctors are constantly telling you to diet and become thinner. many people are happy with the way that they look. they are encouraging fat people to resist pressure to conform. >> they have endured enough teasing and snide remarks about their body size. they confess that they are fat but they are campaigning to be exempted as they are. -- expected -- accepte back as they are. >> genetically that people are fat because they are. there's no one to blame. there is usually little instigation to change it.

>> two year is ago, -- started an organization. she would like to bring the issue out into the open. this contains practical information such as stores that have larger clothing sizes. people love spent years fighting but now they would like to have -- dieting -- people have spent years fighting but now they would like to change. >> sometimes, when the problem has nothing to do with weight, like letter complaints. they say the problems would stop if you lose weight. i change my doctor when that happens but this is still unpleasant. >> the organization also functions as a self-help group where women can build their

confidence >> fat people the belief -- >> fat people -- >> they are often viewed stereotypically as lacy, slow, and lacking disciplined. their real performances eclipsed by their body size. >> how much am i perceived as a proper gentleman with something to say or as a fat cow? >> the organization would like to show that overweight people can also be happy. her husband loves her just the way she is. >> the growing problem of obesity habeen the focus of ours "in-depth."

thank you for joining us. u forget it. yourself, so don't fall.

u forget it. now he tells us. how far am i off the floor? about twelve inches. twelve whole inches?