>> schools, trains and news broadcasts shutdown as greece kicks off two more days of strikes. the government wants to cut back 25,000 more civil servants this year. russia says syria has new evidence the rebels were behind the devastating chemical attacks in august. and brazil's president postpones her trip to washington over the u.s.' spy program that has been targeting her country. that position deepens the global file out from the secrets -- global fallout from the secrets

revealed by snowden. greek civil servants have walked off for the latest overhaul. the government is planning on suspending or giving partial pay to 25,000 civil servants this year. that is in order to get the much-needed rescue loans to keep greece from going bankrupt. our athens correspondent reports . , a week of unrest in greece here the public sector has called for a nationwide, 48-hour strike. join in by doctors, teachers, everyone in the pub sector joining in -- the public-sector joining into the protests. what they are demanding and opposing is the government's measure to lay off 15,000 people by the end of the year. 25,000 people expected to be transferred with reduced salaries. that is what the greek are opposing a midst of financial

backdrop that is pretty dire. 26% of greeks are officially unemployed, 60% of youth as well. the financial crisis is leading to a dire -- leading to dire political repercussions. we have a dramatic rise in the popularity of the far right. lately, the party has been accused of a number of violent acts, which it strongly denies. the latest that it is accused of is murdering a 34-year-old man late last night belonging to a left-wing group. they have called -- caught the perpetrator of the attack, who admits to belonging to a particular political party golden dawn. protests are planned to mark the death of this young man and to call for an end to this violence. let's see what the repercussions were -- where the repercussions will lead.

>> debt inspectors from the imf the year p.m. commission and the european central bank, the infamous troika -- the european commission, and the european central bank, the infamous troika ammann now -- troika, now in portugal. portugal's next payment depends on the successful review. like the greeks, many people in portugal are angry over the austerity measures and protests are on the rise. russia says it has new evidence from syria in placating the rebels in last month's devastating chemical attack. the west claims the syrian regime is to blame for that attack that led -- left up to 1300 dead. u.s. president barack obama has gone so far as to say it was inconceivable that anyone other than the syrian regime could have carried out that attack. russia, however, has defiantly kept to its past position that

the rebels could be to blame as a way of provoking a u.s. military attack on the regime. this comes after a landmark deal was reached by russia and the united states to eliminate syria's chemical weapons. meanwhile, the situation on the ground in syria is only getting worse. more them 100,000 have died and thousands more are fleeing the country. earlier this year, israel finally joined it neighbors in hosting a number of wounded syrian's -- joined its neighbors in hosting a number of wounded syrians. israel did not want to find itself inundated with refugees like other countries in the region. we visited one of those hospitals welcoming the wounded. >> this syrian boy lies between life and death in one of two israel hospitals that have been treating severely wounded patients coming from the other

side of the border. this despite the long-standing enmity between israel and syria. >> he is just a kid. he is not my enemy. a child cannot be an enemy. >> as of last february, israeli soldiers had brought nearly 100 syrian patients to this medical center. one of them has agreed to tell us how he got here, on the condition that we not show his face. >> it is the freese -- is the free syrian army cooperating with the israeli army at the border? >> yes, it is. >> what kind of cooperation? >> the fighters take the patients without carrying weapons. they put us on a particular spot where the israeli army can see us. then the israelis, and take us. to be honest, i was shocked that israel took us in.

>> doctors are adamant that this is just a humanitarian response to the bloody conflict next door , which spares no one, not even the youngest, like this badly wounded little girl. those being treated are from the anti-assad camp. the state of israel maintains that it has a policy of neutrality and nonintervention in the civil war raging on in neighboring syria. >> 40,000 tourists have been marooned in acapulco after two deadly storms hit mexico. these are some of the worst storms to have struck mexico in decades. acapulco has been hardest hit. >> chaos in acapulco. homes and buildings, including

the airport's international terminal, left submerged. with main roads also cut off by flooding and mudslides, around 40,000 visitors to the seaside resort in west central mexico found themselves stranded alongside residents. with the landing strips fortunately untouched by flooding commercial airlines and military managed to line up a small number of evacuation flights. those lucky enough to have a place arrived in mexico city, relieved to be out of danger. them a to the military. thank you very much -- you to the military. thank you very much. >> it was some of the worst storms in a generation. >> we can, in the face of these events act in a timely and efficient manner to provide the necessary support to families that have unfortunately been affected by it.

>> doesn't have already died in the aftermath of a hurricane and tropical storm hitting mexico at almost the same time. acapulco alone was hit by more than 13 land lines -- landslides. it could take at least another day to open the main road meaning -- the main road, meaning airdrops are the only way to get supplies to the stricken residents. >> the u.s. state of colorado is still reeling from massive flooding last week. the waters are now receding leaving behind toppled homes and fields of tangled debris. rescuers are shifting their focus from emergency airlifts to trying to find hundreds of people -- find hundreds of people still unaccounted for. the snowden affair has reached all the way to u.s.-brazil relations. the brazilian president says she will not be going on a long planned trip to washington.

the visit next month was called into question after documents leaked by nsa employee edward snowden showed just how much the u.s. was spying on its ally, brazil. for more on what is behind the cancellation of that state dinner, we have our international news editor with us. the brazilian president's cancellation of the only state in the white house had planned for this year seems to be an unprecedented act. why did she take such a firm acts? >> it is clear that rousseff is absolutely outraged by what has happened. a lot has happened in brazil. number one, her e-mails with her aides were spied upon by the national security agency. number two, the computer network of precht -- of petrobras was hacked by the national security agency. number three, something that is less well known perhaps, is that billions and billions of

telephone and e-mail calls were scooped by the nsa, telephone and e-mail calls that passed through a cyber the cable that runs through brazil. brazil is one of several countries that has cables that run through the territory. through these cables run billions of e-mails and phone calls from all over the world. that was a lot for her, too much . there is even more. the fact is that she has lined up american foreign-policy squarely behind washington unlike her predecessor, who you may recall got himself involved in the middle east peace process and along with turkey -- turkey and brazil wanted to play the intermediaries in the irani and nuclear -- iranian nuclear program controversy, and washington did not appreciate that at all. rousseff has pulled back from all of that. she considers that she has been doublecrossed by washington. that is why she has canceled this dinner. one other thing, she was

actually on the verge of announcing that brazil would buy 36 fighter planes from boeing rather than from france or sweden. lula was in favor of the french playing -- plane. but now brazilian officials don't see how these planes can be bought from the united states, so maybe they will buy them from france. >> above and beyond all of that these problems with brazil and the u.s., what does rousseff's decision mean for president obama? >> obama has had a very bad summer, as you know. he has really given the impression of being indecisive and weak on the world stage. we had the snowden affair, which was highly embarrassing for the united states. then we have the crisis in egypt, where, again, washington's policies seem to have succeeded in making everybody upset at obama whether it is the military in egypt or the muslim brotherhood.

and of course the syrian crisis, where obama has seemed to be agonizing out loud about what to do. he has seemed indecisive. it has been a very bad summer for him. now this. and this, of course, is a major stain on brazilian-american relations, which are very important. we may not be aware of that here in europe. brazil is a power cows -- powerhouse. it is very important for economic and political reasons that the relationship between these countries be as strong as possible. and in a more general sense, latin america is very upset about the snowden affair, the spying issue. the mexican president complained to obama personally that his e- mails have also been spied upon. latin america, which even in the best of times looks at washington with an sq i -- with an askew eye, is wondering what to do with this big brother. >> thanks for that.

let's go now to morocco where there has been another attempted security breach as hundreds of refugees tried without success to break through a border fence in the spanish enclave at the very northern tip of morocco. it comes just one day after hundreds more were able to break through a border fence into the spanish enclave. they literally tore down part of that fence. about 100 moroccans actually made it through. the current unrest in northern africa has pushed a number of refugees heading into spain -- pushed the number of refugees heading into spain into the thousands. >> last night, there were six police officers injured. one of the immigrants. once people do get over, there has to be a decision as to

whether they will be sent back to the countries they originally came from or whether they will be allowed to stay in spain. some of the immigrants will not identify themselves. it is becoming a growing problem. every year, the authorities do have to work very hard to stop the legal -- stop illegal immigration. last year, month we had about 2800 who crossed from africa. either they swim along the coastline or they actually try to mount these assaults, as we have seen over the last couple days. they are dangerous. it is something the authorities are trying to crack down on. >> thank you so much for that. thank you for watching "france 24." we will be back shortly.

>> hello. welcome to the week in the middle east. coming up on the program, as the world pushes syria to hand over its chemical weapons, we had to the city of -- we head to the city of homs. also how daily life in iraq has literally become a battle. and a war of the different kind in egypt between the military- backed government and some media outlets. first, 18 months ago, the syrian army took me homs district -- took the homs district after one of the fiercest clashes in the civil war. this à la white area nearby -- in this alawite area nearby life goes on. >> the last checkpoint. during last year's fighting this road was nicknamed "nightmare alley."

after months of intensive shelling, the syrian army seized this rebel bastion. an officer in the special forces, he fought in the final battle. >> the army was over there. there were fierce clashes in which they used all kinds of heavy weapons. >> four months ago, this young alawite officer lost his father killed in combat in q sayre -- in qusair. >> there are many destroyed houses. this is the result of the freedom that we are demanding. people living with their children. anyone who wants to return to his home, the houses are still there. they can return and live with dignity. the syrian army will bring them food and drink and everything they need. >> a call that, so far, has gone largely unheeded.

it has all the appeal of a ghost town. before the crisis, this area was already poor. many inhabitants left to work in the gulf. many converted to solecism -- to salafism. them extremists don't have religion. god doesn't permit people to kill or to spill blood or to force others to hold certain religious beliefs. >> in homs, only 1/5 of the original inhabitants remain from before the crisis. those who have stayed are concentrated in the loyalist areas, protected by the army. in the majority alawite area residents built this wall to protect them from the snipers' bullets. it seems to work. >> this is from a sniper possible it -- sniper's bullet.

>> he works in the shop close to the wall. he says this area has not been prey to violence. >> before, we would hang fabric curtains. the snipers would see shadows and shoot. now people can cross, but it does not stop the rockets. yesterday, four rockets landed and people were killed or injured. >> as night falls, fighting starts up in the western suburbs. in the distance, the lips light up the sky -- in the distance bullets light up the sky. >> in iraq, terror attacks and car bombs have become a weekly reality. shiite communities are often the target, with sunni insurgents being held responsible, some of whom have links to al qaeda. for local people, checkpoints and roadblocks are a frustrating part of death -- of daily life.

it is becoming increasingly difficult to withstand. >> in baghdad, the sounds of explosions have become a regular occurrence in the city's busier neighborhoods. on monday, a car bomb went off in rush hour. the blast took place on the commercial street and claimed a number of civilian lives. >> what harm did these innocent people commit? remains of innocent women and children scattered everywhere. >> is a similar scene -- it is a similar scene in this neighborhood where for car bombs -- four car bombs left distraction in their wake. >> one of the people killed was the owner of this car. he was our relative. >> on sunday violence struck a number of cities across the country. many iraq used -- iraqis have pointed the finger at national

security forces, who have not been able to prevent the att acks. the attacks are claiming dozens of lives every week in outbreaks of violence between the shiite and sunni community. authorities say they are doing everything within their power to counter terrorism. they are dismantling training camps and targeting armed groups linked to al qaeda. in baghdad, traffic has been restricted in an effort to reduce the threat of car bombs. vehicles are allowed on the road every other day. authorities say this will allow for better surveillance at checkpoints. locals wonder whether it will be really effective. >> there is no connection between the security plan and this decision. anyone who wants to set up a car bomb could do it just as easily on an even number of days as on an odd number. >> hundreds died in the

sectarian violence in august. many of the attacks occurred in baghdad. >> to egypt now, where the country's military-backed government is cracking down on media outlets. at the beginning of the month four networks were closed down by government tribunal including al jazeera's arabic channel. it is a sign of how difficult it is to operate as a journalist in a nation where you can be just as easily accused of supporting one goroup over another. >> al jazeera is standing firm. it refuses to be taken off the air. they say they will take the egyptian government to court for harassment. since the ouster of president mohamed morsi on july 3, al jazeera says it has been targeted by the new administration. the premises have been searched, equipment confiscated, and journalists arrested or deported. they say they're signals have

been scrambled. >> the office is being controlled by various secret agents. the offices were shot for the safety of area -- were shot for the safety of everyone working there -- offices were shut for the safety of everyone working there. them in the egyptian military accuses the channel of misrepresenting the crackdown on protesters. its coverage of the events of august 14 is particularly controversial. hundreds of muslim brotherhood supporters died airing raids -- urdied during raids. journalists say it is difficult to escape the partisan label whatever they publish. >> there's a serious problem concerning the standoff between army and the muslim brotherhood. i always say that the real victim is the news, the

information. we try to cover what the state is doing to the muslim brotherhood. we are running the risk of being called an anti-military paper. but, at the same time, of course, if we try to be critical towards the muslim brotherhood even after everything that has happened recently, we get labeled as promilitary. >> as well as legislation designed to control media coverage in egypt, journalists have spoken of campaigns of intimidation and even physical violence, a practice that was common under morsi and his predecessor, hosni mubarak. he was known for appointing his allies to key posts within egypt's state media. >> on the porch of our new tiny, one-room house -- a new tiny, one-room house, she can finally relax. life has been a struggle in

myanmar's commercial capital yang gone -- yangon. when times are tough, people are reliant on the charity of others. >> because the rent went up several times, we could not afford to stay in our house. that is why we have to live here. >> here being a housing cooperative run by a local buddhist monastery. since they opened the doors to the homeless 14 months ago over 2400 families have arrived each of whom has been given 15 square feet of land on which they can build their own homes. two years ago her husband had a stroke. with no income, the family soon could not afford to pay their rent. they have been here since october, but unable to afford the thing materials -- afford building materials. >> i have no relatives. i have no one to help me. i only have my mother, who also has no place to stay.

i could not rely on her. >> the monastery has now run out of space and can no longer house anymore families. they are trying to get more funding to buy more land so those forced from their homes by rising property prices have somewhere to go. >> we have no more plots to give away now. we have really nothing left that we can do here. we hope they will think of a way to help them. >> in yangon, the average rent for a small flat has gone up by 25% this year. over the past two years, it has doubled and, in some places, tripled. demand is outstripping supply. it is making landlords

>> jock brandis, a movie gaffer and radio engineer in wilmington, north carolina, climbs a transmission tower for routine maintenance. this is just a day job, but his thoughts are an ocean away. he first went to africa with oxfam during the horrific nigerian civil war. >> we left under a hail of gunfire, basically, and by the time we were gone, a million people were dead and there was nothing to show for it. and it kind of scared me away from doing something with that big a possibility of major failure. >> haunted by those memories jock did not return to africa until july 2000. this time, he went to fix a solar-powered