d damascus. no comment from the israelis so far. the typhoon is downgraded to a tropical storm, but it still is churning through the philippines, heading for the capital, manila. in mexico, the family of the first victim identified among the 43 missing students calls for justice. also coming up, a surprising fundraiser just a stones throw from the kremlin. russian ballet stars dazzle to help young dancers in war-torn

ukraine. the greek parliament passes its latest parliament despite protests and opposition. ♪ first, syria has accused israel of bombing its main international airport in damascus. it went on to ask the u.n. to slap sanctions on israel calling the strike a heinous crime against it. israel has launched a series of similar airstrikes inside syria since the war began three years ago. israeli raids are targeting iranian targets bound for militant group hezbollah. let's bring in our correspondent. israel is still neither conforming or denying it is

behind these strikes. >> absolutely. this has been the case ever since these allegations happened. allegations, according to which the israeli air force conducted airstrikes on to syria. the nature of the targets is not very clear. every time there are reports of those being linked to military activity perhaps. no confirmation, no denial from israeli officials. probably going to stay that way. the only thing you can get from those israelis who do speak which has been used by government and defense officials , israel will do whatever is necessary in order to prevent advanced weaponry from being transferred or falling into the hands of its regional enemies. the primary one of those is has bulla -- hezbollah, active in helping president bashar

al-assad in syria. >> there have been about eight different raids like this over the past few years. give us a more details and why is the never any retaliation? >> it is difficult to read into that. some editorialists are certainly going over this factor. they are pointing to the delicate balance, if you will, which israel is probably counting on in this dangerous game being played out between three different actors. on the one hand, the israeli air force acting and coordination with the government, which is reportedly launching raids in syria. tacitly at knowledge in but not openly confirming it in order to not further provoke the enemy on the other hand. you have the syrian president, who is vocal about denouncing those israeli raids.

but he is choosing not to respond militarily. on the other hand, you have has bulla -- hezbollah. the risk is that if one of these actors chooses not to be satisfied anymore with the implicit rules of this game, then you could have an escalation and the risk of the region being plunged into another episode of cross-border violence. >> thank you so much for that. gallagher fenwick from jerusalem. israel was pivotal in stopping a nuclear deal with iran last month, says benjamin netanyahu. israel has publicly criticized to the u.s. on the u.n. talks. the u.s. has stepped in to reassure its ally israel,

insisting that washington would never let iran get a nuclear bomb. more on that story. >> pressure on the international community to ratchet up pressure on iran. >> a deal was not signed last night it would have left iran as a threshold nuclear power. our voice and our concerns played a critical role in preventing that deal. now we must seize the time to increase the pressure on iran to dismantle its nuclear weapons capabilities. >> benjamin netanyahu's comments came as the u.s. secretary of state urged patients following the seven month extension of nuclear talks between iran and world powers. >> i can assure you that the united states continues to believe, as we have from day one

and as israel has said it also believes, that no deal is preferable to a bad deal. that is why we had an extension. >> meanwhile, joe biden sought to reassure israel. >> there has been a lot of malarkey around our position on iran. let me stated absolutely clearly. we will not let iran acquire a nuclear weapon period, period. and of discussion. it will not happen on our watch. >> john kerry made a diplomatic push last month. during his trip to the austrian capital, he made phone calls to the foreign ministers of israel and allies in the gulf region. allies of been suspicious of iran's intentions. in the philippines, the typhoon has been downgraded to a tropical storm. it is still slowly moving across

the country. at least 20 people have been reported dead and millions are hunkering down in the capital manila, where the storm is due to hit tonight. we take a look at the damage already left behind. >> flooded villages and rice fields as far as the eye can see and residents waiting knee-deep in floodwaters. heavy rains brought by the typhoon once again left the philippines devastated. though the typhoon has now weakened authorities warned of possible landslides and flash floods. >> we will be coming advanced warning to our citizens especially those in areas that are prone to flooding, to watch out and to flee from areas where the floods traditionally occur. >> traumatized by last year's super typhoon which left thousands dead, authorities staged a massive evacuation plan and were relieved by the

relatively low death toll. one million people were evacuated from the most dangerous areas over the past few days. while some have returned to their homes to assess damage many are still counting on emergency shelters. >> we might get washed away. we are safe and secure here. if we stayed near the coastline and the water swelled, we would be dead by now. >> the typhoon is now moving across a string of islands and will pass by manila. the stock market schools, and many government offices have been shut down. residents in low lying areas and on near waterways have been evacuated out of harms way. >> let's take a look at news in brief. in south africa, a judge has thrown out the murder case against a british man accused of killing his wife on their honeymoon.

the judge had said that the testimony of the prosecution's main witness was riddled with contradictions. man was accused of paying hitmen to murder his wife four years ago. he says that she was killed in a botched carjacking. belgium is paralyzed by a strike this monday. unions stopped air and train travel over a government move that would extend pension aid. close to half of flights were canceled at brussels airport and train traffic to and from brussels was completely halted, including with the euro star. in los angeles, part of two major freeways have been shut down due to that massive fire you can see there. more than 250 firefighters are battling the blaze at an apartment tower that is under construction. no one was in the building when it caught fire and the cause is still unknown. in mexico, new evidence has

confirmed the identity of the first of 43 students missing since september. the 19-year-old's family is calling for justice. catherine clifford explains. >> alexander's father stood by as those arrived to pay respects. >> being a teacher was his dream and there is nothing we can do now. they took away his dream. >> the attorney general said the 19-year-old was identified among the charred remains in a nearby river. the students had been handed over by local authorities to be killed and burned by local gangs. >> human remains matches the evidence gathered during the investigation and with the statements given. >> independent forensic experts hired by the families said they were not expert -- planned when

the remains were found. they don't believe there is enough evidence to connect the two sites. >> we don't accept their theory. we believe that the investigations must continue because as long as we don't know about the other 42 classmates, it is just a hypothesis that is not fully proven. >> 80 people have been arrested including 44 police officers and the former mayor of aguala. the scase cause to nationwide fury when the state took 10 days to intervene. the investigation has uncovered several incidents. there is a growing distrust of authorities. there are plans to replace all local police with state forces. >> ballet for ukraine.

star dancers performed in a fundraiser to help refurbish the state ballet school in kiev. this comes after a bloody weekend where at least eight civilians and two soldiers were killed in ukraine and fighting with pro-russia rebels. -- in fighting with pro-russian rebels. >> russians and ukrainians united on stage in a moscow theater. 12 of the world's top dancers sold -- danced at eighta fundraiser for ukraine's top ballet school. >> we went to the school and saw that nothing changed. it is dilapidated. >> we want to help young ballerinas so they can study under better conditions. >> a gala after a bloody weekend in ukraine.

organizers saying that this lavish charity gala was all about dance. >> it is about beauty, culture art. it has nothing to do with political action. >> in kiev, the school postern rector expressed gratitude although he reminded students that the school continues to train world-class dancers despite its condition. >> let's take a look at headlines. syria accuses israel of bombing its main international airport and damascus. no comment from the israelis so far. the typhoon is downgraded to a tropical storm but it is still churning through the philippines, heading straight for the capital. in mexico, the family of the first victim identified among the 43 missing students calls for justice.

time now to take a look at what the french papers have been saying. oliver is here to help us do that. the french prime minister's tv appearances making headlines. >> he is insisting he will be staying in office until the end of francois hollande's term. the headline reads i'm here, i'm staying. 2015 could turn into a nightmare year for the prime minister. the departmental elections and regional ones are coming up. they are expected to both be a bloodbath for the government. he is accused of living in the past. manuel will suck up to his

competitors, says one of the papers. the music has not changed. >> it is going to be a tough week ahead for the government, especially with these new proposed laws aimed at freeing up the jobs market federating presented by the economy minister to the cabinet. there are critics of his is not far enough. >> on illustrious critic is angela merkel. she said the french is. -- reforms are too slow. the chancellor was also speaking before the annual conference of her union. the base of her party is exasperated by the laxness of the strike and -- crisis stricken countries.

the left-wing french politician took to twitter. he showed his anger. he did have the good grace not to directly reply to her on twitter, but he said in a mix of german and french, shut up frau merkel. more diplomatically the finance minister said that france will be making reforms not to please european leaders but because it is necessary for france's health. >> let's move to the international papers. there was a big story in italy over allegations of mafia influence in rome. >> the mafia has already long been accused of peddling in the south of the country, but it has not really hit the capital. it started up last tuesday when investigators discovered notebooks that supposedly

documented payments to a large number of city politicians in rome, by a crime boss, a former far right activist. the labor minister is implicated in those notebooks. there is much soul-searching going on in italy. one former minister writes in a paper, the shock about his former chief of staff being named. he said he was a sterling worker in combating crime and corruption while he was in office, but that trust is ruptured somewhat. every structure of power in italy has been exposed by successive scandals and he has called on italy to finally root out corruption once and for all. there is an editorial. these things get named very quickly in italy. it uses an analogy that lovers

of comic opera might appreciate. it is more like mahogany, the city from bear told breck -- berthold brecht's comic opera. they are considering it -- comparing it to a farce at this point. >> there was a tragic fallout to the attempted rescue of two hostages in yemen. >> they were both killed in a rescue bid gone wrong. it appears that one of them was on the verge of being released. the u.s. did not know this and did not know the identity of the other hostage. they were simply looking for luke summers.

the south african government said now is not the time for pointing the finger, but such a lack of communication has happened in the past particularly in the botched rescue of a british journalist five years ago, who was ready to be released when he was. >> just to wrap up very briefly, the new james bond film is showing a little bit of progress. >> yes, the famous 007 is finally falling for a woman his own age or even older. 46-year-old daniel craig will star opposite 50-year-old monica bellucci, the oldest costar in a bond film cents "otctopussy." >> next up, business. the business news. let's start in greece. lawmakers have approved their spending plans for next year.

>> next year. 2015. this is a package that includes cut to pensions and an increase in taxes on hotel stays, among other measures. international lenders say the projections for growth that are all most 3% for next year are too optimistic. greece is trying to secure payment of its last bailout from the european union. >> a contentious late-night debate and a new budget for greece. hundreds showed up to protest angered by additional austerity measures including cuts to pensions and more taxes. the government did include a few sweeteners, cutting attacks on home heating oil. >> after decades, our country this year, has its first balanced budget. it is a historic moment. it is the only way we can move forward, have real developments. without turbulence.

>> the budget forecasts a growth of 2.9% for next year, as well as a deficit of just 0.2% of gdp , down from 1.3% this year. greece's international creditors say the forecasts are overly optimistic for an economy that shrunk 25% since 2008. they believe a budget deficit of closer to zero -- 3% is close er to accurate. the european commission european central bank, and the international monetary fund known collectively as the troika have agreed to provide greece with 240 billion euros in bailout funds. it is up to the greek government to convince the eurozone finance ministers that it's budget figures are accurate. >> the economic affairs commissioner says that extending

greece's bailout program made today. that meeting also discussing the budgets for the rest of the eurozone. france and italy are particularly in focus. >> the commission has said to a number of countries that extra measures must be considered and that they will come back to italy and france and belgium in march to give a final verdict. these particular countries there are more concerns. the eurozone will return to those countries in march under the assumption that they will do everything they can to close the gap between where they stand now and where they should stand in their budget. >> the latest on that controversial deal to sell french warships to russia. >> the french government had said the sale of the two ships

would not go ahead until further notice because of the conflict in ukraine. a kremlin official said russia would accept their money back or the delivery of the warships in resolution of the dispute. the money spent by russia will not be recovered. >> let's see what is happening on the markets. >> european stocks are getting a bit of a battering. the central bank in france is pretty dismal. growth forecasted 0.1%. not much of that is inspiring the markets. a quick check on oil prices. the brent crude index in london felt away five yard low in trading this monday at about $67.50. that is not helped by the blowback decision we were talking about in the last couple of weeks. let's look at some of the days

company news. playstation may have been the victim of a cyber attack. the network's store was taken off-line for a while. sony says it is investigating the problem and is advising users to try reconnecting. cubis is known for its work on antibiotics. merck paid to buy the company. the international continental hotel group sold the hotel in paris for 330 million euros. the deal has finally been agreed. the buyers agreed to invest 60 million in the hotel which first opens its doors in 1862. >> starbucks is eyeing new

products, which might seem unlikely. >> they are trying to add a beer and wine to its offerings. this is according to an investor conference they held last week. they are trying to improve afternoon and evening trade in starbucks. they have a dip in the afternoon trade. the company is seeking to double its revenue to $4 billion by 2019. one billion of that is expected to come from beer and wine. >> pumpkin spice beer. [laughter] >> i think that has already been done.

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