>> "bbc world news" is presented by kcet, los angeles. funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. the newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range ofompanies. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> [chanting] >> big trouble, in national strike brings agrees to a standstill. if there is a financial rescue, it will be painful. cool, degrading, in maine, the secret -- cruel, degrading, inhumane, is a secret document

about a terror suspect that has been blocked. >> there has been a lot of doubt -- damage throughout the process because the government has been involved and complicity in the abuse. >> opposition supporters said they will challenge the rest of the opposition candidate in sri lanka. welcome to "bbc world news." broadcast to our viewers around the globe, coming up later with a new offensive eminent, how ready of afghan troops to serve? our correspondent is in canada are -- kandahar. >> the quicker than afghan soldiers can be brought up and trained, the quicker that western forces to leave afghanistan. >> nassau promises a close-up of the sun as you have never seen it before.

greece was at a standstill today with their planes grounded, schoolsclosed, and hospital's emergency only. the general strike of the government in cuts in pensions to help the country pay its mounting debts, european leaders are headed to brussels, where they will discuss the possible bailout. with the euro under attack, uncertainty is spreading to spain and portugal. >> greek public sector workers striking today to resist cuts. the greek government has to slash public spending to reduce its massive deficit. the fear that greece might go bankrupt has led to the biggest

crisis for the euro since the currency was launched. but, many people here fiercely oppose any idea of a pay freeze. >> we do not have enough money to spend for our family. our quality of living is not good. >> if they want to raise the public deficit and debt, tell them to find the money somewhere else. >> strikers closed at the airports and all flights were grounded. many workers were not prepared to see their wages frozen, no matter the crisis. >> it is clear that many workers here are opposed to swings in cuts to the public sector, but how far are they prepared to go in resisting in what the government calls what is absolutely necessary. >> the big fear is that of greece cannot raise the money,

than other countries that use the euro could be dragged down as well. portugal, italy, ireland, greece, spain, all struggling with deficits. the fact is that greece is an economy in trouble. take this, baker street, 56 shops are empty, the market's just do not believe that the plan will work, despite the greek prime minister's insistence. >> we are ready to take any necessary measure to make sure that the goal of cutting the deficit by 4% in 2010 to the percentage of 8.7 of our gdp -- >> there are intense discussions going on tonight amongst european officials about whether or not to bailout greece. these talks are likely to continue tomorrow at an informal economic summit in brussels. if there is a rescue it will be controversial, prompting questions about who was going to pay and what the conditions will

be. >> the united states is expressing deep disappointment in a london court ruling that has forced the disclosure of intelligence reports about a way that a british man was treated by the cia while in american custody in pakistan. the document sho that british officials knew that he was subjected to cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment. >> at the heart of the case was the intelligence sharing relationship between the u.k. and the united states. while the judge's considered their ruling, it appears that the court in washington, d.c., had already half tip the balance. >> they said it would be absurd, just because a court decided to publish material that had already been made public by an american court. >> the foreign secretary

answered allegations that the british had colluded in the torture. >> there is a fundamental commitment on the part of myself and my secretary in charge for the security service, as well as the head and staff of these agencies, to hold the highest standards of conduct, not simply for ourselves. >> the seven pair rest released today summarized american intelligence, including continuous sleep deprivation, threats, inducements, and a also being shackled during interviews. cool and degrading treatment according to the judges. last year he told us why he wanted the paragraphs released. >> the public needs to know what the government has been up to. they have to hold their government to a responsibility. >> he was arrested in pakistan in 2002. amongst other things, there he

s beaten with a leather strap and subjected to a mock execution. didn't the americans moved him to morocco, where he was caught with a scalpel, hong on a wall, and ask questions provided by mi. >> all it does in the british government is embarrassed them some more. >> one officer is still being investigated for his alleged role in the treatment. >> fighting between african union troops and a resurgence in the somali capital has left 10 civilians dead when peacekeepers responded to a mortuary attack. thousands of civilians are fleeing in fear of more attacks. around 250 private security guards linked to blackwater were told to leave iraq within the next few days.

this after a u.s. judge dismissed criminal charges against five blackwater guards related to the shooting death of 17 iraqis in baghdad in 2007. the government of haiti believes that 230,000 people were killed in the earthquake last month. the government said that their priority is to provide shelter for those left homeless. he prime minister said that it is not clear how a large numbers living under plastic sheeting and cardboard bill be given housing. a bomb has killed at least 13 people in a police convoy in northwest pakistan. some of the reports speak of a roadside bomb, others of a suicide bomber that ran his car into a vehicle carrying police. tensions have escalated in sri lanka since the rest of the retired general, the opposition candidate in lt month's election. supporters, despite a security presence, were forced away.

the general's wife has now visited him in detention. from colombo, we have this. >> i was the kind of fixed battle that the city does not normally see. these are supporters of the government, who had heard that opponents were planning to demonstrate. these are the opposition supporters, here to protect the general in cop -- fossett -- cars -- in incarceratio the government says that it is these people that started the stone-throwing. opposition supporters were indignant. once it gathered momentum, the police stepped in. eight people were injured. it was all a sign of the extreme, intimate, and mutual hostility that set in in post- war for a lot of. the opposition was deeply

unhappy after security forces forcibly dragged away their figurehead on monday. not long after the clashes, they arrived to file a petition that the supreme court, claiming that his arrest was illegal. >> all of this time he had no time to do anything other than fight terrorism. now he is entangled in a conspiracy. i do not know why sri lanka is not just. please join me to stand up against this injustice. >> the government has been reeling -- reiterating allegations that he broke political rules wiley was that of the military. >> the general is arrested to the army. there is sufficient evidence to deal with anyone that commits an offense to be defined. >> there is still bewilderment at the way the government has moved in to silence the man who had become a vocal opponent.

the government says that they have evidence against him. sri lankan's await the details. >> western forces in afghanistan are waiting for one of the most dangerous missions of the past nine years. the new offensive against the taliban is imminent and afghan forces will be playing a prominent role. our bbc security correspondent is that the afghan army headquarters next to the nato base at cam the heart. >> -kandahar airbase, all day and all like they're going on reconnaissance missions, carrying intelligence, with native speakers in afghanistan saying that a success to resonate throughout the region. at the nato headquarters i asked the general commanding the operation why this one should

succeed where so many others have failed to bring security. >> we are going to arrive with the afghan government, with afghan security forces completely integrated into the approach, with governance as i have described to you being the forefront of what has happened. that long term commitment to the population will be demonstrated immediately wheforces arrive on the ground. things will be built quickly. >> forging an effective national army can sometimes be a struggle. we have a clue is being introduced. this group, only one of them knew how to drive and most were illiterate. here at the camp, many of the soldiers taking part have been trained and the quicker that the soldiers can be brought up to speed and fully trained, the quicker those forces will leave afghanistan.

>> brave, lacking a commitment and forward planning, sometimes used as the more than window dressing in the operation. this time i detected a new determination. the man that will be commanding the forces on the staff -- operation dismisses opponent. >> the insurgents have three tauruses, resist, run away, we conciliate -- three choices, resist, run away, read conciliate. i am sure they will be defeated. >> not without cost. raf was flying in critically wounded soldiers from another operation. commanders said there could soon be many more. this is bbc news, kandahar. >> in afghanistan the death toll from a series of launches has

passed 165. scores of people are thought to be trapped after several days of snow in the past. 2.5000 people have been rescued oa stretch of road that connects the capital with the north. the police have intercepted more than $1 million worth of cocaine flown into the netherlands with what -- valentine's day roses. investigators found the parcels behind a false panel in 200 flow boxes. a spiritual healer has won the right to be courageous on a traditional funeral pyre. challenging an earer ruling that open-air cremations were prohibited, this decision means that the 71-year-old's last wishes can be carried out. stay with us, if you can. still to come, the dark side of the olympics. the far reaching effects of the rising drug problems on the streets of vancouver.

>> here is what is capturing your attention on tv." bbc.com -- on the bbc news website. the sun is awakening after a period of low activity, and i can wreck havoc on the signals that we use. they say that the sun is on its way to a solar maximum. most children like sweets, but an extra sweet tooth might lead to depression or a higher risk of alcohol problems according to researchers. that is what the journal of addiction as saying. it is not clear if it is up to genuine chemical differences or upbringing. these hedgehog's might look cute, but they have to go on a diet. they must shed that -- fact that they put on during the recent cold snap. -- ed fat that they put on during the recent cold snap or they may not be able to defend

themselves. >> latest headlines this hour, workers in greece have gone on strike as the government plans to tackle the budget deficit across europe. they have expressed a deeper disappointment over the disclosure of intelligence of a british executive by americans. as the east coast of north america struggles with snow, plenty of it, the west coast is the unseasonably warm. tricky, that, for the winter olympics. organizers had to import snow. there is a darker side to one of the world's most lovely cities, drug problems on the streets. >> vancouver had ambitions that were not dampened by the rain.

olympic organizers have spent nearly $2 billion to show off their confident, modern metropolis. the shadow of the gleaming stadiums, there is another problem that no one is proud of. this is a downtown east side, every corner has a deal being done. a tough neighborhood for one of the worst drug problems in north america. within 20 minutes we found shirley smoking crack behind a dumpster. >> it is easier to buy it then it is a pack of cigarettes. >> there are many like her the downtown east side, the bottom rung of a dangerous food chain. dozens have been killed in the vancouver drug wars, caught up in turf battles. one hour away from the border with the u.s. lives a quiet, middle-class suburbia -- usedo

be. at one school four students died in as many months, caught in the crossfire. >> 8 peaceful town. you could walk around 11:00 at night. not be scared of anything. you know? all of a sudden, it was like this pandemic. >> the location may help to explain the violence. america and canada of share one of the longest land borders in the world. right here, this ditch is it. this signpost is the only indication. >> there are controls d electronic monitoring, but border guards admit that it is a porous frontier. locally grown marijuana is traded for cocaine. authorities are dealing with the fallout of the war on drugs launched by the mexican government. against this backdrop, vancouver is cleaning up and getting ready

to host the world. its problems will continue long after the olympics spirit has left. >> for vast numbers of people worldwide, more and more of them, e-mail and internet access is an important part of life. what did it -- what iit is cut off overnight? that is what happened in western china after last year's violent unrest. our chinese correspondent was there. >> -20 degrees in the far west of china, it feels frozen and cut off. for months now, the people have been isolated, communication with the outside world has stopped. some in china last year started a factory rawl, @ nicethnic

uighur's were beaten to death. in internet and mobile phones were used to foment the chaos. for much of the last year they have been cut off, text messages suspended. the millions that live here have only had access to information that the communist party wants them to see. it has affected over 20 million citizens, including many who have nothing to do that. this couple makes their living trading the fruit and nuts that the provinces famous for. internet access is still severely restricted. >> only a couple of dozen web sites, like the state news, are accessible. no e-mail, and no instant

messaging, no way to reply to orders online. >> is ok for the government to control things, but when they control everything it has a huge effect. the control over the internet has been a fatal blow for us. >> so, thi is how they got around the internet block. a 1,000 kilometer journey. this is the only way that had to send e-mail to keep the business going. others have been following the same route. after 20 hours they reached the first working internet connection outside the city. once they check online, the cost of being cut off is clear. many canceled and angry customers have not receive goods and i want their money back. at the end of the desert is the end of the great wall. keeping order in the kingdom has long been a chinese priority.

>> charlie wilson, the former u.s. congressman the championed funding for afghan resistance in the 1980's has died. the texas democrat secured funding increases to help the fight the soviet invasion. tom hanks played him in the 2007 movie. tomorrow marks 20 years since nelson mandela was released from prison. millions watched him emerge karen allen has had rare access to the prison where he spent those final months. >> this is the villa in the prison where he spent his last year in custody. you can see that even haa swimming pool in the shadow of the mountains. by the time he reached here, it was clear that he was being

prepared for bigger things on the outside. >> extraordinary to think that 20 years ago this was the nerve center of an attempt to liberate nelson mandela from prison. senior figures included bbc.co [unintelligible] in the last weeks of his incarceration he was secretly driven to cape town to hold talks to negotiate the terms of his release. >> on the 11th of february, 1990, nelson mandela was set free. he is now preparing to reflect on his past. his ex-wife has recreated the historic walk through the gates, joined by some of the heavyweights. 20,000 people are expected to mark this anniversary, knowing that despite the coming of

democracy and the end of white minority rule, so of his ideas are work in progress yet to be realized. >> karen allen, thank you. we know that we should not look at the sun, but nasas going to look very closely indeed. they are launching a telescope to transmit images back to earth with a high resolution. chances are that the sun is becoming active again with some spots that will interrupt communications. >> the son is a constant in our lives. take a closer look and you will see more turbulent picture. these images show a bubbling atmosphere. nasa of plans to study it in greater detail than ever before. the solar dynamics observatory will be the first telescope to take high-definition pictures of the entire surface of the sun.

once in outer space, it will take pictures once every three quarters of a second. enabling scientists to see the processes unfold as they happen. this picture is of a solar flare in the process of erupting. here the magnetic field is getting tangled up and suddenly released. by comparison, the earth is the size of my hand. the purpose of the new telescope is to better understand how the process has worked. >> ultimately we would like to be able to predict when a solar flare goes off and if it will interact with our atmosphere. will that affect our spacecraft? >> solar flares can damage communications satellites, affecting navigation and power systems on our. by studying the magnetic field of the sun, scieistsope to predict them and make steps to reduce the damage. >> taking a look at something

out there that is down here, so many people did not know it was. a stone kept in a cardboard box that turned out to be a rare meteorites going back to before the solar system was born. a second-hand dealer bought it with some african statuettes in 2001. he recently took it to be examined and it is a 4.5 billion year-old media right. -- meteorite. bank of for being with us. -- thank you for being with us. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. the newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. combeand union bank.

>> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do forou? >> i'm julia stiles. >> i'm kevin bacon. >> i'm kim cattrall. >> hi, i'm ken burns. >> i'm lili taylor. >> i'm henry louis gates, jr., and public broadcasting is my source for news about the world. >> for intelligent conversation. >> for election coverage you can count on. >> for conversations beyond the sound bites. >> a commitment to journalism. >> for deciding who to vote for. >> i'm kerry washington, and public broadcasting is my source for intelligent connections to my community. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.