>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation 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." >> thousands are fleeing the thai capital of bangkok as the flooding is getting worse. this is the scene from bangkok. relief workers are expressing concerns that the authorities cannot cope if the main river burst its banks. >> look at this. we have seen these pictures time and again. now we are seeing it in districts in bangkok. >> hello and welcome to gmt.

i am zeinab badawi. is heavily indebted europe going hat in hand to china to ask for help? the head of the eu bailout fund is in beijing. an aspirin a day could keep some cancers away. hello and welcome. it is midday in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and 6:00 p.m. in thailand, where the authorities and the people are bracing themselves for more floods. so far, about 300 people have died in the worst flooding across the country. thousands of residents in bangkok have decided to leave the city as fears mounted that the main river may burst its banks in the coming days. the main international airport in bangkok testing airplane standing on runway is awash with water. our correspondent, rachel harvey, sends us this update.

>> the government is warning that this weekend could be decisive in determining how much of bangkok could fall victim to the floods. we are about to go into the period of peak high tides. the river is already swollen. the worry is it could burst its banks. that means that bangkok would be vulnerable on two fronts, from the river and from the runoff waters bearing down on the capital from the north. this road bridge has been closed to everything but essential traffic. emergency vehicles and a few motor bikes have been going through. the community on the other side of the bridge, inside bangkok's city limits, is already under water. we walked across the bridge to the far side of the river. look at this. it is completely under water. we have seen these pictures time and again in the past few weeks.

now we are seeing it in districts in bangkok. roads just disappear under the muddy water. people are preferring boats to cars. cars cannot get through this anymore. groups of people are packing up their belongings and looking for a way out. we have also seen some people coming back in the opposite direction -- volunteers who might want to help people, and also people with supplies who want to stick it out. some people feel they cannot leave at this stage. if you just look around, you can see how high the water is already. you wonder how long they will be able to stay. >> that was rachel harvey giving us an update in the flooding in thailand in bangkok. now to some of the other stories making headlines around the world. the contrast between the heavy indebted nations of western europe and economic powerhouse of china, with its $3 trillion reserve, is very evident. the head of the eurozone's bailout fund is currently in

beijing to discuss china's possible involvement in the eu debt crisis. klaus regling arrived a day after european leaders approved the plan. he said it was too early to negotiate with china as a potential investor in the bailout fund. let's go to beijing and talk to our correspondent. martin, as anything emerge? can you tell us anything about the meeting between the eu bailout chief and the chinese? >> the chinese deputy finance minister was speaking about an hour ago. he said his country needed to study these proposals in depth. there is a new scheme. the details of the new scheme are still being hammered out. it is designed to entice more countries -- big sovereign funds have to invest more in the euro bailout fund that is designed to

protect weaker european economies, because countries such as spain and italy could run into difficulties. china is in an important position to invest. clear whether or not beijing will invest. how much they will invest and what type of guarantees they will be seeking still is not clear. >> there will be no such thing as a free lunch for the europeans, is there, martin? what kind of things might china wants in return? >> i think they want greater security. there is talk of offering some type of insurance, if people invest in this bailout fund, for example. that would be one consideration. free market space is something china has been pushing for. that would mean european companies would find it harder for beijing -- to take up trade

violations against chinese rivals. there are also political considerations. there's concern in europe that if beijing was to invest in this bailout fund, it might want to dampen criticism on the human rights situation or the arms embargo. there are concerns within europe itself. beijing might use this money to leverage other concessions. that said, beijing believes it is in the driving seat. it also might see this as an opportunity whereby it can take a leading role in managing global finances. >> martin with quite a shocking list you've illustrated. thank you for all that from beijing. britain's prime minister, david cameron, has announced that a historic constitutional change will in the future give women in the royal family the same rights and the succession to the throne

as men. he said the 16 commonwealth countries of which queen elizabeth is monarch have unanimously agreed to end the gender discrimination. an iranian actress sentenced to 90 lashes and a year in prison for appearing in an australian film that has been released. she appeared in a film about the social problems of a woman of living infinitely in iran. e hasnada, a small plan ha crashed landed on a city street in vancouver. all nine passengers were injured. the plane caught fire and broke up on impact. a person on the ground was also injured. some of the passengers are in critical condition in hospitals. the humble aspirin is back in the news today. a major international study suggesting that taking one aspirin per day could prevent some hereditary cancers.

in particular, the long-term risk of bal cancer in people with a family history could be released by 60%. our health correspondent has the story. >> cancer has stopped the family for generations. she suffers from lynch syndrome, a relatively rare genetic condition, which makes her more prone to cancers. she has already had cancer treatment, but she is convinced that aspirin has given her a new lease on life. >> to think that aspirin is causing these cells to really slow down, or better scenario, to commit suicide -- that's the hope. >> she took part in a study examining the effect of cancer on the development of cancer. people to oppose amounting to 600 milligrams of aspirin each

day. cancer rates fell by 63% among those who took aspirin for at least two years. researchers believe over a 30- year period, this could prevent 10,000 cancers. >> people who have a clear of family history should seriously consider adding aspirin to their routine. particularly those people who have a genetic predisposition. the jury is still up for the general population. i am leaning more and more into saying that people over 50 should be thinking about adding low dose aspirin to their routine. >> there's a downside to taking aspirin over a long period. ulcers and strokes. this research builds on other studies that show aspirin can be a powerful weapon in the fight against cancer. >> nato is expecting to announce an end to its seven-month air

campaign over libya today. overall, nato warplanes over libyan soil make nearly 10,000 strikes. their stated mission was to protect civilians in the country. let's get more from our correspondent, who is at the nato headquarters in brussels. this announcement will be made. they say, from their point of view, mission accomplished, and civilians in libya need no more protection from nato. >> that's right. we just got the statement from the secretary-general of the nato alliance. he says they're very proud of what they have achieved in libya. as we anticipated, given that resolution 1973 was put to one side by the council yesterday, they have decided to end operations at midnight on october 31. of course, that's not the end of it. nato say they stand ready to

help, if needed. of course, there are still serious concerns about the security of the borders and a threat of an insurgency in libya and about the proliferation of weapons, massive weapons in the hands of civilians in libya. they will try to advise where they can in terms of defense and security matters. from this point on, in terms of air cover and see cover, we think see cover will continue, but in terms of the air cover, that will come to a conclusion as of midnight on monday. >> do you get the sense this was a unilateral decision by nato, or do you hear they have frank discussions with the authorities in libya? there have been conflicting messages from libyan authorities. some say they wanted nato to

stay a little longer. others say they can in their operations. >> yes, you are right. there were elements within the ntc that wanted nato to stay until the end of the year to make sure things were secure. i think there was an appetite among western diplomats to bring it to an end. from the point of view of nato, given that there have been so many positives in terms of how the mission was mounting, it was unlikely they will continue without a u.n. mandate. i think this is the template for future localize military conflicts. what they have is a largely indisputable case for mounting an air operation. they had a very clear mandate from the u.n. and support from the arab league. moreover, when you look at the mission itself, which they are deeming to be a success, they can show that the surgical strikes with a very precise

equipment, consistent air cover, perhaps a special service personnel on the ground, and training of indigenous regional forces, can bring a conflict like this to an end. of course, is far less expensive than boots on the ground. >> thank you very much. still to come on gmt -- lifting a curtain after a six-year break. the reopening in moscow after a major face lift. one of the agreements that came out of the 11-hour summit to save the euro through a big lifeline to greece. european banks will have to take a 50% write-off in exposure to greek debt. what do the greek people think of this? we try to gauge reaction.

>> a couple of hours outside athens rejigger the boats are tied up. the shops are shut. the greek crisis is plain to see. in one of the few shops still open, we met caterina. she said she is relieved the greek debt has been cut. >> [speaking foreign language] >> i would like to thank the other eu countries that are hoping greece get out of this mess. i hope it helps. >> for him, cutting greek debt on its own is not enough. >> even with this situation, the capacity of greece to pay back the money would be bad, as well. >> in an olive grove on the edge of town, he is collecting sales

to eat. as unemployment rises, many are on the poverty line. >> [speaking foreign language] >> my attention is 400 euros per month. i have to decide if i am going to pay my electricity bill or food. if there's not money to eat, how will we ever pay any of this money back? >> greece has to work to do to change the way it runs its economy to fit in with a more integrated eurozone. there are still doubts here that simply reducing the debt will be enough to turn the tide. bbc news, greece. >> of you are watching gmt from "bbc world news." i am zeinab badawi. thousands are fleeing bangkok as the flooding in the country gets much worse.

the head of the eurozone's bailout fund is in china for talks to encourage beijing to help eurozone countries. staying with the problems in the eurozone, sally is joining us with some worrying figures on spain. >> it shows we're still looking for growth. one day after the deal took place to save the euro, the crisis was brought sharply into focus.at nearly 5 million people are without a job. spain has the highest unemployment rate in the group of industrialized nations. this could mean huge problems for the spanish government, which faces a general election in one month. >> unemployment is the hot issue of the day, as you can imagine, with almost 5 million people out

of work. some other very concerning figures, also, from what we have seen from the institute, saying, for example, that 1.4 million families have no income at all. i have just come back from barcelona . that region normally has the strongest economy in spain. they're talking about the crisis. they're talking about giving out mo aid than they have in decades. more people are losing their houses and being evicted by the banks. more people were forced to find various precarious ways of living. very dingell social conditions behind the figures and behind economic -- very hard social conditions behind the figures. >> the figures on the number of young people without a job are horrendous. >> well over 45%.

other figures, also, talking about the first time in many years that there are more people leave in spain than coming into spain. the construction boom here was a huge wave of immigration from latin america and also from europe. now they are leaving. people can go to the country's they originally came from -- they are doing so. others who cannot go home are now living in extremely difficult conditions. young people, extremely difficult. many left schools to join the wave of crazy house building that was going on, leaving without certification, taking those low qualified jobs at the time, now out of work with no qualifications and no prospects of finding a job any time soon on the horizon. >> samsung has overtaken apple to become the world's top smart phone maker, according to

independent figures. sales jumped a mass of 40% on the previous quarter, meaning it sold more than 27 million of the galaxy phones in three months. apple sold 17 million iphones. the two companies are locked in a bitter battle that have seen samsung phones banned in some countries. saab owners have decided to sell two chinese partners that will pay nearly $142 million for the company. it has been going through restructuring since it was sold by general motors last year. let's have a quick look at the markets. there is some profit-taking going on after yesterday's euphoria rally. the ftse is just down. since still low of august 9, it is up 19% is very near the break-even point and that's why the ftse is dipping slightly, as investors locked in profits. >> thank you very much.

a leader of tunisia's islamist ennahda party has ordered its country to reject violence. he was speaking after the election commission confirmed the party won the most seats. police fired tear gas in the central town of sidi bouzid, where hundreds of supporters of the rival party reacted to the results in their town. emergingiants of the mercha world are often compared, china and india. chinand the is expected -- indis expected to overtake china. as the world's population reaches 7 billion, one small corner of india's agricultural heartland -- to meet one of the

millions of farmers struggling to make ends meet. >> [speaking foreign language] >> he is farmer in punjab. this is where he lives. his nine-member family squeezes into two rooms, sharing space. his father once owned 18 acres of land, and a for a life of plenty. that changed as the land was carved out with every succeeding generation. what is left is not enough to support them. >> [speaking foreign language] >> we live well, but now each of us owns 3 acres. it will get divided further for the next generation. >> punjab was once the bread basket of india, growing much of the country's food. in the last five decades, the number of firms have doubled. small pockets of land that are no longer productive are rich, fertile regions are becoming

impoverished. >> [speaking foreign language] >> it's the same story. there's almost no land to go around. now it is a struggle to survive. >> instead, farmland has been cleared for other projects. across the area, construction is at full steam, as vast tracts land -- developments are aimed at the urban rich. >> this village is like any other you will see in india. right across from it, a brand- new development. high rise, luxury flats are being built. in the north, outside the capital of dehli -- robbing in the of land that could be used to feed its population. >> with the value of land shooting up, many farmers are tempted into selling their

inheritance and making quick money, even if it is short- lived. >> the farmers are not willing to go into farming anymore. there's a problem with the livelihood. there's also a problem with the low productivity. >> india as 16 million people to its population every year. with less land available for farming, feeding the country is going to be a challenge. bbc news, punjab. >> millions of struggling farmers. one of the world's greatest theaters, bolshoi theater in moscow, reopens this evening. president medvedev is among those that will attend the performance. the difficult and very expensive and reconstruction process. this report from moscow. >> for the last few weeks, one

of the world's greatest theaters, the bolshoi theater, has been in a frenzy of preparation. today, the curtain is rising again. between the final rehearsals, one of the principal dancers gave me an emotional tour of the painstakingly renovated building. >> [speaking foreign language] >> we all know we have to keep the history and traditions of this place. this is a very happy moment for us. i have even got tears in my eyes. i am so happy. >> the renovation is immaculate and massively over budget. hundreds of millions of pounds have been spent. 3000 workers have done much of the labor by hand, including replacing all of the gold leaf. >> as ever in modern russia, the

i watering cost of the building, half of 1 billion pounds or more, has brought allegations of corruption on a breathtaking scale. this was made in 1856 and shows the theater in the year alexander ii was crowned. tessin communist party's rally and survive the second world war. all the time keeping its reputation as world class and upper and ballet. the first performances are a concert and then offer a. the ballet company takes the stage in mid november. all the tickets for the first three months are sold out. bb news in the -- bbc news in the bolshoi theater. >> let's remind you of the top story on gmt.

thousands are fleeing bangkok as peer groups residents that the flooding is getting worse. relief efforts -- that is all for me. i am zeinab badawi. >> 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, we're developing more efficient fuels in countries like malaysia that can help us

get the most from our energy resources. let's use energy more efficiently. let's go.