>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, olu.ult, and h newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> of the eurozone's bad boys, greece and italy, prepare to take a step back from the print of economic chaos. the italian parliament is poised to approve a sweeping austerity package, and then it is by by, berlusconi. welcome to gmt. also in the program, but all in the -- u.n. membership seems

destined to fail. silence has fallen on this the 11th hour of the 11th day of 2011. people paused to all -- to pay homage to this day. in rome, the upper house of the parliament is expected to approve a sweeping set of austerity measures designed to convince international markets that italy is serious about giving with its mountain of sovereign debt. in athens, too, the effort to bring the eurozone back from the brink continues. and new government formed by the lucas papademos is about to be sworn in. last died, a swift action to end the eurozone crisis could -- last night, a swift action to end the eurozone crisis could

mark a turning point. >> the era of flamboyant -- flamboyant showmanship is trying to a close. he could be prime minister as soon as tomorrow. a former european commissioner seeing as effective, low profile, and scandal-free. he was given a hero's welcome to inside the chamber. then came speeches underlined the pressure on italy to change direction. >> we do hope this act can pave a way for the government that will unable -- a way for the government to enable italy to come out of this crisis altogether. >> the austerity package hopes to save almost 60 billion euros and aims to bounce the budget by 2014. the measures include an increase in vat to 21%.

and an increasing the retirement age of and in -- of all women to match that of men. and their role in measures to fight tax evasion. the cuts will be tough, but many italians welcome the change. been >> i think it will be good. i think he is capable. it is complete disaster, but i think he has the right capabilities. >> i hope he does better than the last lot. i just hope things improved. >> and across europe, the other troubled companies -- country, greece, is about to swear in a new prime minister. it, too, is opting for an autocratic pair of hands. lucas papademos is formally of the european central bank.

-- formerly of the european central bank. >> allen joins us in rome. let's get this clear, the senate is going to approve measures, is it not? it is going to pass? >> there is no real doubt about that. everybody does it feel it is pretty formulaic stuff, that in the next couple of hours, that said it should run through these austerity measures -- the senate should run through these austerity measures. once these measures have been adopted, prime minister berlusconi says he will then resigned and we can expect that to open the way to president nepolitano, we expect much to ask mario monte, the former european commissioner to have

the administration. >> you had mentioned he is the favored leader. do we know what he will do want to get into the premiere's office? >> -- once he gets into the premier's office? >> we do not have any detail on what montiel plans to do, but he does have that reputation as the tough negotiator, the man who tangled with microsoft successfully when he was the eu commissioner for more than 10 years. and certainly, the market's believe this is the kind of man, that they feel will be blessed -- best placed to get hold of the italian economy and knocked it into shape. >> that raises the question of whether monte will go through

with the austerity measures that are in place right now. can we expect much tougher measures to come? courts will have to wait to see if mr. monty is, indeed, able to put together an administration that put the majority in parliament ought to go forward for him. if he implements much tougher measures, he will have broadbased support -- he will have to have broadbased support in parliament. how broadbased that support is, that is still being debated. there are differing attitudes and how ready they are to give that support. >> alan, thank you for that in rome. we will keep you informed as

votes are taken today in the italian capital. let's turn to greece. it is also open to put the two events of last week to one side. a new government will be sworn in, we think, in the next to bulova hours. our correspondent, mark, is in athens. -- in the next couple of hours. our correspondent, mark, is in athens. >> that is right, stephen. but the haggling over the top ministerial post continues. we still do not have an osnouncement on when evangelis menezelos will be sworn in. then, of course, the hard work begins. and it is very urgent work. the first task facing mr. papademos is to try to authorize

the bailout package for greece to avoid bankruptcy. with that will come more austerity and cost-cutting. we have all seen what happened with that under the patraeus leadership -- under the george papandreou is leadership. >> what some of the strikes and demonstrations that appear to make greece ungovernable? is there an indication that the strikes may be tamped down as the new prime minister gets to work? >> just a few minutes before i started speaking to you, another protest march through the central square here in athens. just hours before mr. papademos is to be sworn in. no sign that they will fade. papademos will be leading a government of unity with

broadbased support from the disparate political side here. he will hope to stand above political fighting to bring together the warring factions to try to support him. and he will hope may unite behind him as well, because he will be seen as a safety our hands, much like mario monte. he is not tainted by the past as george papandreou was. and there is the hope he will get the backing that george papandreou lost, certainly, in the political sphere. >> thanks for joining us. let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines. syria has been accused of committing crimes against humanity. the campaigning organization human rights watch says syria is at torturing and killing its own citizens. it wants to syria to be referred to the international criminal

court and for sanctions to be opposed -- to be imposed against becausthe government in damascu. at least 12 people are now known to have died after an earthquake hit eastern turkey on wednesday. this footage shows the moment the 5.7 aftershock hit the city of van. just two weeks ago, an earthquake hit the same region, killing more than 600 people. an american soldier has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering three unarmed civilians in afghanistan. he was accused of planting weapons on the civilians to make them appear as militants. he was also accused of cutting fingers off and keeping them as a trapeze. -- trophies. the security council is meeting today in new york to formally

were -- approved a report to the paulison in application. israel has made plain their opposition to the bid. i remember talking to you during the celebrations when mahmoud appeared before the u.n. with this application. it seems pretty clear the application cannot succeed. >> i think it has not. the wind has very much been taken from his sales. the palestinians never expected to get full membership of the united nations. they always knew the united states would veto. there were looking for a moral victory, if you like, where they could force a veto by getting nine members to vote in their favor. it seems they cannot do that. they can get possibly eight members of the security council to vote in their favor. that would mean america would

not even have to veto. and the euphoria that you mentioned in september, it is going to fall a bit flat in the coming days and weeks. >> will there be a backlash against mahmoud abbas and his house and the authority? >> he will have to -- and his palestinian authority? >> he will have to manage things very carefully. there was new things would not work, but they have not seem to put a plan for work. one suggestion is that they could go to the u.n. general assembly and try to get their status upgraded to a non-member state. that would be something for president abbas. that would be declared a victory. they would only need a simple majority of the 193 member states. if he does not do that and comes back with nothing from the whole u.n. approach, he will

look pretty weak. his rivals will make hay from that. >> still to come, militant attacks in nigeria. has the government got a coherent response? a member of the washington nationals baseball team in the u.s. has been kidnapped by gunmen in venezuela. he is a venezuelan catcher for the american league team and was home during the off-season. there have been no reports of a ransom demand. the government there is said to be vigorously pursuing the kidnappers. >> in baseball in venezuela, the site of a player making good in the american league's is a source of pride. that is certainly true for wilson ramos, a rookie catcher for the washington nationals.

like many u.s.-based players, he returned home in the off-season and was due to play for as venezuelan team, the tigers. but on wednesday, a group of armed men seized him from outside his paris home near the city of valencia. everything -- from his parents' home off near the city of glen salida -- city of valencia. every year, many kidnappings go unreported. but nearly 24 hours after he was taking, there is still no word from him or those who took him. the government of hugo chavez is pledged to do everything is power to fight the player. >> we have not had any communication with the kidnappers, but we have a very important find this morning. we found the vehicle that we believe the kidnappers used to commit their crimes. >> a joint statement has been issued a, expressing deep concern.

the kidnapping of ramos is a serious worry for top athletes in venezuela, some of whom have had family members targeted in the past. this high-profile case has brought up the controversy all issues of crime -- controversial issues of crime in venezuela back to the top of the agenda. >> this is gmt from bbc world news. the italian parliament is poised to approve a sweeping austerity package, and then it is good buy, berlusconi. -- good-by, berlusconi. and in athens, a sigh of relief. it is, perhaps, time to resort

-- to remind ourselves that is not about -- not all about business and economics. >> a trial in new delhi, one of 17 defenders including top government officials and business executives in the ed bribery scandal. >> because of lack of clarity on existing policies and on issues of pricing and spectrum, there's a lot of uncertainty. called saddam has added to the uncertainty. >> -- this so-called abscam has added to the uncertainty. >> shares in airline stocks slumped to an -- to a record low

on friday. this amid reports that leasing companies are planning to seize their planes. >> this company has struggled to raise enough money, service its debts, and raise enough money for things like fuel. the airline has canceled flights across india, as was trying to save on soaring rates. the question being asked is what will become of the airlines if it cannot raise enough money, as much as it needs, and fast. there are reports that it needs to cut down substantially to stay in business. however, the firm announced it would be cutting its services to a smaller model. >> spain's economy failed to grow in the first three months

of september. this after a rise of just 1.2% in the past three months. unemployment has seen 5 million people out of work. many are predicting the spain's economy will return to recession over the next six months. allianz has reported a drop in profits. it is far worse than that investors were expecting. it is perhaps the biggest casualty of the european debt crisis. on friday, hong kong is expected to report it has fallen into recession. >> hong kong is one of the world's most open, business- friendly cities. that makes it easily susceptible to a global economic downturn. donald trump, the chinese

territories chief executive, -- donald chung, the chinese territories at cheap executive claims the downturn in europe for what is happening in hong kong. it has cut demand for asian exports. the shipments from hong kong fell to the lowest in september in almost two years. and exports from taiwan have been declining as well. but for some unknown, a recession may be welcome. years of growth have put property prices out of the reach of many. even a few months of negative growth may help with housing costs, giving consumer prices a chance to fall. >> here is a look at what has been happening on the financial markets.

these austerity measures pushed through and implemented that will help. >> the nigerian group boko hersman -- boko hiram, the country admitted that their troops were caught by surprise. that may be the best way to do with the militants. here's a report from the capital. >> the damage was clear to see. police stations and banks were robbed. churches were burned to the ground as young men went on a rampage. and more than 100 people died. a week later, the bodies are buried and thoughts are turning to what could have been done.

>> the government started with the legal and judicial strategies, which in the long run only gives the group some of the from the populace. >> spokespeople from bocor hiram say that they want members held by police and they want the security forces pulled back in nigeria. >> the military says for them to withdraw, there must be stability first. >> we want to stop the killings. i believe we are working to do that. once the killings are stopped, the issue of the grievances of the book or harm -- boco haram will also be addressed. >> to the militants say the

military's actions have damaged the chance of talks taking place. >> workforce can never kill an idea. -- bert force can never kill an idea. what can kill and negotiation is dialogue and understanding. -- what can kill an idea is negotiation and dialogue and understanding do you believe this government can do that? >> note. this government can have no idea. >> they have struck once this year and promised to strike again. it is now the entire country's problem. >> armistice day is being marked around the world on this day, the 11th day of the 11th month. it commemorates when the guns were finally silenced after the first world war. millions around the world to

gain a month to honor those who fell in the first world war. -- took a moment to honor those who fell in the first world war. >> welcome to trafalgar square, where they are just packing up after the silence in the square event, an opportunity for the focal point for the armistice day commemoration. half an hour of music and entertainment in the run-up to the two minute of silence at 1:00 p.m. -- 11:00. just tell me who you all are and where you serve. >> [unintelligible] >> [unintelligible] >> [unintelligible] >> you are the only one who is not a professional army musician. >> the only answer i know is the

50 caliber machine gun. i have never wanted to be a musician. but this came along and here i am out singing in front of thousands of people in this great venue you must have a great singing voice. >> everybody -- in this great venue. >> you must have a great singing voice. >> and ribordy from whales can sing. -- everybody from whales can sing. >> tell us about this event. >> a couple of minutes ago we approached robyn give from the p.g. is. but we asked him if he was interested -- we approached robin gibb from the beegees. we asked him if he was interested. and he was overjoyed.

it portrays the message we want to portray to the english people. every english soldier has a job to do. the message was just there. it was fantastic. >> a lot of the soldiers are putting themselves in harm's way and inevitably, this is a dangerous job. this is a reminder, isn't it? >> yes, it is a reminder. and it is a reflection to remember all of our forces from world war i to the present day. >> brian ritchie, craig, anne ryan -- i do beg your pardon. gary richie ken mcrae, -- gary ritchie, craig, and ryan. >> just before we go, italy

senate has passed the measure for the austerity measures. thanks for watching. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. and shell. >> this is kim, about to feel one of his favorites in stations. -- favorite sensations. at shell, we are developing more efficient fuels in countries like malaysia to get the most from our resources. let's use energy more efficiently. let's go.

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