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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> a holy day turns into a day of killing. an unprecedented attack on muslims in afghanistan. dozens killed in bomb attacks that targeted worshipers at the festival of the shore up in kabul -- bashura in kabul. >> for the first time in afghanistan, on such an important religious day, terrorism is taking place. >> hello, welcome to "gmt." with a world of news and opinion. also in the program, containing the euro zone crisis. the american treasury secretary

makes another business to the european central bank. protests in russia. the biggest demonstrations in years. online demonstrations say that they have been ruled. it is midday in london. four-o'clock 30 in the afternoon in the afghan capital. the scene of the most devastating attack in seemingly coordinated attacks around the country. this is the first time the bombers have targeted shi'ah moslems on their most holy day. the country's president is taking place -- taking part in an international conference. the job just got a lot more difficult. humphrey has the report. >> hundreds were gathered at the riverside shrine when the suspected suicide bomber struck.

security forces cleared the area as news of two other attacks came through. one in the northwest. and in canada are, in the south. -- can the hearth -- kandahar, in the south. this attack is seen as particularly brutal. >> this action is against humanity and islam. >> the casualties were huge. but we tell our enemies and that we do not care about your attacks. we will continue even if hundreds of us die in this way. >> these were the scenes in kabul shortly beforehand. the holy day marks the martyrdom of the profit muhamed's grandson, and it is the biggest event in the shia calendar.

police say that a bomb was attached to a bicycle. it exploded in a crowded area. the attacks come one day after the international conference in germany, when foreign governments pledged to support afghanistan. president karzai made no secret of his views. >> thank you for this -- thank you for the very encouraging words, 70, and condolences for the victims of the terrorist action today. this is the first time on such an important religious day in afghanistan that terrorism of that horrible nature is taking place. >> of the injured are rushed to hospital. emergency services stretched beyond limits. open anti-muslim violence is

rare here. the taliban has denied responsibility and condemned the attack. >> our correspondent is near the scene of the attack and just sent this report. >> you can see the crowds behind me. they are extremely angry. worshipers here, the attack was just down the road from where we are. many have been taken to hospital. there are pools of blood there. there were crowds of many hundreds, including women and children, when the attack was detonated. there has often been tension in afghanistan between sunnis and shias. this kind of violence is fairly

unprecedented. another bomb went off in the north of the country, again attacking shia. this appears to have been a coordinated attack across afghanistan. >> let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines around the world today. european leaders are feeling the heat. timothy geithner has arrived in germany for crisis talks with the german minister there. meanwhile, the ratings aided short -- ratings agency, standard and course, has put all of the european countries on credit watch. the six countries with a aaa rating have a 50% chance for seen their ratings downgraded. what does this mean for the euro zone? and poor's said that they want european leaders to

understand the severity of their situation, but others say that this threatens to destabilize the euro zone in an orderly way. >> u.s. treasury secretary, on his way to meet the people that run the u.s. -- european central bank. timothy geithner goes to the most important heads of state in the rose on. his whistle stop tour comes as hasndard and poor's threatened to downgrade the aaa rating of most euro zone countries. even germany. >> it has been spreading into poor countries. and even the financial institutions there. and we think that the current situation has the potential to destabilize further. >> the chairman of the euro zone told bbc radio that there

accusation was unfair and wild. "we have done much to cut deficits, and we will do more." >> this announcement from yesterday does not take into account the franco-german proposal. this week is important for the quality of the success and the agreement on friday. >> it has been said before, but this really is a crucial week. talking continues as many european leaders continue on for a conference. a crisis is at the top of the agenda. the summit in brussels is to consider the angela merkel nicolas sarkozy plan. meeting with france, spain, and italy later in the week, with a

simple message. the fall of the euro will cause much pain. " we do none know is if he is also bringing promises of money for rescue funds. bbc news, berlin. >> i am joined by the former adviser to the british government, now a senior managing director at fti. thank you very much for being here. i want to pick up quickly on the visit of timothy geithner. is this a sign of how crucial this week's meeting is going to be? >> absolutely. president obama said to get your act together. the euro zone collapse, it will ease pressure up to a point. they are very anxious on what will happen as it leads to serious problems in the euro zone. >> having mentioned to the

meeting yesterday, i was on the air when the markets were going up and everyone was saying look, it is not signed and sealed, but they are absolutely for the first time giving an indication that they are entr'acte. >> what they really want to do is make sure that everyone believes they are on track. >> do you believe that? >> i think that they're moving, but they have to have a semblance of control that has been completely ignored for so long. no mechanism for implementation, for fines. they need to demonstrate that they are serious about this. only by demonstrating that can they have legitimacy in allowing bonds to be bought in the markets. i felt really happy that something was done to allow them to pretend that things are moving in the right direction.

risks are serious behind that. the s&p -- >> they threw a grenade. >> they said that they needed something more serious, with more details. without that, there will be problems. but even with it that, there are problems. >> how many world -- how many people around the world even get this? just hours after angela merkel and nicolas sarkozy meet, they throw in this grenade that 17 of you might be in trouble? >> obviously, they are behind the curve. many of these countries have been in trouble for some time. therefore, people have become quite worried about growth in those countries. it is fairly lucky today that we have seen good figures from continental europe. that is what the s&p people are worried about.

>> what is the very least that has got to happen this friday, in your opinion? >> there have to be additional changes. industry, or other, so that all the countries agree that that type of change will allow for some kind of control of fiscal positions in this country. that will then open the door for more intervention in the market. >> even if they go on to say -- what would it take to get there? >> absolutely. >> thank you. we can now speak to our spanish mep from the socialist workers party. he joins us from brussels. thank you for joining us. these kinds of talks that people are discussing, absolutely crucial. >> yes, they are " shall. but the point is that i am the

european socialist and i do not agree with that angela merkel nicolas sarkozy solution. they have been imposing their decisions without listening to anyone else. not the member states, the commission, or parliament. it is simply not happening. >> what is your alternative? what is your alternative plan? >> we would say -- yes, we need reforms. but not to punish the countries with difficulties. they have caused too much pain now. we need a more balanced approach. we need to take care of jobs, take care of growth, take care of the investment in the role played by the european central bank. it has got to be much more active. it has got to be a powerful message to the whole market.

they are not to play with the euro zone anymore and try to threaten each country on an individual basis. we need to take care not only of the budgetary discipline, but also of a government notice from the euro zone and discipline as a whole. >> there are plenty of people that, as you know, will say that the only reason that people in spain and italy are being punished -- your words, not mine -- the only reason they're being punished is because they are living beyond their means and there has to be an austerity correction at some point that will hurt. >> it not true. spain fulfilled requirements. spain played very good -- not only fiscal balance, but surplus for four years in a row on the first term of the social -- socialist government.

the financial crash brought the deficit. but the deficit was on the cost. if we are to correct the deficit, we need a good approach down over time, taking care of all the ingredients of the parliament. ok? including governments of the year rose on and not only resources for tackling these goals of balancing the union -- >> all right, juan, we have to leave it there. thank you for your time. the oil giant bp has accused one of its partner companies for rent -- of intentionally destroying evidence related to last year's spill in the gulf of mexico. the have accused halliburton of destroying evidence related to cement. halliburton has rejected the claims. election figures suggest that

the current president in the republic of congo is leading the vote for president. still to come on "gmt," hundreds of protesters are still being held in russia after last night's demonstration in moscow. we speak to one activist was there. >> the relationship between france and germany has been the power house behind european integration, shrined behind the tree of 1992, setting up the european union as the single currency. >> it was in france that the european project got its kickoff. the six founder members sign that the treaty of paris, setting up what was then known as the coal and steel community. 60 years later, almost by

instinct, the french see themselves as the heart of the european union. as one prime minister once said of this man, general de gaulle, when he speaks of europe, he means france. this idea of a france as the equivalent is still very much alive today. over the years, mass opinion has shifted. today people are deeply suspicious of brussels and paris. the attitude over the single currency means less than it did yesterday. >> i think we should go back to the franc. it is a fair question. we have committed a monumental act of stupidity. >> people have the feeling that the euro cause prices to go up. i think that that is true. but i think that if we go back to the frank, there will not be

effects. >> i think that we should all stay with our original currencies. for me, it would have been better. that is my opinion. >> the french are not anti- european in the sense of being opposed to the idea of europe, but skepticism in the sense that things are not being run as they should be is very much alive. bbc news, paris. >> this is "gmt," from "bbc world news." the headlines -- dozens killed as bomb attacks target shia worshipers across afghanistan. the taliban condemns the attack as the brutal work of enemies. and the american treasury secretary visits the european central bank with fought on containing the euro zone crisis.

russian authorities are still holding some leading opposition figures after a large protest in moscow last night. thousands of people attended the demonstrations against the result of parliamentary elections. hundreds were arrested. the prime minister's party won the vote, but one international observer declared the elections flawed. an activist and a protester who was that the demonstrations last night, he joins us from our moscow bureau. there were, i gather, bigger numbers than had ever been seen in recent years, in moscow, for a demonstration. what do you attribute that to? >> it is definitely true. i would say that for the last six years, seven years, not maybe a regular protester -- i have been to several events --

the but i would call this the largest gathering i have seen. people say that it is 7000 or 10,000 people. i do not think that i can judge. but it was really impressive. >> why do you think that that is? the nature of the problem? or simply the protesters are getting better at organizing? >> well, organizing is probably an issue. but there are two main things. one is that the problem is really serious. relationships in the elections are rigged. the results are not close to what was done when people voted. and the difference from earlier times, the elections are often vague in russia. but it used to be that everyone

understands that the majority is united russia, and they added themselves 10%. no one sees the big difference between 60% in 70%. now it is quite different. the majority of people voted against. probably 65% voted against vladimir putin and the united russia party. so, this time around, the people think that the election is rigged. >> ok, michael, thank you very much for your time. thank you. time for the business series. more on the u.s. treasurers' european tour? >> yes, indeed. as we heard earlier, timothy geithner is mounting up pressure

on europe. he is meeting the german finance minister and european central bank boss today after a key summit at the end of the week. standard and poors says it is reviewing the euro zone credit rating. the success of the trans- atlantic trading bloc is crucial in america. on new york's fifth avenue, retailers are doing their best to boost holiday shopping spirits. there are so many cable department stores here, all of them shining a bit brighter at this time of year. and but the european financial crisis could turn out to be the grinch that stole christmas. meet these women have run their own cosmetic company. -- meet these women who have run their own cosmetics company that exports to europe. nail polish is still a big hit, but kim is worried.

>> it is difficult at this time to be a small business. this would be shattering, i think. >> amy, whose sales to japan dried up after the recent earthquake, has cut her inventory, just in case. >> i am being conservative, to be honest. i do not want to have an overstock of things. byproducts are certified organic. the shelf life is about two years. i do not want to sit on it for too long. >> even general motors is counting the costs. profits -- profits fell 13%, based mostly on slower sales in europe. economists say that a widening crisis in europe would hurt the u.s. economy. >> trade linkage in in europe would cut gdp growth by half a percentage point, depending on how serious the european

downturn is. more important, the financial linkage that could hurt the economy. >> the white house is so concerned that timothy geithner is in europe again, urging leaders to act more quickly and decisively to solve this crisis. bbc news, new york. >> brought to the court. that is the assessment of an -- brought in to the court. that is the assessment of and in it -- rotten to the core. that is the assessment of an independent commission. these practices were brought to light by an independent boss. >> olympus as an organization, notrotten to th rotten to the c. i would like to take the company back and then move forward again.

existing board members did nothing. detailed talks about the yes-man culture. >> the european union's anti- trust watchdogs say that they are investigating whether five big publishing houses and apple colluded to restrict competition in the markets e-books. the european commission is looking into anti-competitive practices by harpercollins, simon and schuster, penguin, and [unintelligible] meanwhile, the irish government will unveil the second part of its governmethe scale has been n by its founding partners in the central bank, european union, and international monetary fund. that warning from standard and poor's overnight has had an impact on european markets. down or covering just below the average mark today.

>> thank you very much. the american space agency, nasa, has confirmed a new planet in the havels vote -- habitable zone. meaning that it could contain water on the surface. twice the size of earth, similar to earth's orbit, but 600 light years away. nasa says that they do not yet know if it is made up of rock, gas, or liquid. a quick reminder of our top story here on "gmt," attacks in afghanistan have killed dozens and injured hundreds more in the deadliest incident at a holy day celebration in kabul. police say that 48 people died in the blast. we will have plenty more on that and other news here on "gmt."

do stay with us. ma>en s> se of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank has put its global strength to work for aidee range of financial companies. what can we do for you? >> bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles.