>> 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. and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key, strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you?

>> and now "bbc world news." >> irian activist -- say a house bill has been hit. artillery fire has resumed. reports that helicopters and tanks are being used. >> it sounded like mortars at the beginning. >> hello and welcome to gmt. i am george alagiah, with a world of news and opinion. also in the program -- a united front. bitter palestinian rivals agreed to set up a joint government. bosnia's heaviest snowfall ever.

we will have the latest as thousands across europe to grapple with transport disruption and power cuts. >> it is midday in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and 2:00 in the afternoon in the syrian city of homs, the scene of escalating violence between government forces and the opposition movement. the bombardment of the city by forces loyal to president bashar al-assad resumed at dawn on monday with the rebel activists say in a field hospital has been hit after the failure of efforts to reach a resolution at the u.n. and when did before the russian foreign minister is due in damascus. in a moment, a full report on the situation. first, this from our correspondent, paul wood, who managed to enter the city of homs. >> there has been pretty constant shelling since about 6:00 a.m. local time, which was about two hours ago. it sounded like mortars at the beginning. maples a multiple rocket

launches are being used -- many people are saying multiple rocket launches are being used. we've tried to put as many thick walls between us and the street as possible. it does not appear to be an invasion at the moment. it does appear to be a constant stream of artillery fire. so far, we believe there have been at least 10 killed and probably more. this is the sound of the rebel fighters, the free army, as they call themselves, replying to heavy artillery. that's pretty much a futile gesture. when the attack started, people went out -- some people went out to their streets and balconies stew start shouting, "god is great." the free army started firing back with a small arms. there's not really anything homs can do now except find as much shelter as possible. >> that is paul wood in homs. jim muir has been watching the latest developments in syria.

let's see his report. >> video footage posted on the internet after government shelling hit a field hospital in the baba amr district of homs. there was pandemonium. the dead strewn the floors. activists say this is the most bombardment since the uprising broke out last mars. the doctor tries to revive one of the wounded. i watched a 3-year-old rule by after we pulled her of the rubble, this man said. activists say the security forces are using heavier caliber artillery than ever before in bringing up tanks and troops. there has been no attack on the

ground so far. syrian state tv had its own version of events. it also showed gruesome pictures from homs in what it called tourist-armed groups have launched attacks there and fi red mortars into other areas. it also reporting clashes to the northwest into the west of damascus. it is beginning to look increasingly like a civil war. that's the way the russians see if. they're sending the foreign minister to damascus on tuesday. >> [speaking foreign language] >> the desire by the authors of this resolution was to make the regime stop violent actions, not to impose concrete obligations on the armed groups that are fighting against the regime. that sort of resolution would have meant the u.n. security council stands on the side of one of the participants in a civil war.

>> the russians are talking about dialogue and a political solution. for the moment, events on the ground seemed to be as outstripping what efforts there are to end the violence. >> [speaking foreign language] >> jim muir monetary situation from the ro beiruit. now to some of the other stories making headlines around the world. years of bitter rivalry could be coming to an end. hamas and fatah have agreed to form a unity government, led by abbas. abbas apparently will lead this as president and prime minister. what are the details? what is significant in this deal? >> you can look of this in two ways. you can see this as a step towards political reconciliation, which is something many palestinians have

been crying out for years and months. on the other hand, it's been a pretty painful process getting there. they were trying to get the name of a new prime minister who was meant to be an independent figure. they cannot agree. what they have done now -- president president mahmoud abbas will now have two jobs. i think many palestinians will be wondering exactly how that will work. the aim is apparently to form a new unity government, which will work towards elections later in the year -- elections which have been delayed many times in the past. >> thank you very much for the update. thank you. a factory in the pakistani city of lahore has collapsed killing several and trapping dozens more. a three-story building collapsed . about 60 people are thought to be still inside. it was located in a residential

part of lahore and it manufactured medicine. our correspondent is following developments from karachi. the last i looked, there were dozens of people still unaccounted for. what is the latest? >> they have been able to get 11 people out so far. two of those people died. a woman and child died due to being trapped under all the debris. 30 people are still inside. initially, the figures were inflated a bid. they said up to 100 people could be inside. officials now say up to 30 -- at least 30 people could be under the building. the rescue effort is still going on. it will take a little while to get those people out. >> thank you very much. thank you. police in egypt has fired tear gas at protesters.

seven people have been killed in cairo and five more since last week. the prime minister of romania, emil boc, has resigned after weeks of protests against his government's austerity measures. his unpopular moves included cutting public wages and a freeze on pensions. an earthquake with a magnitude of 617 has shaken the central philippines, killing at least 13 people. instruct of the coast of negros island, triggering a landslide buried scores of houses. 39 people are still missing. the polish interior ministry says 62 people have died in the last 10 days as a result of an extremely harsh winter. the big freeze has struck with a vengeance across europe from london to bosnia. the death toll continues to climb as people struggled to

cope with the arctic conditions. >> in eastern bosnia, they are sending in the helicopters. you can hardly see the village, as there is so much snow. when it came, it came thick and fast. many people were trapped in their cars. >> [speaking foreign language] >> there were 15 or 20 cars trapped in the snow for $20. we barely managed to get to them in time. >> eastern europe did a lot of snow every winter, but this year the conditions have been more severe and the temperatures are lower than normal in many places. in ukraine, they have the technology to clear the streets, but still dozens are dying from the cold. in the nearly negative 40 degrees temperatures, is the homeless who are suffering. shelters have been built to protect them. western europe has also been badly hit. the canals of venice are

thickening as they start to turn to ice. it's a throwback to another era. the last time the surrounding lagoon froze was in 1929. further south in rome, many had a taste of the ancient times after homes were left without power. a crowd braved the cold to hear the pope make mention of the weather in his weekly address. it is beautiful, he said, but let's hope spring comes soon. back in bosnia, the capital lies buried under its heaviest snowfall ever. schools are closed. there is a state of emergency in place, and now for the first time in this -- troops have been drafted in to help. >> let's return to our main story, the ongoing violence in syria. our correspondent joins me from beirut, where he is monitoring

the situation. this looks increasingly like a civil war, does it not? >> it does. if you watched syrian state tv, you would think they are on a war footing. they are constantly running in not just homs, but in a litany of places. all of it is blamed by the government on what they are calling armed terrorists, which they say have launched attacks in the areas. as for the city homs, in baba amr, the so-called terrorists have launched attacks on the people and on government forces and have been firing mortars into other parts of homs. from the state point of view, they say this is an escalation that has been triggered by activity by armed opponents and state forces are trying to

restore order and stability. we are left guessing who took the initiative for this. the government had apparently showed signs as regarding itself to have a free hand after the russian and chinese veto on saturday. we're not quite sure. >> briefly, given what you have just said, what chances are there that the russian foreign minister, when he turns out tomorrow, will be able to achieve anything at all? >> personally, i would say produce light. he's trying to find some sort of political solution, pressing the government, mr. president assad to move more swiftly. from the opposition point of view, reform is something that's the way in the realms of history in terms of possibility. the russians also want to get some sort of dialogue going. they're not really in a position to mediate with the opposition.

they do not see how russia can't play a role. >> thank you very much. still to come on gmt -- >> no one knew then of the grow would arrive here as princess elizabeth would leave again five days later as clean. >> an anniversary to remember. elizabeth ii exceeded to the throne 60 years ago. look att's take a what's making headlines in some of the newspapers around the world. the conference in syria continues to dominate front pages. western and arab leaders are intensifying the diplomatic offensive against president assad's regime after a failure of the u.n. resolution calling for his removal from office. europe's the freeze is on the front of "the gulf news."

people in spain and france braving the subzero weather. "the financial times" details the negotiations between when and the mining company. internet freedom is a big issue in today's "international herald tribune." >> this is gmt from "bbc world news." i am george alagiah. the headlines -- the syrian city of homs is under intense bombardment by forces loyal to president assad. reports that a hospital has also been hit by shell fire. fatah and hamas have agreed that president mahmoud abbas

will head an interim government. >> let's catch up with the latest in the world of business and economics. i am just hearing the other have been talks going on between greece and its creditors. it looks increasingly likely that there's no deal. in a way, you have been there before. what is new now is things are getting worse all the time in greece. >> absolutely. we have been here for some time. everybody has been here. we've had crucial talks between greece's coalition government that had to agree on another round of austerity measures. more cutbacks, basically. had to agree on that to receive the next jump the bailout money. they did not agree. the talks fell apart. come march, they have to pay back. eu statistics office has shown

that greek debt continues to spiral out of control. it now stands at 159% of gdp. whereas, everybody else's is dropping. i ask one professor what's going on in greece. what is going on? >> let's not forget that greece has just finished the fourth year in recession. estimates say the economy declined by almost 6.5%. the estimates for next year -- the results are also negative, which means we will have a negative gdp for 2012, as well. it comes as no surprise, therefore, that the primary deficit has not been completely eliminated. however, let's not overlook the fact that it has decreased -- not as much as we would have liked. >> i want to switch now to

airlines and china in particular. it has banned its airlines from paying the new airlines carbon emissions tax. >> yes, reminding everybody that this kicked in on january 1. it forces all airlines that fly into or out of europe -- they have to pay for the missions, no matter where it starts from. if it starts in brazil, it has to pay for the whole thing. we know the u.s., canada, and china have been up in arms over this. they have threatened even trade wars. today, the chinese government officially banned all of its airlines from paying into the scheme. george, this puts eu in a tough spot. china is its largest trading partner. chinese tourists spend a lot of money when they visit. if they do not pay, the eu could ban them from coming into europe. is that likely to happen?

>> that is very much a last resort. i do not think anybody wants to get to that sort of ultimate outcome. what we have right here -- months before the permits have to be submitted, we really need to see this getting up to a global level, a solution through the new un body, which is responsible for it. >> they are saying that this regional fix will not work. they need to do this on a global scale and bring in them. >> thank you. >> the spanish cyclist has been banned from the sport for two years and stripped of his 2010 title after being found guilty of a doping offense. contador's suspension will last until august this year. it also stripped him of all his wins during 2011. he tested positive for the band

anabolic agent and said he ingested it by eating a contaminated stake, which satisfied spanish authorities, but was rejected by the international cycling union. >> people who run away from their own country are usually fleeing economic kerchief or persecution -- economic hardship or persecution. in estimated two thousand arrive every month in sudan -- an increasing number have been kidnapped for ransom. >> they came hoping for a better life. the fleet compulsory national service and tough conditions are at home are usually confronted with a much harder

fate. this woman was kidnapped and beaten. >> i was held for four months. i was raped. i became pregnant. they threw me away. my baby is 9 months old now. >> elsewhere in the refugee camp, like seems to go on as normal. everyone is scared they could be taken. the kidnappers typically ask for thousands of dollars. if the person cannot pay, they are tortured until a relative or friend sends the money. bductions aree adoptio taking place near the border. they also happen right here at the refugee camp. it's causing growing concern. >> it moves from sudan into egypt, from egypt into israel -- [inaudible] and this is a very big concern to us. >> the sudanese government says

this is a simple law and order issue. almost all the alleged kidnappers come from the ethnic group [inaudible] >> i think they should not be accused as a whole for committing such crimes, but maybe some individuals in the east. we will consider such activity as a crime. >> back in the camp, the victims are still struggling to deal with what has happened to them. >> there were six. they raped me. it lasted five hours until i became unconscious. eventually some of the church and friends raised a lot of money to set me free. >> kidnapping in eastern sudan has become such a lucrative trade -- it will be very difficult to stop. bbc news, sudan. >> now, on february 6, 1952, princess elizabeth found that her father, king george vi had

died. at the time, she was staying in the treetops hotel in the foothills of mount kenya. the bbc has been back to mark this historic event. >> the royal visitor stepped off into the hot sunshine of nairobi. no one knew then that the girl would arrive here as princess elizabeth would we began five days later as queen. >> this place is extremely significant for the british royal family. of course, a lot has changed in the last 60 years. in 1952, this was a british colony. princess elizabeth and prince philip came here. they were stopping off on their way to australia. >> from her car, the princess took many feet of film. >> they stayed in what was a very basic tree house, which stood right here. unfortunately, it has been destroyed. it was destroyed in 1954 in the

rebellion against colonialism that led to the independence of kenya. the very well-known story is that at night, princess elizabeth went up the letter to sleep. during that night, her father died. she lit up the ladder a princess. she came down the ladder in the morning a queen. >> the princess and france went to a viewing platform just in front of the tree house. -- princess and prince went to the viewing platform just in front of the tree house. of course, there was a new lodge put up here. that is now being renovated. it attracts thousands of businesses every year. we manage to track down a man who worked for treetops' way back in 1952. >> [speaking foreign language] >> we met at treetops. i helped terry of the luggage

from the car all the way to the euro -- helped carry the luggage from the car to the room. she was about to go up the ladder. she saw a herd of elephants and was so thrilled. [speaking foreign language] we're almost the same age. god has been kind to us. we are lucky to have lived this long. police say a big hello to the queen for me -- please say a big hello for me. >> queen's 60 years as mark will be celebrated with a 41 gun salute, followed by a 61-gun salute of the tower of london. to the official photographs have been released of the queen. in a message, the queen promised

"to dedicate myself anew to your service" repeating a pledge she first made at the age of 21. the bbc world news will have special coverage in june, of course. we will leave that. a reminder of our top story on gmt -- the syrian government has stepped up the barman and shelling in the city of homs, which has been the main center of resistance to president bashar al-assad. reports say a field hospital in the baba amr neighborhood of the city has been hit. activists save the city has been targeted by heavy artillery. a bbc correspondent who managed to get into the city of homs has said the intensity has increased. stay with "bbc world news." there is plenty more to come.

>> make sense of international news. 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. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key, strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you?

>> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.