>> 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." >> the syrian city of homs comes under the heaviest bombardment for days. the red cross called for a ceasefire. activists say more government troops are pouring into the area. growing pressure against the regime in damascus. >> we will intensify our diplomatic our reach to those countries that are still supporting the assad regime. >> hello and welcome to gmt. i am george alagiah, with a world of news and opinion. also in the program -- the end of a long, hard night of talks. the greek prime minister defense a bailout bill. and gore in kabul -- anger in

kabul. nato issues an apology. it is midday in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and 2:00 p.m. in the syrian city of homs reports that it is now facing the heaviest bombardment with more government troops massing on the outskirts. the details may be sketchy, but the overall picture is now pretty clear. after two weeks under attack, homs is the scene of a humanitarian crisis. the international red cross, normally discreet about its dealings, has taken the unusual step of calling for a cease-fire to get aid in and the wounded out. jim muir has the latest. jim? >> it has been among the heaviest bombardments baba amr has undergone.

the from the live extremely rare getting from there, it would shell after shell, -- the life stream -- the live stream we were getting from there, it was show after show. the events of the day, to put it in some context, let's look at this report. >> but armond went on relentlessly. hundreds of shells and rockets slammed into baba amr, which has been under siege for more than two weeks. several hundred rebels fighters from the free syrian army are entrenched here. many civilians are also trapped. some of them are paying the price. at the improvised field hospitals, doctors are struggling to save the lives of the wounded, including this baby hit by shrapnel from an exploding rockets. activists said some buildings

were reduced to rubble by the intensity of the shelling. tanks and armored vehicles were on the move in the district immediately adjacent to baba amr, but it's not clear if it was the big ground offensive the government has been threatening. human rights groups say such an attack would result in mass care. the have called on the world to intervene. the international red cross is trying to mediate a truce to get supplies in and civilians out. no results so far. western and arab powers are preparing for a big meeting on syria on friday to step up pressure on the regime and support for the opposition. there is still no clear way ahead. >> the syrian regime is going to be under increasing pressure, which will create perhaps more space for all of us to push hard

on a transition. it's we will intensify our diplomatic outreach to those countries. the >> the bug world is not the united -- >> the world is not united. russia and china -- they advocate jacdialogue, but ther's little of that going on. >> we do not know what's happening at this moment at baba amr in homs. the live feed has now dried up. it's not clear if the shelling is continuing or if a ground offensive is under way. there has been no intermission from the usual activist organizations. the government has pretty much promised it will do -- the

interior ministry said it was determined this operation would continue until all of what it called pockets of armed terrorists are wiped out. >> in your report, you talked about people sitting there is likely to be a massacre, it the ground troops did not move in to it must be bad for the red cross to make such a public statement. it does not normally do that. >> that is right. even the russians and china are talking about some kind of mediations. the russians are urging the u.n. to send an envoy. data element for the regime is this.

it has branded people terrorist -- the dilemma for the regime is this. it has branded people terrorist s. >> jim, thank you very much. now to some of the other stories making headlines around the world today. it took 14 hours of talks, but finally, eurozone ministers agreed on the second massive bailout deal for greece. the country will receive more than 130 billion euros to stave off bankruptcy. the greek prime minister looks relieved after the talks, but this may not be the end of the crisis for the country. let's speak to andrew walker. greek prime minister papademos, he said he is quite relieved. >> a couple of weeks ago, when parliament voted on some of the austerity measures that were required for the euro group to

agree on this bailout package, many greeks took to the streets to indicate their feelings. no doubt, they will do so again, as the greek government implements what has been decided together with the euro group. perhaps, some of the greeks may be more sympathetic towards what is coming if they could be reasonably confident that it will definitively get on top of the greek government's debt problems. i do not think they can feel that. for one thing, a lot of calculations coming out of brussels and the international monetary fund are based on the assumption that everything goes right in terms of growth returning. frankly, that's a pretty courageous assumption. even if everything goes right, they are aiming to get the greek government's debt burden down to 120% of gdp, the level of italy currently. it is even regarded too high,

even them. >> part of the deal means that greece's economy will be monitored. outsiders will be sitting in in government. some would say that's a modern- day colonialism. >> some are already saying that. it has to be said. when the imf gets involved, it does have a resident representative keeping an eye on how things are going. the degree of intrusion by the eurozone and the imf is unusually high. they're looking at the idea of creating special kinds of accounts which the greek government would not have control over, but which would privatize payments of private creditors. that would be really, absolutely extraordinary. no surprise, really, that there

would be a deep resentment of that kind of arrangement in greece. >> andrew walker, thank you very much. the american commander in afghanistan has apologized after karon werethe crow reportedly destroyed. here is how u.s. general john allen apologized. >> i am sorry. a problem with that. the former head of the international monetary fund, dominique strauss-kahn, is being questioned by french police today about an alleged prostitution ring. he resigned as head of the imf in may of last year after he is accused of sexually assaulting a

maid in a hotel. the charge was later dropped. our paris correspondent gave us a background to the latest investigation. >> a number of sex workers from france and belgium came forward and said they slept with strauss-kahn -- a fact he is not disputing. he is disputing that he knew they were prostitutes. it is not the legal in france to sleep with prostitutes, but it is illegal to supply them. it's alleged that strauss-kahn took his own women to these parties. it is also alleged that they were paid for out of corporate funds from a large construction company. it is also a legal in france for a public official to receive a gift -- it is also a legal in france for a public official to receive a gifts -- it is illegal in france for a public

official to receive a gifts of any kind. he can be held for up to four days. then they will decide whether he cen be charged or not. and pea do not often go hand in hand. some say life is slowly getting back to normal in the capital. six months ago, al-shabab militants were pushed out. now, and converging on london future.ss similsomalia's >> i'm in the ruined center of mogadishu. a few months ago, there was no way we could have been here. it was not secure enough. the situation has changed dramatically in many ways in mogadishu. it has changed, hasn't it? >> it has changed. i'm happy to see you walking

without bulletproof vests. people are feeling secure. this is the reality on the ground. when i asked them, only three of them raise their hands. >> your government faces many challenges. what have you managed to achieve so far in mogadishu, now that it is free of al-shabab? >> people getting back into their lives. small businesses are starting. if you look at the market in front of us, it is overcrowded. the somali people are risk takers. >> you just have to look at the ruins all around us to realize how much time and money it will take to rebuild somalia and mogadishu. what are you hoping for from the london conference? >> i'm happy that all parties are there.

what i am expecting and what i'm hoping for is first, a united somalia. a united somalia, democracy, good governance. that is what we are expecting. there is relative security now. we expect the security will expand. the other thing will be the construction -- the reconstruction of this city. we are talking billions of dollars. billions was spent and it was not visible. now we won billions to be visible and the people of mogadishu to witness it. >> the deputy chief mayor of mogadishu. thank you very much. that's all we have time for from the capital of somalia. >> still to come on gmt -- one year after the devastating earthquake, we are in the city of christchurch to see what has changed. let's take a look at the stories making headlines in newspapers

around the world in france -- the world. in france -- "the international herald tribune" looks at the political maneuvers in germany to select a new president. merkel says despite many differences, they both grew up under communism in germany. "immigration chaos" is the headline, after it was emerged hundreds of thousands were let into the u.k. without proper checks. "the potential *" says one in five companies in the united states have volatile predictions along with their usual quarterly results -- in "the financial times."

>> this is gmt from "bbc world news." i am george alagiah. the headlines -- syrian forces have reportedly unleased what has been called a ferocious artillery barrage. eurozone finance ministers finally agree on a massive bailout package for greece. time now for the business news. juliet is here. we talked before about this carbon tax imposed and why the chinese dislike it so much. this could trigger a trade war. >> that is a concern. a number of manufacturers have expressed that fear. basically, the european union wants to charge all airlines for carbon they emit. this game kicks off around january. in february, they should start collecting the money. 20 countries, surprisingly led

by the united states and china, who are normally at each other's throats over trade, are meeting in moscow to discuss this. they do not like this. they do not feel there is legitimacy to impose this tax. the eu is saying, why don't you just come up with an alternative that will satisfy all parties? this is a complicated area. he says there is a way around the problems without either side losing face. >> it will be difficult to extract it, if they are determined not to put up the cash. the trick will be to allow that to happen while engaging in serious negotiations, so it does not seem that the countries are simply [inaudible] >> the interesting thing about this, the u.s. congress voted to exclude american carriers and

china has threatened to suspend a free-trade deals. >> staying with airlines, the indian airlines, they are experiencing a bit of turbulence to save the least. >> this is a very interesting company. it was founded in 2005 by a billionaire, who made his fortune from growinbrewing. the company is having a tough time. almost 40 flights were cancelled on monday and another 30 cancelled today. he blames the tax authorities in india. he says they have frozen the company's bank accounts, so he cannot pay people. it's not very good. he is also caught up in these intense price war over rising oil prices. our correspondent says the company's financial health is grim. these numbers are i watering. >> for the last quarter, they reported losses of $19 million

from october to december of last year. that is 75% drop on the previous year. on average, the company is using $1 million per day. >> $1 million per day. >> which is why the shares lost about 20% of their value. not good. >> you can say that again. thank you very much. the american commander in afghanistan has apologized for an incident in which copies of the muslim holy book, the koran, were reportedly disposed of. it brought nearly 1000 protesters near kabul. there are reports of demonstrations in the capital itself. u.s. general john allen apologized to the afghan people. i am sorry. we seem to be having a problem with that story for the second time. we still did not manage it.

it has been one year since the devastating earthquake killed 185 people and injured many more on the south island of new zealand. today, people in christchurch will remember the moment the earthquake struck, devastating large parts of their city. >> new zealand has called it the quake that changed a nation. the area is still completely off-limits. street after street destroyed and still dangerous. this is as close and he and his congregation can get to the iconic cathedral. >> they call it the new normal. most of us are getting on with our lives. we live with this reality that we could have more clicks. we live in a city that has been devastated. >> this is the site of the canterbury television building. 115 people died here, including 70 foreign students. the building was one of the

first to be cleared. the visual reminder may be gone, but tributes from around the world remain. it took only 24 seconds to rip a par the center of christchurch. where i'm standing used to be the second-biggest city. 60,000 people came to work here every day. now it is just come to a few demolition workers. crucially, also to construction workers. $2 billion plant is in the pipeline to rebuild this part of christchurch. some people are concerned it could take a decade. >> the nearby suburb is the closest to the epicenter. this was captured on a mobile phone, showing the full force of the 6.2 magnitude earthquake. they showed us the damage to the home one year ago. now, they're only memory. the house had to be pulled down. on so many different levels, the past year has been a tough one. >> [inaudible]

a little bit. i guess the fear for us is more financial than social. we have lost a lot of friends that have left town. we have lost a lot of businesses that used to come through here. >> this whole event, if anything, has strengthened my resolve to stay in this town. it turns out the things we love about it go so much deeper than the buildings. it is the people, the geography. it's a rare thing these days, a community that cares about each other. . >> you can feel they've remarkable sense of community here. on a goal the evening in littleton, this festival is a moment to celebrate. symbols of hope and a way of coming together. >> all the time, people in

uniform. we had an opportunity to walk up to these people. we know that they ended up all over the world. >> the attitude in christchurch was one of resilience. the reality is that with years of rebuilding and uncertainty ahead, people here have little choice. the thirding it's time that's lucky with the story we meant to bring a earlier, the demonstrations in kabul as a result of nato troops reportedly disposing of the muslim holy book, the koran. here is how general john allen apologized to the afghan people. >> we are thoroughly investigating the incident and we are taking steps to ensure this does not ever happen again. i assure you. i promise you this was not intentional in any way. i offer my sincere apologies for any offense this may have caused. my apologies to the president of

afghanistan. my apologies to the government of the islamic republic of afghanistan. most important, my apologies to the noble people of afghanistan. >> general john allen there. live andss to kabul speak to the spokesman. thank you for being with us on gmt. you heard the apology from general john allen. have you been given an explanation as to what happened? >> at the moment, the investigation is going on. unfortunately, it was yet another bad incident that happened. there was an apology. i think it was the right time. the minister of interior -- with the nato delegation, investigating and seeing what

went wrong and what was the incident itself. unfortunately, we have been hearing this in the past, but the good thing is that we have to work together. we see good measures. >> let me just ask you. you say you have tried to investigate. i said just now that the holy book had been disposed of. do you know what actually happened? >> this is what we know. the holy books arhave been disposed of by some of the members. >> when you said disposed of, we've heard reports that they might have been burnt. exactly what happened? >> these are the accounts that we heard from different sources and from nato itself. that is why the ministry of interior, with the nato

delegation -- we cannot tell you at the moment what wrong and what was exactly happening there. >> the taliban must be loving this kind of incident. this must be great music to their yearears. >> as you know, the afghans are muslims. the book is very sacred. these are really bad incidents. it's really unfortunate that this happened. in the past, we've been telling our colleagues that these incidents should not happen and those coming in afghanistan have to realize. >> we have to have it there. thank you very much. i'm afraid we've run out of time. please stay with us on "bbc world news."

>> 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?

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