>> 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 use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended global network 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.

>> the british embassy in damascus evacuates all its staff amid worries over security in syria. this, as fears grow over full-scale ground assault by the syrian authorities against opposition forces in homs and elsewhere. >> >> hello. welcome to "g.m.t." also in this program -- relief for passengers trapped for three days on the stricken italian cruise ship. they come ashore in the seychelles. and tailor-made advertising by google angers privilege a campaigners. the european union says it may violate its rules. it's midday here in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and 2:00 in the afternoon in syria,

where opposition activists say they are very worried that government forces are rolling tanks into the city of homs in preparation for a major ground assault there. it is virtually impossible to reach residents and activists in the besieged baba amr neighborhood, which is bearing the brunt of shelling. meanwhile, the united nations has today again condemned the violence in syria and is trying to pave the way for the diplomatic mission of the new you know envoy for the country, kofi annan. jim muir reports from neighboring lebanon. >> the edge of baba amr. government forces and tanks firing into the besieged quarter as troops scurry around the edge. the activist commentator, speaking from an adjacent area, says the attack into baba amr has failed. syrian state tv also ran footage showing just how devastated the quarter is. it, too, doesn't seem to show

government troops in control of the battered streets. regime supporters on the ground blamed armed terrorists for all the trouble. these armed men are shooting all night long. they attack homes. they're there to terrorize and kill civilians, he says, they barricaded the streets and destroyed our district. nearby, despite better weather, women turned out to voice their demand for the machine to go, one of many such demonstrations daily in other parts of the country. as the situation becomes more violent, there's mounting pressure for the resistance to be better armed. the main opposition group has now set up a special military bureau. >> given the extreme importance to manage the increasing armed resistance in syria and to support the capabilities of the free syrian army, the syrian national council has decided to set up a military office made up of military and civilian experts to follow up the issues

of all armed resistance forces and unite them under one central leadership. >> some of the rich arab states are more than ready to channel arms and money to the opposition. they probably already are. that's one way ahead, and it leads to civil war. if there's one man who can head that off, it's the new special international envoy, kofi annan. he says the only way is dialogue. >> i know there are people who have other ideas, that dialogue may not be the way to go, but i think for the sake of the people. for the sake of the syrian people who are caught in the middle, a peaceful solution through dialogue and a speedy one is the way to go. >> the syrian opposition, its western supporters and the arab league itself have long since dropped the idea of dialogue with a regime they believe must go. by reviving it, kofi annan may at least win access to president assad to try to persuade him to cooperate with

an international peace effort. jim muir, bbc news, beirut. >> all right, now let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines around the world today. two nato soldiers have been killed by locals in southern afghanistan, the latest in a series of attacks on international forces in the country. in just one week, a total of six foreign troops were killed in this way, as tensions rise over the burning of korans at a u.s. military base in afghanistan. joining us with more on the bbc's orla guerin. what more can you tell us? >> nato -- excuse me. nato says two attackers opened fire indiscriminately. they believe -- i beg your pardon. >> don't worry about it, orla. >> i beg you to come back to me. >> should we come back to you? let's give you a second. i tell you what, while you're

trying to recover yourself, we're going to run the report that you've done, and then you can give us an update after we've seen it, ok? all right. we're running that now. >> this was the rage on the streets after copies of the koran were burnt at a u.s. base. there were protests across the nation and deadly attacks on nato troops. but the top military commander insists there is still a working relationship with afghan brothers in arms. you have awe have trust in each other, we have confidence in each other, and even though we have this setback, i believe we're going to get through it. i don't think this washes away the relationship. i think the relationship is stronger than that. >> the burke of the muslim holy book has been a very costly mistake. more than 30 people have been killed since then, mostly afghan. general allen says the anger here is understandable.

>> we are not surprised in the least that there was this reaction amongst the afghan people. after all the koran was burned, it's the holy book. it's, for them, the word of god. the key point is to remember that over these 10 years, thousands and thousands of forces from many different countries have passed through afghanistan, and they have shown a reverence for the faith of islam. >> general allen says nato forces will continue to work shoulder to shoulder with their afghan colleagues, and there will be no change in strategy. that message was echoed by the u.s. ambassador to afghanistan, ryan crocker. >> i think we've made tremendous progress. it's very telling, as one looks at this past week, where demonstrations didn't occur, the area where your forces and

ours deliver the most punishment to the enemy in helmand and kandahar. kandahar was one of the quietest provinces in the country. >> but since he spoke, two soldiers have been killed, and nato believes one was an afghan soldier. some are now asking privately who they can trust. >> that report was by orla guerin, and or rla is joining us live from kabul. can you add any more to that report of yours? for instance, do we know the nationality of the two nato soldiers killed? >> not officially from nato. all they are saying so far is two foreign troops. we do believe from local sources that these were americans. now, some local officials are also providing a different version of events. they say that a local civilian, an afghan teacher who was working on the base, actually

grabbed a gun from the afghan soldier and opened fire, after which nato then killed the two afghans. but that is coming to us only from afghan sources. nato says they believe one of the killers was an afghan soldier. and we know from u.s. military officials that security concerns are incredibly high. now, one u.s. military official has told us that now, when he meets an afghan official, he has to have five armed u.s. troops present. senior afghan intelligence officials have admitted to us that there are serious concerns and serious shortcomings in the vetting of afghan recruits for both police and the army. they say this has to be improved. the last few years, since 2007, more than 17 nato troops have been killed by afghan soldiers or police, and there is growing concern about the enemy within. >> orla guerin there in fine

voice, live from kabul. now, north korea has pledged to halt nuclear activities and missile tests in return for nearly a quarter of a million tons of u.s. food aid. the move comes two months after kim jong un came to power following the death of his father. hillary clinton describes it as a modest step in the right direction. in turkey, 10 people have been hurt in an explosion that badly damaged a police bus in istanbul. the blast, believed to be a bomb, happened near the offices of the ruling justice and development party. severe storms in the united states have left at least 12 people dead. 17 tornado sightings were reported across six states in the south and midwest. in illinois, witnesses described furniture being sucked out of hotel room windows. the governors of kansas and missouri have declared a state of emergency. the stricken italian cruise ship, the costa allegra, has

limped into a ported in the seychelles after three days at sea without power. more than 1,000 people have had to cope without basic sanitation and air conditioning on what should have been a luxury voyage. the red cross is now providing assistance to the passengers, many of whom are elderly. the costa allegra docked at last. more than 1,000 stranded passengers can finally turn their back on the ship that left them for three days at sea in tropical conditions without toilets, lights, or showers. >> we all went to our stations, and there was a point where we thought we were going to have to lower the boats. so then they were able to put the fire out, and from that point on, it was just a matter of inconvenience, not having enough food, not being able to rest well at night. the heat is unbearable. >> the luxury cruiseliner limped into the port of victoria towed by a french tuna fishing boat. there was a welcoming committee standing by, led by the red

cross, ready to feed, water, and comfort passengers while they waited to be transferred to hotels and plan their journeys home. >> we had basic first aid, depending on what they had. also, we will be providing them with water and we freshments. and also, if there's any need, we are ready. >> international news crews are eager for the story of the stricken ship, whose fire on board came only weeks after a fellow cruiseliner hit rocks off italy. there are no reports of injuries this time, but getting the passengers on to dry land could take several hours. at least one plane has been chartered for tonight for those who don't wish to continue with the seychelles vacation. >> to get more on that story, jeffrey kauffman from abc news

joins us live from the seychelles. these people, end of their ordeal. it must have been awful for them. >> i think the biggest surprise is the description of what happened on monday after the alarm was sounded. what we didn't know until just now was that they were ordered to abandon ship, the life boats were lowered, and passengers described utter chaos. they said that the crew didn't really know what to do. they were sent in many directions. and for several hours, it was like that. they had their life jackets on, they thought they were going to get off the ship, they didn't think they were going to get off the ship. but once the fire was under control, the captain came on the address system and said, we are fine, you can stay on the ship. and then they said things like order started to take hold and things were not as panicked. but they said the first couple of hours really were chaotic. for many, obviously they were quite frightening. >> jeffrey, what kind of help

are they getting now? i mean, some of the older passengers, we hear, are in need of some attention. >> well, you can imagine, conditions on that ship were pretty rough. it's very, very hot here, about 95 degrees farne height. -- 95 degrees fahrenheit. so they were on there with no electricity, no working toilet, no place to cook for the crew for three days and three nights. they slept on the deck on deck chairs. they were eating bread sandwiches. they really didn't -- it was pretty basic. remarkably, no one was injured, no one came off on a stretcher. and the seychelles government and cruise line had things arranged for them everyone was taken to nearby hotels for what they really wanted most, which was a shower and a good, hot meal. >> and jeffrey, this is a small country, the seychelles, 70,000

people or so. how are they going repatriate more than 1,000 passengers? you need an awful lot of planes for that, don't you? >> well, interestingly, they offered the passengers flights right home on charters or scheduled aircraft, or the opportunity, because this was a month-long voyage that was aborted in its first week, the opportunity to stay here at the cruise ship company's expense for a week or two in a resort, and more than half of the passengers said we'll stay here, thank you very much. a couple hundred, though, are boarding flights today and heading in various directions to their homes. >> ok, well, some of them do get a very nice holiday at the end of all of that suffering. jeffrey, thanks very much for joining us live. still to come here on "g.m.t." -- greece awaits the final green light on its latest bailout deal, but is it only a short-term solution for the country's economic woes?

>> now it's time for a review of the papers and a look at what's making headlines around the world. the resignation of james murdoch as the chairman of news international dominates the british papers. the "financial times" says newscorp's u.k. press assets will not have a member of the murdoch clan for the first time since 1969. "the guardian" marks his demise with the headline, "the son also sets." the article says the resignation of james murdoch laid bare just how much of newscorp's power has shifted away from newspapers and from london. "the times" details the next step for james murdoch, saying he will now focus his energy on expanding the company's tv business. the "international herald tribupe" says this is just a routine part of his relocation to new york, despite intense criticism of the company over phone hacking and corruption

allegations. you're watching "g.m.t." from "bbc world news." these are our top headlines -- fears growing over full-scale ground assault by the syrian authorities against opposition forces in homs and elsewhere. and passengers come ashore in the seychelles after they were trapped for three days on a stricken italian cruise ship. i've been joined here by miriam, bringing us the business and financial news. miriam, eurozone, big preoccupation for them is the number of jobless. >> absolutely. some pretty disappointing figures today that we've seen. the jobless rate for the eurozone area has now climbed to 10.7% in the month of january. that's the highest it's been since the euro began, the birth of the euro in 1999. now, what we've seen here is

16.9 million people in the 17-country bloc without a job, and that's interestingly different aspect. you have unemployment rate in spain, which is the highest in the eurozone, 23.3%, and greece is high. but on the other side, you have countries like austria, which only have an unemployment rate of 4%. so a huge difference between all the different countries. let's have a listen to what analyst said should be done to improve the situation. >> we need assistance that better allow wages to reflect productivity. but also, we need to ensure that labor market regulations really provide the snenttives to companies to hire new work. we need a kind of plurality, if you like, a labor market contract that really gives them the incentives, reduce the risk associated of taking on new workers. >> these figures will definitely give something to think about in brussels. >> and maryam, good news for w.p.p., the world's biggest advertising and marketing corporation. bumper profit?

>> it made a lot of money last year. it was a good year for this company t. made over $1.6 billion in pretax profit. revenues topped 10 billion pounds. you're pretty surprised to hear this, considering, of course, what we've seen in terms of the eurozone recession, the down turn. but it seemed that companies are still spending money on advertising, in particular it seems big growth in the asian and latin american markets. that's where w.p.p. has seen a lot of its growth. so a huge bumper profit for the year 2011. a little earlier, we spoke to the chief executive and asked him what he thinks will happen in 2012. >> this year, similar pattern, i think, maybe a little bit more muted. we're looking for growth in top line in our budget and 4%. we did that in january. we're looking for margin improvements of 50 basis points. so we think another good year this year driven by the olympics, driven by political spending here in the states, and last but not least, the european football championship.

>> the markets are looking forward to a bumpy year of olympics. it's property, because they're a bellwether, a leading indicator of the economy, because it shows us how much companies are willing to invest in advertising. >> he looked delighted, i have to say. >> he did, didn't he? >> thanks very much. maryam there with the business news. now, greece is expecting to receive today the final approval for a euro bailout package worth 130 billion euros. the country is in its fifth year of deep recession, and with the slowdown threatening other countries, european leaders are gathering in brussels to discuss ways of kick starting economic growth. we can speak now to the senior european economist. tobias, this is a solution for greece, but only in the short term perhaps. >> it is absolutely, because i think one crucial and final thing is missing because we

still don't know what is the participation rate in the voluntary exchange, and that will only be known by the 12th of march, which is the deadline that was given to private bond holders, and only then we really know if that bailout package goes ahead as planned with the final size and only really known when we know that the participation rate achieves the level that the i.m.f. and the european partners want, and whether or not we have a payout of c.d.s., whether we have a credit event. all of this is still not known, so even before the final adoption of the package, there's a lot of uncertainty. >> and tobias, greece is getting the money, though, isn't it, in tranches, and it's going to be subjected to very stringent test that many say are going to be quite hard for them to pass. >> indeed. i think the policy package that comes with a bailout is very tough and is very, very ambitious. and likely the recession in greece is likely to continue at the pace of the last year, so maybe around minus 5% recession this year.

and in such an environment, where investors are still not returning to do investment in the greek economy, it's very, very hard to achieve the fiscal targets, the quantitative targets that go with it. whether or not greece will eventually default again and leave the area, that is still not off the table, unfortunately. >> tobias blackner, thanks very much indeed for joining us. now google is pressing ahead with the introduction of a new privilege a policy in spite of warnings from the european union it might violate european law. it will mean private data collected by one google service can be shared with its other platforms, including youtube and gmail. christian fraser reports. >> too vague, too difficult for even the professional to understand. that's the initial verdict of the french regulator now investigating google's new guidelines on privilege a. today, the company will launch a one size fits all policy, which will allow them to share data between its different online services. what it means in practice is

that information gleaned from your google searches can now be used to choose and target the adverts that appear, say, on your gmail service. the french regulator leading the investigation wrote to google's c.e.o., larry page, to say he was deeply concerned about the pooling of personal data, adding it has strong doubts it's even lawful. in its email to users, google argued that current it will has over 70 different privacy documents covering its various products. combining data, it says, will make its policy simpler and easier to understand. but those campaigning against it say the changes set a dangerous precedent. >> the changes just haven't been prominent enough on the google home page, and you have to search through this. it's a long document. it's quite ambiguous. the average google user isn't going to necessarily understand what these changes mean for them. it doesn't explain how you can go in and opt out, which you can, but it's just not explained in a step by step,

user-friendly way. >> there are, of course, ways to defend your privacy. the simplest, easiest way to stop google collecting information is to use the company's services without signing in to your account. you can also turn off the setting that allows google to record search history. in short, as they get smarter, then so must the user. it's the brave, intrusive world of new technology. christian fraser, bbc news, paris. >> a man whose skull was partly removed after he fell nearly eight meters from a drain pipe has undergone a pioneering operation which enabled him to make a full recovery. tim barta suffered a brain hemorrhage, fractured cheekbone and was in a coma for 10 days. tim is whole again, from the large dent in his forehead, he has been restored, and this is the result. for the tv special effects designer, it's as if it never happened. >> when i see the picture with that area missing, it is as if

i've photo shop removed it. >> tim lost his keys to his home and thought he'd climb a brain pipe to get in. it collapsed under his weight. >> i instantaneously fell, and then any next memory is waking up what i guess was about a week and a half later in the hospital. >> doctors at king's college hospital were forced to remove part of his skull. >> his major problem was that he had a blood clot within his skull. >> so he underwent pioneering reconstructive surgery. >> after he's had the reconstruction, often you're left with a small defect here. we developed a different technique in addition then by taking fat from the tummy and processed it in such a way that we can inject it into the defect, which makes good aspect of it, as well as the bone reconstruction. >> and even though he's now fully recovered, he hasn't lost his taste for danger.

>> next time he should leave a set of keys with the neighbors. let's remind you now, our top story here on "g.m.t." -- the united nations human rights council in geneva passed a resolution condemning the syrian for human rights violations. the resolution also demands unhindered access to humanitarian aid groups. the main syrian opposition group has formed a military bureau in a new effort to unify the uprising against president assad. the syrian national council announced they would try to organize the control and movement of arms into syria. for more on the continuing violence in the syrian city of homs and elsewhere, just go to our website. you'll find more co-founder of group, and he's just returned from homs. go to bbc.com/news. that's all for the moment. stay with us here on "bbc world news." for the moment for me, goodbye.

>> make sense 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. >> at union bank, our relationship managers use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended global network to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?

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