>> 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."

>> call it a default, call it a deal, greece clears the way for a second eurozone bailout. banks accept a huge debt write off. more than 100 billion euros, right from the slate. the latest figures show a recession is slicing deeper. welcome to "gmt." and david eades. also -- and more protest in syria as the leader of the opposition abroad dismisses coffee and on's call for dialogue. italy demands an explanation from britain for a failed rescue operation in nigeria and which two hostages were killed. it is midday in london, 7:00

a.m. in new york and 2:00 in the afternoon in athens where official data shows the greek economy, regardless of the massive debt write off, it is in the worst state than ever. it shrank even more than the government forecast. the figure emerges as the government itself announces more than 85% of the private creditors have signed up to a deal which will see more than 100 billion euros of greece's debt cleared from the slate, clearing the way for a second eurozone bailout. the greek finance minister called the deal a much-needed second chance for the country. >> we can't have an investment friendly country, growth protection, and job creation, without a banking mechanism that supports investment. all of these things should have been first to have a total success in private sector involvement. we should agree this is the only way to put the country back on its feet. to give it a second and

historic much-needed chance. >> we will be getting a view from the greek chamber of commerce and the to later in the program. before that, a look at some other stories making headlines. oxfam as a warning of a humanitarian catastrophe in west africa. it said the danger of drought is putting more than 1 million children at risk. mike wooldridge was recently in the region. he compiled this report. >> evidence of the drought is start here in chad. little for the cattle to graze on when the grass should be knee high. a great memory for these women digging into anthills. she uses anything she can retrieve to help feed her children. if she didn't do this, she says, the children will go to sleep without eating.

she says this year the millet harvest was bad. oxfam says across chad and other countries, and now the attrition is hovering between 10% and 15%, -- malnutrition is hovering between 10% and 15%. the grain harvest is down by 1.4 million tons, while food prices, a 25% to 50% up on average the last five years and could rise even higher. a special unit in niger for children who are severely malnourished and of medical complications. oxfam said the world waited too long to respond to the emergency in east africa last year and the same cannot be allowed to happen now in the sahara. fighting is taking place in northern mallee, with hundreds of thousands forced to flee their homes -- taking place in

mali. building earth banks to retain any rain that falls, the cash they are helping them find food if available. oxfam says far bigger aid is needed across the region if a catastrophe is to be avoided. >> an agreement has been reached on to -- in how to handle the transfer of u.s. facilities and afghanistan to the kabul government. negotiations took place ahead of nato's transfer of responsibilities by 2014. relations between the two countries have been tense in the last few weeks following the burning of religious bacterial -- material. a chinese human rights groups as conditions for activists in china worsened last year, with more than 4000 political campaign is detained.

chinese human rights defenders say authorities have tightened grip on dissents, following calls for middle east style protests in china. it just want to get more on the situation regarding west africa. talks of -- from of them about as many as a million people facing -- children facing starvation. thomas, thank you so much for being with us. what is the single biggest problem that you face? >> first of all, thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about the food security crisis. the biggest single cut chip -- challenge we are facing now is to find enough resources to be able to meet the food needs of more than 8 million people. that is our target for the coming months.

>> and the time frame -- we are talking about a humanitarian catastrophe potentially. what is the time frame? >> actually our program will rollout essentially -- we started for early this year -- started earlier this year it to assist someone vulnerable groups, especially children. but we have plans for general food distribution, starting from april, which is the beginning of the season in the african region. >> given what we saw last year in east africa, given what our correspondent was saying moments ago, the violence in mali, there

is a lot of fatigue. how do you encourage people to realize how significant, how big a potential catastrophe this is? >> we have walked with the government -- talked with the government to assess the needs and talked with a number of them to come up with national plans. we learned the lessons of the horn of africa crisis and the other crises the community had to face in the last few months. we need to intervene much earlier on. second, we need to work together, all the partners, to join forces. at third, to address -- and third, to address the immediate and urgent need but at the same time look at medium and long-

term needs to be able to increase the resilience of the communities to face the consequences for such a crisis. >> thomas, sorry to interrupt you but we have to close. thomas from the world food prize -- program, joining us from senegal. let's get back to the situation in greece. yes, a deal on the right off of this huge amount of debt but there is no sign of an improvement in the state of the economy. i am joined from athens by the president of the athens chamber of commerce. can i ask you first of all if you get sort of a feeling of a collective sense of relief at the deal that has been done? >> this is, as you said, it is a deal, but i did not think this is a time for celebration. there is a weight that has been lifted off the crisis that we have been living through and the

last two or two and a half years. it is a relief from what the society has had to deal with the last few years. >> but still having to square this impossible circle of cutbacks, combined with the need to stem this dreadful recession. >> this is said exactly the case, and this is the reason why this second rescue package recently passed both by greek parliament and ratified from the finance ministers' meeting, we need to enhance growth measures into this bad deal because the target that has been set, according to the rescue package, essentially speak for 129% debt against the gdp by the year 2020, when in 2009, we were down to 118 percent. you can imagine austerity upon

austerity simply would not do the trick. >> let us be realistic. a second bailout probably will be paid in one way or another virtually by finance ministers across the eurozone in the course of the hours ahead. is there going to need to be talk of a bailout 3, or let's face it, default? >> there is no discussion as far as default is concerned, but in order to avoid this prospect, we have to actually move fast ahead. because even as we speak now, after the psi deal was done, the new bonds but that had been issued are already been discounted down by 78%. so it is evidence -- this deal will not do the trick. we have to convince them otherwise. otherwise the next three months we will be facing exactly the same problems, if not worse. i have to say once again -- we

run the risk of a social explosion, and i am sure nobody wants this, not only in greece but the va news as well. >> absolutely. thank you very much, indeed. after some much brutality in syria, the desperate search for the end of violence there called -- the work calls for dialogue on all sides. that has been roundly dismissed by the man heading the main opposition groups abroad, the syrian national council. he described the proposals as pointless and unrealistic. the urgency of the calls for help will resume further today, as the u.n.'s head of humanitarian affairs visit seven syria border. jim is following developments from the roots and he joins us on the line. first of all, what seems like a pretty flat an outright rejection of coffee and non --

coffee and then -- kofi annan's proposals -- >> it is a situation -- on his way to damascus, where he should be saturday -- with the opposition basically saying what he is carrying, which is a proposal for a political solution which inevitably in his view would involved talking to the syrian regime, rejected by the opposition before he even sets off. it is a tricky one. he basically seize the political track away going for. everything else will lead to more chaos and bloodshed. but the problem is that the opposition basically do not want to talk to the regime. they believe it has far too much blood on its hands. so, backed by the west in general and the arab league as well, this is saying we cannot talk to this man, bashar al- assad, he has to step down or at the released -- at the very

least, bowed out of the picture while we have transitional period. mr. assad is in no -- does not plan to do that. mr. annan on homes of much is pin, because he has support behind in, is set off on a mission already rejected it by the opposition. >> i suppose it also raises something of a test for the syrian opposition and its credibility in eyes of the international community. do they acknowledge what is said here? does kofi annan taken on board? among those supporting this theory national council, especially countries like saudi arabia and qatar and someone, who believed to be funneling funds, etc., in its direction and also arms to the opposition,

which now has cover from the arab league in its resolution which called on arab states to provide all necessary political and material support for the opposition. so, it is not just a challenge to the opposition but for those supporting them. any political solution has to involve obviously talking to the powers that be in damascus. how can you possibly have a political situation with one half of the picture ignored? the regime is not ready to just put everything down and walk away, so you have to talk to them if you want a political solution. his job really is to talk to all of these powers that are supporting the opposition and try to get them to moderate their views if there is supposed to be a political way out. otherwise there will be a slide toward further militarization, possibly some sort of international intervention and someone, but the way ahead would look messy and dangerous and bloody. >> you are watching "gmt." thanks for being with us. still to come --

♪ how rock legend fender plans to stay afloat with the market. the board murdoch is facing fresh pressure over is the his media interests in the u.k. as a result of police investigations into voice-mail hacking and allegations of corrupt payments. the british media regulation has stepped up its inquiry into whether his satellite company, bskyb is the fit and proper owner of a broadcasting licence. the pakistani interior minister says the three widows of osama bin laden have been charged with illegally entering and leaving intact reston. thought to be two saudi arabian and a year many were taken into custody after american commandos killed the al-qaeda leader last may. the prime minister of ivory coast has resigned. he said he could no longer exercises executive power.

his departure will pave the way for the formation of a broader coalition government. the president of ivory coast will now be free to appoint a prime minister from the pdci party, which came second and last year's election. -- in last year's election. this is "gmt" from bbc world news. i'm david eades. greece clears the way for a second eurozone bailout as banks accept a huge debt write-off. the aid and development charity oxfam is warning of a humanitarian catastrophe in the sahel region of west africa. time for business news. aaron is here. some celebration in greece. they cracked the back of one problem but you look at the recession. >> it is the argument with the bond swap deal. people say does it isolate the greek problem and stop the

contagion? most experts will say, no. we know it means they will get their $130 billion bailout. they will be able to pay debt obligations this month. of but does it fixed the fundamental problems of the greek economy? the answers, no. the greek economy is going backwards and not forwards. five years of recession. the latest example, of course, in the last three months of last year, the greek economy shrank 7.5%, david, in the last quarter basically. that is a staggering fall. the problem is all of these austerity measures, what they simply did not do is stimulate growth. many predicting actually greece probably eventually will need another bailout. let us listen to what the experts have been telling me. >> this is something which is certainly rippling through investors, particularly those investors of peripheral eurozone debt. because there are still concerns that may be portugal will go down this road, maybe greece will go down to another debt

swap somewhere down the line. maybe even ireland and spain. who knows? >> the problem, of course, with all the talk of trouble of europe but we turn to china for help promote the growth there to stimulate this, but even that seems to be going -- >> let's not kid ourselves with china. every big picture at the moment. inflation has always been the ball and chain around the beijing ankle but inflation is easing after a lot of action the gene -- beijing has taken. down to a near two-year low, and the good news is when you have easing and inflation it allows the government to have the maneuverability to stimulate growth. a lot of people worry that china is slowing down. in fact, the imf last month predicted that chinese growth could be cut by as much as 4% because of the europeans -- slowdown. and factories in china, we saw more evidence, they are churning out.

the question is, will we see a sharp economic slowdown in china? let's have a listen. >> i think it is obviously a possibility, depending importantly on what happens in europe but i think it is pretty unlikely. what i am concerned about its long slowing down of growth over many years, which i think it's more likely. but of course, if you can predict what will happen in europe, you will have a much better sense of how rapidly growth will slow down in china this year and next. >> we will keep our eyes on that one. >> in italy, questions are being asked about why the italian government was not informed of the attempt to rescue a british engineer and his italian colleagues held hostage in nigeria. at least until it was underway. the italian president of the behavior of the british government inexplicable. both hostages died in the operation. >> the family of chris mcmanus

said they knew he was in an extremely dangerous situation and that everything that could be done, was being done. in italy meanwhile, the home town of franco lamilinara declared itself to be in mourning. of the two engineers could be seen here in a video released by their captors, after they've taken hostage last may. they were killed during an operation lasting several hours at this house in northwest nigeria. the bulls showed the intensity of the battle. -- the bullet holes showed the intensity. david cameron said the special forces had to go in because the hostages' lives were in imminent danger. >> indications were clear that both men were murdered by their captors before they could be rescued. >> in italy this morning, the newspaper headlines read like a real anchor that the italian government was not informed until the operation was underway. this resident is saying the british and the americans always do just what they want to do. he says it is something both countries should have done together.

and the italian president has spoken of britain's inexplicable behavior, at the wing a political frustration thursday and -- last night. >> it might have been their best decision but it is still to be explained by the italian authorities have not been informed -- although they are quite president of the territory of nigeria. >> i think they have to recognize these are fast moving, delicate operations, and it is not always possible to keep politicians briefed in advance of what goes on. and in all honesty, i am not convinced having brief debriefed them would have enhanced the safety of the hostages in any event. >> it is not entirely clear who killed a hostages. one nigerian officials said they died in crossfire, and that would be a matter of urgent debriefing of the security team involved. >> our security correspondent is here. inexplicable, those are powerful words.

are these communications errors? is this may be an operational necessity or disregard for italy? >> i did not think it was a delivery disregard for italy, even though there are some people in rome who might feel that. you talk to people in london and they will say events move very fast. they basically got intelligence providing the location, but at the same time they had fears the hostage takers knew that and that they could be moved or killed very quickly. launch a daylight operation, which is also very risky and a sign the state of they had to move interest -- immediately. and the italians were informed wanted had begun. clearly the italians would have preferred to have been told before the operation was launched. >> so some diplomatic fence mending clearly needed. let us look at it and the operational sense. the bottom line is this is a failed mission. so presumably, there will be a post-mortem, and it could have repercussions. any similar issues in the

future? >> you have to accept these missions are risky. a mission like this in daylight in nigeria is a very difficult mission. what appears to have happened is british special forces went first into the compound, engaged one government. about the time they reached the hostages, they had been killed. and then a couple of the hostage-takers were fleeing and were engaged and will also killed. now the issue is risk, really, the risk of going in and is happening or the risk of not going in and warning they might be killed anyway. it is a very difficult judgment. i'm sure lessons will be learned. but i think the prime minister -- he would have known this is something that could have happened. >> 66 years ago, a man called leo fender began at the time making business and thanks to the emergence of rock and roll, he hit the big time. the company which has supplied jimi hendrix and eric clapton is

going public in what is expected to be a $200 million share offering. >> before the heyday of the electric guitar, there wasn't so much to rock on. there was a lot of twang and not very much a distraught. then in 1946 with fender, a new era was carved out. you'll notice this is not one of their brands -- but this is. in the handsf the legendary jimi hendrix. his favorite was this one, a wooden guitars that could withstand the abuse. this one jimi hendrix even burned after performing at the london asturian in 1967. others became branded with the union flag like this one, designed for "the who." this favorite of eric clapton

sold in 85 countries. with the rise of rap and hip- hop, its makers feared demise. in recent years artists like shakira have helped them stay in the front in a more competitive field. it netted $700 million in sales. but even fender has debt to pay off, and that is what the public company may well be able to do it, insuring its guitars will continue to be at the cutting edge of rock. bbc news. >> that we just remind you of our top story is here. more than 100 billion euros have been wiped from greece's debt. the latest figures, though, shows the economy is in dire straits and getting worse, if anything. recession deeper than ever come -- -7.5% growth in the quarter.

>> 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.