>> 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. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength 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." >> an emergency meeting of e.u. agricultural ministers has been called over the deadly e. coli outbreak in engineer mean. victims of a pakistani taliban attack have been buried, while american droughns target militants near the afghan border. as president saleh recovers from surgery in saudi arabia, will he be strong enough to return to power? welcome to "bbc world news." i'm fweet greet. also in this program -- the u.n.'s atopic watch dog is expected to reach syria over its alleged covert nuclear program. and in mexico, catholicism and paganism, the preferred faith of drug traffickers and criminals.

>> european union agriculture ministers have called an emergency meeting for tomorrow to discuss the e. coli outbreak that's gripping the continent. in the next few hours, germany is due to confirm the exact source of the bacteria. test results are expected to show that bean sprouts, grown in a farm south of hamburg, are the most likely origin. so far, 22 people have died, and across europe, more than 2,000 have been taken ill. joining me now is our correspondent, matthew price. have we got more details on what this meeting is likely to cover? >> it's going to cover both the economic impact of the e. coli scare. that's the impact on farmers and presumably specifically in spain. and also the food safety implication. we're told first the germans are going to be giving their

latest on the research that they've done on the e. coli. there will been be discussions based around what exactly is being done to guarantee food safety in germany specifically and, indeed, across the continent. and then a look at the possible compensation that might be given to farmers. and again, as i say, presumably the focus being on spain, because it was spain that was initially singled out by the germans as the probable source of this outbreak. we now know that that is almost certain to have not been the case. >> much anger continuing there in spain amongst those affected. but just on the health aspects of this, obviously very worrying, because food is distributed around the continent so easily and so fast. people want to know how they could possibly escape any safety checks. >> well, i'm sure they will, and that's exactly what these ministers are going to be looking at, trying to work out how this could have gone on for so long.

i suppose some of the health aspects of this have been that it's taken a week for the virus itself to manifest itself in illness within individuals. it takes time to get into the food chain. therefore, we may well find that, comparatively speaking, it has actually been relltil quickly reacted to. but i think that the big focus is going to be, as you said, on the anger coming out of places like spain. i mean, the spanish economic is already badly hit. we're getting estimates of it being hit by around 200 million euros a week for every week that this food scare went on, especially that the finger was pointed directly at spain. there are estimates that 70,000 people could find themselves in unemployment as a direct result of this scare. certain in the short to medium term at least, and these are all economic woes the spanish don't need. that is why their prime minister said he's going to be looking for compensation. it's also presumably why the

german chancellor, angela merkel, is going to look at ways of getting the european union to start compensating spanish and other farmers. presumably she doesn't want all of the economic compensation to fall on germany itself. >> interesting discussion. matthew price, thanks very much indeed. the authorities in germany had previously blamed spain, as we heard. our correspondent in berlin, stephen evans, says they are confident the latest tests will prove more conclusive. >> they can't confirm that it was the only source and will get the results in the next few hours. but the agriculture minister for the area has already named this farm, and it would be very strange indeed, it seems to me, if the agriculture ministry was naming a farm as being suspected if it didn't have very, very good reason to do so. it's saying that all the roots point to this farm. the question will be whether

other vegetables are also grown at the farm and whether other farms are involved as well. but at the moment, it looks very much, and the way they're talking is it looks very much as though they think they found the source. >> and is this to do with the use of manure at the farm? what specific practices could be behind this? are we clear yet or not? >> we are a little clearer. this farm apparently is an organic farm, so immediately you think it would be the manure. but apparently, in this farm, they don't use manure. it's basically done in sealed containers with seeds. these bean sprouts are fertilized. but that apparently is ideal for the growth of e. coli bacteria. so the fact that it's organic may be incidental in this case. if people say, well, this just shows organic is not safe much in this particular case, it may not be proven that way, because it's not that fundamental way

of growing crops in the organic fashion with manure. >> now, in iraq, at least 13 people have been killed in a suicide car bomb attack in the northern city of tikrit. the bomb exploded at the entrance to a complex of power stations, which have been previously used by saddam hussein. police say many victims were security personnel, including the head of the military intelligence. officials in pakistan say at least 18 people have been killed and three missile strikes by american pilotless drones in tribal regions near the pakistan-afghan border. there have been several such strikes in the last week. a senior al qaeda operative was reported to have been killed by a drone attack four days ago. the bbc's aleem maqbool is in is bam abad. >> doesn't have any militants killed in these strikes this morning, gutter with being told that 18 militants have been killed in these three strikes,

the first hitting close to a religious pool in south waziristan, the second hitting a residential compound, and the third we believe hitting a vehicle in that area of south waziristan in that border region going through afghanistan. and just over the last few days, there have been an increase in these american drone attacks in the pakistani tribal areas, and on saturday, local residents and some militants, commanders in the area were telling us of the death of, as you say, a senior al qaeda operative, somebody on whom the americans had a $5 million bounty. >> aleem maqbool there in pakistan. israel has defended its troops who opened fire on pro-palestinian demonstrators trying to enter the occupied goal an heights on sunday. damascus says the israeli soldiers killed at least 20 unarmed people, but the israeli army says there have only been

20 casualties and its response had been measured. more than 3,000 people have been moved from their homes in southern chile because of volcanic eruptions. ash from a volcano has been showered over a wide area near the border with argentina. the authorities have issued a red alert. the maximum warning level for the area around volcanos. residents in new zealand's earthquake-ravaged city of christchurch have felt another powerful aftershock. the 5.5 tremor caused no serious damage or injuries. officials say the yemeni president saleh will return to yes, ma'am unanimous week much he's recovering from treatment for injuries he suffered during an attack on his compound in the yemeni capital. saudi arabia say his recovery will take at least two weeks.

since the president left the country on sunday, thousands of people in yemen have been celebrating his departure. our correspondent in the yemeni capital, and i asked her if the president is likely to return to his country. >> well, he might be returning to yemen, but the question is whether he would come back as a president. country, although he would be sidelined completely. now, we understand that the authorities are now trying to broker a deal, a political deal for the transition period that yemen has started and after saleh left the country. but that is on the street. i determined he should not be back, and if he will be back, he should be prosecuted. but the government sees it from a different perspective. they believe that he should be back, but then it would be a transitional period. but also the details on what would happen next and would those take over or how the situation outside would be taken. >> and the president is reported to have taken 35

members of his family, but crucially his eldest son still in the country. i mean, he is surely one of the people who will be trying now to take power. >> well, they're not trying to take power, but only the son. the son and nephews were there and security power. they are commanders, actually, and they are still here, and they're still in charge of their own positions, but the political deal that's being discussed is welcoming them to stay at the moment for the transitional period. the military commanders have cooperated with the united states, and it seems that by regional and international understanding, they are welcome . and so it's over. >> jamie is here now with all the business.

extraordinary protest still going on in greece. >> i think on the streets today, yes. and also, within government there seems to be -- papaconstantinou seems to have problems getting through the new austerity plans in order to get the next bailout from the e.u. and i.m.f. one of the interesting things we've seen come out today is a report from the bank of international settlements, sometimes the central banks -- the central bank of the central bank, as it were. this has estimated where the banks around the world are most exposed to greek debt. turns out france was suspected for about $65 billion worth of exposure. u.s., which we didn't realize, is something like $40 billion worth of exposure. germany, about $40 billion. the u.k., about $19 billion. so that is what the stakes peer playing for, if groost

defaults, the weight is back on these countries around the world. >> nobody wants that, obviously. the ongoing economic turmoil still affecting the airlines. >> appalling figures. when you look back at the difference between this, we see a 78% fall, and also, we knew it was going to be a bad year. we knew we weren't going to see much growth, but it's even less, about half the growth we were expecting even back in march. >> is that fuel prices? >> of course, but also, you've got other things. you also got the japanese tsunami as well. you've also got the unrest in the middle east and north africa. one of the big survivors of the crisis has been the middle east , and, of course, problems in the middle east don't help. >> no. jamie, thanks very much indeed for that. share prices have risen in early trading in portugal following the victory of the social democrats in sunday's general election.

the social democrat leader, is pedro passos coelho, said he will form a smaller party. socialists were defeated after six years in power. the european union and i.m.f. are insisting on deep spending cuts and tax rises in return for bailing out portugal last month. and we also know that the portuguese prime minister, jose socrates, has resigned as party leader. that's just come in in the last few minutes. let's go now to our web cam. the head of the risk assessment company financial markets information. obviously we've got all the parties involved had to sign up to the austerity measures in exchange for the bailout, but obviously people prepared now for quite tough times. how long does the new leader have before he also runs out of time? >> well, good morning. well, i think the key issue from this election is that a

scenario, of course, of political crisis in portugal, and the most important part is people, a good majority in order to avoid debt kind of crisis. so i think people want the difficult measures and the fiscal qualities to be implemented. of course, there will be a period when the new government is completely real, and things are going to be quite ok. but we expect later social unrest because it is now easier for the leftists to induce that kind of social unrest. >> but in terms of a time frame, are we talking a few weeks or a few months before again international markets as

well look at portugal in the way they're looking at greece and say, well, we're not sure. >> well, the first week will be more or less easy. i think the new government will try to make it on the public finances. and at the same time, show the world and the country, of course, that they intend to keep their word with the memorandum of understanding signed. so the next week will be more or less easy. of course, nobody knows exactly how this economic situation will unfold. and that's an action also. but the next problem will be well in the absence when the measures are now taking place and when people start to see their way when they see taxes raised, and that is the time

when problems can arise. >> absolutely. thank you very much indeed for joining us from portugal. thank you. you're watching "bbc world news." much more coming up in the coming minutes. do stay with us. the former head of the i.m.f., dominique strauss-kahn strauss, is due in court today to formally answer charges that he attempted to rape a hotel maid in new york. the 62-year-old frenchman is currently under house arrest. jane o'brien reports from washington. >> as head of the international monetary fund, dominique strauss-kahn strauss was one of the world's most powerful men. he was also a french presidential front runner until he was arrested last month, accused of assaulting a hotel maid. he's already appeared in court, but today he'll be charged with a criminal sex act, attempted rape, sex abuse, unlawful imprisonment, and forcible touching. his lawyers say he'll deny all

the charges. the 62-year-old was staying at this luxury hotel in new york when it's alleged he emerged naked from his room and attacked the maid, a 32-year-old woman from ginee. with no apparent witnesses, the case is likely to pivot on their conflicting testimony. both sides will have the next couple of months to outline their argument and submit possible evidence before the judge sets a trial date, possibly september. after a week in prison custody, strauss-kahn would move to a manhattan townhouse, where he remains under electronic surveillance and watched by armed guards around the clock as part of a $6 million bail agreement. the scandal has attracted enormous publicity both in europe and here in the united states. making it extremely difficult to find jury members in new york who are unaware of the details of the prosecution. strauss-kahn's lawyers are already suggesting that he may not get a fair trial.

jane o'brien, bbc news, washington. >> much more at the website, plus a full one-minute summary, bbc.com/news. much more on all our stories at the website. >> this is "bbc world news." the headlines for you now -- the e.u. has called an emergency meeting of agricultural ministers over of the deadly e. coli outbreak in germany. and in spite of huge protests in pakistan, the united states carried out more drone attacks, killing at least 18 people, including foreign militants. >> more on israel's defense of the troops who opened fire on pro-palestinian demonstrators trying to enter the occupied golan heights from syria. let's go to jerusalem and speak to my colleague. i see that there has been a

statement put out from the u.s. state department saying that they're deeply troubled by the events that have taken place, resulting in injuries and loss of life. israel still defending their use of immediate force. >> yes, that's right. israel has said that it carries out the actions on the border yesterday on the golan heights, where syria is saying 20 people were killed, although we can't confirm that number. israel is saying this was in defense of its sovereignty, in defense of its border, that it carried out that action using minimal force, and that it was a deliberate attack or a deliberate attempt to breach the border, that the israel government is saying was allowed to happen or even inspired by the syrian government, which wants to divert attention away from its own huge international problems and internal conflict that's going on in syria at the moment.

the point of use of minimal force, there is a serious question over this, because i had colleagues on the border all day yesterday who told me, they saw it all happen, and they said very clearly that live fire was used very early on and repeatedly over a number of hours, and it was only at the end of the day that the israeli forces finally resorted to using tear gas, which was successful in dispersing those protests. so there is a real question over why the israeli troops on the ground there, what military orders they had, why they resorted to live fire so early on and in such a sustained manner without using alternative ways of dispersing crowds first. >> indeed, that is the key question. thank you so much for that report. the u.n. atomic watch dog, the iaea, is expected to rebuke syria this week over covert work. the agency's latest report

concluded that a fight in syria that was destroyed in an israeli raid back in 2007 was very likely to have been a nuclear reactor. the united states and its western allies want damascus to be reported to the u.n. security council, but several countries oppose that move. well, in vienna, the agency is based there, and our correspondent, bethany bell, is there. and this meeting is likely to go on all week. is the u.s. likely to be successful on several fronts now? >> very much. and i think there is a sense of diplomatic pressure mounting on syria. a week of intensive negotiations here at the i.e.a. as you say, this is a contentious thing. the united states and its western allies do want to see syria reported to the u.n. security council over this report by the iaea. other countries much more cautious.

they say that this perhaps isn't the right moment to move against syria, that syria has now offered more cooperation with the agency and perhaps damascus should be given more time. now, interestingly, the dim macts have all said that this report has nothing to do with the uprising currently going on in syria itself, but i think some countries are worried that this perhaps isn't the time to put more pressure on syria, developing nations, although if syria were to be sent to the u.n. security council, that might open the door for more punitive measures, such as sanctioned. >> is it clear whether the information that has led to this concern has just emerged now or has it since that israeli raid, because what moment in time? >> well, what the iaea says is

that it has been given a lot of information over the past three years, including intelligence information from a number of countries. it has wanted to get into syria on the ground to look back at this site, but it says based on the assessment of all the material in front of it, this is what its conclusion is, that it was very likely a nuclear reactor. >> ok, thanks very much. now, a cult which reveals death is growing rapid in mexico. influence is now spreading to neighboring countries, including the u.s. the cult of early death is a mix of catholic faith with indigenous and pagan beliefs. critics say it's the preferred faith of drug traffickers and criminals. >> scenes of devotion at a shrine in central mexico city, and the object of adoration is a peculiar one. the court of the holy death

embodied by this female skeleton has become increasingly popular mexico over the last few years, even among practicing catholics. in exchange for prayers and offerings, the holy death provides protection. >> she is a protector. she helps you when you have difficult problems. she takes care of you. >> some claim that the holy death has become the face of criminals, but others say it is a religious figure like any other. the woman who set up this shrine defends the faith. after all, she said, she can't control who comes here. >> if a person is a kidnapper or a three and a follower of the holy death, that's a personal thing. each of us knows what we are doing. we know it's wrong, but it's a personal thing. >> to some, the location of this shrine provides yet more

evidence of its association with the criminal world. it's built in the area of the people, one of the most dangerous and crowded parts of mexico city. it is claimed that the area is a haven for criminals. they have one of its heartlands here, but its fame and attraction has spread across mexico, and that makes many wonder why this cult has such a following in this staunchly catholic country. the catholic hierarchy does not hide this. >> we completely reject that it has a die bolick connotation. that's why we find it completely unacceptable. >> there is much more, of course, on all our news at the website, bbc.com/news, including the latest from germany, where a farm in the north of the country has been identified as the most likely source of many of the infections in the e. coli

outbreak that left 22 people dead. bbc.com/news. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the globe and click-to-play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> 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 financial strength 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.