>> 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. shell. 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." >> workers in greece begin a 48-hour strike as parliament prepares to vote on yet more austerity measures. turkish troops pursue kurdish rebels into northern iraq after heavy casualties in overnight attacks. tensions high, demolition imminent as a 10-year dispute over a major traveler's site in england comes to a head. welcome to "bbc world news." i'm david eades. and also coming up in the program -- we covered the political violence in the ivory coast, now we bring you a glimpse of how families are coping in the aftermath. also, they're wild, dangerous, and on the loose. dozens of predators escape an exotic an ma'am farm in ohio. -- animal farm in ohio.

>> thanks for joining us. i want to start by bringing you news from somalia of a french woman who was kidnapped from a kenyan resort island. you may remember this, just a few weeks ago, the woman was taken to neighboring somalia. we understand she's been -- it's been reported that she has died. now, she was 66 years old, disabled. she'd been held in somalia for more than two weeks, and the french foreign minister said they haven't been able to determine the date or circumstances of her death, but they have, nonetheless, been informed by the contacts they have with those who took her. this has been reported as being the work of al-shabab, which is something which the islamist group has denied. but the word has come in that mary dacour has died in

capture. as more comes in to us, we'll bring it straight to you, of course, here on "bbc world news." now, a strike has started, a general strike, in fact, set to last two full days in greece just as parliament is voting on sweeping new austerity measures. for the government, it's an essential set for maintaining the support of e.u. leaders, who are gathering in brussels this weekend for further talks about the debt crisis right across the eurozone. the prime minister, george papandreou, on tuesday described the situation as a war greece must win. from athens, our correspondent chris morris reports. >> strikes, protests, sit-in says, it's become the norm in austerity greece. and for the last few weeks, protests have been intensifying, as many people reach the limit of what they think they can accept. now a general strike called by unions from both the public and the private sector.

once again, the target is parliament, and the plan to pass yet more tough austerity measures. taxes are going up again. spending is going down again. and tens of thousands of public sector jobs are likely to go. >> the last stone is being installed on our ability to live with dignity. they're zpriving public and private sector workers of the chance of being able to survive. >> but there are plenty of people in greece who say change has to come. the public sector is bloated and politicized. but many businesses are also suffering from rising taxes and slumping demand. unions talk about a death spiral. the country sinks deeper into recession. but the government insists that greece is fighting for survival, and it has to show the rest of europe that it can implement reform. >> greece is a country that is

remarkably rich, that was, however, very poorly managed for a number of years. the poor management, which we have been fixing in the past couple of years, cannot hide the fact that we have comparative advantages that are extremely beneficial for investors in greece. whether it is energy and the alternative energy, whether it is shipping, whether it is agriculture or tourism, you are talking about heavy industries in which greece is a champion in europe and, in some cases, in the world. >> and all this comes just days before e.u. leaders meet in brussels amid urgent calls for decisive action to resolve the urs crisis. how to deal with greece and its mountain of debt is once again top of the agenda. but it's not just people who are on strike. the whole country is suffering under some of the most severe austerity measures modern society has ever known. that does raise a question for

all those european policy makers in their financial plans. just how much can one country take before it snaps? chris morris, bbc news, athens. >> that is the question which the finance ministers gathering in bruce he will really just do not want to face, really. >> well, they've got the problems in greece, the strikes in greece, the fact that spain has been downgraded, so they've got a good list of things to be getting on with. they've got to stabilize greece. they've got to set up a credible financial firewall, as you put it, so that this contagion stops, and they've got to recapitalize banks as well. that's all they've got to do over the weekend. huge list. it's highly unlikely they'll manage to come one any solution for all of that, but somehow they have got to stop this contagion as well. >> there's a buildup to the g-20 gathering in caanes. >> the problem is this is different from the 2008 crisis, because in those days, the

government had deep pockets, or perceived to have deep pockets, and they could recapitalize the banks, and the banks could afford to take much more of a hit. but now, of course, most of the countries, the governments are up to their neck in debt. they haven't got the deep pockets, so they're going to ask the banks to take much more pressure, and that's the problem. >> the european union doesn't look like the most exciting member to be a beast of at the moment, given all that. the eurasian union is a new prospect. >> yes. vladimir putin essentially wants to have closer ties between the former soviet union states, so countries like russia, armenia, ukraine, you can see them come up on this map here. there's eight countries that have all signed an historic trade pact, which, again, is likely to boost economic trade, make closer ties. we haven't got the energy-rich states signed up for this. that's azerbaijan. those will be crucial. but essentially, it's the strength and ties in that area. >> interesting. we've been talking about greece as well.

let's just have a look at some pictures which are coming in to us from athens at the moment. this is the scene live. it's a general strike, 48 hours, so there will be -- i think we should expect a lot of union representation on the streets. they're waiting for parliamentary votes which will take place both today and tomorrow to bring into play the government's latest austerity measures as they put them forward. as you can see, it's a bizarre scene at the moment, all very casual. but the buildup there in the square outside parliament has begun. bangkok is once again under threat from thailand's worst floods in decades. the city's governor has warned people in the north and east to move to higher ground. this is after dikes broke. now, he said 1.2 million sandbags will be needed to stem the flow of water into the city. about a third of the country is affected in all. the prime minister, yingluck

shinawatra, has called on the political rivals to pull together. is the flood situation getting worse in and around bangkok itself? our south asia correspondent, rachel harvey, is there. >> well, it's difficult to know, to be honest, and that is because we're getting conflicting messages from the government on each day. but the tone of what's being said today certainly seems more somber than a couple of days ago, when the residents of bangkok were being told that the worse may have passed, it will be ok in the capital. now we're being told there is seven districts in the north of the city, so within the city limits, which have been put on alert, basically the floodwater we've been talking about for some days now that he built up to the north of the capital in the worst affected provinces, that has not receded, certainly not as quickly as authorities would like. some people would say it hasn't recede the at all. they've been trying to divert that water to the east and west, but there's simply too much of it. they've been trying to shore up the defenses, but some of them

are already breaching. so it feels like the authorities are kind of in retreat, if you like. they keep moving these defensive barriers further south. >> i just want to bring you up to date on the situation regarding the 66-year-old disabled french woman who was taken hostage from the kenyan resort where she was staying in the north of the country and taken to somalia. we learned a short while ago via the french foreign ministry she has died. i wanted to bring you a line that also came from the foreign minister statement, which said they didn't know the circumstances surrounding her death, but they did say that the kidnappers probably refused to give her the medication we sent her. those are the words coming from the french foreign ministry. obviously an extremely sensitive development there. we'll keep across that for you here on "bbc world news." now, some of the hundreds of palestinian prisoners released

by israel have been arriving at destinations across the middle east, including turkey, syria, and jordan. about 30 of them were simply not allowed to return to gaza or the west bank, where israel considers them too dangerous. israel released almost 500 prisoners in exchange for an israeli soldier, gilad shalit, captured by hamas more than five years ago and another 500 oar so are still to be released. the nobel peace prize winner, karman, has led a protest in new york. she's a yemeni activist. she wants the president and his loyalists to be tried for war crimes. the u.n. is considering a gulf peace plan, which would see the president step down and yet be immune from prosecution. in new zealand, a court has decided not to release the names of the captain and navigational officer charged over the cargo ship disaster. that's the ship. that's the scale of the disaster, of course.

and the reason for not revealing them is because there's a fear they'd be exposed to risk of some sort. they're philippine nationals. they could face up to a year in jail if convicted. the ship is just about still in one piece despite the extraordinary cracks within it. tons of thick fuel have come out along with many of those cargo containers falling into the sea as well. syrian television now, it has been showing pictures of a massive pro-government demonstration which is taking place in the city of aleppo. i say massive, and that's absolutely the right word. there have been protests against the government of president assad since march. this week, activists said at least 25 people were killed in violence in the city of homs. the u.n. estimates around 3,000 people in all have died in the course of the unrest. other matters now, sporting in particular. ross, big night last night in the european champ lons league.

>> absolutely. eight matches, it as you say, eight more matches on wednesday. but let's deal with what happened last night to start with. and real madrid probably had the result of the night, 4-0 winners in leon. but the real manager always wants to play a little bit of mind games, even though real has got a 100% record in the group. he's still not entirely satisfied. he's saying that it looks like they've got the most difficult group out of all of the champions league teams. >> there are other groups where the big teams were much more lucky than us. they are playing against teams that had to go to internet and the draw to know from which country they were coming. you know, the group is not easy. we are doing the job well.

we are doing the job well. we have nine points out of three matches, and we are doing really well. >> he looks very happy, doesn't he? >> always. >> 100%, looking really pleased with himself. there are many other clubs in much more dire situations as far as getting through the qualifying stage, aren't there? >> there are. some of the english teams had a lot riding on their matches last night. manchester city spent hundreds of millions of dollars to become a force in the champions league, got their first win in the competition, but the third time was the 94th-minute goal. manchester united with their first win as well, the english premier league champion. so big relief for them. and then tonight, as we mentioned, eight more games, one of the big ones, barcelona, defending champions league winners, of course, they're playing the czech side. that should be a big game for them, because they lost their 100% record. >> right. ross, thanks very much indeed. you're watching "bbc world

news" with me, david eades. plenty more still to come. we'll have the latest for you also on the story of the french woman, mary dacour, kidnapped, taken to somalia, reportedly now dead. >> the government of chile said it will invoke an emergency security law after a day of violence protest in santiago. police used tear gas along with water cannons to battle protesters who have masks as they set up burning barricades. will grant has the details. >> once again, the debate about free public education in chile has descended into violence. the police responded with water cannon and tear gas. a kindergarten had to be

evacuated because of the plumes of tear gas. for months now, chilean students have been protesting against the education system which they see as outdated and in need of reform. about 40% of spending in chile is paid for through tuition fees, provoking huge demonstrations, calling for free teaching and grants for the poorest. in a country which is supposedly experienced economic stability in recent years, many are angry as what they see as broken promises. some trade unions are taking part in a two-day strike, and further demonstrations are planned. >> it's necessary where the state takes control over spending and there should be free and quality education for all. >> talks between the students and the government have collapsed in the past few weeks, and the main student lead told the bbc that dialogue

between the two sides was currently broken. many schools and universities have been shut down since may, and these demonstrations are now the biggest civil protests in chile since the end of general chin owe chet's rule in 1990. will grant, bbc news. >> this is "bbc world news." i'm david eades. workers in greece have begun a 48-hour strike in their latest protests against government plans to impose more austerity measures to try to rescue the economy. the french foreign ministry says a disabled french woman, mary didieu, who was kidnapped from a kenyan resort and taken to somalia earlier in the month has died. turkish troops have pursued kurdish rebels into northern iraq, this after one of the most serious attacks against the turkish army in many years. the scale of that attack still coming in. it seems a large number of

turkish soldiers may have been killed with others injured. this, of course, in the southeast of the country near the iraqi border. in istanbul is our correspondent, jonathan head. jonathan, can you give us more detail about the attack? >> we know that there were two attacks on military units in the morning in a province called hakkari. that's where you tend to have most of the military action because it's right next to the border with iraq and they can come across fairly easily. these are the most serious attacks in terms of loss of life for the turkish army. since 1993, there is always a strong, emotional nationalist reaction from the turkish public and the turkish government. there's already the president, normally a pretty moderate man, has threatened what he called a great revenge. so we're expecting, indeed, already seeing evidence of a turkish military response, and they've lost 24 soldiers in these two attacks, plus five policemen killed in a desperate

attack yesterday, and the death toll could rise. they were quite significant attacks. turkish planes and helicopters have been seen heading over toward iraq, and we believe that there may be turkish ground forces. it's not been confirmed yet, but there are reports of turkish commandos going over the border to pursue the p.k.k. insurgents. that itself would escalate this to a much higher level, because it would involve possible friction with the iraqi government. >> i mean, that number, 24 dead, jonathan, have you been monitoring a gradual increase in troubles in the area, or is this slightly out of the blue? >> no, there's been a sustained escalation of attacks by p.k.k. insurgents, really since the election in june when the kurdish parties did very well, and that actually opened the political space for reconciliation, but one of their members was denied his seat in parliament through a criminal charge, and the kurdish public in general felt

they were being pressurized by the government, and the government wasn't listening to them. in a sense, that political space has closed down now. the p.k.k., for reasons that aren't entirely clear, decided significantly to escalate their attacks, and the government has resorted really to a military response inside the turkish government. there is an understanding that they have to find a political solution to this, but when you have this number of deaths in what is a army, the public will demand high-level military action and response, and that will rule out the political approach for the moment. >> jonathan, thanks very much for that. the foreign ministry in paris says the french woman kidnapped and taken to somalia earlier this month has died. mary didieu was a severely disabled woman who was captured by gunmen at a resort in kenya. a difficult enough situation as it was, but let's get the latest now, because bbc's hugh schofield joins us from paris. perhaps you can give us more of

what the french foreign ministry is able to tell us. >> i've got the statement here. they say they have no detail about how or when she died. she was taken on october 1, so more than two weeks ago, but they say their suspicion is that given the state of her health and the fact that as far as they were aware the kidnappers did not take any of the medicines that the foreign ministry tried to send through to them via interimmediate air, they assumed that it is her state of health that caused her death. she had cancer and heart problems and was in a wheelchair, and they didn't take the wheelchair. that's the assumption. they don't know anything. and then the statement ends with, you know, an appeal to the kidnappers to return her body to france. tragic end to this story. she wasn't on holiday. she actually lived there. she lived there for quite a

long time, this woman, and she's a well known woman in france. back in the 197 's, she was a feminist. >> dreadful story, hugh. thank you very much indeed. ivory coast was once one of the most prosperous nations in africa. earlier in the year, the country was brought to its knees, you may well remember, by the violence following elections. 3,000 people killed, as the incumbent president refused to concede defeat to his rival. we've traveled to the commercial capital to find out how two families, one on either side of the political divide, are coping now. >> life is slowly returning to normal. only a few months ago, these street vendors were hiding in their homes as bloody clashes took place all around them. now the buzzword is reconciliation, and while politicians are talking about reconciliation, others, like this man, one of ivory coast's

most famous reggae stars, are singing about it. he's promised to clean up both corruption and the city streets, but there are some things that can't be swept away so easily. this is a loyal supporter, but his wife comes from the same tribe as the former president, gbabo. in their 13 years of marriage, it was never a problem. but ever since the election, their relationship has soured, and now they no longer speak. >> my wife is not here because i believe -- that's why she not come along with me to church. in the height of the political crisis, finally political got along. >> on the other side of abidjan is this man. while his family life is still intact, his home is not.

he supports mr. gbabo, he says mr. outtara's forces trashed his home. he's still afraid of them. >> you feel like you're trapped because you're not free to see or do whatever you want. now i don't think people are willing and able to come back together. >> almost everything has been destroyed, but he says he'll stay and rebuild, his family history is too important. while newspapers here have been focusing on the new truth and reconciliation commission designed to unite the country, both say it's simply too soon, the wounds are too fresh. they say what's needed are jobs, schools to reopen for their kids, an end to corruption, and most of all, a leader who stops talking north versus south, tribe versus tribe, and gives opportunities to all ivorians. robin bresnahan, bbc news,

abidjan. >> you can hear on they are you coast if you tune in to this weekend's edition of "assignment" on bbc world service radio. i want to take you back to the traveler's camp we've been following here just to the east of us here in london in essex. it's dale farm. it's a very contentious site for the better part of a decade, but particular this will year, as travelers on the site, up to 1,000, mostly irish, have been told that the buildings they have put up are illegal, they have no permission, it's a very green field area, and that is why, and that they must now move. well, it has gone on a long time, and today is the day before the bailiffs have come out, the riot police have come in as well, and it's a pretty tense situation. we'll keep on top of that here on "bbc world news." the authorities in the smaller ohio town of zanesville in the

united states have found themselves with a very unusual public order problem to come to terms with. wait for this. out in the dark there somewhere possibly lions, tigers, grizzly bears, they all seem to have escaped from their encloush you'res at animal farm. the park's owner was found dead, the cages unlocked. one local police officer gave us an idea of what they were looking for. >> got a little bit of a list compiled. mainly there were grizzly bears and black bears. there were cheetahs. there were lions, and there were tigers. those are the primary things that we would be concerned with. any kind of a cat species and any kind of bear species right now is what we're mainly concerned about. one of the deputies told me they felt they had shot approximately 25 on the way up to the house to check on mr. thompson, so, you know, that number could be i'm other low depending on when they were

shooting animals in all directions. >> just not what you expect to hear. i'm afraid some animals were shot for public safety, we're told. but more on the website, bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. union bank. and shell. >> this is kim - about to feel one of his favorite sensations. at shell, were developing more efficient fuels in countries like malaysia that can help us get the most from our energy resources. lets use energy more efficiently. lets go.

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