>> 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." >> a suspected firebombing for the french magazine which printed a cartoon of the prophet muhammad on its front cover. another fine mess. leaders to hold talks with the greek prime minister over his calls for a euro bailout referendum. and the weather forecast for beijing, smoke, for smoke, further smoke to come, why the air quality in the capital has reached hazardous level. welcome to "bbc world news." i'm david eades. also coming up -- wiki leaks founder julian assange will learn if he's to be extradited to sweden over allegations of sexual assault and rape. also -- a new start for the survivors of east africa's famine, but what challenges face the aid agencies now?

>> hello. thanks very much for joining us. the offices of a french satirical magazine in paris have been seriously damaged by fire. the publication, charlie hebdo, has printed a cartoon of the prophet muhammad on the front cover and also named muhammad as its guest editor. they say the aim was to celebrate the success of islamists and denied it was trying to be provocative. our correspondent in paris says some people say they saw the attack taking place. >> witnesses are saying the petro bomb was hurled through the window, and it seems to have set some of the equipment in the satirical magazine's office on fire and the editor has been appearing on french news channels saying that he very much doubts whether they'll be able to publish next

week. it's a weekly satirical magazine called charlie hebdo. he says most of their equipment has been destroyed. now, the magazine's website has also been hacked into, and messages in glirk and turkish attacking the magazine's policy of naming muhammad as its guest editor and its criticism of muslim, of islamist parties has been left on its website too. so, yes, it does seem like a fairly thorough job was done. it seems the attack took place about 1:00 in the morning local time. police were called to the scene fairly quickly. some witnesses report seeing two men who they described as possible suspects, but the men were not detained. >> right, the magazine says it was not trying to be provocative. let's be honest about it, it is a provocative type of magazine, isn't it? >> it's always been a provocative type of magazine.

it runs a lot of cartoons. it's considered to be on the left of the political spectrum. it was founded in 1970, and it's always tried to be slightly outrageous. and there's also form on the issue of being provocative when it comes to islam. in 2007, the magazine was taken to court by muslim associations in france because it reprinted danish cartoons which were deemed offensive by many muslims around the world. and this time, it does show -- and i'm not going to hold up the entire front page, because it shows a cartoon of the prophet muhammad, but i think you can probably see the title is charlie hebdo, the name of the magazine, and underneath social security sharia hebdo, in reference to islamist law.

inside, there's a fairly serious seaming editorial which takes issue with the notion that religious parties can take part in a democracy, specifically referring to what it describes as the victory of an islamist party in tunisia. >> here's a question -- why on earth did he do it? that's what europe's leaders have been asking themselves as george papandreou is following the greek prime minister's decision to call a referendum in greece on that eurozone bailout plan. they may get their answer today, because mr. papandreou will be holding talks with president sarkozy of france and the german chancellor, angela merkel, when they all meet later in the day ahead of a g-20 meeting. mr. papandreou also shocked some of his own party, although his cabinet has come out in support. this from keith doyle. >> athnents early hours of this morning, and after a seven-hour meeting, the greek cabinet unanimously backed its prime

minister, who yesterday shocked an infuriated european leaders. george papandreou announced a delicate deal that was put together just last week by the rest of the eurozone to save greece and the euro from crisis will now be voted on by the greek people in a referendum. the rescue package would halve greece's debt to banks, but it owes so much that its people would still face years of economic hardship. in holding a referendum, the greek prime minister is effectively asking his people to vote for tough times within the euro or possibly even tougher times outside it. in a statement, the prime minister said the referendum will be a clear mandate and a clear message in and outside greece on a european course and participation in the euro. the financial markets and europe's leaders had hoped the deal was done and a crisis averted. not now. the implications of a rejection in a referendum are huge for the economies of europe and for the u.k. >> it is extremely important for the eurozone to implement

the package that they agreed last week. that is what i said was crucial at the time. that's what they all said was crucial at the time, and i think we need to get on with it sooner rather than later. >> the german chancellor and french said are said to be furious with george papandreou's decision. he'll meet them for emergency talks in cannes later today, while on friday he faces a vote of confidence in his own parliament. keith doyle, bbc news. >> sally is here now. we saw the markets yesterday. >> yes, indeed. pretty nasty. let's have a look at how they're going so far. we've been going one hour and about five minutes, 10 minutes. as you can see, we're ok at the moment. we're treading water, really. i would imagine some investors out there are seeing some bargains to be had. companies that were sold off heavily yesterday are being picked up because their share price is relatively cheap compared to what the company actually does and its future profits and everything else. some of the big winners are the banking shares, because they were unbelievably hammered

yesterday. so their share price is going up as well. >> it's like losing $10 million one day. >> i know, it is a roller coaster ride. >> all this going on, and almost take our eye off the ball. >> it's been a really busy day for japanese corporations in particular, because the likes of sony, nissan, and others have come out with their results. and let's not forget, the japanese companies, they've had a really difficult year. they had the tsunami and the impact that had on their production and their operations. we've had the japanese yen, which just remains incredibly strong on the international markets, which means that their profits overseas are eroded. also, other issues, like the thai flooding, for example, that's affecting some of these companies, because they're exporting to there, but some of them are actually making their products overseas. sony came out with bad news, a warning about -- a loss for the full year as well. it's expected to make a profit.

very quickly, nissan lost in the last quarter, but it's saying its sales are going up this year, so it's happier about its situation. >> ok. losing money is not good, is it? sally, thank you very much indeed for all of that. one of the most controversial figures of our time is to learn shortly if he will be extradited from britain to sweden. julian assange, founder of the wikileaks website, is to be told by the high court here in london if he is to travel to swede ton face allegations of sexual assault and rape. >> julian assange challenged the court's decision to extradite him to sweden, and today he'll find out if it's been successful. his lawyers claim that the extradition demand is flawed and say the accusations of sexual assault by two former employees of wiki leaks are unfounded. julian assange caused a worldwide sensation when his whistle-blowing website published thousands of secret diplomatic cables. it provoked the wrath of the

authorities in the u.s., and he could face espionage charges there over the leaked documents. mr. assange's lawyers may well be concerned that if their client is sent back to sweden, america could be the next stop. julian assange was jailed under strict conditions. he's been staying at the country house of a friend in norfolk, but was force the to wear a tag and report to a local police station regularly. but if the court upholds his extradition, the freedom that julian assange has enjoyed the last few months could come to an abrupt end. >> get other news for you now. the operator of the new fukushima nuclear plant, severely damaged in the earthquake and tsunami earlier in the year, has detected a radioactive gas, which could mean there's a new problem at the plant. the company says the gas was found near reactor two, which previously had been considered to be close to a stable

shutdown. israel says it will speed up the construction of houses for jewish settlers after the palestinians, one membership of the u.n. cultural organization, unesco, has also decided to suspend the transfer of funds to the palestinian authority. if i could take you back to the moment to the beijing olympics. you may remember the extraordinary strength authorities went to to get the level of smog over the city right down. well, that was then. for the last few days, beijing has been again covered in a thick blanket of smog, and that forced the closure of several highways, the cancellation of hundreds of flights, and according to some reports, hospital admissions have risen by almost a third. our correspondent, martin patience, reports on how people are coping with the smog. >> beijing's not always easy to make out. it's currently choking on some of the worst pollution they've seen this year. some in the city are taking precautions. this man is pulling his child

out of school early. he doesn't want him playing outdoors. >> the pollution at this moment is beyond the standards for the normal activities outside. >> the emissions of factories, power plants, and five million cars all make beijing one of the most polluted cities on earth. public health experts say the smoke is dangerous. >> when you have got severely polluted weather like today, we see an increase in the death rate of those with respiratory diseases by 2% to 5%. you will also see more patients in hospital emergency rooms. >> clean air was supposed to be the legacy of the olympic games, held three years ago. but here's the iconic stadium this week, obscured by the smog. authorities say the air quality

here has continuously improved over the last decade. many experts, however, question the methods they use. but even by the city's own standards, this year looks actually more polluted than 2010. china's development has transformed this city, but some question whether the country's lost sight of the true cost. martin patience, bbc news, beijing. >> going to bring you back to europe for a moment now, more on the euro itself and the greek prime minister's call for a referendum on that bail justice deal. we can go over to james robbins, who is in cannes, where the g-20 is due to meet. james, you know as much as i know about the way diplomats work, but i tell you, it's going to be a battle to hide over the cracks of this one. >> i think it's impossible, because the summit hasn't started yet and it appears to be in disarray.

tonight was set aside for a critically important meeting, a dinner, which will still take place between president sarkozy as the host of this global meeting and the chinese president, vitally important, because president sarkozy had been expecting at that dinner to say to the chinese president, look, done deal in europe, we've delivered a rescue package, now we want you as the largest, a giant among the emerging economies of the world, to come in behind the deal, to help finance it through the i.m.f., and to, frankly, change chinese economic behavior. we want you to encourage the chinese to save a little less and spend more, particularly on exports, to help stimulate growth now that we've delivered on our side of the bargain, a rescue package. well, the rescue package may be out the window, and crowded around that dinner with the chinese president, a crisis meeting slotted in now, we believe at about 5:30 here in cannes, between chancellor merkel of germany and president

sarkozy to try to agree on their approach when they meet the greek prime minister, george papandreou, some three hours later. it's going to be a stormy meeting when they try to narrow down his options and say, can you promise us the euro rescue package is alive and well and you'll do everything to move it from life support back into a recovery mode. and, frankly, it's almost impossible, i think, for the greek prime minister to promise that. >> well, we will follow those meetings. james will in particular. james, thanks very much indeed, james robbins in cannes. you are watching "bbc world news" with me, david eades. that happens for being -- thanks for being with us. still to come, the cricketters found guilty of cheating. just short two years now since haiti was hit by a massive earthquake, and yet hundreds of thousands of people are still homeless, even those with money

. in an effort to help the middle class to move into permanent housing and kick start a construction boom, the government and international lenders are coming together to try to reinvent the mortgage market. >> shanks cling to the hillside , home to tens of thousands of people. conditions may be grim, but the inhabitants are better off than many of their fellow haitians. at least they have a solid roof over their heads. it's almost two years since the earthquake devastated the city, but half a million people are still living under flimsy tents and tarps. the poor are waiting for reconstruction efforts to reach them. but for the 10% of the population with a regular income, there's now a chance to borrow enough to buy a new home. international donors and local banks are trying out new microemergency schemes. >> the potential customers, you have to select them for their

service to haiti and the people working in the business sector are waiting, as well as the provisional. so you have to be very selective. with the amount of money that you have, you cannot envision to be the houses for each and every person who does not have a house. >> so far, just 300 people have shown an interest in the national bank's mortgage scheme and only 10 people have actually qualified for a mortgage. but the banks and construction companies are optimistic and building new homes, hoping they'll get a government seal of approval. however, with prices starting at around $20,000, homes like these are going to remain out of reach for most of haiti's people. >> i've just been talking about the smog over beijing, and i've had a few replies on twitter here. just to want bring one to you, which is a suggest from max, how much is due to beijing's location and adverse weather

conditions? interesting point. other cities have plenty of industry and many cars as well, he says, and maybe someone out there has got an answer. if you have, do let us know. also, one other thought on that euro mess, as we're calling it at the moment. mark cohen says there are distinct parallels in these events with the hardest years of depression in 1933, 1934. ? well, those for thanks. keep them coming. you can send the messages to me at @bbdavideades. if you want more on any of the stories we're covering, you know where to go by now. but the website address is bbc.com/news, where we've got all the background and analysis from our raft of correspondents and editors on all the main stories. you're watching "bbc world news." >> this is "bbc world news." i'm david eades. these are the headlines -- a suspected firebombing for the

french magazine which printed a cartoon of the prophet muhammad on its front cover. europe's leaders are to hold talks with the greek prime minister over his call for a national referendum on the eurozone bailout plan. pakistan's three disgraced contradicters are due to find out shortly if they'll be sent to prison for cheating at last year's chess match against england. at a trial in london, the former captain, salman butt and mom mad asif, were both found guilt tism a third player pleaded guilty to charges to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments before the trial started. the verdicts obviously have an impact in pakistan. we can speak to our correspondent, aleem maqbool, who's at a contradict match in l -- who's at a cricket match in lahore. aleem? >> those verdicts have absolutely had an impact here. they've really shaken the roots

of the sport here. a lot of people very dismayed to see their heroes, particularly people like mom mad amir and mom mad asif, who seemed destined for greatness, certainly some of the biggest celebrities pakistan has, convicted and potentially with the jail sentence hanging over their heads. now, we have heard from a lot of former cricketters who say that they are happy about these verdicts, they want these players to be punished because of the damage they've done to the image of pakistan. but certainly we've been speaking to players here who've been playing in a club match. of course, they've gone in for lunch just now. but we spoke to one professional, a cricketer who said it's also had a huge impact on pakistani players. >> truly, it's had a huge impact. we pakistani players are viewed with suspicion now. i have seen players who used to

pray abroad in the u.k. in the off-season, but they're not getting the contracts now because of the spot fixing. >> people here are very dismayed with the impact this whole episode has had over the last year. they're really hoping to draw a line under it, because they're now awaiting these verdicts. they're also awaiting to see what the pakistan cricket board, who's yet to give a statement or hold a press conference about this issue, to see what moves they're going to make next to ensure the corruption is stamped down on pakistani crick and the that fans don't have to deal with the shock of another case like this in the future. >> thank you very much indeed. i'm sure a half a world away where a london court is to make the sentencing known shortly, they'll be waiting for that as well. mike's with us. give us some idea. when is it going to be? >> the players are due back in court at half past british time . it's just over an hour's time. it could take some time for us to learn what the sentences are

going to be, because they're going to hear pleas for clemency. you think about mom mad amir, whether the fact he pleaded guilty, whether that will count in his favor, wlazz salman butt and mom mad asif convicted. salman butt, his wife gave birth to a new baby son yesterday as well, not that that will have any bearing on the legal process. but it could take an hour or so before we find out the sentences. in terms of what they may carry, the maximum sentence for the corrupt payment charge is seven years in prison. that's a hefty term in jail if that was to be handed out. >> we'll know soon enough. just a quick time for a bit of the best team in the european club football. >> it's funny, because barcelona have three matches, and then they won five at the weekend. that was warning enough for the czech side. in fact, the archbishop of prague prayed for the team the night before. it didn't make any difference.

another hat trick for lionel messi, and they're through. real madrid can join them tonight if they win. >> i heard they scored 500 goals in the last 200 games. all right, mike, got to move on. thanks very much indeed. in britain, we've had huge controversy about protesters camped outside london's landmark st. paul's cathedral. now the archbishop of canterbury has expressed sympathy for the protesters. dr. williams is back in court for the introduction of a tax saying it would help to advance the moral agenda of the protesters, he put it. legal action forcing the removal of the protesters' tents has been suspended. joining me from outside st. paul's cathedral in central london is our correspondent. >> well, an extraordinary change in atmosphere, really, at this camp. you can see behind me, yesterday morning they were waking up not just under very wet campers, but also under the threat of legal action,

possible eviction, giving them 48 hours to leave from the city of london corporation. that was changed yesterday and also the church decided -- the cathedral here decided they also would remove the threat for legal action, want just that, but as you were saying, reaching out towards the protesters. in this article he wrote in the "financial times," he said he supports their agenda, very much showing the church is on the side of the protesters and not necessarily on the side of the bankers. >> there's been a real throwing on this one. thank you very much indeed. well, it's been three months since a famine was declared in several parts of somalia. neighboring ethiopia is also affected, but it hasn't stopped somalis getting out of their country and getting into ethiopia, just as they've done in kenya as well. aid organizations have ramped up, but now there's the arrival of the rains. our world affairs correspondent, mike wooldridge, was in ethiopia as the

emergency erupted. he's just been back. >> still they cross the border from somalia. aid workers are braced for an even bigger influx into ethiopia once again. today around 300 new refugees pass through the reception center at the border. the rains did give us some hope, this man says, but we were very hungry, so instead of staying we decided to flee. it's conservely estimated that 800 people, mostly children, have died in this camp the past four months. but for these children, at least this temporary school provided a new start after so much disruption and trauma in their lives. the rains will be a blessing if they can help the recovery. they can also be a curse at this stage of the emergency. here in the newest of the camps

, now they're seeing a rise in coughs, pneumonia, and diarrhea. >> it's raining every day. the people in the camps, they live in precarious conditions, and we do see an increase in diarrhea diseases, so there is a concern that the children -- the children who did manage to gain some weight in the last few weeks might be pushed back. >> in this intensive feeding tent, 18-month-old ismail inrahim fights for thinks life. here they battle to save children with severe malnutrition and other complications. this camp is now virtually full, and already they're finishing the preparations for a fifth camp, a bigger one. as refugees continue to cross the border from somalia, it is for now a crisis without a foreseeable end. mike wooldridge, bbc news, southeast ethiopia.

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