>> 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."

>> the greek prime minister is braced for a confidence vote after a week of political pressure. >> the president of the european commission admits he could leave the euro. what can they do? >> italy agrees to be p monitored by the i.m.f. on delivering austerity measures. >> also in this program, in syria reports of more deaths in homs. protesters say they will take to the streets again. >> and a journey to nowhere. in the next hour, six astronauts on their simulated mission to the red planet after a year and a half inside a mock spaceship near moscow.

>> there is still political turmoil in athens today as greek prime minister george papandreou faces a vote of confidence. the opposition calls for mr. papandreou to resign. it is still not clear whether eventually greece will leave the euro. the president of the european commission has stated it is a possibility. let's go to athens and our correspondent there. >> welcome to athens where yesterday saw one of the most mumultuous days in their history. today promises to be much the

same. george papandreou is fighting for his political life. apparently he has said there will be no referendum. already one serblist m.p. threatening to vote against the government in the critical confidence vote said they are back on board as a result of that. will others follow? we don't know. the confidence vote, when it comes, could friendship at a time either a period of what passes for political stability here or could plunge the country into a snap general election. that election, of course, would then be a referendum itself on the bail out plan. greece has never faced quite so much political uncertainty. let's get this report from our european correspondent matthew price. >> greece is now the epicenter of the european crisis. this will help decide not only greek's fate but the european

has as a whole. the next greek bail out package provoked this crisis. >> opening a discussion on the referendum rearrived memory. it create aid positive shock and brought positive results to the political world of this country. >> greece bears the scars of its debt problem. businesses have shut down. 10s of thousands have been parts of massive government cuts. yet still it is not enough. >> i don't think we have dreams for the future in this country. it is bad for us. it is awful for us. >> even though -- from one moment to another. >> at the parliament there will be a vote of confidence in the prime minister. political turmoil is making an economic solution even heard to find. this is far from just a domestic issue. if greece can't sort out its debt problem, europe as a whole

cannot contain its growing debt crisis. matthew price, bbc news, athens. >> and of course, that is what is preoccupying world leaders who gathered in cannes for the g-20 summit. as far as sarkozy he thought he had a script worked out. they agreed to a bail-out plan and then they could put the flesh on the bones, if you like, in cannes. that was totally shredded by george papandreou announcing the referendum he signed up to only a few days earlier. world leaders are gathering and facing a whole set of different questions. namely, what happens if the euro-zone breaks up? what contingencies are put in place? here's our diplomatic correspondent james robbins. >> leaders of the world's dominant economies are

struggling with agreeing to ways to bail out those countries weighed down by debt. it looks possible the international monetary fund will end up with greater financial fire power. the latest news from greece has revived hopes the country could get behind a tough rescue package which was agreed to by all euro-zone countries last week. >> it is important that there should be a quick "yes" to the decisions of october 27, and this has been stressed by everyone here. all international participants have stressed the decision of october 27 are heading in the right direction. >> but amid so much uncertainty, key euro-zone countries met late into the night after their french host, president sarkozy, warned greece could not continue to defy euro-zone rules, provoking what he called the greatest crisis in the history

of the european union. >> in no way would i want to give the impression we are interfering in their domestic affairs. on the other hand this is about the defense of the ue and the -- the defense of the euro. europe and the euro are our homeland and that has to be defended. >> dafts of possible outcomes from this summit, if the precise wording can be agreed to, could help. one help may come from growing countries offering to increase spending. that would increase production of goods and services, including creating new jobs. james robbins, cannes. >> let's go live and speak to our correspondent there, christian frazier. what can the greek -- europeans

do when you have so much political uncertainty? >> the first thing they can do is agree on the communique. two things in that paper jump out at you. first of all, the idea they will increase and expand the war chest of the international monetary fund to give it resources to provide cover for shocks in the euro-zone or global economy. the second thing is they are calling on heavily indebted countries like italy to continue with this austerity plan. on that particular point, with regard to italy, i am told last night there were a series of many summits to which sylvio berlusconi was maybe not invited but summoned. it was pointed out to the french president that with $2 trillion in debt, and we saw bonds rise

to record levels yesterday, it is a matter of time before the markets turn against them. so the i.m.f., as it did with ireland, greece, and portugal, would face stewardship of the austerity program and sylvio berlusconi would be responsible for that. one is -- one option is to prepare for greece to exit the tour owe zone. >> when you are a member of the euro-zone or any club, you have to respect the rules. this is of course up to them to decide if they want to keep their position. we believe it is in their interest, and we would like them to stay. we have been saying that clearly. i think the principle of a country leaving the euro is not a good one. in the end, it depends on them being able to implement the

decisions taken together. >> it is worth underlining, christian, isn't it, the change in tone of the language of world leaders whereas two weeks ago you would not have heard them even countenancing the possibility of a greek exit from the euro. now it seems very possible. >> very much so. it was hinted that greece would have to leave the euro-zone but in the past two days we have heard them speak openly about greece being kicked out of the euro-zone. what happens? there is no mechanism to expell them. what happens if they do not want to be expelled? i can tell you in the back rooms there are people talking about it, there are lawyers preparing for it, and spretch it has pushed the agenda of the g-20 to the side of the table.

whatever happens today, they need a contingency plan to deal with that, and that's what they are doing. >> right. and of course the other possibility, the other thing they are looking at as well, is boosting the fire power of the i.m.f. >> very much so. china has made it clear over the course of the last few days that while there is chaos and confusion in greece it is difficult to look athe -- at the agreement they signed in brussels last week and invest in it. they don't know what they are investing in at the moment. two pillars of that agreement, namely the recapitalization of banks, is up in the air. what they can do is channel money to the i.m.f. so the i.m.f. to -- the i.m.s. could cover shocks in the system. that is a slight change in the role of the i.m.f., because it is there in a way to back up any problems with currency shocks in

the system. now it is really looking at propping up countries like italy and greece. the british prime minister, david cameron, has made it clear while they don't want to put money toward a currency, it is only right and proper, tcha everyone gets together to support the i.m.f. i think you will see common agreement today, just looking at the draft communique, what we don't have at the moment is any figures or time-table about when that money will be made available. >> ok. christian, thank you for that, indeed. of course that whole issue of contributing more to the i.m.f. is a pretty live wire issue in britain as well where there are worries in the ruling conservative party that that money could find it's way directly -- its way directly toward propping up places it is not a part of.

the finance minister that is been discussing that. >> i think we have a hard day ahead of us in cannes. greece has to stand behind their own currency. no one else can do that, including britain. and the rest of the world, which includes britain and china and the like, have to make sure that the international economic system is stable and well funded, and that includes the i.m.f. that is going to be the subject of their discussion today. it might look all very technical, but what it is really about, is protecting the global economy, getting stability, and that will help create the growth in jobs in britain that we need to see. >> greece today, what do you hope for? what are your hopes for what will go on there today? what concerns do you have about the greek exit from the euro? >> well, look, in the end, people here can't determine what happens in athens. it has to be for the greek people and greek politicians. what we can do is make sure the world is prepared for any

outcome from greece. we have to make sure that the euro zone picks up their responsibilities, as i have been saying, and stands behind their own currency and deals with any eventuality with respect to greece. but when it comes to the rest of the world including countries like china and the like, we have to make sure that the international system remains stable, it can deal with big shocks, and that means making sure that institutions like the i.m.f., which existed for 60 years to deal with situations like this, are ready to deal with whatever is given to it. >> what can you tell us about a meeting between the french, german, i.m.f., the italians? what kerns do you have about the italian economic position now? >> one of the problems that we have at the moment is of course the situation with the italian bonds and costs that italy is paying for its own debt. that is one of the problems. we also have problems in spain.

we have problems that everyone is following in greece. these are all part of the same issue which is the stability of the euro. the eurozone members realize they have to stand behind that summit. while tame this is an international summit which has people from all over the world attending. we are aware of our responsibilities, britain is part of that, to make sure we withstand any shocks for the global economy. i think there are plenty of meetings going on and a lot of hard negotiations going on. >> i just wonder what is the continue jensy plan. if the euro does collapse wharks does that look like? >> britain and the british government prepares for all con continue generalsies. that is our responsibility to the british people that we do our planning. what we have to do is make sure that britain is protected. britain is as safe as possible. we have taken our own action domestically by dealing with our

own debt which is in some cases larger than many of the countries we are dealing with. we are dealing with our death debt, our situation, but we are planning and prepared for whatever the world or euro-zone throws at us. >> george ounce borne speaking a -- osborne speaking a while ago in france. it seems that sylvio berlusconi will get himself quite a talking to. >> absolutely. pictures in the paper of him looking rather disconsulate standing aside the other leaders and obviously very disturbed by his position and the reason for which he's gone to cannes. on that line that christian was talking about, the -- said to be

an agreement to have the i.m.f. come in and scrutinize the italian effort to put his financial house in order. we have not had any italian reaction to that. there is a line saying that italy has no normal agreements at all with the i.m.f. to do that. it is willing to take the i.m.f. advice. we'll have to see quite how that plays out in the hours ahead. all this is a reflection of the really serious, serious concerns about italy's position. this great mountain of debt on the one hand and very, very poor levels of growth which everybody realizes puts italy in a very dangerous position, a position that might ultimately take it down the road as we have seen it engulf its neighbors in greece.

>> it all sounds abstract. >> if you are a german government, your mortgage costs 2%. if you are in italy, your mortgage is 6%. that is unsustainable in the long term. >> absolutely. in a sense, it is not abstract at all. this whole euro-zone crisis comes down to the mood on the bond market. the >> so the money men demand more and more interest from italy to borrow money. as these rates have crept up and up and up the analysts have become more and more concerned. they have seen italy moved into

the kind of interest rate territory that so spectacularly undid the likes of ireland, portugal, and greece. and italy isn't one of those small peripheral countries. if italy was to go under in the style of greece there would be mayhem not just across europe but the demrobal economy would be extraordinary -- but the global economy would be extraordinarily hard hit. this -- the feeling is they would come to italy's assistance if the worst were to happen. >> allen johnson in rome. thank you very much in deed for that. on the parliament behind me there on the decisions they make tonight. in a sense, whatever political decision they make, whether papandreou stays or goes, whether there is some kind of interim government for the short term or long term, whether there was going to be snap elections, indepeed, the focus on athens is going to stay for the long term,

because it is far from clear that whatever decisions are taken here over the neck 24 hours will save greece inside the euro. the stakes could not be higher. from athens, back to you in the studio. >> thank you very much. indeed, much more from there throughout the day. you are watching bbc world news. much more to come here to. >> the race is on to rescue 50 miners trapped underground in china after an earthquake caused an explosion. >> now, a law allowing citizens to buy and sell private property in cube -- cuba. it is part a -- part of a package of reforms aimed to help the struggling economy. >> most cubans do have title to their homes and can pass them on to their children. until now, buying or selling

property was not allowed. the only way to move was through a complicated barter trade. this street in central half fra that is the nearest this country has as a real estate business. it is all about finding someone to swap with. it often involves i will lem payments and bribes to government officials. >> we are very happy aas we are all with -- as we are with all the laws that have gone in effect. >> the new law, announced on the front page of the communist party newspaper will take effect on november 10. cubans that can afford it will be able to afford a maximum of two moments. their main home, along with one in the countryside. >> anything that has to do with freeing all that has been prohibited is great.

the government started with the hotels and then with the cars. now with housing and then the internet and free travel. everybody is happy, the government and the people. that's the way it is in the rest of the world. >> last month it was car sales rvings this month homes. the latest in a series of reforms being pushed through by president raul castro as he tries to overhaul the island's struggling soviet style economic system. cubans can now become self-employed and set up their own businesses. there is a majority of the -- a majority of the economy will remain in state hands. michael voss, bbc news, havana. >> china accused of being the main source of computer hacking attacks on u.s. companies. it says trade secrets represent a growing threat to the kn country. russia also singled out.

china and russia have denied allegations. >> the report uses robust language to say china is the most active perpetrateor of sipe cyber-attacks around the world. it says it is leading an assault which is costing the american economy millions of dollars every year. it also accuses russian intelligence services of sophisticated and expensive attacks. both countries deny they are involved in any such activities. >> this is "bbc world news." there is much more at our website, bbcnews.com/news. >> in china 50 miners are trapped in an underground explosion. the explosion happened in

sanmenxia of henan proffyips. >> syria plans to bring an end to political violence there. >> the 27 activists from the u.s. and eight other countries were in turkey on two yachts carrying medical supplies. the military in israel will not allow them to breach the blockade. >> in july, africa was a-- ireland said -- closed an investigation to sexual misconduct by catholic priests. they said they closed the investigate as a way to save

money. >> soviet astronauts have been in an experiment in the suburbs of the russian capital. they have mirrored life in a real spaceship but in fact, they never left moscow. >> back in june last year, one of the more extraordinary nary space experiments of recent time began. six men entered a spaceship and lived together in total isolation for 520 days. they were pretending to be hurt ling millions of miles through space when in fact they were going nowhere. the idea was to test whether the men's minds and bodies could endure such a long journey from the earth. >> we don't have any conflict growing out of our experiment. it is good to know. we have one team even up there in total isolation. >> at times they could only

communicate with the outside world up to 20 minutes. halfway through there was even a fake mars walk to make the experiment as realistic as possible. with the end only hours away, it appears man can endure large periods of isolation in a confined space. without the dangers of a real space mission and the weightlessness, this was a less stressful experience. bbc news, moscow. >> we will bring you coverage when they come out. much more at the web site, bbc news.com. >> the prime minister in greece, george papandreou, needs to get enough votes to survive a vote of confidence there today. one politician says he needs to make a dignified exit.

bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the feeman foundation, stowe vermont, hon lieu law, the newman's own foundation and shell. this is ken about to feel one of his favorite sensations. at shell we're developing more efficient fuels in countries like malaysia that can help us get the most from our energy resources. let's use marching more efficiently. let's go.

>> union bank la has put put its strength to work for a wide range of companies. >> "bbc world news" was