prime minister george papandreou traveled to germany to underline greece's commitment. more than 90% of the people think that the austerity measures are unfair. >> fast german cars. they have been this man's business. he has done well and importing luxury used cars and selling them to greece. now even the wealthy are feeling the pinch. his show room is full of unsold vehicles. today, big gas-guzzlers' of the last thing people need. >> we probably have five or six months left selling cars, that is it. whatever is left will go to germany. i would have to trade small cars but that is not worth it, so i guess we will close down. >> every day, people crowd the cafe is to scour the morning newspapers with their litany of gloomy headlines such as 250,000 civil servants to get the attacks. the one newspaper describes merkel's demands as the german news around greece's net. >> they want a europe of equal partners or is she looking after her own interests? a solution will be found of germany wants one. >> she is stubborn and overdoing things but what she is doing is necessary. >>

the greek prime minister george papandreou told german business leaders that greece would live up to its promise to cut debt. from berlin. >> the two leaders at the heart of the euro-zone crisis -- angela merkel and greek prime minister george papandreou in berlin today. the hugs and smiles in place, but many germans no longer believe greece is worth supporting. oliver and his wife know all about the strains. he is greek and she is german. constanzo has seen the mood in germany turned against helping greece further. >> the german people are angry about greece. why do they have all of our money? >> the prime minister was out to convince his audience of german businessmen that greece could be trusted to implement austerity cuts. >> and that is why the persistent criticisms leveled against greece are frustrating, not only at the political level where a superhuman effort is being made to meet stringent targets in a deepening recession -- >> in greece, there were protest tonight as parliament backed a controversial property tax. all the signs are that greece has done enough to receive ext

. >>> niece are live images of george papandreou, the greek prime minister speaking in berlin at the convention of the industry which is one of the main industrial configurations, confederations i should say in germany. welcome back live on cnn. this is world business today. the move over to oil now. according to opec's latest figures, nigh jeer a boasts more than 3% of the organization's crude. that's proven reserves of 37.2 billion barrels. more than fellow opec members algeria, an goe la and ecuador combined. the industry may have been behind conflict in the past. but one country is bringing africans together to change the operating environment. we sat down with the ceo. >> in the downstream where -- in the midstream where there's gas, gas distributors were to revoke pipeline cities in several cities in nigeria. we have drills on behalf of major. we have plans like as clans, it's all arranged just think downstream, midstream, upstream. >> you're the only nigerian-owned company doing this of this size? >> well, yes. we're the only one who does everything. we're the largest by far.

. >> greek newspapers are speculating about the upcoming meeting between george papandreou and angela merkle. many greeks are against and imposed a write-off of greek debt. both government and opposition are worried a so-called hair cut would only worsen their situation. >> we are relying on german assistance. we appreciate what the german chancellor and finance minister have said during the past few days. we know it is not easy for them to completely understand the difficult situation of our country. >> some members of the socialist party are growing concerned that the greek public has had all they can take. >> given the scope of the burden, we have to realize we need a basic level of consensus in society to implement our economic program. >> on monday, train and bus drivers went on strike in protest at the cuts. the greek government insists they are necessary to insure the bailout loans. the group of imf, eu, and ec be inspectors have not yet returned to athens. the money will only be released if they give the green light. >> as you heard, the payment of the next tranche of money de

government cuts which are expected to be passed at the end of october it says prime minister george papandreou tries to convince germany's leaders and businesses that a third payload will help his country avoid bankruptcy. government forces reportedly storm a key opposition town in syria after coming in overnight with heavy machine gun fire moscow is calling on both sides to enter talks to stop the violence while rejecting western sanctions are no boarding a repeat of the libyan scenario. and violence flares up between serbia and breakaway cos of a seven course of them serbs have been injured of disputed border crossing in exchange of fire between protesters and nato peacekeepers. twenty to forty six moscow time thanks for being with us wherever in the world you're watching this culture of the school now you can see how you know that cars are men really did live up to their name today with a real battling performance and i wasn't quite enough into just a step too far yeah exactly kevin you know when it comes to giants of european football there are much bigger than in trying to prove that toni

shortly after the announcement, greece's prime minister george papandreou asked greek citizens to join the government's efforts for structural reforms as there were going to be more battles before the country returns to growth. greek "now we have to make an extra effort so that we keep our commitments and give this battle a decisive to ensure our stable course, to keep away us from danger so no one can use the alibi and say we didn't do what we have agreed to." however, greeks have expressed skepticism about the new austerity programs. greek "i think these measures are good but the government are constantly after the poor and the rich are not affected." the greek government needs to balance its austerity measures with public anger, however,... as thousands of protestors took to the streets on saturday and clashed with riot police. song ji-sun, arirang news. a nuclear plant exploded in sourthern france on monday... reportedly killing at least one and injuring four others. local authorities say... the marcoule site located near the mediterranean sea... exploded... but added that there wa

terms of international low package in his annual speech on the economy greek prime minister george papandreou god that his country will emerge from the crisis and meet this year's budget targets.

greek prime minister george papandreou, german chancellor angela merkel... and french president nicolas sarkozy will hold a conference call on wednesday afternoon... to talk about the possibility of restructuring greece's loans. brics countries... brazil, russia, india, china and south africa will also hold discussions later this month on measures to aid the ailing eurozone. the united states has expressed its concerns that progress is not going well... with the announcement that us treasury secretary timothy geithner... would make a rare appearance at a european finance ministers meeting later this week in poland. markets had been spooked in recent days by renewed talks among eurozone policymakers of an imminent default by greece. this was prompted by the country's failure to meet the fiscal goals set out in its european union and imf bailout. asian stocks including korea's kospi... and the euro fell wednesday morning... as investors remain unconvinced that eurozone leaders have a coherent plan to tackle the sovereign debt problems. kim nari, arirang samsung electronics has appealed a

i'm going to be talking, in fact, to the financial advisor of the greek prime minister, george papandreou, in about 15 or so minutes on the "world business report," get the view on where things stand. >> the greek pot boiling. it's not going away at the moment. now, a politician's obligation is to break deadlocks, according to the leader. governing party in south korea, which is why the chairman of the grand national party is visiting north korea. the visit is just part of the latest effort to ease tensions between the two countries. south korea blames the north for a torpedo attack last year, which you may remember killed 46 sailors. the north denies involvement nonetheless. our correspondent, lucy williamson, is in seoul. she says the suggest suggests foreign policy on both sides may be changing. >> it's another sign that the policy makers are shifting their position slightly, although there hasn't been an official change of policy. i'll give you an example of how things are changing. president lee came to power four years ago saying that he expects the north to give clear signals to ea

prime minister george papandreou at eight pm moscow time they'll be brainstorming the continuing crisis looking for pointers the solution is on the horizon and here in russia the markets although just margin investors were waiting for the central bank's refinance rate decision which was left unchanged at eight point five percent now they are eyeing a slew of economic data from the u.s. and europe including the u.s. inflation figures to out to sixteen thirty moscow time. take a look at some index moves on the my six percent up the company has increased its twenty eleven production cost by three percent to five hundred twenty billion cubic meters of gas financial corporations to stand by it's gaining over one percent the company has more than doubled its second quarter net profit to three hundred thirty two million dollars and drive the make up their farm is also up supported by stronger than expected results its net profit growth twenty percent to twenty nine million dollars. that's all we have time for now join me for another business update in less than one us time and get more stores

meanwhile, greek prime minister george papandreou arrived in berlin on tuesday... to meet with germanhancellor angela merkel ahead of a parliamentary vote there on approving plans to beef up the eurozone rescue fund. in athens tuesday night, greek lawmakers are set to vote on the property tax bill,... which electricity company workers have threatened not to collect... as they say the power utility should not be used as a tax collection system. the country is facing ongoing strikes and protests against austerity measures,... with a 24-hour public transportation strike underway in the capital from monday... and a 48-hour strike by all transport workers scheduled later this week. korean stocks closed higher on tuesday,... jumping more than 5 percent. the main index broke above above the 17- hundred mark,... as foreign investors and institutions looked for bargains. the benchmark kospi gained 83 points to close at 17-35. the tech-heavy kosdaq jumped nearly 24 points or 5- point-8 percent to end at 4-hundred-33. on the fx counter,... the korean currency strengthened by about 23 won... to c

before vital next to bail out installment is granted prime minister george papandreou isn't germany trying to convince its main lender that greece is on the right track to reduce its crippling debt and has called on german business leaders for help sarfatti reports now from athens. the fact that. he kept going off again he said looking like he was going to escalate and it seems the double shuffle would think see if he. has the right. fishing. it's been a struggle here to get the situation under control for the first time in this country is seeing people below the poverty line being taxed they simply don't have that money and they're calling on eurozone leaders now to be realistic the talk is certainly turning to that a greek default analysts here have said to us at the really it's a case of how that happens whether it's a controls to fold the sole greece's turns over the e.u. leaders will again play by their rules and that benefit really the greek prime minister george pop and jay has been having meetings today in berlin he said he thought the country could get out of this crisis and we ha

also in focus as a conference call between angle of morkel nicolas sarkozy and prime minister george papandreou at eight pm moscow time they'll be brainstorming the continuing greek crisis looking for pointers the solution is on the horizon. and here in russia the markets are high investors were waiting for a central bank's required straight session which was left unchanged at eight point twenty five percent now there i look at coming data from the u.s. and europe including that inflation figures due out at sixteen thirty school time. let's take a look at some moves in the my six guns from is one percent of the company has increased its twenty eleven production for cuts by three percent to five hundred twenty billion cubic meters of gas financial corporations the stammer is getting over two percent the company has more than doubled its second quarter net profits just three hundred thirty two million dollars and drug maker verify is down this hour despite stronger than expected results its first top net profit rose twenty percent to twenty nine million dollars looking ahead. sundra briefed him a

greek prime minister george papandreou has promised to save his debt stricken country from bankruptcy and press ahead with vital reform cynically speech on the economy and as he spoke police fired tear gas to disperse angry crowd of protesters in the city of the saloon ikey thousands of offices in the largest ever deploy the police in the country stand by with large until spirity protests this weekend we criticism he's in athens however being too slow in cutting jobs and privatizing state assets the euro zone will decide by the end of the month of the government is doing enough to get the next eight billion euro bailout installment crucial for the greek economy. i tell giffen it's called website the daily caller says in crete people should not tolerate having to wear their hero and he asked some brussels imposed on the. floor if i was greek i certainly would feel like i've had enough to do with the whole charade has been going on you know these are sturdy cuts are really really.

prime minister george papandreou has promised to save his debt stricken country from bankruptcy and present head with vital reforms in a key speech on the economy and as he spoke police fired tear gas to disperse an angry crowd of protesters in the city of the saloniki dozens of offices and in largest ever deployment of police in the country i was stunned by with large contest parity protests this weekend recreated says eric easing athens however being too slow in cutting jobs and privatizing state assets the eurozone will decide by the end of the month of big government is doing enough to get the next eight billion euro bailout installment crucial for the greek economy to stay afloat but anthony while the political web site the daily dot com says the greek people should not tolerate having the will of europe he was in brussels imposed on. all of i was greek i certainly would feel like i've had enough to do with the whole charade was going on you know these are sturdy cuts are really really much much deeper than people realize these are cars.

as his country's debt crisis worsens george papandreou was due to attend the u.n. general assembly and meet the chief of the international monetary fund but he says he needs to stay home and deal with the greece's deficit eurozone leaders decided to wait until october before ruling on whether to release the next eight billion euro bailout package for greece despite a recently announced property tax athens is being criticized for missing a series of deadlines and failing to implement reforms quickly enough greece says without e.u. help it only has enough cash to survive until mid october but financial journalist johan van overtveldt says the only way to rebuild that shattered economy is to leave the euro zone. and the greek economy is in an outright depression now g.d.p. is shrinking at the moment at seven to eight percent on an annual basis unemployment is officially at sixteen percent but in reality it's more close to twenty five percent what we hear from people from the i.m.f. informally is that the budget situation is out of control so there's no way that greek

amid the country's worsening debt crisis george papandreou was due to attend the u.n. general assembly and meets with the i.m.f. chief but said that next week was crucial for implementing deficit reducing plants at home this comes as euro zone leaders choose to wait until october before ruling on whether to release the next eight billion euro bailout package to greece despite a recently announced property tax athens is being criticized for missing a series of deadlines and failing to implement reforms quickly enough with the debt in europe spiralling out of control and struggling countries notably italy have been looking for health of the east but one of the hong kong based investment holding company says chinese cash isn't an instant solution and europe needs to solve its own problems. europe's debt problem must be solved by european long. love child. of last resort. china and right europe's. politicians have the. budget deficit by charging future. child care in two thousand and eleven the year. five will be. several european countries like greece and italy so they go

greek prime minister george papandreou has promised to save his that stricken country from bankruptcy and press ahead with vital reform was in the key speech on the economy and as he spoke police feared to accounts to disperse and angry crowds of protesters in the city of his saloniki thousands of offices and the largest ever deployment of police in the country are on standby with large until sterett he protests this weekend recruiters are accusing athens howard of being too slow in cutting jobs and privatizing state assets will decide by the end of the month if the government is doing enough to get the next eight billion euro bailout installment critical and crucial for the greek economy to step float and while adds to the political upside the daily bell dot com says the greek people should not tolerate having the world of heroes and brussels imposed on. all of i was very very certainly would feel like i've had enough to do with the whole charade has been going on.

the greek prime minister george papandreou has promised to save his debt stricken country from bankruptcy the valve to press ahead with vital reforms in a key speech about the economy in the city of thessaloniki police fired tear gas to disperse protesters some of whom reported the armed with bottles and stones a record number of officers are on standby as thousands of people holding onto your demonstrations across the weekend they're angry at the painful cuts to pensions and salaries and the increased taxes imposed to try to secure international rescue loads let's turn now to the chief editor of the political web site of the daily bell dot com anthony while there is a barcelona for us tonight anthony very good evening we're seeing these protests on the streets of greece again this weekend police officers firefighters students taxi drivers the list goes on how the greeks had enough of being told what to do what's the feeling there all of i was greek i certainly would feel like i've had enough to do with the whole charade has been going on you know these are. are really really much much de

country in economic crisis major rallies have been planned for saturday as greek prime minister george papandreou to give an annual speech on the state of the connelly around five thousand police have been mobilized to maintain order over the weekend government spending cuts to reduce the country's budget deficit deficit and . the international monetary fund bailout conditions are deeply unpopular with ordinary workers say they're having to pay the price for the excesses of the well. thousands of egyptians have turned have returned rather to cairo's tahrir square this time of the slow pace of reforms the protesters also want military tribunals abolished and a concrete timeline for one hundred over to civilian rule the standard the slogan correcting the path is likely to become one of the largest demonstrations that former president hosni mubarak was ousted in february in another part of the comfort zone hundreds of protesters have turned down the heart of the security wall that houses the israeli embassy and afterwards broke into the building the former egyptian leader hosni mubarak is now facing

greek prime minister george papandreou has promised to save his debt stricken country from bankruptcy and press ahead with vital reforms and a key speech on they called me and as he spoke police fired tear gas to disperse an angry crowd of protesters in the city office alone make it thousands of officers and the largest ever deployment of police in the country are on standby with large until the territory has this weekend request says they're accusing athletes however being too slow in cutting jobs and privatizing state assets will decide by the end of the month if the government is doing enough to get the next eight billion euro bailout stalled and crucial for the greek economy to stay afloat until while at the political website the daily belt of course that's the greek people should not tolerate having the. same brussels imposed on them. all of it was greed are certainly would feel like i've had enough for to do with the whole the charades i'm going on you know these are sturdy cuts are really really much much deeper.

greek prime minister george papandreou has promised to save his that stricken country from bankruptcy and press ahead with vital reforms in the he speech and economy and as he spoke police fired tear gas to disperse an angry crowd of protesters in the city office and only thousands of officers of the largest ever deployment of police of the country are all standing by with large and to austerity approach has this we can recreate is there accusing athens however of being too slow in cutting jobs and privatizing state assets the eurozone will decide by the end of the month of big government is doing enough to get the next eight billion euro bailout installment crucial for the green economy to staff load but antony while i did tell the political upside daily about the call of the greek people should not tolerate having. to use the arts and brothels imposed on them. all of i was greedy i certainly would feel like i've had enough to do with the whole charade has been going on you know these are sturdy cuts are really really much much deeper than been people read.

next month but measures are needed to secure the next vital bailout installment prime minister george papandreou is in germany to convince its main lender the greece is on the right track to reduce its crippling debt sara first in athens for us. the shading on the sails syntagma square tonight thousands upon thousands of people have turned out the parliament discussing the property tax is pretty extremely high country you can see the tension levels rising again and people are trying to take that see we have this we've already seen the riot police leaving and now you can see pulses to go through the nine and being rioting certainly if else like a peace that we saw in the summer when those prices. sadly we saw the violence sunday evening with or stella thing happened on syntagma it's been a struggle here to get the situation under control for the first time in this country is seeing people below the poverty line being cut they simply don't have the money and they're calling on eurozone leaders now to be realistic the talk is certainly turning to that a greek default analysts here have said to us t

greek prime minister george papandreou has promised to save these that stricken country from bankruptcy and present head with vital reforms in a key speech on the economy quote police fired tear gas to discuss an angry crowd to protest protestors in the city of pass along the cape thousands of officers in the largest ever deployment of police in the country ireland's to stand by with large until stary to protest this weekend's recreate says are accusing athens however of being too slow in counting jobs and privatizing state assets the eurozone will decide by the end of the monthly of big government is growing it is doing enough to get the next eight billion euro bailout installment crucial for the greek economy to staff load but antony while at the political web site the daily dot com says the greek people should not tolerate having the will of humor and he's a.

greek prime minister george papandreou has promised to save his debt stricken country from bankruptcy and press ahead with vital reforms in a key speech on they called me and as he spoke police fired tear gas to disperse an angry crowd of protesters in the city have to salonika eight thousands of officers and not just have a deployment of police in the country are on standby but. has this weekend. after this however being too slow in cutting jobs and privatizing the state i say it's the to decide by the end of the month if the government is doing enough to get the next eight billion euro bailout stalled and crucial for the greek economy to staff allowed. to tell the political web site the daily dot com and that's because people should not tolerate having. to brussels imposed on them. all of i was greek i certainly would feel like i've had enough to do with the whole charade has been going on you know these are sturdy cuts are really really much much deeper than people realize these are cuts that are reaching into people's homes and lives and people when faced with the uncertainty of w

and prime minister george papandreou is in germany right now to convince its main lender that greece is on the right track to reduce its crippling debt sarah ferguson atoms for us. only shading on this here on syntagma square tonight thousands upon thousands of people have turned out you can see the tension levels rising again the people in charge take the riot police moving in there you can see poses a will sure the moment being right and certainly if else like her piece that we saw in the summer when those processes. and sadly we saw the violence sunday evening we source everything happened on syntagma it's been a struggle here to get the situation under control for the first time in this country is seeing people below the poverty line being taxed they simply don't have that money and they're calling on eurozone leaders now to be realistic the talk is certainly turning to that a greek default analyst here has said to us at the really is a case of how that happens whether it's a controls to focus on greece's turns over the e.u. leaders will again play by their rules and that benefit

greek prime minister george papandreou has promised to save his that stricken country from bankruptcy and press ahead with vital reforms in a key speech on the economy he spoke please to and angry crowds of protesters in the city of thessaloniki thousands of offices and the largest ever deployment of police in the country stand by with large until. this weekend we credited sara keyes in athens how it being too slow in cutting jobs and privatizing the state outfits figures that will decide by the end of the month the government is doing enough to get the next eight billion euro bailout installment critical and crucial for the greek economy to staff let me while it is a collapse signed the daily dot com says the greek people should not tolerate having the will of the red brussels imposed on. all of i was greek i certainly would feel like i've had enough to do with the whole charade that's been going on you know these are sturdy cuts are really really much much deeper than people realize these are cuts that are reaching into people's homes and lives and people when faced with the uncerta

next month the measures are needed to secure the next vital bailout installment prime minister george papandreou is in germany to convince its made lender the greece is on the right track to reducing its crippling debt so if earth is in athens for us only shade in on this here in syntagma square tonight thousands upon thousands of people have turned out the parliament discussing the property tax it's pretty extremely and the country you can see the tension levels right thing again. they're extremely and we've already seen the riot police needing in the way you can see both of the water at the main and being line centrally and feels like a piece that we saw in the summer when those protests. sadly we saw the violence now funding evening we saw were still a thing happen on syntagma it's been a struggle here to get the situation under control greece is a country on the brink the e.u. leaders the students guessing whether to release that eight billion years cash injection the greece is going to need to stay afloat we've really got to ask just how much now that measure is going to work because we've

people are gathering indeed in the northern city of thessaloniki for rallies as prime minister george papandreou is expected to deliver resign your speech about the state of the economy let's talk now to economics and expect as he's in athens for us next thanks for taking the time out to be an r.t. international with thousands of people taking to the streets once again and tonight it seems frustration in greece has again reached boiling point here in athens how bad is the situation making you paint the picture for us well clearly it's actually a lot of anger and some more reasonable enough that was the facility but it's usually the case that so this time of year because the focus is very much on the politics and the announcement in just a week even just about every group with the growers even pre-crisis would be the source now given this crisis and all of the measures and much of the pain that the average person is feeling in greece there is more than enough disenchantment. and more people on the street this year i gather that most of the protests of silly beast but there are always a few elemen

greek prime minister george papandreou has promised to save his debt stricken country from bankruptcy and press ahead with vital reforms in a key speech on the economy and as he spoke police if i tear gas to disperse or angry crowd of protesters in the city of thessaloniki thousands of officers in the largest ever deployed and police in the country stand by with large until steerage he purchased this weekend the criticism he's in athens however of being too slow in cutting jobs and privatizing state assets the eurozone will decide by the end of the month if the government is doing enough to get the next eight billion euro bailout installment crucial for the greek economy to. but i'm twenty one. people should know tony right having it when they're here right he said brussels that. well if i was greek i certainly would feel like i've had enough to do with the whole charade has been going on you know these asperity cuts are really really much much deeper than people realize these are cuts that are reaching into people's homes and lives and people when faced with the uncertainty of where

greek prime minister george papandreou has promised to save these debt stricken country from bankruptcy and press ahead with vital reforms in a key speech monday called to me as he spoke police fired tear gas to disperse an angry crowd to protest of protesters in the city and the nikkei thousands of offices in the largest ever deployment of police in the country to stand by with launch until stereotype protests this weekend recreate cities are accusing athens how of being too slow in counting jobs and privatizing state assets. to sign by the end of the month of big government is going it's doing enough to get the next eight been a year of bailout installment crucial for the greek economy to stay afloat but anthony weiner at the political web site the daily columns as the greek people should not tolerate having the will of here and he's in brussels imposed on them. all of i was greek i certainly would feel like i've had enough to do with the whole charade has been going on you know these are. really really much much deeper than people realize these are cuts that are reaching into people'

and the measures are needed to secure the next vital bailout installment prime minister george papandreou is in germany to convince its main lender the greece is on the right track to reduce its crippling debt sarah ferguson athens for us. shaven on the scale syntagma square tonight thousands upon thousands of people have turned out the parliament discussing the property tax is pretty extremely. country you can see the tension levels rising again the people john take their extremely invasive as we've already seen the riot police moving in there you can see poses a war sure the moment being dry and certainly if else like her piece what we saw in the summer when those processes. and sadly we saw the violence nothe sunday evening we source everything happened on syntagma it's been a struggle here to get the situation under control for the first time in this country you're seeing people below the poverty line being taxed they simply don't have that money and they're calling on eurozone leaders now to be realistic the talk is certainly turning to that as a greek default analysts here have said

debt crisis have been weighing on the stock markets for months, but the greek prime minister, george papandreou has said it will fight its way to growth and prosperity. as he was making those bold statements live on this program in athens, a controversial vote was taking place in parliament. john defterios has more. >> reporter: the greek parliament passed a controversial property tax which was met by stiff resistance. some 3,000 protesters had to be tear gassed out of the square after the vote. in an interview, the greek finance minister said now with the property tax in place and salary and pension cuts of 20% or more, the government's in the position to receive the next tranche from the european central bank, european union, and the imf of some $10 billion. >> i'm absolutely optimistic about the investment and the implementation of the so-called new program. always in reference to the terms of the famed decision of the 21st of july. >> reporter: so there's not a new program,o we can clarify for everyone, taking shape for 50% haircut. there's not a new program, not just for greece, but the pe

even as all that turmoil continues to engulf this country, george papandreou is about to keep this inck. let's go to athens for more on that. this situation just seems to be going from worse to worse every single day. do you get the feeling in athens where you are that people are eventually pricing in perhaps a default or departure from the europe eventually. >> there's certainly a lot of concern in athens as you mentioned before. we've just had additional measures. the measures were there because there was a shortfall in order for greece to meet the requirements, 2 billion shortfall for greece to meet its requirements towards creditors. that's an additional thing that just came up. we've heard measures announced at different stages. this is something that's concerning people here a lot. they're worrying that we don't know what's coming next. the government says it can make ends meet but can it really? the new shortfalls. we just heard that the recession will be higher than we expected, reaching 5.3%. so it's just a case of numbers not really adding up. and that's something that's bri

. >> sreenivasan: merkel met later with the greek prime minister, george papandreou. he guaranteed that greece would meet its commitments, through new austerity measures that >> is there any hope were we to ultimately succeed? include pension cuts and taxes. >> sreenivasan: as part of that effort, the greek parliament approved a new property tax. it is being added to electricity bills, so those who refuse to pay the tax could have their power cut off. the u.s. congress has avoided a government shutdown for now. last night, the senate approved a deal to keep federal agencies running through november 18. the house is expected to approve that bill next week, when it returns from a recess. a smaller one-week spending bill is covering things until then. an impasse over disaster aid ended monday when the federal emergency management agency said it has enough money to finish out the fiscal year, which ends friday. rebel fighters in libya gained ground in moammar qaddafi's home city today. tanks pushed into the eastern outskirts of sirte ready to do battle with gadhafi loyali

prime minister george papandreou went to berlin to lobby for patience from germany and financial support stayed closer to home to push through a controversial property tax bill. it was met with stiff resistance in the parliament square tonight. some 3,000 protesters gathered for that vote, which passed three hours ago. they were dispersed with tear gas. the finance minister told me ahead of that vote that the passage of this legislation and cutting state pensions by 20 to 40% and state salaries by another 20%, that they think they can get the next $10 billion of a european bailout plan. let's take a listen. >> i am absolutely optimistic about the investment and about the implementation of the so-called new program. always in reference to the -- >> the famous decision of july 21st refers to $160 billion bailout package from the international monetary fund, the european union and european central bank. greece has been promising austerity now the past year and this crisis started some two years ago. over promised and not delivered, the passage of this bill tonight and the cuts in pensions a

the conference was attended by the greek prime minister, george papandreou. the meters are meeting later today. back in washington, engineers are planning to propel down the side of the washington monument today to get a better idea of the damage caused by last month's earthquake. numerous cracks and chips were found inside the monument after the 5.8 magnitude tremor. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> you should always start with the assumption that when a politician or ceo is saying something, they are not telling you the truth. they may be telling you the truth, but the burden should be on them to prove it. >> he is an eagle and scout, directed and produced the three top-producing gross movies of all time. -- documentary's of all time. sunday your chance to call or michael more. >> he founded several labor unions and represented the socialist party of america as candidates for president. he is one of the 14 men featured and see stance new weekly series, "the contenders." friday at 8:00 eastern. >> "washington journal" continues. hos