former international monetary fund chief dominic straws conwas -- dominique straws strauss-kahn was investigated in the hooker ring that may have operated out of two french hotels. >>> ion peals court in canada overturned the ban -- the appeals court in canada overturned the ban on brothels. they ruled the law against brothels was too broad and safest way to sell sex was for a prostitute to work indoor. but the ban of street prostitution was upheld. they can legally work in brothels but hire security and other staff. >>> there's more evidence in the disasterous impacts on bp's deep water horizon oil spill. it is having on the gulf of mexico almost two years after the oil line broke and was capped. scientists discovered dead and dying coral colonies that were covered with brown and white mix of oil and organic

dollar a new euro in a bid to reform the global economy by creating an alternative to the international monetary fund. night am in moscow i match reza good to have you with us here on r.t. our top story tens of thousands across spain gathering for a general strike to protest against new labor reforms and seen as the first real test for the prefers for the new prime minister mariano rajoy who's government has only been in office three months the strike comes a day before he's expected to announce more painful austerity measures archy's jacob greets reports from interests. this is just a precursor of what we're expecting to see taking place later on thursday when tens of thousands of people of course be descending on this where essentially we're grid nation action historian writing the cases across the. country all part of a chance right now there is so little to transport links so we could fly these and go oh i was paying for the prince who complains of the respect of the labels and by the government they think they support the boy they don't really protect the rights of them enough people to be sat d

dollar in euro in their bid to reform the global economy by creating an alternative to the international monetary fund. one pm in moscow i met très i can tell you with us here on r t our top story tens of thousands of people across spain gathering for a general strike to protest against new labor reforms it's the first real test for the new prime minister mariano rajoy who's government has only been in office for three months and the strike comes a day before he's expected to announce more painful austerity measures for more on this correspondent jake agrees live for us in madrid they could what's happening there right now one of the reasons behind this strike. we've seen some people already breaking through into the main square just behind me a small but very cool and old a nice contingent. around the country. this is day with tens of thousands of people expect to descend on the streets voicing their anger i made this day of general strike and all the main reasons for the grievance and that's a cry out cry is simple facts of the first austerity measures that are being implemented that the moment forc

dollar and euro in a bid to reform the global economy by creating an alternative to the international monetary fund. eleven am in moscow i match reza good to have you with us here on r t our top story tens of thousands across spain are gathering for a general strike to protest against new labor reforms seen as the first real test for the new prime minister mariano rajoy who's government has only been in office for three months but straight comes a day before he's expected to announce more painful austerity measures or he's jacob greaves has more from madrid. this is just a precursor of what we're expecting to see taking place later on thursday when tens of thousands of people thought to be descending on this where essentially we're drinking makes an action a story predicated across the whole of the country all part of a general strike now even though there's some limited transport links so we know why these things go called a spade well the prince who complains the ending of the label will see him by the government they think they support the boy or they don't really respect the rights of the work

. >> just how long it does last depends on the director of the international monetary fund, christine lagarde . she has been traveling the world, trying to minimize the fallout of the euro crisis. i got a chance to see her diplomacy in action. as europe lurches from crisis to crisis, christine lagarde is on a mission to warn the world not to ignore the lessons of history. >> we could easily slide into a 1930's moment. it could very much in gulf the entire world. >> to her friends, she is the $1 trillion woman, pushing europe to help itself before seeking help from others. to critics, she's a former french finance minister who is still too soft on her native continents. >> to put the fox in charge of the henhouse is not a good strategy. >> what they agree on is that christine lagarde is a central figure in the biggest financial crisis of our lifetime. >> what were you looking for? >> a place where i can see the sky. open windows in the morning. >> christine lagarde is back in washington as the first female head of the international monetary fund. >> i worked so hard. i do not have much

. >> the former head of the international monetary fund, dominique strauss-kahn, has been charged with connections to an allegedly vicereine. -- to an alleged vice ring. >> welcome to bbc news, broadcast on pbs in america and elsewhere around the world. pope benedict has arrived in cuba at the start of a three-day visit. he has been attending a huge open-air mass in revolution square in the city of santiago. it was attended by raul castro, who also welcomed him at the airport. the pope said he would come in peace, liberty, and reconciliation. president castro said socialist cuba allowed full freedom of religion. the relationship between the catholic church and the cuban state has improved in recent years, but the pope has been critical of the regime, saying its marxist ideology is outdated. and absolutely packed revolution square greeting the pope. >> yes, tens of thousands who came to take part in the mass and hear what the pope had to say. there was a crowd lining the road from the airport into the city of havana after the pope touchdown. he was met by the president, raul castro, and

the international monetary fund, in particular, has a bad reputation here. their efforts a decade ago did more to damage argentina than help it according to experts at the renowned private university. they say it will not do much to help greece, either. >> no measures that the international monetary fund ever took in latin america led to a positive result. instead, the crisis -- crises got worse than they originally were. >> after argentina went bankrupt, it took a radical step -- it refused to pay back debts. the imf and argentina's creditors were outraged, but many say that greece should take a similar approach. and i do not deal with the imf. they completely ruined us. >> cut down on spending and do not spend more than you take in. >> monitor the banks. >> radical austerity alone will not help greece. >> they should not push employment and paid down too far. they should do the opposite -- collect more money, for instance, with an extra tax on the rich. and he weathered argentina's financial crisis, but even 10 years on, the shock has remained with him. >>

and the head of the international monetary fund issues a warning over skyrocketing oil prices in the wake of tensions in the middle east adding to the destructions to iranian crude supplies could destabilize the global economy. or some analysts fear to mask his could follow libya's path with foreign military intervention still not completely written off by nato states the next we sit down with newspaper editor one who says syria could just be a milestone to get to iran. today i'm talking to abdel bari atwan who's the editor of the london based how the arabic newspaper al could be we last met around about six months ago when of course we were talking about libya but today we're meeting to talk about a different conflict again syria thanks very much for talking to me now let's start first by sort of comparing and contrasting those two situations where do you think the main differences lie between syria and libya there is a huge difference between what. is happening in syria. and libya actually there was a un security council resolution as one seven one one seven three which actually al

the international monetary fund approved its part of a 130 billion euro loan, the bulk of which is coming from the european union. so is greece out of the woods, and can we rest easy that the crisis won't return to give the markets the jitters again? well, in a word, no-- even the imf says so. there is no wiggle room on the greek economy, imf staff warn. what that means in english is that greece is still broke and its government is going to have to really knuckle down with implementing its spending cuts. add to that social problems we keep seeing across the adriatic country, and it's not difficult to envision the crisis returning in short order, and with it, a possible scary ride for the u.s. stock market. that's what most observers are saying. but i'd go further and say there is still a big chance greece leaves the euro, the single european currency. and believe me, when that happens, investors will have few places to hide. i'm simon constable. >> susie: and finally tonight, it's not easy teaching kids about money. but one organization is devoted to helping millions of kids learn how to

with third as an alternative to the financial institutions the traditional ones like the international monetary fund and the world bank there is also talk about creating some sort of bread basket currency that could serve as an alternative to the dollar as the global reserve currency here is more on what the leaders of these brics countries are set to talk about in the next two days heads of state from the five leading emerging economies brazil russia india china and south africa the brics nations meet for their annual summit the five make up forty percent of the world's population are expected to contribute almost half of all global g.d.p. growth in the next eight years and have a rapidly growing influence in international affairs. but i would be it is. food police would be people who join the geopolitics contain the geopolitics of the word the summit this year is expected to discuss a new joint bank between the five other breaks countries are interested in capping tiny's investment in infrastructure and independent of their resources so obviously a bank will be a very very useful for this kind of

the former head of the international monetary fund is facing preliminary charges of being involved in a prostitution ring in france. he used to live in georgetown. and what happened here could soon be under the microscope. >> wendy, today a french judge handed dominic strauss-kahn preliminary charges, meaning he's under official investigation. the former international monetary fund chief is accused in a prostitution ring and there are now reports that it extended to washington. after being in custody eight hours in northern france, strauss-kahn was released under judicial supervision. he also had to pay a $135,000 bond. the 62-year-old is accused of taking part in orgies that included hired prostitutes. and according to the dbc, most of the alleged cases happened in france, but some included sex parties right here in d.c. a lawyer said strauss-kahn admitted to taking part in orgies, but denied knowing prostitutes were involved. these new charges come just two days before the start of a civil trial in new york. last summer, strauss-kahn stepped down from his imf post when a hotel maid

it could serve as an alternative to what they're in lead by mantle institutions like the international monetary fund and the world beg. the brics group hopes to be able to or to remove the overall predominance of the institution by the united space and european union countries the brics countries have been busy this year not just in guarding against the impact of europe's financial crisis moving away from the dollar as a reserve currency to a brics driven one is also still firmly on the agenda it would become a goody goody good good experience and a good. push to challenge the. euro it is just breaking up of this summit will be hoping to advance further the economic interests of the brics group further loosening reliance on western dominated global economic architecture preassure either r t new delhi india. well control of the world bank looks to be heading to an american candidate while the i.m.f. is already in the hands of a european but channel strong zoo from the bank of china believes these institutions have outlived their usefulness anyway and maine and new ones are needed i think they're work

you mentioned the aim of getting crazy control getting greater control in the international monetary fund the i.m.f. well that doesn't seem very possible does it when we see a european candidate of course will be heading that and the world bank also looks set to have an american in charge and nobody from those brics countries will be part of for those brics nations to really focus on getting one of their own into such a powerful position in those organizations run actually thinking up new and untested institutions. see. declination that has been a mention of i.m.f. which was not there in china declaration saying that all these big bricks can break countries wants to have a greater say in reform saw going forward b.p. would see. on an international level these five countries playing a role or united role in i.m.f. or maybe inboard bank something will not happen overnight because these institutions are already being you know they have. been controlled by a us european union canada but we could see. these five countries in their concern and you know asking for greater in the governance of i.

could serve as an alternative to what's there and lead financial institutions like the international monetary fund and the world bank certainly. hopes to be able to or to remove the overall predominance of the institution by the united states and european union countries the brics countries have been busy this year not just in guarding against the impact of europe's financial crisis moving away from the dollar as a reserve currency to a brick striven one is also still firmly on the agenda it would become a goody goody good good see. who would be leading the push to. europe it is just breaking the will pull you off the this summit will be hoping to advance further the economic interests of the brics group further loosening reliance on western dominated global economic architecture preassure either r t new delhi india. multiple explosions set off a massive fire in thailand we got the pictures are appalling online playing them. as you can guess is that a fireworks factory it seems fall is exploding there causing the blaze that. is dramatic video it's on our you tube page on our web site also the myst

possibility of a joint brics big development bank that could serve as an alternative to the international monetary fund and the world bank you're also seeing this discussion of a possible alternative to the dollar there's obviously this euro zone crisis that's going on in the world and these countries are trying to figure out ways for them to do business amongst each other and increase trade amongst each other there was also that agreement that was signed as i mentioned before that would allow loans to take place between these five countries in their their national currency which is another thing balik move away from the way that things have always been working in the past i guess you could say so really lots of energy here in new delhi the meetings there are just wrapping up and actually everyone's really looking forward to seeing a lot of these plans come into action in the next year as bric summit the fifth annual bric summit twenty thirteen in south africa. thank you so much for keeping us updated over there that was our t. correspondent preassure either well let's return to the economy here in the

including the possibility of an alternative to the western led financial institutions like the international monetary fund and the world bank basically what was discussed today was the idea of a development bank which would be a joint brics big there was also one agreement that was signed today between the five countries to give out loans in their national currencies and this is a big deal because many people are saying that this is a sign that these countries could be moving away from the dollar as the global reserve currency and perhaps looking at a brics vast get currency you know earlier this year the brics countries actually discussed even bailing out europe from its financial crisis so what you're really seeing here less is a move away a shift away from the last and these countries because of their growing up you know in the cloud they make up forty percent of the world's population and in the next eight years analysts are predicting that they're going to make up fifty percent of global g.d.p. g.d.p. so basically they're saying hey we're important and we're going to come up with a new solution and n

we could also find out this week if -- how much the international monetary fund will contribute to the bailout. imf managing director christine lagarde has said she will back a $36.7 billion loan. but the drama in greece certainly isn't over. both moody's and the international swaps and derivatives association, isda, you've seen that a lot in the headlines of late, they say greece has technically defaulted by effect ofly forcing bond holders to take part of in its debt restructuring deal. let's take a look at how this is playing out on the stock markets. we are seeing more or less what we expected, perhaps more negative than we thought. off by a third of a percent, quarter percent in the case of the dax. the broad picture really is pretty much the same. we were expecting flattish markets. i suspect a lot of this has to do with what has been going on in asia. we'll have more on that from andrew in a moment. we'll have more analysis on where the trading action will be going with our market analyst michael houston. andrew, i think asia isy your big story. >> i think you're right, it is to

charges alleging that he was involved in a french prostitution ring, the former head of the international monetary fund is denying the charges. >>> a year after japan's earthquake and tsunami, a 150 foot long fishing boat has drifted across the pacific ocean and is about a hundred miles off the coast of canada. >>> and now here's a look at how wall street will kick off the day. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, the nikkei surged 230 points and in hong kong, the nikke surged 378. >>> a report on consumer confidence. stocks not only recover last week's losses and more, they're on track for the best quarter for stocks in 14 years. the improving job market is a welcome development and says the policy should help produce long term unemployment. she's prepared to let the bail out program run at the same time as the planned permit european bail out found. china's industrial company suffered a rare drop in profits of more than 5% in the first two months of the year. apple executive is in china to meet government officials in beijing as apple gets ready to extend its market there for the ipad and

there is an yun coming loan from the international monetary fund worth $3.2 million.t's been a very rocky ride. this was the worst performing stock market in 2011. you see the trough at the end of 2011. it is the best performing in 2012. we're looking at a gain of more than 40%. the key time line here, elections in may for egypt. for more about the program, visit our website cnn.com/mme. you can check out our web page in arabic as well. arabic.cnn.com/mme. that's it for cnn "marketplace middle east." middle east." thanks for watching. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

the former head of the international monetary fund dominique strauss-kahn has been charged a fee in france for his involvement in a vice ring accused of buying prostitute's. he denies the allegation. but benedict has at arrived -- pope benedict has arrived in cuba. is the second ever papal visit for the communist country, and the pope has been critical of the government, saying its marxist ideology is allocated. our correspondent is in havana for us tonight. >> thank you very much. welcome to the tropical island. this is just 90 miles from the tip of key west in florida, a world away from the western capitalist system. this is a socialist paradise. health care for all and not and equality for its citizens. -- and health care for a citizens'. it is not about the will of man. is about the will of god. is about the relationship between church and state. >> there are just five communist countries in the world, and this is one of them. still frozen in a cold war with its superpower neighbor. or the same men in the same party have ruled for more than 50 years. but may no mistake. cuba is slowly

the former head of the international monetary fund, dominick strauss-kahn has been placed under formal investigation in which he allegedly provided prostitutes for parties. kristin frazar sent this report from paris. >> he submitted himself voluntarily for questioning hoping to quarterback the lurid investigation surrounding him. but he was placed under formal investigation and bailed on 100 thousand laurels. he is accused of -- he maintains his innocence in the strongest terps, he was never aware that the win he encountered at these parties might have been prostitutes. it's known as the karlton affair where some of this t swinger parties took place. the crux was whether or not he was complicit in the hiring of the women and whether he knew corporate funds were being used to pay for their services. it was report text messages were exchanged with a police officer who took part. it's hard to believe that that the time last year he was the favorite to become the odds-on favorite candidate now he's treated as a prya. two weeks ago his appearance at cambridge university was overshadowed by

. >>> the head of the international monetary fund says the global economy is showing signs of stabilitybut also warns of too much optimism, saying there are many risks to deal with. christine lagarde made the remarks at an economic forum in beijing. >> the financial market conditions are more comfortable, and recent economic indicators look a little more upbeat. >> she attributed positive signs to decisions and policy actions by european central bank and others. she added the global economy has stepped back from the brink, and people have reason to be more optimistic. but the imf chief warned against a false sense of security, citing risks like huge public and private debt in many countries and rising crude oil prices. >>> hupds of young people marched through wall street saturday to mark the six month anniversary of the occupy wall street protests against economic disparity. demonstrators shouted 99% of people like themselves have a hard life. some of them continued the demonstration in a park at night and scuffled with police that tried to remove them. there were a number of arrests.

. >>> the international monetary fund has officially approved a four-year bailout for greece worth 28 billion euro. that is nearly $37 billion. >> this morning, the imf executive board approved continued support for greece's ambitious economic program. the board stressed the efforts to improve competitiveness and restore economic growth will be key in overcoming the crisis. >> the imf spokesperson called on greece to steadily implement fiscal reforms. these are pre-conditions for the rescue. the imf move is using its own bailout loans. the group of 20 economies are calling on european companies to bolster their framework to prop up nations with budget problems. >>> iran is being cut off from the global financial system. the eu decided to block information needed for bank tran tran transitions for the company. in response to the eu decision, the world bank known as swift will stop offering financial messages services to iran starting on saturday. the swift service is vital for transactions for 10,000 banks worldwide. iran's financial institutions, including the central bank, will be af

the former head of the international monetary fund denies the charges. >>> a year after japan's earth kwaing and tsunami, a 150-foot-long fishing boat has drifted across the pacific ocean and is about 100 miles off the coast of canada. the ghost ship is the first piece of tsunami debris to reach north america. >>> now is an early look at wall street. the dow opens 13,241 after climbing 160 points yesterday. the s&p jumped 19, the nasdaq spiked 54. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, tokyo, the nikkei surged 236 points, while in hong kong the hang sang leaped 378. >>> looking ahead this morning, we'll get home price data and a roort on consumer confidence. stocks not only recovered last week's confidence and more in monday's bounceback, they're on track for the best quarter in stocks for 14 years. some credit went to ben bar nen ke who said yesterday the improving job market is a welcome development and said the fed's policy should help reduce long-term unemployment. germany's chancellor merkel says she's prepared to let the temporary euro zone bailout run at the time of th

. >> how long it does last depends on the director of the international monetary fund, christine lagarde. since taking of the post in july, she has been traveling the world to take in the aftermath of the crisis. i got a chance to see her shuttle diplomacy in action. as europe lurches from crisis to crisis, christine lagarde is on a mission to one of the world not to ignore the lessons of history. >> we could easily slide into what we call a 1930's moment, a moment ultimately leading to a downward spiral that could very much in the gulf the entire world. >> to her friends, she is the trillion $1 pushing europe to help itself before seeking help from others. >> it has taken one of their own to tell them the truth. >> for critics, she is a former french finance minister who is too soft on her native continent. >> to put the fox in charge of the henhouse is not a good strategy. >> christine lagarde is the central figure in the biggest financial crisis of our lifetime. what what were you looking for? >> a place where i can see this guy to be able to open the windows. >-- a place where i can

portugal is also receiving aid from the eu and the international monetary fund, but there are stringsttached, of course. the prime minister has had to issue harsh austerity measures, and while he insists he is trying to make it as fair as possible, it is largely normal people who are hardest hit, so many portuguese feel the days of big celebrations are over. >> 2012 was set to be a good year for portugal. it started well enough with this city celebrating its new status as a european capital of culture, and there was good cause -- the title comes with generous subsidies. >> the eu commission proposes that 180 million euros should be allocated to the program created europe. that is 37% more than the current amount. >> weeks later and further south in the capital lisbon, money is being talked about in a different vein. lisbon is being compared to a crisis-hit athens. people are saying portugal might be the next greece. is that the driver is feeling the pinch. he started work at 4:00 a.m., and six hours on the job, he has only had two customers. in his 30-year career, he has never known t

. >>> the international monetary fund says it will discuss the bailout package for greece at a boardeeting next week. an imf spokesperson said on thursday that greece is making steady progress on fiscal restructuring, a prerequisite for receiving additional aid. the imf says greece is taking on a strong set of reforms. it also says although there are risks, the country can return to a growth path if all parties fulfill their roles. >>> the european central bank is decided to keep its key interest rate at a a record 1% to support the eurozone economy. >> available serve indicators confirm signs of a stabilization in the euro area economy. however, the economic outlook is still subject to downside risks. >> central bank is keeping the rate unchanged for a third straight month. this was decided as a board meeting in frankfurt on thursday. the european central bank has provided over 1 trillion euro in loans to banks across the region in december and february to help ease concerns about the debt crisis. >>> sharp is to build large scale solar plants, that is, in japan. the company aims to

. >> the former head of the international monetary fund, dominique strauss-kahn is under investigation in prance -- france. charges were filed against him in lille. >> after several hours of questioning on monday, dominique strauss-kahn was placed under formal investigation. he is -- authorities have been given more time to carry of the investigation because they have reason to believe a crime was committed. what of the allegations? he is alleged in being involved in procuring prostitutes, and he was part of an organized gang. he admitted being at a party where prostitutes attended, but he denied knowing they're prostitutes. he denied any wrongdoing. he has been released on bail. last year in may, strauss-kahn resigned as head of the imf when he was arrested on sexual assault charges. a new york hotel maid accused him of attempting to rape her. dominique strauss-kahn was later released when the maid's testimony was found unreliable. she is now bringing a civil case. other allegations have come to light since then. a journalist brought a case of sexual assault by mr. strauss- kahn durin

for these year the most important issue is the increase in the financial capacity of our international monetary fund. this is. a decision need to be taken by the g. twenty nations the process of preparing right decisions and writing agreements but will all g twenty members ease going on it's not easy job but. even in mind with the recent developments in. these enormous job done by our european colleagues dealing with the greece financial crisis it's clear that we need to have their farm better prepared for comment financial. crisis if any of course it would bet they know crisis but. we all believe that a crisis prevention strategy need to be developed as much as possible so under the mexican presidency is going to be the most important issue to be a grip on during the course of a presidency i think should lay of course that the g. twenty will have to take place quite early this year but well under circumstances in which we'll leave it there is no way out we will have to. and i wish my colleagues from mexican career success this is their check recently a couple months ago actually after raul with the

the international monetary fund and the european union bailed out portugal with a loan of more than $100 billion. in return, those bodies urged the government to push ahead with belt-tightening measures. the government raised taxes and cut social security. demonstrators say the imf and the eu are manipulating their government. >> the austerity plan is security for a large part of the population but not for people with real money that are escaping taxes, that are impoverishing this company. >> financial markets are less jittery about portugal than in month's past. still investors speculate the country may need additional bailout funds like greece. now let's see what investors on the tokyo markets are doing. the nikkei 225 just opened. ai uchida from the business team is here with a check on the business markets. ai. >> as you mentioned, investors not completely convinced yet that the drama in the eurozone as a whole is over yet. that in addition to concerns about slower growth in china actually weighed down u.s. markets overnight. so let's see how stocks here are trading as a reaction. fo

. >> warren cotes, retired from the international monetary fund. market discipline of banks relies in part on depositors caring which bank they put their money in. the coverage limit was raised recently and was high to begin with. do you think it's too high in terms of getting the right balance? >> that was raised on your watch. >> that's right. congress sets the deposit insurance limits. so i was supportive of the temporary hike, and i think that the permanent hike can be justified. i'm not sure with people less than $250,000, especially these days, that the folks that are under those insured deposit limits are going to add a lot to market discipline. certainly the average main street family, they're not going to go to the fdi c-webb site and download call reports. you're not going to get a lot of market discipline from main street to depositors. i think it's important for them to have peace of mind. i think there's a good public policy for that. and deposit insurance has provided that and it's worked very well. i think that large uninsured deposi