rome.esus also provided answers to the central mystery of life. >> the questions pagans were asking were, "what was going to happen to me when i die? how do i get forgiveness from sin?" the christian church said, "we can provide you those answers." >> believe in the resurrected jesus and win eternal life. that was the message that had appeal across the roman empire, a message that first spread throughout the huge jewish community outside israel. >> over a million jews in egypt and alexandria, jews in damascus, jews in antioch, jews in athens, certainly jews in rome. and for the early christians, these early followers of jesus, some of these jews would have provided missionaries a home, missionaries a base by which they could reach other jews as well as gentiles. >> the romans had provided roads throughout the entire empire. they had gotten rid of many of the pirates that were on the seas. there was a common currency throughout the empire. travel was both possible and feasible, and so it was

our correspondent is in rome. you weren't in florence when this shooting happened. -- you were in florence when this shooting happened. >> yes, that's right. it seemed like a day like any other. large numbers of tourists. over the course of the afternoon, we heard that something terrible had happened in one of the market squares, that there had been this rampage by some kind of racist gunman. this is what happened. >> murder in the streets of florence. the killer struck first in this piazza. this was a racist on a rampage, a white man targeting africans, sentagal.s from cen >> [speaking foreign language] >> i heard some shots. i turned around and i saw three guys over there. >> soon after, the gunman opened fire in another nearby market area. he shot two more senegalese men and then shot himself as the police closed in. they named him as 50-year-old gianluca casseri, described as a new right-wing extremist. as the news spread, dozens of the city's immigrants gathered, outraged at the bloodshed. >> [speaking foreig

on the streets, -- in rome's ability to pay its way. on the streets, people had this to say. >> i hope that it would be ok. we all have to make sacrifices. >> we have to tighten our belts. what else can we do? turn to a life of crime? >> the italian parliament is due to debate the latest 24 billion euro austerity package on tuesday. it is expected to be approved before the christmas break. >> the u.s. president, barack obama, has promised iraq continued support even after they watched the troops returned at the end of this year. it came in washington after meeting with the iraqi prime minister. the 8000 troops still in iraq are scheduled to leave by the end of 2011. security remains precarious, however. the renegotiations and keeping some forces in iraq, but they broke down after washington insisted that the troops remain immune to prosecution by local authorities. we will be taking an in-depth look at how iraq is preparing for the withdrawal of american troops. a spokesman for the russian prime minister, vladimir putin, says that the r

could the colosseum in rome be crumbling? violence is continuing in syria despite the presence of the arab league monitoring mission. 10 people were killed including one child on wednesday. syrian state television is report that 755 people held in their role in the uprising have been released but activists say as many as 15,000 remain in prison. this report does contain distressing images. >> no let up in the violence even with the arab league monitors whose mission is to try to stem the bloodshed. these images from the town of homs which emerged after the team said the situation was reassuring. opposition activists are determined to show the world the cost of their uprising. this boy is laid on the bonnet of the observer's car. there is more trouble in the town of hama. peaceful protests are meant to be allowed now but there has been little sign from the authorities to loosen their grip. in a gesture to the observers, the syrian army says they have a the 755 people. that is a small fraction of the thousands being held. human

that's the christian empire that followed the fall of rome.fly here. how long ago did the byzantine empire fall? >> serapion ( translated ): 1453. that's a well-known fact. >> simon: well, it wasn't to us. but to father serapion, 1453 is the day before yesterday. this peninsula is the only place in the world that still keeps byzantine time. >> serapion: it has maintained this time for some 550 years. >> simon: it was harvest time when we arrived, and dozens of monks were hard at work in the olive groves on the hills overlooking the monastery. that's where we ran into father nikandros from melbourne, australia. >> father nikandros: this place looks like a... like a summer resort. >> simon: sure does. >> nikandros: like a retreat, but it's not. it's an arena. >> simon: what do you mean, it's an arena? >> nikandros: unseen warfare. >> simon: unseen warfare? >> nikandros: that's right. >> simon: what does that mean? >> nikandros: we fight against the angels of... of the dark side, you see; of the demon, of the devil, satan. >> simon: the battle ag

and people of rome.eaking in foreign language ] they are pigs, these romans. it wasn't always that way. ancient romans can clean water and carried by aqueducts that still function. this one is linked to famous roman fountains but the source is in the poor soil under the future landfill site and risks being polluted. a huge sway that farmlands will be endangered. one family productiving the finest cheese here for three generations. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: we have invested everything in this place she says. this is our only work. the kind of work that is being abandoned in italy. they can't go to the the lengths hadrian did to eliminate the garbage but they think nobody should bow to a modern empeerial career. >> this is not the first time that garbage has not become a hot political issue in italy. in 2007 trash collectors in naples stopped picking up trash and it took three and a half years to clean up the city. a lot of garbage. >>> up next the story of three >>> we love bringing yo

we'll go live to bethlehem from rome.king the day and show you what is going on there life. only coricidin hbp has a heart, right here. it's the only cold and flu brand that won't raise your blood pressure. coricidin hbp. powerful cold medicine with a heart. shouldn't it be given in an amazing way? ♪ the lexus december to remember sales event is here, but only for a limited time. see your lexus dealer. the newest droid armed with motocast. granting you wireless access to files on your home computer from almost anywhere. 4g lte equipped to pull pictures, music, and movies. all at mind-melting speeds. powered by verizon, this droid is too powerful to fall into the wrong hands. forty years ago, he wasn't worried about retirement. he'd yet to hear of mutual funds, iras, or annuities. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement solutions for our military, veterans and their families. from investments... to life insurance...

others date to the fall of rome. when rome fell, europe was engulfed in chaos. people naturally grabbed for the high ground to escape the marauding barbarians that characterized those dark ages. over time, these towns were fortified and eventually functioned as independent city-states. in their glory days, they proudly charted their own course, generally free from the dictates of popes or emperors. then, the bubonic plague swept through tuscany in 1348. that, combined with the increasing dominance by the regional bully, florence, turned many bustling cities into docile backwaters. ironically, the bad news of the 14th century mothballed these towns, leaving them with a unique charm and a tourism-based affluence today. siena maintains much of its medieval character. its sprawling main square and towering city hall recall the days when it rivaled even florence. assisi -- with its walls, gates, and castle -- was home to st. francis. its massive basilica remains a favorite destination for countless pilgrims today. volterra was an etruscan capital centuries before chr

along with the money, the cat has his choice between three homes in rome and milan. been criticized for leaving that kind of cash to a feline considering italy's financial crisis. >> incredible. >>> still ahead on news 4, drivers in virginia have a better idea how long their trip home is going to take. for all your news go online >>> starting today, drivers on i-95 in virginia have a better idea how long their commutes will be. billboards display estimated travel times. megan mcgrath has details and reactions. >> reporter: the sign says it all, route 234, 16 miles, 17 minutes. it's critical information for drivers looking to avoid traffic. no need to bail out and take an alternate route today. the sign predicts smooth sailing. >> i think it's going to be helpful. it will help you be able to maneuver around the traffic out there and give you the chance to get off the road and take the back ways to work on time. >> reporter: v-dot activated seven electronic message boards between fredericksburg and the district with four southbound and three on the other side. it gives

while stands the coliseum standsrome shall stand -- roma-- while stands the coliseum, rome shall stand. >> an apocalyptic message. i am at bbc davideads. how do you spend your money when things are tight? let me know on twitter. kim jong un is hailed as a team leader of the north korean state, party, and army as his father's death this morning. cheryl lee monitors in syria go to the city of the ball where the uprising began the presence of the observers in the country has not stopped the violence. -- al police monitors in serious go to of the city of daraa. iranian naval exercises close to the strait of hormuz that they could close that waterway if the west imposes new sanctions. two jets pass overhead. this is an iranian naval drill that's taking place in sensitive international waters even before iran toughened its line. the strait of hormuz is used by one-third of "'s tanker traffic. iran was made angry by recent tightening of the european union's sanctions that threatens to close it to oil shipments. this man, said to be every admiral in the iranian navy was quoted by one national

history is being made in rome. negotiations on the creation of a common market and european atomic energy community has been -- have concluded. >> is was by no means the end of the developments. the community continued to grow. it led the development of european institutions. the bloc signed the single european act to create a single european market. in 1982, it became the european union. leaders signed a treaty authorizing the introduction of a common currency at. years later, euro coins and bills went into circulation in 12 countries, the eurozone. as the you continue to expand, it became more cumbersome -- as the eu continued to expand, it became more cumbersome. it allowed some decisions be made by majority, included requiring met -- requiring unanimous support. voters in france and the netherlands rejected the first official draft version. a watered-down constitution was adopted in 2007, the treaty of lisbon. >> this treaty is for the future, to make european development more efficient and more modern. >> desp

and there are a lot of rome owe and jewel yets that last longer than two hours. and maybe that's because each time there was a whittled down text. maybe it was the performers and the audience were in a very close kind of union that allowed very fast speaking and that the performer... what they wanted in the theaters was ahead of the listener, not the listener going "yeah, got it, hurry up." we do i think we do indulge particularly with psychological readings of shakespeare in a very slow, dubious deliverynd i suspect even the long text would ve taken a shorter period of time in shakespeare. >> rose: when you have a director that you have hired because you know they have skills, how do y tell them to approach it? do you say to them "don't be too reverent about shakespeare"? "be prepared to be creative about . be... make shakespeare alive." >> i'm not usual starting... i'm lucky atthe r.s.c., lots of people want to work there. so i'm not usually starting from first principles. i will now know... they've done it a lot of times before, probably. and i will know the k

layoffs on wall street now this was also after the technocratic governments had been installed in rome in athens and they were pressing forward at that stage in the eurozone crisis also with protests on the street here as some of our show. as the eurozone saga continues the techno craddick government of italian prime minister mario monti has won an important vote of confidence in parliament meanwhile though on the streets of rome and athens for that matter people have protested their new technocratic leaders opposing what they call banker governments and the kind of economic measures that these technocrats want to see through now in the united states of course yesterday we also saw protests occupy wall street had a day of action with protests all over the country in new york l.a. d.c. this was of course the culmination of sixty days of this movement we ask is this about more than protests on the streets is this really about the natural war financial repression lots what financial journalist max kaiser believes he's of course host of the very popular kaiser report which airs on our t.v.

the european union because when the treaty of rome was signed to were french colonies. considered that this statement meant a recognition i will cheer independence and france of the many criticized it and said how can the old hearing foreign ministers see such things now you have a chance to have your say. about the fact that algerians can voice their opinion testifies to the freedom of speech in our country and that's wonderful but on the other hand the algerian minister has the right to speak on behalf of all our jarius no matter where they are saying that and remembering the past is very important we must remember that at the same time we should always proceed at the point of algerian interests giving it as broad an interpretation as possible in the speaking the french language already means remembering the past but we speak french in the algerian interest it's also the case when we discuss other issues for instance in our relations with the european union that's definitely the case both algeria and france should be doing everything possible to clear the environment

woman from italy came to us in switzerland and said we know that you're coming to rome and will be staging protests again berlusconi and the pope thank you they said for sharing our problems there while drawing free rallies in ukraine have been making international headlines for several years now from protesting aid. it's the alarming rate of prostitution especially with the upcoming you are twenty twelve book tournament to exposing flaws in ukraine's politics now they're looking even further afield those than we do in within your could understand that classic famine is no longer works it is if you excuse me impotent but what we do brings the desired effect that's why not only ukraine needs us but europe as well who are planning to take over the world. while we see how well you were received in europe remember your colorful actions in ukraine where are you planning to expand now but those are. really good we received lots of letters telling us to continue fighting against religious and justice towards women especially in the muslim states that's where we want to develop we are even ready t

you had a unity government in greece we have look as papademos as prime minister in greece and in rome we have mario monti he's the former commissioner of that now they're in charge because a unity government was formed and the former prime minister has stepped down and as for the national emergency in this case presumably it's the debt crisis and meeting the terms of creditors now this isn't the first time in italy in greece where we've seen unity governments for italy and one nine hundred ninety three to go back a little bit for example this guy carlos champion we could bring him up he was a former central banker he added. a unity government during oddly enough a crisis in the euro where the lira had come under speculative attack and there were questions about whether italy would be able to conform to the master street and eventually adopt the euro now this you could compare to what's going on in greece today where papademos also a former central banker has been charged with leading the unity government to prevent that country or from falling out of the euro in this case now and the

greg burke has more on the post christmas message from rome. >> jamie, you know, christmas is always this was no exception this year, the christmas eve mass last night and today, the blessing from the balcony over st. peters square and it was really simple, pray for peace and for those who are suffering, and be close to those who are suffering for either violence or from natural disaster and we talked about bringing an end to the violence in syria, and also praying that israeli and palestinians can get back to negotiating and the pope praying also for stability in iraq and afghanistan. now, there was absolutely an overflow crowd in st. peter's square as there is every year, but perhaps this year, even a bit more, just because it was such a beautiful day and flags from all over the world there to greet the pope as the pope greeted the faithful, giving his sermon in more than 50 different languages and christmas got kicked off with the christmas eve mass in st. peters basilica and a buell and solemn mass and warned the fateful to watch out for the glitter in christmas. go beyond to fin

niall ferguson said the threat coming from places like rome and athens, europe.s debt crisis puts the entire global economy at risk and could drag america, which is showing some signs of recovery, back into a recession. diane swonk joins us again. you say it's possible we've only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to europe and the political leadership in the united states needs to steer this country in the right direction not only to protect itself but try and veer off any trouble, further trouble europe can get into. that begs the question what role, if any, should the united states play in dealing with eurozone crisis. >> it's a very difficult question and has a very difficulty answer. the most notable is what the federal reserve has done. we saw a coordinated effort by banks around the world, notably in the eurozone but canada, switzerland joining in, all these baerngs around the world doing a coordinated effort to provide liquidity to european banks. we're all interconnected. nobody is an island in global economy. through the financial system is where

talk a lot on this show about the technocrats who are in charge of the unity government in greece and rome as well and we want to break down exactly how they have been put there so what is a unity government let's look at the definition it is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties excuse me it's a broad coalition government consisting of all parties or all major parties in the legislature it's usually formed during a time of war or other national emergency now this isn't a parliamentary system of government and to remind you had a unity government in greece we have lucas papademos as prime minister in greece and in rome we have mario monti he's the former e.u. commissioner of that now they're in charge because a unity government was formed and the former prime minister has stepped down and as for the national emergency in this case presumably it's the debt crisis and meeting the terms of creditors now this isn't the first time in italy in greece where we've seen unity governments form italy and one thousand nine hundred three to go back a little bit for example this guy car

and our greg burke is still standing by, streaming live from rome. hi, greg, merry christmas. >> reporter: jamie, that's right. you know, merry christmas, the pope, basically making a major plea for peace as you say, especially, in the middle east. the land where christ himself was born and it is an incredible crowd this morning, in and around st. peter's square lake and a crowd from all over the world as he gave his christmas greeting in more than 60 languages, he starts with italian and ends with latin and, chinese and arabic and everything in between, and, as he wishes everyone a happy and healthy christmas and two main messages, today it was about peace, praying for an end to so many places where there is violence, but, also, praying for people and asking krifrjs chris pray for people, involved in natural disasters and during this period it is important to be close to them and last night, his focus was on the real sense of christmas and saying, don't get caught up in the glitter of all of the lights. essentially, a criticism of all of the commerc