the workforce. this means shedding more than 100,000 jobs. athens has been asked to sell off firms and private it is crucial utilities. even the airport could be handed over to private investors. the government will offload some of its majority stakes. sales which many people feel are very contentious. >> waste water flows through this sewage pipe. this is part of one of the largest waste treatment plants in europe. along with most public assets, seeing said to be sold off. >> this is due to be sold in the summer of 2012. some preparations are needed ahead of it, steps which have not been taken. the government has set up a commission that will oversee the sale to investors. >> they fear a major hike in prices after the sale and they are afraid that the same will happen in other state-owned companies. that is what makes privatization so unpopular. they are aware of it in the trade union offices. the union has been putting up a constant fight against privatization. they argue that the government should find cash from someone else. the notion that some

to the fault line shaking the world economy, and the epicenter is athens. om asia to the u.s., fears of agreed the fall pushed financial markets down today, while the finance minister held emergency talks with international creditors to try to reassure them tough austerity steps really are being taken. from athens, here is the report. >> some people say the future of the eurozone lies in this man's hands. he is the greek finance minister, and these are critical days for him. his country faces bankruptcy in the next month without another injection of bailout money. other european leaders insist greece must do more to reduce its deficit. this was the message the imf give him today. >> the ball is in the greek court. implementation is of the essence. >> yes, there have already been tax rises and pay cut, but have not done the job. the numbers in the public sector remain high. tax collection is in shambles, and the economy is shrinking. some more cuts are on the way, but this time, increasingly, the greeks are resisting. >> the athens fair drew many middle-class

the line from berlin. but first we'll speak with athens. it seems there are many crunches in greece but today is a particular crunch with the transit workers on strike again. >> reporter: yes, charles. it's interesting to hear the comment of the director of the -- christine lagarde saying that paying is basically necessary. you can almost coin a new phrase, austerity fatigue. because this government and the previous government -- during the first ten years of the euro, the cuts now are extremely severe. so you're looking at 20% salary cuts in the state sector and 20% pension cuts, if not more, in the state sector as well. but at the heart of the issue, charles, is without the reforms, there are no layoffs in the state sector, which is the largest in europe. so what mrs. lagarde is staying, if you want the troika to support you on debt, you have to push ahead with reform. we see the strikes today in terms of the trams and two or three metro lines shut and the buses not running. these are cuts, they're feeling very severe pain in greece right

dealing with debt, it's the fault line shaking the economy, and the epicenter is athens, financial markets pushed down today as greece financial minister held talks with international creditors to assure them that steps are being taken. >> everyone in greece knows new painful measures are on the way. protests on recent tax rises have begun. today the greek government is in long negotiations with ui and other officials, where many people are hurting from previous rounds of cuts. >> the athens bike fair was a draw for many middle class families, and one of them is jo ana, who has seen her salary cut 25%, she's scared. >> we are careful of what we buy when we go to the supermarket. we go a list, and it's becoming a shorter and shorter list. >> when school started this autumn, this family found a shortage of books in the classroom. just a week ago the government announced a property tax, the aim to raise 2 billion euros. >> for the scale that the government game for this area, was 700 euros for this plan, for a year and two installments. >> how do people feel? that's a lot of money for people.

in this austerity drive. >> austerity drive is the name of the game in athens and across the country. john, we've seen a spike in the unemployment rate. we've seen economic activity contract in the wake of the austerity measures. just behind those headlines, gifs a sense of how big an impact this austerity measures are having on the ordinary gr k greek. >> you can't really understand it until you come in to athens and get the tone of the entire country. let's take a look at the latest report to give you a sense of how bad it is. this is from the labor institute of general workers. we know the unemployment rate for the second quarter is 16.3%. they're making projections for 2012 that the unemployment rate beyond just the hard numbers could surge when people stop looking for work to 26% in 2012. a 10% -- a ten-point increase in 201. we just came back from a hospital, for example. you have the administrators taking a budget of nearly 200 million euros in terms of overall spending and bringing that down by 90 million euros because they have to work within the existing budget

cash desperately needed to steer greece out of trouble artie's correspondent sara firth has the latest from athens. this is really going to send a message not just to the same countries but globally as well that the leaders are going to be willing to pull the year is in countries in greece especially out of this deepening crisis german m.p.'s facing at this moment in the bill to start they're discussing the controversial plans to strengthen the bailout fund that's pretty extreme the unpopular amongst the german public remember germany's already the biggest single contributor and this is going to increase their contributions even more a lot of the german public say that that's simply not. now what a lot of people have been saying a lot of analysts we spoke into has said that it's not really a question of whether or not this is going to go through most people think that it will go a three is going to be a question of the majority of the german chancellor merkel guys and that's really going to be the test and the signal to be sent around the world about how much support this has the after effects of

the next. instalment. is in athens for us we're hearing more positive rhetoric coming from the greek prime minister just typing day to day he's been talking to the federation of industry. he's going to be meeting with the german chancellor later today we've heard him saying that he thinks his country can get out of this crisis in much the same that we heard. he's been saying. behind greece try. to rebuild confidence but they haven't actually for a face any measures now care enough and that's with some skepticism because remember we've been here before and what we're seeing now is once again chris is really being taken to the brink on the streets here in athens would he think the protests we've missed out today charlotte's going to be a thing of pills or passed by even more seriously this is a very unpopular property tax that's being discussed in hollywood is the law makers are going to preach that the people who turning out on the street protests to say it's not even the case anymore or whether they won't pay this mone

well here on the streets of athens ga in the public eye but those states it was just a replacement for you the lakes it is. stalling stated the un's most powerful body birdsong discussing the palestinian recognition bid as the us lobbies for a slowdown in the decision making process. and why immigrants and we're going to do a good job but so ninety percent of vacancies from the country's elite and claimants markets. the russian markets are rallying this hour despite the resignation of russia's finance minister alex sink with one business about twenty minutes. very warm welcome to you this is r.t. live from moscow for us this hour greece says it's doing all it can and is on the right track to reduce its crippling debt says the prime minister also pleaded for germany's assistance ahead of talks with chancellor merkel the greek parliament proposed to vote on a new set of carts needed to secure the next final bailout installment sarah ferguson athens for us is crossing over to her now sara how is the greek prime minister actually trying to convince germany it's worthy of yet more bailout c

the coffins of bike there was a draw for many -->> make sense of international -- the athens bike fair was a draw. >> we are very careful of what we buy now. we go with the list to the supermarket. it is becoming a shorter and shorter list. >> when school started this often, this family found a shortage of books and a costume. just a week ago, the government announced a property tax. the aim to raise 2 billion euros. it wouldn't flat earners. >> for the scale that the government has given to austerity, it means just about more than 700 euros. >> how do people feel about that? that is quite a lot of money. >> yes, it is. property owners are getting out rage. >> the tax will be collected by electricity bills and the power of union said it will sabotage it. even the police battling protesters for months have seen their salaries cut between two and 600 euros a month. >> due to the cuts, the nearly 50% of all great staples cannot be used. -- greek staples can not be used. >> the imf criticized greece for wasting time and falling behind on the target. >> thank you. >> yes, there have already

wayne ford has been working the beat for over 29 years at the athens banner herald, athen's georgia's most prestigious and only newspaper. editor roger nielsen. >> wayne represents the old-fashioned kind of journalist, you know, the shirt and tie kind of guy to go out there and meet people. >> as a journalist i guess growing up walter cronkite was my hero. >> stephen: like his hero wayne ford knows to get the real story a reporter has to hit the pavement. >> on july 12th, i was at the county sheriff's office probably before 8:00 that morning. and i go through the reports and i came across one report on rogers road. >> stephen: rogers road. >> it's a place where if are you going to run some law that is probably the place you're going to end up. >> stephen: county sheriff, scott berry. >> there are a lot of stories to be told on rogers road. >> stephen: and a story is what wayne needed. so he went out to meet the suspect, a criminal mastermind known as chris toole. >> i got a long history with the county sheriff's department. and usually they don't believe me over anybody else. so norma

prepares to vote on a new set of cards needed to secure the next a vital bailout installment on the surface is in athens for us we're hearing more positive rhetoric coming from the greek prime minister george passenger today he's been talking to the federation of industry in berlin and he's going to be meeting with the german chancellor later today we've heard him saying that he thinks his country can get out of this crisis in much the same that we heard friend who she's been saying that they're behind greece trying to rebuild confidence but they haven't actually proposed any measures now from here in athens that's that will be met with some skepticism because remember we've been here before and what we're seeing now is once again greece is really being taken to the brink on the streets here in athens would be seeing the protest movements now today parliament's going to be voting on a bill to pass by even even more so she measures a very unpopular property tax that's being discussed in part of it is still the lawmakers are going to preach that people are turning out on the streets to protest to say it's

i expect that economist is rather in tune with what people are saying on the streets of athens as well. >> reporter: in fact, charles, this discussion about a 50% haircut, which finance minister talked about ahead of the imf world bank meetings that was leaked out, in fact, is becoming the common ven ak lur. i've been covering the country since the mid-1990s. it's fair to say this is the first time i've seen the country so divided on many, many levels. divided within the party, how much the people can handle in terms of cuts, division within the parliament behind me, they're not cooperating at all. perhaps more importantly is the division between the private sector and the public sector right now. the public sector getting layoffs but the private sector say that's long overdue. public sector say private sector haven't been paying taxes on finger-pointing all around. the final division is whether they should try to stay in the euro in this austerity trap, contraction in the second quarter, record unemployment at 16%. severity on the ground is really deep and whether they can sustain tha

the athens bike fair was a draw for many middle-class families. mock them was joanna, a public sector worker. she has seen her salary cut by 20%. she said she is scared. >> we are very careful of what we buy now. every time we go to the supermarket, we are very careful. we go with a list, and it has been a shorter and shorter list. we can't buy anything for the children anymore. >> when school started this autumn, this family found a shortage of books in the classroom. just a week ago the government announced a property tax. the aim to raise two billion euros. >> for the scale of this area, it works out to 700 euros for this flat for a year in two installments. >> how do people feel about that? that is quite a lot of money for people. >> it is. the middle-class and property owners are getting outrageded. >> some have seen their salaries cut by 200 and 600 euros a month. >> due to the cuts, nearly 50% of all greek police vehicles and bikes can't be used. >> this is the man negotiating for greece to receive further bailout fund to avoid defaulting.

and mexico were competing for participation in the athens olympic soccer competition at the mexico stadium at guadalajara. and the american players had been impolite, perhaps a bit aggressive, but all of a sudden towards the end of the game the crowd starts chanting, and this make his concern some of our american people are watching this, osama, osama, osama. need this is a comedy american players got a little bit upset. now, this would be an insult anywhere in the world, but in guadalajara in the state of jalisco, it is worse because how this goes mexico's number one sending state of immigrants to the united states and has been for 100 years. it's the home of fort of ir do that you know well, one of our most important if not the most important resort city in mexico. it's the home for probably 50, 1000 american retirees who live there and spend a wonderful time and are extraordinarily well received by their mexican neighbors and friends. in this city at this time, to be that insulting to americans means there's something going on which is not right. doesn't work. that's part of the problem

well the message from the people here on the streets of athens today has been take your bailout and leave that was aimed at the troika audit team he's been here trying to hold told about the next tranche of money that greece is going to need to avoid bankruptcy now you can see behind me here outside the parliament building the people are already gathering this is the third day of the taxi driver strike and already you can see the numbers turning out there you can also see the riot police just at the front of the building now all day today people also outside the front of the finance ministry and right now i'm going to see if we can show you that she got people on keep lying the building that abana above that building saying we want life so the people here really very frustrated indeed this is a stark contrast to the positive rhetoric we've seen from the e.u. leaders today about that decision and the vote in germany they say that that's a positive step forward to changing the future of greece to giving them that helping hand the people here really didn't do it in quite that same way and th

outside the parliament building in athens. now waiting at least three hundred. billion a year a pool of debt the crisis that's right greece is now impossible to contain and to fold is the only outcome that's according to athens base a theology professor. i think that the big question facing us today is not whether we are going to default but how we are going to default i mean all the measures taking by this throwing up by the european union there is a b. and b. i.m.f. leads one way or the other to some sort of default some sort of moneths default but this is all this is going to be accompanied by newest even hans or austerity measures some sort of social barbarism this is a vicious circle something this must stop i think that as a society as a country we have that sense to default on our own our own terms which means the immediate stop of payment to the death immediate exit of greece from the euro zone from the euro. coming up later this hour libya's future clouded in uncertainty now given in the precious fighting between the national transitional council and get

these protesters are working 240 kilometers to the greek capital, athens. ree days under a baking hot sun. the group includes students, teachers, small-business owners, and the unemployed, but they all share a common message -- in corruption. --end corruption. >> a lot of us work 16 to 17 hours a day, and we still cannot get by. it is because of the corruption in this respect we see from authorities and the government. >> vassily tells us why he took part. the 32-year-old is a chef and father of two. he and his brother on two restaurants as well as a catering business for rest -- for weddings and baptisms. during peak season, he has up to 90 people working for him. near this seaside town, he tells us more. >> i have tried to build it through the years. >> the project is a four-star hotel, and it will cost 4 million euros. 2009, he was promised loans or 2.5 billion euros from the government and the eu. leaving him 1.5 million to pay out of his own pocket. but it was not that simple. he had to pay bribes to the tune of 14,000 euros. >> the ministry of culture,

outside the parliament building in athens. all right well let's try and get a handle on how this might pan out in the coming days pavel's with a researcher an analyst with the open europe organization. so the bailout policy it hasn't yet delivered the decisive blow to tackling europe's debt has it but what is your analysis on why the euro zone members are just so committed to it. well the problem is that so many of the current. leaders and decision makers the same people who came up with the policies in the first place. to do with the eurozone so in times of crisis great doubt because we are in on charter territory let's remember here they fall back on the default suppositions and which are more centralization. of the same policies that of us to this point i think they have too much invested in both politically and economically because remember that banks in the eurozone countries are holding a lot of greek that so i think they just feel if they might as well go down this road no one really knows where we're going to end up rig

outside the parliament building in athens. now the e.u. may be throwing billions at athens to prop up its economy and create the appearance of stability but the greek crisis has now going too big to be contained bounce according to. a sociology professor. i think that the big question facing us today is not whether we are going to default but how we are going to default i mean all the measures taking by this throwing up by the european union the is a b. and b. i.m.f. leads one way or the other to some sort of default some sort of moneths default but this is all this is going to be accompanied by newest even hans or or stare at the mess or some sort of social barbarism for example we had this summit meeting on july twenty first and there was all this hope that the new bailout package was on the way. come september and the blackmail starts from the part of the european union concerning the last payment of the previews bailout package it's bailout been accompanied by extremists terrorism is there's the demand for a complete state assets and th

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 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 wi

from its debt crisis ahead of talks with germany's chancellor over causing the budget deficit it comes as no make is in athens are expected to approve an unpopular property tanks its powerful starting measures to convince the new and i.m.f. to hand out and eight billion bailout for more this has cost lives not all correspondents sarah ferguson athens for us so how exactly is the greek prime minister planning to convince e.u. leaders to hand over this latest slice of bailout money. well what you're hearing from the greek prime minister jewish pub in jail speaking to members of the german industry in berlin is this a very positive rhetoric he thinks this country can take the crisis now the german chancellor is also expected to address that same conference she probably going on right now it is true she's going to say much of the same thing there's still the line from these eurozone leaders is that there's no question if we take sitting from the usa and the fold still not being spoken about publicly now here in athens in amongst. the opinion really defense quite significantly all excuses that being a little bit s

this was directed of inspectors from the eu, imf, and ecb. they came to athens to assess the spending. >> we are demanding that the government abolished the austerity plan. they support measures that are dragging us into poverty, both civil servants and private sector workers. >> the protests are unlikely to impact the work of the international inspectors. >> italy hopes to raise up to 40 billion euros by selling off real estate and other state- owned assets. the economics minister said that this could produce the red ink by 10 billion euros annually. they also plan to sell carbon emissions certificates to cut their debt. this is 20% of gdp, the second highest after greece. european commission's say sentiment in the eurozone has fallen this month. the dax ended the day ended the day up. the euro stocks closed up over one and a half percent. the euro is trading for $1.35. the cost-cutting campaign has moved up a notch. nokia has announced cutting another three and a half thousand. >> nokia is hanging up on romania. they will shut their plants by the end of the ye

trimming government spending but once again the banks toure's are left unscathed as the head of the athens chamber of commerce constantine knows mccollough greece is being turned into a poverty there's no compas this government doesn't know where it's going greece's pursued cuts in government services all year to meet the demands of the i.m.f. an e.u. and so far as done is further cripple its own economy and bring the nation closer and closer to default as the u.k. and now the united states is figuring out spending cuts kill economic growth which in turn causes bigger deficits but even more troubling than deficits austerity causes serious civil unrest as we see in greece today as we've seen sweep across europe in recent months but so far despite the austerity republicans are pushing congress united states has yet to see the same sort of civil unrest in our streets so why is that and might it be coming so daniel nasaw joins me now is a journalist of the b.b.c.'s washington bureau daniel walker thanks for having me thanks for joining us tonight. america over the last generation or so has the

is running out fast as china calls on eurozone leaders to put their own house in order the second bailout for athens hangs in the balance as frustration also grows amongst its e.u. neighbors over this deadlines for the agreed reforms and are threatening to stop the pain of payments to the embattled economy economists are also pessimist pessimistic and there are mounting calls for athens to drop out of the euro zone and his economic analyst dimitri kovtun as tells r.t. which is future is far from secure and that could bring grave consequences for the global financial system. we're hearing a lot more rumors about of the fraud which is frightening but i think the most likely scenario is. again keep the can down the road france and marco have been saying germany and angela merkel have it and how about how they want to wait until at least thirteen when the european stability. mechanism is a ways so they have some sort of institutional framework to go with with a bailout so i think that eventually greece will default but i think that it's likely to happen on a couple seventeen they're not addressing they'

outside the parliament building in athens. have a constant updates on what's happening in greece and across the euro. and it all right put it all in context for you on a channel. hundreds of egyptians are gathering in cairo's main square to take part in a mass protest named we claim the revolution they feel let down by the transitional military council and want the current emergency rule to be lifted. pressuring a far more open election or something echoed by political parties threatened to boycott november's parliamentary election anything our report happiness that's driving people back on to cairo streets. we knew that change would come to egypt a new chapter of freedom and democracy don't judge a book by its cover when reading post mubarak egypt it's between the lines where you'll find the new chapter hasn't been published ended or slightly revised we still have the supreme council of the on those. in. this country towards democracy barak may be gone but his policies are not that hosni mubarak's case is ongoing at this tribe

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 depends on what the troika decides. the eu says this is greece's last chance. is there a danger they will refuse to hand over the funds? >> i do not think so. the stakes are too high. what the troika will say in athens is not a game of bluff. accept you are in deep trouble. you need this money. we have to give it to you. we will go down together if we do not do this. it is a bluff. they will get the money. there will be close attention paid to how gris implements austerity cuts. until now, they have just accepted the problems and been disappointed austerity has not been fulfilled. there will be a closer watch on greece. >> european voices say there are plans to boost the eurozone rescue fund, something berlin is not keen on doing. what is the story? >> it is a fourfold increase in the promised bailout. we will have to get used to saying the two trillion euros. what wi

on wednesday, greece took to the streets to protest the budget cuts that athens is pushing through. >nother day, another strike in the greek capital. civil servants and longshoremen took their turn in a vocal demonstration against the government's ever tighter austerity measures. this has become a daily occurrence over the past few at the same time, the european task force is in athens with the aim of supporting efforts to introduce vital economic reforms. >> to help the technical preparation and corp. and assistance, which is needed in order to implement the huge range of reforms which the greek authorities haven't worked on. >> the eu is concerned that greece will not be able to implement those reforms on their own. the prime minister's government doubts that the great institutions are up to the task. the country's spiralling debt is confounding all efforts to bring it in. >> someone was asking earlier if china was going to buy everything in europe, there might be some truth in that. >> i know. actually, a lot of them are foreign investors. china has said that they're willing to hel

guarantees almost half of the loans in the year is own bailout gave the protesters in athens reacted deep budget cuts. russia wants the alliance not to take sides as tensions run high at the cost of a serbian border inflamed by and may take cheap crack down on the serbian barricades. and china is hours away from north korean online space literature and dog to have been the place to mark the buzz stepped it's building its very own space station. and from our business desk russia takes a heavy blow in the latest financial market turbulence does the recent weakness present an opportunity for bargain hunters find out from our business schools and twenty minutes. a very warm welcome to you this is our see a live from moscow the german m.p.'s have voted in favor of new rules governing the year as a bailout fund designed to help economies struggling with their debt crises well meanwhile more public protests erupt in athens international debt inspectors assess the country's progress in implementing tough austerity measures a little later in the program we'll be talking live to our corresponde

round josie calls harris charges now unbeaten in their past fourteen games while the belgians made light work of athens thrashing the greeks four one and on their left. big time for russian boxing fans coming soon as the country's top cruiserweight denise lead but if it's preparing to take on one of the sport's most decorated athletes james a lights out sony in moscow the bout is scheduled for november the fourth although the fighters have already come face to face robert gordon on has more. sure. i'm a rusher how are you guys to hear us are. indeed russian boxing fans having a great time one of the musubi greatest fighters in the history of sports teams lights out too many warming. preparing to show his stones on the fourth of november the night he meets russia still cruiserweight. to money flowing in the footsteps of another most imagines roy jones jr a facelift last me and was knocked out in the final round of the bout to three now although observers state age hasn't affected him quite as much as it has jones plays are two different stories i mean joe and james toney croyde germs was a genius probab

the moment. for our correspondent in athens there let's go straight back to athens talk to george kut frugal us he's a lawyer and constitutional law professor in the city mr can trigger strikes have a similar should be going out international i mean we heard today the greek prime minister your prime minister saying talking about your country's superhuman efforts that have been made but it sounds all right well and good but will he succeed at the end of the day in convincing the german chancellor that the vital father should be released to think. well i'm afraid. of measures just in. falls into the good people sacrifices without any point without any hope of success we are now at the second here of the source through commercials that the state of getting that used. rocket is practically done when we have started this austerity measures at the same time the economy is shrinking and at the same time we have a lot of burden to the poorest to the weakest parts of the population so i don't think that this kind of policy is going to work well here were you saying they would of course one of the key in forc

outside the parliament building in athens zero zero zero lawmakers commitment to the current project has brought pain not only to the struggling members but to those who bail them out well that's the view of william. european parliament member for the u.k. independence party. as far as the greek people are concerned adherents to the single currency means higher taxes low gov expenditure and cuts in their standard of living and also for and also even even for a country like germany in fact specifically a country like germany at here's to the single currency it means massive transfer payments paid to countries in southern europe and what's happening is that the germans are no longer putting up with it we shouldn't be where we are now and it is because of the fanaticism of this european elite and we should look very carefully at what they have to say in the future these are guilty men and they are discredited what is very worrying is that as my as my father used to say to me when i was a young man he said if you make a financial guarantee the nature of five financial guarantees is that

the year is a. protest is that athens reacted deep cuts. russia wants the alliance not to take some of those tensions run high at the cost of being border in a plane flying may take shoot crack down almost been barricaded. and china is hours away from a north korean on manned space to have been the. step to building it's barely a space station. and from all business desk russia takes a heavy blow in the latest financial market to.