Erstellt am: 2. 11. 2011 - 14:58 Uhr

Papandreou's big gamble

Reality Check: Greek referendum on bailout, Thailand floods, Assange extradition verdict, Russia and the WTO, 50 years of Turkish Gastarbeiter in Germany.

After all the hoop-la around last week's agreement on the EU bailout for Greece, I had rather naively thought that the topic of the Eurocrisis might go quiet for a few days. How wrong can one be?

No sooner had all the leaders returned to their home countries, than Greece's Prime Minister, George Papandreou, gets his cabinet to agree to hold a referendum on the bailout package. Nicholas Sarkozy and Angela Merkl, who had sweated long and hard over the deal, must have thought it was some sort of late Hallowe'en prank.

Now, with leaders gathering in Cannes for the G20 meeting, Merkl and Sarkozy must be getting hotter under the collar than ever. It was widely expected that a done deal on Greece would be presented to encourage China to step in with investment to help. Now Mr Papandreou has thrown a king-size spanner in the works that will be very embarassing for other European leaders at the G20.

Merkl, Sarkozy and Papandreou are due to meet for crisis talks ahead of the G20. I think we can safely assume the mood will be less than friendly.

Papandreou also faces a confidence vote at home on Friday. He's confident that it will be passsed, but many analysts aren't so sure. It's a big gamble, that could end in a Greek tragedy.

Floods continue to threated Thailand

Although central Bangkok was not hit by the peak tides at the weekend, water levels continue to rise in many parts of the city. Our correspondent, Tony Cheng, has been out to visit the worst hit areas.

Assange extradition verdict

Julian Assange has lost his appeal against extradition to Sweden, but can still appeal again, this time to the Supreme Court. Political and Media analyst, Ivor Gaber, explains the procedures and what this all means for Wikileaks and its legacy.

Russia and the WTO

Russia is the only major economy not to be a member of the World Trade Organisation - and Georgia is the country blocking its membership. Our Moscow correspondent, Charles Maynes, tells Steve Crilley why it has taken so long for Russia to become part of the world's largest trading organisation, and why all that might now be changing.

50 years of Turkish Gastarbeiter in Germany

In 1961 Germany signed a formal agreement with Turkey to allow Gastarbeiter to emigrate to Germany to help boost the workforce. Not only did they boost the workforce, they also influenced the country's music and youth culture, as Riem Higazi found out.

FM4 Reality Check

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