>> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news america." ♪ >> this is "bbc world news america." i am reporting from washington. the eu faces the greatest challenge in its history, warns the commission president. but one financial fix is not sitting well with everyone. chasing down colonel gaddafi as

the libyan leader remains at large. speculation swirls over where he might be. >> it is said that he could be out there somewhere protected by a band of mercenaries. no one really knows. he simply vanished into the desert. >> trying to take a bite out of apple. amazon launches a new tablet computer with hopes the kindle fire will catch on. ♪ >> welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and also a round the globe. describing it as baptism by fire for a generation. the head of the european commission warned that without greater unification, the eu would not be able to face the financial crisis. caution comes just as president obama reiterated that europe was

not dealing with its banking system as effectively as its needs to. it is a plan that the ec to oppose a new tax on the finance industry which has set off alarms for some. from berlin, here is the report. >> these are europe's days of anxiety, days of warnings and pressures. the president of the european commission said it was the worst crisis in 50 years and that the european project could only be saved by further integration. >> we need a truly community approach. we need to really integrate. we need to complete the monetary union with a real economic union. >> pressure, too, on britain, the eu is backing a tax on financial transactions. it could raise 50 billion euros a year. but the government believes it would damage to the city of london and readily agreed to it

if it was on a global basis. >> where do most financial transactions in the eu take place? it is in the city of london. so we will be stuck with the bill to prop up the currency which we declined to join. we should say it is not our problem. >> in europe's most important country, germany, there's pressure on chancellor angela merkel. she is facing a rebellion over a crucial vote tomorrow to expand the powers of the eu's main bailout fund. >> she does not speak for the normal people, because 80% of the people would say no. we would not save greece with our money. >> it is not right. a lot of german people need a lot of money. >> all the signs are that the vote in parliament tomorrow will be very close. if there are more than 19 rebels, then angela merkel the forced to rely on the opposition. that will seriously undermine

her at this critical moment in the eurozone crisis. but moved through the parliament's corridors and you hear anxiety that the markets will be watching this test for angela merkel closely. >> there is much more at stake than just a vote in parliament. it is about the strengthening of the financial markets. it is a signal to our european neighbors and friends that germany is committed to the euro. >> the eurozone crisis is causing political tension here in the german parliament. betty been the u.k. is not immune from the fallout, with talk of new taxes, deeper integration, and changes to treaties. bbc news, berlin. >> for more on the problems plaguing the global economy, especially the forces driving many to take their discontent into the streets in protest. i am joined by the former executive director at the world bank, and he is currently at the

carnegie endowment for international peace. thank you very much for getting here. so much disunity. how was your going to solve this crisis when nobody can agree? >> by stages, slowly, and with a lot of anxiety. it is a keen to a person having a stroke. very often after the stroke, the person is willing to do things they would not even consider before having it. rioting and exercising and all that. and if you look at the kinds of reforms that some of the countries in europe have undertaken, spain, even italy, even greece, they are unimaginable, even a few months ago. now the pressure and reality is taking hold. it has been a gradual process, and yes, there will have to make changes they cannot imagine. >> even though some of the reforms are going through, i

mean, there is huge anger among the citizens of these countries. even at a political consensus is agreed, however these governments going to 75 -- going to survive the political fallout? >> it is unclear that some will survive. it is also not clear that the voters are clear in their minds about the options. very often, the choices are between horrible and very, very bad. so there are no good options here. and an essential problem is the vacuum of power. no one seems to have enough power to impose and generate energy, impose a solution in generate energy are around an avenue for a solution. the power vacuum is as important as the economic grammar that europe is undergoing. >> you talked about the coming

clash of the middle class. is there even going to be a middle-class left witnesses said and done? >> sure, europe will continue to have more wealth than many emerging markets, and it is distributed. what is happening is that the middle class is shrinking. a lot of the middle-classes in europe are witness saying their standards of living being reviewed. there things that took for granted, like health, education, transportation, housing, pensions, and everything else that will no longer be there. that is very difficult. >> thank you very much for joining us. well, while we may be watching the financial capital to see what solutions emerge, it is often in small towns were the consequences are planning a. in spain, years of unbridled spending now means many town halls and local governments are

struggling to meet their day-to- day costs. here is the story. >> it looks idyllic from a distance. the rural area surrounded by orchards. but this town is in serious financial trouble. the first sign is here at a petrol station. this is for the local government used to fill up everything, from official vehicles to rubbish trucks. but antonio has not been paid for a year. town hall has a 42,000 fuel bill. >> they say they have no money, but we will not serve them now until they pay up. >> antonio is not the only one affected here. this is run by the town hall. all public employees here have not received their salary in five months.

>> the situation is truly dramatic. we are having to borrow money from each other, even from our parents. we have to be careful what we spend. now the town hall is in trouble, and it has to cut all unnecessary spending. >> police officers have been ordered out of their cars and on foot patrols to save on fuel costs. staff at town hall has been sacked. mobile phone lines have been cut. but the mayor still needs emergency funding, and he is sure the problem goes beyond here. >> we have brought our situation here for public attention. perhaps other towns have not done so. they need to disclose their situation, like we have. the problem here is very serious, and we have stopped doing everything that is not essential. >> the concerns that the financial markets seem a million miles away from a place like

this, but investors are increasingly worried about the level of debt in spain's regions. if the small town like this is already looking for a bailout, the worry is the international government could be next. >> the debt doubled in three years. politicians went on spending, even after the crisis caused by the construction crashed kicked in. now it is more businesses like this that are suffering. juan is owed a small fortune for metal work ordered by a town hall but was never paid for. >> the problem is we were living beyond our means. and as always, it is people like us paying the price now. bbc news. >> in other news, a tour promoter told the court in los angeles the michael jackson was energetic and performing well in the days before he died. it is the second day of the manslaughter trial of the singer's personal doctor, conrad

murray. prosecutors say dr. murray gave jackson a lethal dose of a sedative that forced his death in june to about nine. the defense says the singer overdose himself. an american criminal who has been on the run for more than four decades has been caught in portugal. george white was convicted and jailed for killing the owner of a petrol station in 1963, but he later escaped. he was arrested on the outskirts of lisbon after living in portugal for 20 years under a false identity. the u.s. has requested his extradition. in libya, it has been a month since colonel gaddafi's compound in tripoli was overrun by rebel forces. although many of his family have slipped across borders into neighboring countries, gaddafi's whereabouts are still unknown. across the vast country, there are plenty of claims of sightings, the latest in a western town close to the algerian border. from the saqqara -- from the

sahara, here is the report. >> libya's revolutionaries are pushing on, hunting for colonel gaddafi and his henchmen. from one oasis to the next, chasing rumors far into the desert. smoldering hot, this is the new limit of their advance. people here say gaddafi's number two, his intelligence chief, was here last week. he is also wanted by the international criminal court for crimes against humanity. from here, there is nothing but sand for 300 kilometers of to the borders of algeria and niger. it is said the colonel gaddafi could be out there somewhere, protected by a band of mercenaries. no one really knows. he simply vanished into the desert. >> this is the road gaddafi's family fled down.

revolutionaries let us talk to this man, now under house arrest. he has known gaddafi for 50 years and was close to his regime. he says gaddafi will never give up. >> death or victory is what he has chosen. for now, victory is difficult. this is not probable. >> you think he will genuinely choose that? that is not a rhetorical statement. >> i think he meant it. >> some of the soldiers who fought gaddafi's army now switched sides. he says his commanders fled, along with hundreds more men, just last week, making for the border with niger. anyone suspected of being a mercenary for gaddafi is being seized.

these men are all from nigeria. they insist they're just migrants looking for work. >> they give you money to work with him? >> no. >> the icc charges is that they brought in african mercenaries to kill unarmed protesters. the revolutionaries accused mohamed of helping hire those mercenaries. >> it is a bluff. it is completely a bluff. i never deal with this, never in my life. it is not in my conviction. it is not in my ethics. >> for now, the fighters say they will paused, concerned that they could be recaptured. then they will move on, seeking out the garage that is their former dictator. bbc news, the sahara desert.

>> moving to syria, where the u.n. security council is still trying to reach agreement on a resolution condemning the violence there. russia and china remain opposed to sanctions, but the u.s. is trying to lead the pressure for tougher measures against president assad's regime. this week, the bbc gained rare access inside damascus, and i spoke to our reporter there just a short time ago. what impact our sanctions having? in the searing government's own restrictions on life in damascus in syria? >> so far, they have been limited. they have been targeted and imposed by the united states and by the european union, focusing on president assad and the political and economic elite who are closest to him. they cannot travel. they cannot get visas. i know that they have had prominent diplomat said coming up to them and asking them not

to be on the list because it will have a big impact on their business activity. business is clearly suffering. you can see it through the streets of the whole -- of the old city. you cannot use credit cards here. that is a disincentive for people to come. that would not necessarily be from sanctions. but everything is affected by what the international community is doing and also because of the protests unfolding. this is in domestic and more and more in towns across the country. >> what about the mood of people you're talking to? you have travelled throughout syria for many years. how has the atmosphere changed? >> i have not traveled up to damascus this time, but we got this rare permission to be here. the government complained that only one side of the story was being told, the story of the activists. it is from the videos they have

been downloading on the internet, which tells the story about a largely brutal crackdown by the government and crowds boldly defining security forces. that also includes children. it has been a very gruesome story. we're hoping we will get out of damascus soon. in damascus itself, i have to be honest, it has never been easy to talk about politics. they're more reluctant now. the people who love assad are willing to speak out and speak out loudly against the foreign media. those who disagree with them about like to talk in public. everywhere we have gone, people have taken us aside and say, listen, we cannot talk to you, because there are intelligence agencies close by. we would like to see change in this country, but we cannot tell you that. it is a divided country. there have been six months of protests which have basically reached a stalemate. some call it a very dangerous stalemate. >> thank you very much for joining us.

"bbc world news america." still to come, the tablet or is he that, but will amazon's kindle fire be enough to spark users and make them put down their ipads? china is scheduled to launch a module on thursday, marking its first debt towards building its own space station. the mission is generating huge national pride and is seen as a symbol of the growing stature of the country. here is the report. >> it has taken years of preparation, but the final countdown is about to begin. officials are carrying out drills for a mission that has been seen as a giant step for china's space program. the capsule will be used for docking practice. china needs to master this technique if it is to build a space station in the next

decade. beijing has been a small starter in the international space race. it was only in 2003 that it put its first man in orbit. five years later, it carried out a space walk. now they have plans to put a man on and the moon. space exploration began over 50 years ago, an american is now scaling back on its project. in the last decade, china has a fast been paying -- playing catch-up. it is pumping billions of dollars into its own space program, which is captured the public's imagination here. this mission is boosting national pride. it is also inspiring a generation of children to think big. >> do you know why i want to become an astronaut? because astronauts can float up at the space station, which is very interesting. they can also way that people

and look at stars. >> china's space program has come a long way in a short time. during final checks, technicians attached lucky charms. there's a lot riding on this mission, and no one is leaving anything to chance. bbc news, beijing. ♪ >> take risks, work hard, and engage in the world around you, that is the message for president obama today as he delivered his back-to-school address at a local high school. but there's one part of the population which the education system may be failing. in the recent census, one in four american children were identified as hispanic oregon latino, and this report from new mexico shows they might not be getting the tools they need in the classroom. h>> these children are blissfuly

unaware of the statistic that shames america. half of them are unlikely to finish school. they are young hispanic americans, this country's fastest-growing group. kids. jeusu -- kit -- kids like jesus, expelled and unemployable. he says even mcdonald's turned him down. >> i do not got nothing. >> he says others are choosing gangs over the classroom. >> they are growing in big numbers, doing drugs. they are not going to school. they have problems at home. it is that. >> just a short drive from new mexico's biggest city, this is an unforgiving, isolated place. some live here illegally and are wary of the state. most young children are kept at home, rather than going to preschool. and once in a class, many latino children fall behind on reading, math, and language skills.

>> what we're seeing here are the faces of america's future. right now, one in four children in this country have hispanic origins, and in their lifetimes, hispanics will become the majority of the u.s. labor force. so the education is critical for this country's future. and here is the challenge laid bare. mexican parents struggling to help their 7-year-old son with his homework. christian was born here, but the parents have never gotten grips with english. >> because we do not speak the language, it is difficult to help him. and we do not know what is going on at school, what changes are being made. we feel excluded from this system, even though we pay our taxes. >> until recently, the state government considered christian and other hispanic children a special case, pouring millions of dollars into a dedicated

department. but that approaches been abandoned by the administration of a republican rising star. susana martinez is america's first latina governor. >> my plan is to focus on the 25% lowest achieving group of kids, regardless of what race. >> in matters to all americans, because these are the workers, innovators, the taxpayers of tomorrow. president obama talks of winning the future. but right now, it is being lost here in the classroom. bbc news, albuquerque. >> from books to baby gifts, at amazon is known worldwide as the market leader for online shopping. but today the company through its hat into the tabloid wars, hoping to take a bite out of apple's ipad sales. will it work? here is our technology correspondent. >> we call it the ipad.

[applause] >> january 2010, steve jobs launches the ipad with the promise of a new way of computing. soon, apple's lead was being followed by rival tablets like the galaxy, this new one from missoni, the zune. but could it be amazon's kindle fire, unveil today, which makes the first challenge to the ipad? amazon already dominates the world of electronic books with the kindle e-reader. now the color touch screen kindle fire hits new markets. it seems to do all the things the ipad does that for around half the price. >> at a lower price, it is hard to do the work to make it possible. we have been working hard on the content, hardware, and software and making it possible to sell at $199. >> the new tablets, which may lose money for amazon at first,

launches in america in november. no word yet on when it comes to britain. tizzies uprising to take a little more than 18 months ago, these netbooks were seen as the future of computing. tablets were a bit of a joke that would never catch on. but now the tablets are taking over, filling up the shelves at stores. you can get them in all sizes, shapes, colors and just about every manufacturer. so far, no one has managed to take a bite out of apple. three out of every four tablets sold right now are ipads. it is a hugely profitable business. but amazon can do that, too. >> what amazon has, like apple has, is all its customers' credit-card and billing details. so when customers buy an amazon tablet, they're kind of walked in, and it gives them is on that opportunity to sell the notches the tablet a lot more products, such as books, music, and video.

>> all sorts of industries are betting that tablets are the future. they will be hoping that amazon will provide a real alternative to apple. bbc news. >> that brings today's show to a close. remember, you can always find constant updates on our website. to find what we're working on, please visit our facebook page. for all of us at "bbc world news america," thank you for watching and see you back here tomorrow. ♪ >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new ñçyçç and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank offers unique -- has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news america" was >> "bbc world news america" was presented by kcet,

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> ifill: tainted cantaloupes grown in colorado have been linked to as many as 13 deaths