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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> a former british prime minister said the news international paid the criminals to get to this secret information the euro zone spec third largest economy. >> more concerns about the security situation in afghanistan as the president's half-brother is killed. salt of the earth, wide demand -- white it is leading the u.s. back underground. >> it is 9:00 in singapore. >> the pressure on news

international has intensified with fresh criticism from the court in brown -- gordon brown bread he claimed that the sunday times newspaper page criminals to obtain his financial and medical records. on wednesday, ministers will discuss whether to call on s.ant this report does contain some flash photography. >> here is gordon with rupert

murdoch's daughter. for years, they stayed close together, but no more. the smiles of fell away. they accuse them of using criminals to investigate his private life. >> i have my bank accounts, my lawyers files, someone was getting information from my lawyers. my tax returns went missing at one point, medical records have been broken into. i do not know how this happened. but i do know one thing. there is absolute proof that news international was involved in hiring people to get this information i do know that the people they work with our criminals. >> he claimed they were looking for information about a flat on this london street that you bought in the early 1990's.

>> are you considering resigning? >> this is the editor of "the sunday times." in a statement tonight, the paper said, we believe no law was broken, no criminal was used, and this story was published. he attacked the way reporters that his son was suffering from cystic fibrosis. it left some in tears. >> your son is now going to be broadcast across the media. we are incredibly upset about it. we're thinking about our family, but there is nothing that you

can do about it. >> other parents in public life have also had children with medical conditions were sympathetic. >> my heart goes out to gordon brown. i know this myself when your child is not well, it is completely unacceptable. >> they said they did not access any medical records. the story originated from a member of the public. the article was written sensitively and appropriately. above all, mr. brown accused news international of having an agenda against him. rupert murdoch had wanted the media regulator of reforms. he did not. >> all the papers will be there for people to see. it will show that we stood up to news international. we refuse to support the commercial ambitions.

>> mr. brown has now widened the attacked two other newspapers within the group. an attack that has been pressed, by the current leader. tomorrow, he will ask them to back a motion calling for rupert murdoch to withdraw his bed, a motion backed by the government. there is a good chance that he will be able to question james murdoch if they agree to appear before a committee next week. >> across the atlantic, a senator calls for a probe whether alleged hacking had extended to u.s. businesses. more aboutout a bit

that. let's go to washington and speak to our correspondent. they are falling deeper into this phone-hacking scandal. >> this story is gaining traction and a u.s. the senator you referred to is the rockefeller, a democrat and chairman of the commerce committee. he puts out a statement this evening saying that the report is offensive, a serious breach of journalistic ethics. this raises serious questions about whether the company has broken u.s. law. i call upon the appropriate agencies to investigate. i am concerned that the admitted phone-hacking in europe may

extend to 9/11 victims. he does not present any evidence to prove this. it is something that has been reported here and is causing concern and is calling for an investigation. >> does he have any similar relations and about any key u.s. senators? >> news corp. is massively powerful all over the world. it owns "the wall street journal." there are a number of right wing conservative politicians who are presenters on fox news. the link between the politics and the media are there. we are just getting the first

signed here that this is scratching across the atlantic and there is political anger building here. it remains to be seen is whether the department of justice will investigate. >> ok, thank you very much. it has been a volatile day on the financial markets, reflecting anxiety about the debt crisis in the euro zone. the international credit rating agencies moody's has downgraded to junk status. there are also concerned about its illegal and that it could follow greece and portugal. and that itliy could follow greece and portugal. >> the third biggest economy and address them, -- in the euro z

one, italy. >> let's hope we do not end up like greece, this man said. in brussels, europe's finance ministers gathered. there used to be an assumption that if a country uses the zero, lending money to that country is safe. the greek debt crisis has changed all of that. many international investors are worried they may not get back all of the money they lent to grace. by extension, they are rethinking the terms on which they've been lent money to other euro countries that are heavily in debt. that is why the interest rate payments to its lead -- italy and others are going up. finance ministers said they have now agreed to work quickly on a second bailout for greece.

they also said they will increase the size of the rescue mechanism currently in place and adjust the terms of eu loans to make it cheaper for them to pay off their debts. there are serious disagreements within europe about how to help greece and all the while, other countries are getting dragged into the crisis. >> violence has spread for a third night. bombs and missiles have been thrown at police officers. officers responded by using water cannons. the security lapse in afghanistan with tragic consequences. what more can you tell us? >> he was regarded as one of the

powerful politicians and the country. his death has raised new fears about instability ahead of the handover to afghan forces. the white house has condemned the killing. " he described himself as the most powerful man in southern afghanistan. few disagreed. ahmad wali karzai was a controversial figure. he said that he added spice to afghan life great the roads to the compound were closed. the president's half brother lived under the tightest security, only the most trusted could get close. the head of personal protection it aroused no suspicion. without saying a word, he shot him twice. >> he said, this morning, my younger brother -- this is the

life of the afghan people. we have all suffered the same kind of people. forgive me for not speaking with a smile today. he was said to be deeply involved with the opium trade. he had many of their enemies. in april, he spoke to a documentary group about attempts on his life. >> a major suicide attack on me and my office. >> are there still threats against you now? >> every day. >> the taliban? drug-traffickers stock? >> ahmad wali karzai became close to being charged with

corruption they say they have lost a strong man in the fight against the taliban. the fight just became harder. >> the un security council has strongly condemned attacks against the american and french embassies in damascus. stock for injured and property were damaged and government supporters stormed the energy -- embassies on television. >> thousands of people have held a protest in cairo demanding the removal of egypt's ruling military council. the activist want faster political reform. the elections in september could be delayed. the wikileaks website founder has begun an appeal at against

extradition from britain to sweden. he is accused of sexual offenses. his lawyers told the high court in london that the description of the charges were misleading and unfair. he denies any wrongdoing. still to come on the program, more on the u.k. phone-hacking scandal, what it means for media relationships around the world. >> breyer earth elements are crucial, but to controls the lion's share of production? police and guatemalans have arrested two men in the collection of argentine singer. he was one of the most respected folk singers. his car was ambushed.

>> he gave voice to millions of the disenfranchised latin america is back on home soil. after his violent killing in guatemala city last week, the argentine folk singer was returned or he will be mourned the most. they also have questions about how a musician once named the u.n. peace envoy could have been brutally murdered. >> we know there is an investigation about the person who drove the car. if anything more further from the ideals of time, it will be violence or anything related to the drug cartels. >> the authorities and what ramallah, under pressure to act swiftly, have arrested two men.

the country's chief prosecutor said they have been caught on video following the music promoter. he was also injured in the attacks. >> the murder has been a source of great embarrassment to the guatemalan government. it has strained ties with argentina b. ♪ >> the pressure on news international has intensified with fresh criticism from the

former british prime minister and senior police officials. >> it has been a volatile day on the financial markets in britain. >> half of the countries around the globe have long been regarded as strategic elements. rare earth elements can only be found in a few parts of the world. 97% are produced in china. >> in a dusty old mine, america is sticking to secure its future. it is a substance found in very few places. in these rocks are rare earth

elements, essential high-tech building blocks. there is a shortage. >> we have done enough exploration to know that it will last at least 30 years. >> this mine closed 10 years ago. it is viable again. >> china, fortunately, is producing 97% of what the world needs. but they're starting to eat more of their own. they're starting to consume more of their own art earth. earth. that is why this mine are trying to get up and running. >> there is an urgent demand to these elements. this is what they are digging for. each of these socks is worth well over 100,000 pounds. it gets turned into a metal.

the metal is useful for us. our television sets need an element for a full-color picture. they are essential for some many things today. the latest generation of wind turbines to run more efficiently with where earth magnet. harvard cars for electric vehicles are full of them. the future of affordable green technology depend on these elements. the guided missiles and fighter jets. >> we should be worried when any country dominates any raw material supply. i do not think china is uniquely at fault. in this situation, but they are using the political leverage. >> as technology changes the world, demands are different for actual resources and they will become more important. the competition could reshape global politics.

>> there has been some severely bad weather in new zealand trade is a massive headache for people over there. what can you tell us? >> residents are being affected. these storms are affecting new zealand with the wind up to 110 kilometers per hour. thunderstorms, snow, are likely to affect cities do what the country. thank you so much for joining us. give us the latest weather situation there. >> the cold arctic winds have been here for the last week or so. it started with some very strong storms. the colder air is starting to work its way across the south island.

go back a couple of weeks ago, they were dying for some snow. over the past day or so, they had so much snow they were not able to get to some of the resorts. there has even been some strong thunderstorms with tornadoes over the past day or so as well. >> what advice are you telling residents in the affected areas? >> it varies from top to bottom. further south, the rest is mainly for the snow. everywhere, there has been a risk for wind. it has come in bursts. driving has been difficult. for the south, for people

travelling on some of the roads, it could be affected by this note, they have to bear in mind the change -- chains. there is a bit of good news. in the next few days, there will be this cold and arctic air and it will slowly eased away. it will finally start to settle down. >> thank you so much for that update. more now on our top story, the political storm in britain engulfing the world's second biggest media company, news corp.. "news of the world" has provoked a huge debate about how the media should be regulated. to tell us more, i'm joined from hong kong by our next guest.

thank you so much for joining us. how does asia compared to the uk? >> asia is not immune from desperate in the work you have rambunctious media, hong kong is a particular example of that, they have their own stories as well. >> what role do it was polite in how the media response? >> you have to look at this example. let's look at hong kong. over the last 15 years, they had a very wild media. they have more than a dozen newspapers. you'll see a similar trajectory of media access, a couple of reaction, and government response. about 15 years ago, hong kong

had a huge scandal in which there was a story about a woman who committed suicide by jumping out of a window and taking her young children with her. a few days later, at a very popular newspapers splashed photographs across the page of the way were supposedly not grieving. it turned out that the photographs were staged. there was a huge outcry. the commission recommended very harsh media laws. the media responded by -- >> what time prevents these councils from happening again? >> the media can do some more self regulation. clearly, in asia, for example, governments are much more likely to have restrictions. they are not just going after

traditional media. they're going after the internet. by trying to do responsible journalism. >> thank you so much for joining us. >> the pressure on news international has intensified with fresh criticism from former british prime minister. the purchase government is supporting calls for rupert murdoch to drop bthe bid. plenty more to come on that.

thank you for watching. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global

financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.