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corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news america." >> this is "bbc world news america," reporting from washington. france and germany struggle to rescue greece, but the white house says europe has been too slow. fighting floods and pakistan again, a year after monsoon rains swamped the country, there are warnings that this time could be even worse. >> at this camp, they have run out of tents. many people have to sleep out in the open and more rain is still coming. >> from the south pacific all the way to south lake city. we go to utah, where the polynesian population is flourishing.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. top american officials chastise european leaders for moving too slowly on the debt crisis. the treasury secretary timothy geithner said that europe was behind the curve. today, the leaders of germany, greece, and france held emergency talks amid growing market fears that greece could soon default. can they come up with anything? >> president sarkozy of france and chancellor merkel of germany set out to calm the markets that have been shaken by the fears that greet -- greece could default. we understand that the greek prime minister said that his country is determined to meet

their obligation and qualify for fresh funding. for their part, the leaders of france and germany are convinced that greece belong in the eurozone but they had to stick to their spending targets. here is the problem, every day, greek workers are protesting, are resisting cuts and savings. the doubts will remain whether the greek government can deliver on its promises. at the european parliament today, there was warnings that europe could be destroyed by the eurozone crisis. the mood was gloomy. one minister said that the european union could not survive the breakup of the eurozone. >> we are confronted with the most serious challenge of a generation. this is a fight for what europe represents in the world, a fight for continuing integration itself. >> president barroso said that

the answer was more integration. the u.s. treasury secretary said that europe needed to do more. >> they are absolutely committed and they have the financial capacity to do with it takes to hold this thing together. i think that they recognize that they will have to do more, they recognize that they have been behind the curve. they will have to put more force behind the commitments. >> if there was a default, who holds the greek public debt? immediate losses would hit greek banks, holding 49 billion euros of the dead. germany's banks hold 10 billion euros. france is next with an exposure of 9 billion euros. the risk to british banks is much smaller with 2.2 billion euros. greece was given a chance to prove itself. one of chancellor merkel's closest allies insisted that a default was possible. >> what we have to do is to try

to avoid it. when and if it comes, it has to be done in a controlled manner. >> so, europe's most powerful leaders assured greece that they were a part of the eurozone but they have to deliver austerity cuts and reforms. >> for more on the crisis in the eurozone, i am joined now from new york by the u.s. managing editor for the "financial times." thank you for joining the program. tim geithner said quite clearly that europe has been too slow on this, behind the curve as he put it. wire the american so outspoken? >> -- why are the americans so outspoken? >> the pressure has been building but what has changed is that there is a concern which is more akin to panic.

there is deep anxiety now. what the americans know is that hoping that the worst-case scenario will not materialize does not work. what more and more people in washington and new york are asking, could this be the european version of the lehman brothers crisis. >> could it? >> certainly, the problems are building. europe is facing some unpalatable churches -- choices. i did the germans will have to embrace a version of the eurozone that is different from what they signed up for or that members will have to go their own way. if you look at the rating agencies today in relation to french banks, if you look at the fight in germany, there is a very messy picture building. the problem that concerns americans is that it does not look as though anyone in the eurozone is in control. >> it struck me that you have

germany and france trying to bail out greece and isn't that part of the inherent problem of the eurozone? you have these two big economies and there is in balance with the rest of the members. >> the bitter irony about the eurozone when you look at it from the u.s. is that total debt to gdp is actually lower than it is in both the u.s. and u.k.. what it means is that if the eurozone can get its act together politically, these problems are not impossible to solve. perhaps even more amazing, the growth rates celeste's then in the u.s.. the real issue is that it is all very well with the german leaders say, yes, we will help but the people and the markets know that they are facing a very big fight inside of their own countries. -- the growth rates are less than in the u.s. >> you have economic policy hitting up against politics and

election cycles and not always winning. >> i would agree with that. you tend to not only get action -- only get action when there is a crisis. the big bill to bail out in the banks was only passed the second time around. you had to have a moment of trauma to stimulate action. that has been the case in the eurozone. the problem is dealing with multiple parliaments, not just the u.s. congress. there have been so many crisis already the markets are not able to absorb all of the shocks. it is an issue of things spinning out of control due to a lack of political leadership that is warning people in the u.s.. >> thank you so much. now to pakistan where massive floods are destroying homes and crops once again. just over a year after the

country was devastated by raging monsoon waters, authorities in sindh province are warning it could be worse. >> a full 20 feet below these waters were shops and homes but villages as far as the eye can see across southern pakistan have totally disappeared. the authorities in this province say these funds are even worse than last year's massive disaster. we find this family stranded on a bit of high ground. their homes and gone, most of their livestock drowned, but they did manage to save a couple of chickens. everyone was in the village, but suddenly the rains came. they all fled during the night and left us.

they have now been saved by the army, which has rescued 13,000 people by boat so far. they fear that others are still cut off. >> this is huge. because of the last year's flood, we were coping with that. we were just coping with that kind of damage, and the next flood hit us. so, the damages to fold. >> in scenes reminiscent of last year, once people are rescued, they are brought two camps like this. they have lost their belongings, their homes, and in some cases, members of their families. many people are having to sleep out in the open. more rain is still coming. this is where this family ended up, sheltering anywhere they can and fearing for what the future holds. >> a very difficult time in

pakistan there. in other news, the judiciary in iran has issued a statement denying that the americans held as spies since 2009 are about to be released. shane bauer and josh fattal were sentenced to 8 years in jail last month. on tuesday, president ahmadinejad said that the men would be released within days. there is some confusion there. the u.s. federal court has blamed the gulf oil spill last year on a cement barrier which led to an explosion on the deepwater horizon oil rig. they said that poor management by bp and other companies was to blame. on aluminum producer and hungary has been fined $650 million over the spill of toxic sludge. 10 people were killed when a chemical waste reservoir was breached. a flow of red mud swallowed more

than 200 kilometers. the libyan interim leader believes that gaddafi is still on the country. he made the comments in the past few hours during an interview. the interview began with asking if the leader knows where gaddafi is. >> we cannot say where he is that we know that he is in the south of libya. it is very dangerous to have gaddafi on the run with that much money in gold with them. this is not only dangerous for libya, this is dangerous for all arabs. there will be revenge attacks that will harm people. >> have you made any progress at all in actually catching him? >> the troops loyal to gaddafi have moved south. the rebels have not been able to cross. there is fierce fighting in this area.

we have asked for support to get the right equipment in order to conquer these troops and proceed farther south in order to capture kernel gaddafi and his family. -- colonel gaddafi and his family. >> you have said that he is carrying out attacks. what kind of attacks are you talking about and where? >> he is in possession of of a lot of money and gold. he will be planning a lot of attacks in different places, oil fields, power plants, around libya. >> you have four towns which remain in the hands of gaddafi loyalists. why is it taking so long to capture those towns? that weaddafi's troops have run out of tripoli have situated themselves in bani walid and they're trying to regroup their an order to overcome the revolution. >> everyone said they would fall

very quickly. >> we have been in action for a long time and we are tired. the problem is that they have a lot of heavy weapons and long- range weapons that we are trying to avoid. we don't want to cause a lot of bloodshed but we would like to get into these places as peacefully as possible. >> given all of this, how much do you feel in control of the country particularly given the fact that you have not moved the interim government to tripoli? >> we have not liberated all of libya. we will only move into tripoli as soon as we declare freedom and liberation of libya. >> you are watching "bbc world news america," still to come on the program, from afghanistan to the arab spring, what should the american role be?

in thailand, officials say they have seized nearly 3000 rare animals and what is called the biggest wildlife trafficking bust this year. >> this a truck was carrying hundreds of endangered animals when it was stopped by customs officials. inside, they found an animal -- they found loot worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. officials believe that the animals were being trafficked through the region. >> we have rescued wild animals that are protected by law. we have received information that they were passing through thailand and the smugglers were arrested. we were able to save nearly 3000 animals. >> thailand is a member of the convention on international trade of endangered species which in theory should protect

these animals from being smuggled. trafficking of in danger animals is thought to be rife here. this is a big business. the illegal wildlife trade is thought to amount to billions of dollars every year globally. many of them end up in traditional medicines or on tables eaten as delicacies. these animals have been saved from what was most likely a dismal and. thai officials say they will be sent to a sanctuary three hours away from bangkok, all of them except for the turtles. they will be released back into the ocean. >> 26 people have been killed including three army generals in a plane crash in and pull up. the military aircraft came down about 20 million -- came down about 20 minutes after takeoff. the cause of the accident is not known.

-- 26 people have been killed in a plane crash in angola. in this rapidly changing global, the question of what america should or should not do abroad is more pressing than ever. those who want the u.s. to intervene in places like libya are opposed by those that want to save american dollars and lives by pulling the country back from world affairs. one rising republican is senator marco rubio from florida. he joins me a short time ago from capitol hill. you have been giving a series of speeches about the american role in the world. last night, you said if we refuse to play our rightful role, the entire world will pay a terrible price. do americans really want to be engaged in the world right now? >> americans are concerned about what is happening here at home.

the natural reaction is to say let's worry about our own issues and let everyone take care of their own issues. the problem is when you are a country as large as united states, there is very little that happens around the world that does not influence us. everything in europe is affecting as and vice versa. even if we wanted to, the truth is that issues and events that happened around the world impact of the lives of america's so we have to care. >> caring is one thing, being involved is another. as for the legacy of the wars in iraq and afghanistan, many people in your own party say that this is enough. we have to bring the troops home, we have to focus here at home. >> we cannot solve every problem. there are things that no matter how much we would like to solve, we would not be able to. there are times that we can make a difference, economically, diplomatically, and as a last

resort, militarily. we have to be do dishes. we have to pick our spots on where to get engage. -- we have to be judicious. the origin of the 9/11 plans began in the caves of the hindu kush. there is no region of the world we should not be concerned about. >> you have also criticized cost to the military budget, the u.s. defense budget, but if america is going to balance its budget in the long run, there will have to be hard decisions made and cuts to the defense budget. >> nearly half of our budget deficit problem is driven by the entitlement program. those are really the drivers of our debt. why would you want any waste or duplication of effort in your military budget? on the other hand, the kind of cuts being talked about would in danger of our national security

and our ability to defend ourselves and our allies. there are already $300 billion of cuts approved and discuss. we have to be on the lookout for ways to save money and certainly never want to waste it. on the other hand, we have to understand that our defense spending is not the driver of our national debt. >> let me broaden this out a little bit. you are clearly a product of the american dream. your parents came here from cuba, your mother was a housekeeper in a hotel in nevada. do you think that access to the american dream is as alive today as it was for your parents, given that all of the signs show that there is less social mobility in america now than in europe? >> there is no doubt that it is becoming harder for americans to do better than their parents did. that is what we are fighting about. how can we lived in a world

where people are able to leave their children off better than they were? each generation of americans have to confront the unique challenges to that that exist in their time. that is the calling that we have now. there are many impediments, many of them self-inflicted, that are standing in the way. in the 21st century, it will be difficult to find a job if you don't have an advanced education, whether it is a degree or career training. >> senator marco rubio from florida, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> sometimes he talks like he is running for national office. on the u.s. mainland, this is home to the most polynesian per- capita than any other state. utah has more immigrants from tonka, hawaii, then anyone else. -- tonga, hawaii, than anyone

else. >> in the heart of salt lake city, seven island nations fly their flag at this cemetery. the landscape has barely changed since the first settlers claimed -- came back in '89. >> they would say, if you can imagine water between here and then down, that would look like home. >> this man's grandparents were one of two families that decided to stay. by maintaining the cemetery, he hopes to teach the younger generation about the sacrifices that their ancestors made. >> this is where it started. >> when the second wave of pollinations immigrated in the middle of the 20th-century, they did not return. -- when the second wave of polynesian is integrated.

many americans have grown accustomed to the tall, athletic pacific islanders. at brigham young university, the tribal tattoos have been replaced by logos and team helmets. the team will rely on 34 polynesian players. in some areas, they represent as much as 30% of the team. this is not a recent phenomenon. this goes back to the 1950's. the players were born in polynesia and the use byu as a stepping stone to play professional football. >> for some kids, that is all they have. they have football, they have dreams. they want to go to college and

play at the college level. >> the stereotypical warrior image reinforced by football glory and the dance clashes with the introspective behavior displayed by those same students in the classroom. there, polynesian americans are not performing well. at current high school, only 60% graduate. >> i truly believe that the teacher -- that the people of my culture, if they don't feel like their response will be received intellectually, they will not say a thing in class. >> this class is meant to strengthen the bond and the students' cultural identity. more than a century after arriving in america, this community is still finding its way.

>> and now for a little comic relief, russian style. a television sketch making fun of president medvedev has made headlines by never making it to air. we have the details from moscow. >> it is russian rock and roll. the man in blue is dmitry medvedev on the dance floor at a college reunion. this mobile phone footage has been viewed by millions on the web. now, everyone is copying the president's every move. by dancing light -- by dancing like dmitry medvedev, these dancers took the top prize at a comedy program. when it went to air, this had been edited out. they are not amused.

>> i was surprised. >> the kremlin is keen to point out that president medvedev does have a sense of humor. his aides say they have no idea why the dancing sketch was cut and there has been no official explanation from russian television. media analysts say it is censorship by television bosses keen to avoid upsetting russia's leaders. >> there are no rules what you can show, what can go on the air, what cannot go on the air. what works is censorship, on every level, on every executive level where you make decisions. >> judging by some of the things that the russian leadership gets up to and a line of duty, who needs, the shows to make russians chuckled? -- who needs comedy