>> this is bbc world news. funding for this program is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vt., and honolulu. newman's own foundation, and union bank. ♪ >> 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. >> welcome to newsday on the bbc. >> the headlines this hour -- >> the fears grow over the state of the global economy. no surprises -- now share prices in asia plummet. >> and libya, anti-gadhafi forces say they have taken control of a key town in the south of the country. and nasa warns that debris from a dead satellite is expected to hit earth sometime in the next 24 hours. >> it is 9:00 a.m. here in singapore. >> it is 2:00 a.m. here in london. we're broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world. this is newsday.

>> share prices around the world have plummeted as markets reacted to a series of grim warnings about the state of the global economy. in london, the ftse was down nearly 5% while, in the u.s., the dow went down nearly 400 points. the asian markets also open a down. we'll have more details of those in a moment. first, speaking in washington, the head of the international monetary fund has warned that the chances of recovery are narrower now than at any time in the last three years. stephanie flanders has coverage from there. >> if policy makers wanted to raise the alarm this week about the risks facing the global economy, then they have done it. the markets are very large. >> we have a political crisis, a financial crisis, and a banking crisis. >> of the news release by the

u.s. are terrible at the moment. >> if you're trying to play these markets on a day-to-day basis, you will be playing with a gun to your head. >> markets tumbled around the world today with the ftse in london down nearly 5% this is what happened to it over the past six months. at abc debate, held at the international monetary fund, the head of one of the world's largest investor funds said that the problem was simple. investors do not buy the solution to the crisis that is being sold to them by politicians, especially when it comes to greece. >> 1 lawn looks at the greek programs, the -- when one looks at the great programs, the market looks at one simple ticklish impaired will growth be restored? the answers now. will the problems be lifted? >the answer is no. and everyone stands on the sidelines. >> added to the sense of urgency, a letter to the french president about the party of the g-20 summit. it said that the risks were

reaching pre-crisis high and a conference of citizens, businesses, and markets have been damaged. in that letter, the ministers put their finger on the problem. they say the fall in confidence comes from a lack of visible political will. the gap was opened up between with the economy needs and what the markets are calling for and what politicians are able to deliver, especially in the year rose on. having identified that problem -- especially in the euro zone. having identified that problem, is there a solution? europeans need to beef up their fire power to support governments in trouble and short troubled banks. the u.s. treasury secretary pressed european ministers to do that when they met last week. now he says they will do it. >> i am very confident they will move in the direction of expanding the effective financial capacity for a set of

financial arrangements because i have no alternative to do it. they will do it. there will try to figure a way to get there as politically attractive as possible. >> that sounded encouraging. but then i asked the year king commissioner who sounded like they will hold their breasts. -- hold their breath. >> we want to look at the possibility of leveraged in resources and funding to have a stronger impact and make it more effective. but as i said, we have to do one thing at a time. now we are completing verification in the parliaments. then we will be on to the next phase . >> the head of the imf says that politicians had acted. this is needed to do more appeared now is the time. >> it is a dangerous phase. but there is a path for recovery. that path is not as wide as it was in 2008. it is narrower. but there is a collective will, a collective drive to actually take that path and apply the remedies and the set of policies

that we see. there's hope for the future. >> policymakers want to focus on the positive, pinkett path out of this scary time which markets can believe. but right now, investors seem to be having trouble seeing it. theet's take a look at how falls in europe and the u.s. are affecting the asian markets. they are scaling back some other steeper losses made at the (korea's cosby continues to be sold off -- at the open. to bes kospi continues sold off. and u.s. crude futures fell more than 6%, echoing the sell-off in stocks, but recovering somewhat now in their asian trade appeared let's take a look at

the currency's peg the dollar's rising, having its best day in more than a month. while the euro continue to tumble as well. the dollar-yen is currently trading at 76.26. admiral -- admiral mike mullen has accused pakistan's intelligence service in aiding the haqqani group last week. the group was effectively pakistani intelligence. >> last tuesday, a truck bomb attack in central kabul targets the u.s. embassy. now america says it was plotted by the help of its ally pakistan. by the end of the mayhem, 25 people were dead. they blame the haqqani network, which had help from the

pakistani intelligence service. america's top military man, admiral mike mullen, one of the president's most closest advisers had never been so blunt. the government of pakistan uses violent extremism as an instrument of policy. >> by exploiting violence, they have eroded their internal security and the position in the region. they have undermined their international credibility and threatened their economic well- being. only a decision to break with this policy can pave the road to a positive feature for pakistan. >> the haqqani network operates untouched from within pakistan. they are linked to the taliban sympathetic to al qaeda appeared it is suspected that they are armed and trained by those inside pakistan. the government denies it. >> i categorically deny it.

i categorically deny it. we have no such policy to attack or to a detect with pakistani forces or through pakistani assistance . >> america's patience seems to have snapped with a country that it is around $4.5 million in aid every year. the relationship has been fraught up and down ever since 9/11. since the killing of been latent on pakistani soil earlier this year, -- of osama bin laden of pakistani soil earlier this year, relations have been strained. it is not quite clear what america will do. it may clearly ignored as it has done so often in the past. >> another breakthrough has been

claimed in a former gaddafi stronghold . >> forces say they have taken control of the town in the south of the country. several key supporters of colonel gaddafi have fled from the town to news year -- to niger. >> the fact that the anti- gadhafi fighters have taken over this place is very key. what we see here is this city of 100,000 people, the biggest desert city in the south of libya, hundreds of kilometers away from aaa, sits right on the main highway that comes all the way down from aaa and it's down here to -- from tripoli and it's down here. gaddafi fighters are now in

position to control the exit route and be in a position to control the south of the stoc country, too. there are a couple of cities for the to the north where they are still holding out. >> another one-time senior official, the former prime minister of libya has been arrested in tunisia officials say he was detained as he was right to leave the country on wednesday night. supporters of the opposition candidate in the zambian presidential elections have been celebrating after he was declared the winner. he defeated the incumbent who took office after the death of the pri's he of -- after the death of the previous president in 2008. readings of subatomic particles

traveling faster than light have astounded scientists. the palestinian president will put forward a bit for palestine to be given full membership at the united nations later on friday. despite opposition from the united states and israel, palestinian president has pressed ahead with his campaign. it will veto any bill that comes to the council. >> the palestinian president says he will submit his application to the secretary general in a few hours' time, asking that palestine be accepted as a member state of the united nations. the americans have already said they would veto such a move. president obama has been trying all week to get mr. abbas to change his mind. he says the only way to state what is through direct

negotiations with the israelis and not through statements or resolutions at the un. palestinians believe this will strengthen their move in negotiations with israelis. it peace process sponsored by the americans has failed. the stage is set for a confrontation get the europeans are quite alarmed by this. they are afraid that, if the americans a veto it palestinian membership a bit, that will cause outrage in the middle east which is already full of the people of the arab spring. there try to broker a compromise that will be a return to peace talks within one year. those attempts will probably continue, even after mr. abbas submit his application. this is really the start of any process that will eventually lead to any members of for the palestinians in the united nations. >> you are watching used on the

bbc from singapore and london a growing call for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the assassination of afghanistan's talk peace negotiator. ile, rest in julch students demanding educational reform. >> doctors and london are being allowed to carry at europe's first clinical trial using human embryonic stem cells. they will inject themselves into the eyes of patience with the progress of form of sight loss. >> can you read these? >> from this distance, no. >> since childhood, julia hawkins has been losing her sight, leaving her with only peripheral vision. for the first time, there's hope of an effective treatment for

the disorder. it is known as star got disease. retinal cells derived from human embryonic stem cells will be injected into the back of the eye. here is the procedure being carried out on a patient in california by the biotech firm act who has linked up with more field. >> a vast number people who have blinding eye diseases because of retinal degeneration, this is a bit of excitement stem cell therapies may be of value to these people who may otherwise not have called for their vision. >> patients hope that larger doses could eventually be used to halt or even reverse the condition. scientists now have a realistic sense of the treatment.

bone marrow has been successfully transplanted for decades. more recently, and build patients sense tells -- own stem cells have been used to regrow windpipes. doctors are urging caution, not wishing to raise hopes without proof that the science actually works. >> this is newsday on the bbc. >> our headlines this hour -- share prices around the world have plummeted as markets react to a series of grim warnings about the state of the global economy. >> the most senior u.s. military officer accused pakistan intelligence service of supporting an attack on the u.s. embassy in kabul. more on those comments by admiral mike maulings on the haqqani network. joining me now by webcam from

new york is david road. he is an author and expert on haqqani network who was kidnapped by the taliban while working as a journalist in afghanistan three years ago. he managed to escape after more than seven months in captivity. you were allegedly kidnapped by the taliban. they were supposedly members of the haqqani network. what can you tell us about this network and who makes the upper structure? >> it was definitely the haqqani network. my primary kidnapper was a family member in haqqani. they invited me to an interview just outside of ckabul. they quickly move me out of afghanistan and into pakistan they held me there for seven months. >> admiral mullen says the group is an arm of the pakistan intelligence service. why would the isi support this

group? what could they possibly benefit from it? >> i believe it is part of the india-pakistan rivalry. a hard-line of the pakistani never sees the haqqani network as proxy's. they can support influence in afghanistan. they feel that the u.s. will simply withdraw from afghanistan and india will try to encourage or surround pakistan. i frankly think it is a police policy. while those in captivity, i saw haqqani members working with pakistani taliban. these are militants trying to over so -- to overthrow the pakistani state and seize nuclear weapons. it is surprising and a disservice to the pakistani people it is the approach that the pakistani military is taking. >> what do you think needs to be done to try to bring this group to the negotiating table for

peace in the region? is that at all possible? >> i think that the pakistani military has used haqqani for peace negotiation. there's no proof at this point, but it is possible that the haqqani and the isi may have been involved in a assassination of the head of the eight afghanistan peace council. american officials are now threatening to send u.s. forces over the border to go after haqqani. there has been some talk of this that the u.s. government would continue a freeze in american military aid to the pakistani military until they confront the haqqani. it is an extreme situation. the u.s. has given more than $10 billion in aid in military dollars since 2001. if they are backing the taliban groups that are killing american soldiers. >> we will leave it there. thank you.

in other news, in afghanistan, there are growing calls for an investigation for the circumstances around the assassination of the country's top peace negotiator. professor roy bonnie was killed on tuesday. >> security in the capital has been title weekend many streets across the center will be closed to traffic on friday. the former president will be buried on a hilltop close to this house where he held a meeting on tuesday when he had been searching for peace but lost his life. president karzai has revealed that he received a letter coming from the group that runs the taliban. not ae said that it was message of peace bid using the name of religion was a trick. the messenger was a killer. but even before the former president is very, his political

allies are demanding a full inquiry. or was the meeting so urgent that he had to be called back from abroad to hold it? >> we need an answer. our people me that answer. why is it that it was so urgent? >> you are not blaming president car die for the death progress i am asking him to mention to the -- you are not blaming president carter for the death. >> i am asking him to answer to the people. call him quickly to attend that meeting and his assassination. >> why was it so important that president karzai call the former president back from abroad to hold this meeting? >> riot police in chile had used

water cannons to break up a demonstration of the country's education system. it is the latest in a four-month campaign for free public education. >> newsom some of the biggest protest -- these are some of the biggest protests on the streets of santiago. when the marches along the capital's streets reached the city center, the riot police moved in with teargas and water cannons. dozens of students have been detained. they're calling for sweeping reforms to the education system, including a fund to ensure they can afford a university degree. the president says he has been responsive to the students' demands. >> the government is committed to preserving education for all our young people.

evidently, the young people themselves have to do their part. the chilean government is totally and completely committed to quality education for each and every one of our children. >> he is facing his biggest crisis since coming to office 18 months ago. the depth of feeling into the situation is profound. they feel the government has been insensitive to the problems of an antiquated and unequal education system. reforms are in front of congress. but the protesters say they do not go far enough. while it continues to bring people out on to the streets in such numbers, education will dominate chilean politics for months to come. >> you have a news of the biggest piece of space junk to fall of orbit in more than three decades. >> that is right it is a six-ton

satellite that is heading for earth. even while most of it is expected to burn off as it races to the earth's atmosphere, some bits are expected to hit the ground. at the moment, it is too early to predict when and where that will be. >> from space, routes or but since pristine and desolate. but this is what you are not seeing, tens of thousands of bits of junk that we have accumulated since we first began sending satellites into space more than 50 years ago. and this one is tumbling toward earth. it is a six-ton upper atmosphere research satellite will break up into the earth's atmosphere. 26 chunks will land somewhere on earth. here are the latest pictures taken from the ground by an amateur astronomer. >> these 26 components, which we do anticipate will survive all the way to the surface, will be

going at a moderate the loss may typically on the order of tens to hundreds of miles per hour. >> the pieces will crashed to earth sometime tomorrow. no one knows where. but nasa says it is more likely to lead in the sea than in the ground. and the chances of it hitting someone are more than one in 3000. >> ever since the soviet union launched sputnik, pieces have been falling from the sky on a regular basis. space is more crowded than you think. currently, there are around 1000 operational satellites in europe appeared there are also 20 two thousand bits of space junk from zero satellites that are now defunct. more than 20,000 bits of space hardware have fallen back toward earth. none have cause any injury. but it was a close thing in 2003 when the shuttle columbia tragically exploded.

nasa says no one should touch any fragments if they do land in a populated area. >> it could be sharp. it could be hot for reentry. you could injure yourself on it. remember, it is also the property of the u.s. government. you're not allowed to take it and selling on ebay. >> the pieces are expected to hit earth late tomorrow evening. they will only know two hours before hand for they are likely to land. >> you have been watching newsday from the bbc. >> a quick reminder of our main use pin share prices around the world have plummeted as markets react to a series of grim warnings about the state of the global economy. the head of the international monetary fund says that the chances of a recovery are in more narrow now than any time in the last three years. more on that grim news from both of us in london and singapore. thank you for watching bbc

newsday. >> make sense of international news @ bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vt., and honolulu. newman's own foundation and union bank. ♪ >> union bank offers unique

insight and expertise in a range of industries. what can we do for you? >> bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles. by kcet los angeles.