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what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> hello and welcome to bbc world news. i am in singapore. >> i am in london. here are the headlines. emotional and overwhelmed. amanda knox returns home to seattle and thanks those who made it possible. >> i want to set say thank you to everyone who has believed in me, and defended me, and support my family. >> amanda knox was committed of the murder of meredith kercher. if seat -- she's met nearly four years in jail. >> france and belgium moved to refuge in the troubled bank. it is about to run out of cash. 10 years after british troops deployed to afghanistan, what has changed? we have a special report from the province. it is not a clock in singapore.

>> it is 2:00 in london. bbc world news is on pbs in america and around the world. welcome to newsday. within the last hour, the american student, amanda knox, has arrived home in seattle to dramatic relief from an italian prison. she is clear along with her former more friend of murdering her previous flat mate. she gave a brief and emotional statement. >> i am really overwhelmed right now. i was looking down from the airplane in it seemed like everything was not real. what is important for me to say is thank you to everyone who has

believed in me, who has defended me, who has supported my family. i just want -- my family is the most important thing to me right now. i just want to go and be with them. so thank you in for being there for me. [applause] >> a very emotional amanda knox there. clearly overwhelmed that are arriving home on american soil on home turf at seattle international airport. this is the scene live of the convoy of cars carrying amanda knox and her family leaving the international airport in seattle. she was greeted by cheers when she entered the news conference just a short time ago. a jubilant crowd there to

support her family and friends awaiting her arrival. she touched down just a half hour ago from london heathrow airport. just a reminder -- it has been a very difficult sentencing for amanda. she was just six hours ago acquitted of the murder of the british student, meredith kercher. her conviction overturned by the italian courts alongside that of her former boyfriend, raffaele sollecito who has returned to south italy where he is from. for more reaction on this, i am joined live from vancouver. he is involved with the friends of amanda knox group. we spoke to you a short time ago. just remind us of your reaction. >> it is very heartwarming. you can tell the relief on her

face and in her words. she is just overwhelmed. rightly so. >> and what you think the family will be doing now? what you think it will be thinking? what would you think their main focus will be? >> when you have been gone for four years, the assimilation back into her life is going to be very difficult. but a man that is amazingly effervescent and resilient. she always has been a. she is a very kind and she will, surely i imagine, the enrolled in the university of washington to complete her degree. if she should have graduated in 2009, but that did not happen, unfortunately. >> she has had lots of support in her home city. she has also had a lot of support from the media in the united states. that has not been the case in other parts of the world.

i understand the people you represent have received some hate mail throughout the years that you were campaigning for amanda's release. how will you cope with opinions that will still undoubtedly be made about her. >> there are two kinds of opinions against her. there are the kinds that are uninformed and ignorant and there are the kinds of people who believe that college kids could have a sex orgy and sexual assault and murder someone by slitting their throats. those people are mentally ill. it is impossible. the courts found that. the court set up -- the corporate debt said that there are no facts or that the facts are not set to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. the court could have said that there are facts that are

contradictory so there is an acquittal. but the court took pains to say there are no facts that support a murder charge. there are no facts that support a sexual assault charge. and what has gone on, especially in the first two or three years, and only in the last year turned around a little bit, is a press that was led by stringers and freelance people in italy that made a lot of money by selling the salacious stories and made a lot of money by printing and publishing the false lies without going to the police about amanda knox. it is untrue. almost everything you have heard about the case. >> you know the legal process extremely well. i wondered if you are familiar with the next stage in this

case, given the fact that the prosecution team thought to appeal the overturning of her conviction. that will mean that it will be taken up to a supreme court in italy. >> that is correct. let me say -- we all feel the tremendous pain and grief for the kercher family. it is overwhelming. it is the worst thing that could happen to parents or siblings. god bless them and i wish them nothing but the best. but yes, the judge has 90 days to write out the logic and motivation behind the decision. the prosecution, after that, has the right to appeal it to the supreme court. i think amanda will appeal, i do not know this but, will appeal the slander charged by patrick.

there is still some to play out. i have a feeling that once the document is published in english of the motivations of the trial judge, people will see clearly what was evident and facts and what was false evidence and not fact. what was a miss characterization and demonization of these two innocent kids and mainly, amanda knox. in my opinion, it was a tremendous injustice by a very vengeful and vexatious police department led by monica napolioni that put out to the press lie after lie about amanda knox. >> we appreciate you joining us on bbc news. thank you very much for that. it has been a busy 36 hours, to

say the least, for amanda knox and her family. we can speak now to david who has been following this story for us at seattle international airport. as you can see now, the media were there some hours ago now clearly disbanded as she has made her way away from the airport. >> absolutely. amanda knox and her family are now gone from here after a fairly brief but very emotional statement from her. she said that she was overwhelmed to be back home. she said that looking down from the airplane, it seemed as though it was not real. she virtually collapsed in tears on several occasions and had to be helped, supported by her sister at the end. she thanked everybody who supported her, everybody who kept the faith.

and she said, and i think this is significant, she said that what she most wanted to do is to be with my family. that is a clear suggestion that there won't be any more public appearances from amanda knox for the foreseeable future, at least. >> david, a huge media and dressed in amanda and her family. we were not able to see in terms of numbers how many had gathered here. we did see the initial response when amanda walked into the room. tears and jubilation. >> absolutely. there were quite a few supporters as well who turned up here to swell the ranks of the journalists. there must have been about 50, 60, maybe 70 reporters, photographers here. a lot of them from local television stations, the media outlets in this area. amanda knox has a lot of

supporters here after almost four years. many of them have been pretty tireless in their efforts to raise objections with the way things were going in italy and to focus on her case. i have to say, if you talk to people here in seattle, there are not many people that you can find who believe that she had anything to do with the murder of mary the curvature. -- meredith kercher. >> there are speculation about book deals and interviews for amanda knox. do we know anything about that? >> we do not. there is a lot of speculation to that effect. you are absolutely right. talks of a book deal, talks of a hollywood film based on the story of her last four years. i have got to say though, the

family has spent a lot of money going backwards and forwards to italy. they are not wealthy to start with and will have to start: $1 million or so for all that they have had to do in terms of hiring lawyers and so on and so forth. clearly, there will be looking at some stage at what offers to come in. quite a remarkable story. >> david, thank you very much for that. our correspondent at the seattle international airport. >> i am joined by a reporter for the west seattle herald who have stalled the story closely over the last four years. before we bring you and, i want to point out that we are watching live pictures from seattle of amanda's family speaking to local journalists who have gathered. her father, they are not live,

but pictures there of amanda knox's father speaking to journalists that have gathered there. steve, back to you. you have been covering this story closely over the last couple of years. talk us through how the u.s. media have been reporting her case. >> thank you for the opportunity. the first thing we want to clarify, we have tremendous respect for david. i want to correct something that, in my opinion, he missed. four years ago or even two years ago, many people in both seattle and west seattle thought that amanda was either guilty or had something to do with the murder. however, when the courts appointed forensic experts and they came up with the evidence that the dna on the so-called

murder weapon was bogus, a lot of people thought that she did not have anything to do with it and that she was just spending the night with her boyfriend. whereas david reported for four years we have been supporters, there has been a lot of new wants about folks thinking they thought she was guilty or as something to do with it. once the forensics can out, here we saw some of the prosecutors theories. >> that clearly showed that over the last two years, there has been a difference in the way the u.s. media and european media have reported on amanda knox's involvement in this case. >> more importantly, i do not speak italian, but the tabloid's have been more generous towards amanda's situation and her family.

they used to call her foxy knoxy, sex-crazed, etc. they have been trending towards the police offered rate. we have seen a transition there. >> there has been speculation about whether or not she will get a book deal, due of -- do interviews on american news network. will that be the case? >> from what i've heard talking to her family and friends and knowing her family, as i do, i think the book deal option would make more sense. it is something intellectual. she knows how to write. she is artistic. i think the movie deal idea and going around being interviewed for money idea is a little tacky, to the sensibility based

on what her parents have told me. i think a book deal might be possible. initially, i think she's going to go home and they're going to have a big barbecue with her family. i have been as some of those barbeques. she is always there in spirit or as a ghost, but she will be here in real life. i would like to pile onto what david said. i consider him a friend and colleague, but yes, meredith has not been forgotten in any way. i think that is a perception that some listeners might not understand. >> steve, we will let you go. you will be busy writing of an article for the west seattle harold, i am sure. thank you for that. if you are watching news and on the bbc. live from singapore. more still to come. british troops were deployed to afghanistan. we find out what will be

happening with a special report. archbishop desmond tutu has compared the south african government to the apartheid regime. the spiritual leader canceled his trip to south africa to attend his 80th birthday celebration, saying he was not issued a visa in time. protesters outside parliament just hours before the dollar lama announced he was canceling his visit to south africa. the spiritual leader of tibet had been invited to celebrate archbishop desmond tutu's 80th birthday. as the hours went past, the protest turned up and the possibility of him being issued a visa was not looking good. >> it is unthinkable. 10 years ago, there was support for the apartheid struggle. we would have been outraged.

i am outraged now for the same reason. >> the visit of the dali lama has been a hugely motivating factor because of the support he gave against the white-minority rule. it is a relationship, but it is he not to put it in jeopardy. still no word from the south african fight tuesday morning. the dollar llama's office issued a statement. the dalai lama has decided to call off his jet. -- call of his trip. the relations between china and south that has strengthened and the last years. the south african government has been insisted it is not being influenced by china. with news of the cancellation, the foreign affairs ministry has refused to comment. karen allen, bbc news, cape

town. >> i am in singapore. >> i am in london. the headlines for you and this hour. amanda knox as a rock, and seattle. she says she is thankful to those made it possible. >> amanda knox acquitted of the murder of meredith kercher. she spent nearly four years in jail. the moody's investors service has downgraded italy's consumer credit rating. citing in risk. the decision will make it hard for the anti-government to service its debt. meanwhile, the approval of the creation of a back tax for assets held by the troubled

franco-indulgent bank. shares have felt -- shares of fallen sharply over the last trading days. here is our business editor. >> it started as a sovereign debt crisis with european countries like greece not being able to pay their debt and because of fears about whether banks are strong enough to withstand losses. it is now a banking crisis. >> the whole financial sector is getting dumped. >> the only solution for greece is to go into default. >> the euro authorities are so shocked by what is going on, they have not spoken. >> today, european finance ministers meeting in luxembourg did not talking about what is at stake, but not a lot of fixing. >> ever wanted they realize that time is running out. we did make some progress. i think what is going on in europe, what is going on in the

banking system, confirms my view that this is going to do damage. it is doing damage at the moment. >> the first and victim is the french and bottom belgian franc. -- french and belgian bank. what has made them so goal honorable is that it is heavily dependent on borrowing from banks and investors. to the tune of 240 billion punds. at times of high anxiety, those creditors will not land and they often want their money back. when banks cannot borrow, it is curtains. that is why they're talking to the french and belgian government about a rescue plan. painful memories are being revived in the banking crisis of 2008, when banks were too frightened to lend to each other. this time, they're focusing on

italian and french banks. >> eggs are putting more and more money back to the ecb/ that means that the interbank market is not working. >> in markets around the world, it was on everyone's lips, including the head of the central bank. >> market uncertainty about the resolution of the greek situation, about the broader resolution of both sovereign debt issues and european banking issues has created an enormous amount of on sunday and volatility in the financial markets. one of the reasons our recovery has been slower this year than last year is because we have faced a lot of financial volatility. some is coming from the europe situation. >> there is a recognition by european governments that euro banks must be strengthened. what is unclear is whether they will do that fast enough to prevent financial crisis.

>> is 10 years this week since british forces in touched down in afghanistan. what has been achieved in that time and will the plan to withdraw troops by the end of 2014 succeed? we report live from afghanistan. >> stabilizing afghanistan has cost britain 382 lives. and billions of pounds. [gunfire] the campaign is finally making progress. but for years, british troops were pinned down in their bases. development follows security. this is a new road.

perhaps it will turn people against the taliban. they are still able to intimidate the locals. >> if the taliban see as talking to you, they will be head us, he says. the afghan security forces know that nato is going and they are worried. >> i cannot ensure security here with a few ak47's. we should not lie. without nato, we can i do this. -- we cannot do this. most of the taliban have been pushed back from this area. there are still a few insurgents active. that requires a combined force of nato-afghan troops of around 2000. that is why it is such an intense effort.

to get a political solution to this conflict. meanwhile, the consular for nato control in 2012 cited success. >> it is not about creating a new democracy. it is not about creating a new everything else, it is about restoring what people had before. that is where we are at now. >> what then as the british army's engagement been for? >> you have seen sacrifice by many courageous people. but look at what we are trying to achieve and it has been harmful to our national security. that is a price worth paying. >> nato except that part of afghanistan will remain a violent four years to come. >> you have been watching

tuesday on the bbc. i am in singapore. >> and i am in london. thanks for watching. stay with us. >> 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. union bank. and shell. >> this is kim - about to feel one of his favorite sensations. at shell, we're developing more efficient fuels in countries like malaysia that can help us get the most from our energy

resources. let's use energy more efficiently. let's go. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.