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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> hello and welcome to "newsday." >> emotional and overwhelmed, amanda knox arrives home in seattle. >> thank you to everyone who defended main, who defended me, who support my family. >> she was acquitted of the murder of british student meredith kercher. >> france and belgium moved to rescue amid fears it is about to run out of cash. 10 years after troops deployed on pakistan, we have a special -- on afghanistan, we have a

special report. >> it is currently 11:00 in the morning in singapore. >> it is 4:00 a.m. in london. this is "newsday." >> amanda knox has returned to our home in united states ought to be cleared of murder after spending four years in prison. on monday, amanda knox and performer boyfriend were acquitted of the murder of british student meredith kercher. she spoke briefly at a news conference. >> a home at last, after almost four years and an italian prison, the plane carrying amanda knox touches down in seattle.

back on u.s. soil, she was escorted across the tarmac surrounded by the friends and family to have supported her since her arrest in 2007. >> i am really overwhelmed right now. i was looking down from the airplane and it seems like everything was not real. what is important for me to say is thank you to everyone who was believed in me, who has defended me, who supported my family. i just want -- my family is the most important thing to me right now and i just want to go and be with them. thank you for being there for me.

>> this is where she will be spending that time with her family. a small community in america's pacific northwest, where a simple sign hangs in her father's home. amanda knox has considerable support here. >> we thought this was impossible. we know her and we know her character. it would be an absolute impossibility. does the outrageousness of the prosecution's language tells you all you need to know. >> for the family of meredith kercher, the student who was found with her throat cut, it is back to square one. one person remains in prison for meredith's murder. italian prosecutors say he acted with others, but it was not amanda knox and raffaele sollecito. ho was it? the italian prosecutor plans to

appeal the verdict. >> back in the u.s., amanda knox heading home with her family. her attorney is now over. the challenge of rebuilding her life is now beginning. >> our correspondent was at the airport in seattle to see amanda knox arrived. >> amanda knox and her family are gone from here after a very brief and emotional statement. she said that she was overwhelmed to be back home. she said that looking down from the airplane, seems as though it was not real. she virtually collapsed in tears on several occasions and had to be supported by her sister at the end. should think everybody who had supported her, kept the faith and she said and this is significant, she said what i most want to do is to be

with my family. that is a clear suggestion that there will not be any more public appearances from amanda knox for the foreseeable future. >> a huge media interest in amanda knox antar family. we were not able to see in terms of numbers how many had gathered there. we did hear the initial response when she walked into the room. jubilation. >> absolutely. there were quite a few supporters as well the turned up here to swell the ranks of the journalists. there were 70 reporters, photographers. a lot of them from local television stations and a media outlets in this area. amanda knox has a lot of supporters here. for almost four years, many of

them have been tireless in their efforts to raise objections with the way things were going in italy and to focus attention on her case. i have to say, if you talk to people in seattle, there are not many people that you can find to believe that she had anything to do with the murder of meredith kercher. >> much speculation about the book deals and interviews. do you know of anything that may have been cited by her or her family? >> we do not. there is a lot of speculation to that effect. you're absolutely right. talks of a book deal, talks of a hollywood film based on the story of her last four years, i have to say, though, that the family has spent a lot of money going backwards and forwards to italy. they are not wealthy people to

start with. there have been estimates that they are all in a million dollars or so for all that they have had to do in terms of hiring lawyers. clearly, they will be looking at to what offers to come and to this remarkable story. >> a helicopter with a group of british tourists on board has crossed into the east river in new york. one woman believed to be a 14- year-old briton living in australia was killed. the pilot and three other passengers for respite from the water. -- were rescued from the water. >> the trip of a lifetime ended in tragedy. the helicopter carrying four tourist plunged into the east river. in a frantic operation, emergency teams arrested the pilot and three of the passengers. the body of the last passenger, said to be a british woman, was

recovered soon after. >> the response was quite amazing, whether it was airborne response, waterborne response, or cars that drove here. the response was everything you could ask it to be. a quicker response could not have happened and would not make any difference in terms of saving people. >> several people saw the traffic -- the tragic events unfold in. witnesses said they heard the helicopter sputtering before it came down. >> it spun around a few times and it flipped over with the nose facing towards queens. it just went right over. >> new york's busiest skies make the city more vulnerable to air accidents. it is not yet clear what caused this crash, but officials have started to investigate. >> more economic problems in

italy and the euro zone this time. >> that is right. the ratings agency moody's has downgraded the country's credit rating, citing continuing economic and financial risks facing the country. it will make it harder for the italian government to service its debt. the belgian government has approved aid to risky banks. shares have fallen sharply over the past two trading days. here is our business editor. >> it started as a sovereign debt crisis. fears about whether banks are strong enough to withstand losses on their laws to the likes of greece, it is now a banking crisis. >> the whole financial sector is getting the fund.

>> -- thumped. >> the only solution for greece is to go into a default. >> today, european finance ministers meeting in luxembourg did a lot of talking about what is at stake, but not a lot of fixing. >> everybody realize that time is running out. we did make some progress. i think what is going on in europe and in the banking system just confirms my view that this is going to do damage to the british economy. >> the first victim of this renewed banking crisis is a belgian bank. its loans to the struggling greek government are not that enormous come up around 3.3 billion pounds. what made it so vulnerable is that just like northern iraq, it is heavily dependent upon the -- what they did so as

vulnerable as that is heavily dependent. at times of high anxiety is in markets, those sorts of creditors will not lend and often want their money back. that is why they are 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, the anxiety is focused on the italian and french banks. >> banks are putting more and more money back to the ecb. we are bound to the situation we had after the fall of lehman brothers. >> in markets around the world, there is a contagion. >> market uncertainty about the resolution of the great situation, the broader

resolution of both sovereign debt issues and european banking issues has created an enormous amount of uncertainty and volatility in the financial markets. one of the reasons are recovery has been slower this year is that we faced a lot of financial volatility. some of that is coming from the european situation. >> there is a recognition by a european government that the banks must be strengthened. it is unclear whether they will did not fast enough to prevent a financial crisis becoming an economic recession. >> you are watching meredith kercher -- "newsday." >> 10 years after british troops were deployed to afghanistan, we find out what has changed. >> angelina jolie urges the international community to do more for refugees in the horn of africa.

>> archbishop desmond tutu has compared the south african government to the apartheid regime because of its treatment of the dali lama. he canceled his trip to south africa to attend desmond tutu is 80th birthday. he was not issued a be set in time. >> the spiritual leader of tibet had been excited to celebrate the 80th birthday. as the hours went past, the protest turned into a candlelight vigil, the possibility of them being issued of weisel was looking in doubt. >> it is unthinkable. my organization is out raids. i am outraged now. >> the visit has become a huge lake -- a huge issue.

the government insists it is under no pressure from china, it is a relationship that it cannot afford to put in jeopardy. with still no word by tuesday morning, his office issued a statement and said it was now convinced the south african government finds it inconvenient to issue a visa to his holiness. he decided to call off the trip. relations between china and south africa have grown stronger in recent years. just last week, south africa's deputy president was in beijing to strengthen bilateral ties. the south african government has insisted it is not been influenced by china. with news of the cancellation, the foreign affairs ministry has refused to comment.

>> this is "newsday." >> emotional and overwhelmed, amanda knox has a bribe in seattle. she said she was thankful to those who had made it possible. >> she was acquitted of the murder of meredith kercher on monday. she spent nearly four years in jail. the leaders of india and afghanistan have signed a new strategic partnership to expand cooperation. india is one of the largest investors in afghanistan. stronger relations is generating increasing concern from pakistan. they fear that india has an

unspoken strategy. joining me now is a west asia expert for the observer research foundation. thank you for joining us. what does president karzei hope to get out of this visit? >> what he hopes to get out of the visit he has already gotten. he has signed a historic agreement. the circumstances of the signing of these agreements is rather more dramatic than the agreements themselves. these agreements have been in the pipeline for a long time. months and not years. the circumstances, the merger, the assassination, the peacemaker for the government, the haqqani -- these have been a

dramatic backdrop. it requires a different kind of prominence in islamabad. >> how does india see itself playing a role in the future in the rebuilding of afghanistan? >> the term you used once upon a time, about two years ago, was a diplomacy by default. in other words, people said that everyone was getting involved in afghanistan with arms and with militancy and visible our main -- army and drones. the indian profile had been tranquil. it had a tranquilizing effect. we were building roads, schools,

hospitals. if you came and did to replace in new delhi -- plenty of them have been trained here. officers have been trained in india. there has been a very peaceful, slow involvement which has in. india to the original position. very close, the very warm. >> with closer relationships between india and afghanistan, could this puts a wedge between relations of india and pakistan? >> not at all, it should not. there could be a lobby, a group

of people in pakistan, there is a group that has been talking about strategic -- this has been their anxiety they have expressed to the americans. this has been their eggs idea that they want if an end game takes place. it is not happening quite yet. if it takes place, they should have a say in how kabul is being drawn. -- run. >> we will have to leave it there. thank you for joining us. it has been 10 years this big since british forces first became involved in afghanistan and more than five years since they assumed responsibility. what has been achieved and that time? will the plan to withdraw combat troops by the end of 2014 proceed? we have more.

>> stabilizing afghanistan has cost to britain 382 lives. and billions of pounds. [gunfire] the campaign is finally making progress. but for years, purchase troops were panned down in their bases. development follows security. perhaps it will turn people against the taliban. they are still here, though, still able to intimidate the locals. if the taliban see as talking to you, they will be had gas. -- behaed us.

afghan security forces know that nato is going. and they are worried. >> i cannot insure security here with a few ak-47s. without nato, we cannot do this. >> most of the taliban have now been pushed back from this area. the intelligence suggest there are a few dozen in surgeon still active. that requires a combined force of nato and afghan troops numbering 2000. that tells you white there is an intense effort to get a political situation to this conflict. a sign have success, also of reduced ambitions. >> it is not about creating a new democracy. it is not about creating

shopping malls. it is about restoring what the people had before. that is where we are at now. >> what has the british army's engagement been for? >> this has been a sacrifice by many courageous people. look at what we are trying to achieve. that is a price worth paying. >> nato excess the parts of afghanistan will remain a violent in years to come. the bridge will maintain a presence here -- the bridge will remain a presence here, but more and more, it will be an afghan war. >> a hollywood actress has called for more help for the horn of africa. >> angelina jolie house called

for international action to be scaled up. >> the appeal came as the actress breast the closing stage of the annual meeting of the governing executive committee in geneva. she urged member states to remain committed to helping the world's refugees despite increasing global economic pressures. she warns that countless lives would be lost. >> today, three-quarters of a million people are at risk of death in the next four months. in the horn of africa. this astonishing number of @ risk lives is the reason this is termed the humanitarian crisis of a generation. the work we are doing needs to scale up to meet the needs of the individuals. >> it is 10 years since the

actress was the appointed to the role of goodwill ambassador. she has also donated $5 million to aid operations. the u.n. high commissioner for refugees pastry beach. -- pays tribute. >> we all appreciate enormously the support you gave to our operations. their presence on the field, the warmth with the refugees. >> guess where i am from. >> her appeal -- she has been named special representative for the afghan refugee situation. >> apple has unveiled a latest

version and its iphone branch. there was no sign of the widely rumored iphone5. apple later regained much of its losses. tim cook has taken over four ailing steve jobs. he is credited with driving much of the company's innovation. >> you have been watching "newsday." >> let's bring you a reminder of our main news. the american student, amanda knox, has arrived at, in seattle after being cleared of murdering hurt british roommate. they spent four years in prison for the murder of the british student meredith kercher. both were freed on appeal and 32 hours ago. 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. 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.

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