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>> hello and welcome. emergency in new zealand, up to 350 pounds of oil has spilled from a cargo ship. the worst flooding in thailand for decades. officials race to protect the capital of bangkok. >> asian markets rise on hopes a new plan to solve the euro zone debt crisis. the white house says it is deeply concerned about egypt's christians after clashes with security forces. >> it is 11:00 in singapore. >> is 4:00 in london. broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world. welcome to "newsday."

>> maritime authorities in new zealand said containership stranded off the north island coast is not leaking a significant amount of oil after sustained damage in heavy seas overnight. all of the crew has been taken off the vessel as a precautionary measure. a marine advocates in new zealand says the oil leak would have a devastating impact on wildlife in the region. >> there are thousands -- hundreds of blue pink ones. -- blue penguins. we have oystercatchers nesting on the sandy beaches. >> are there any endangered

species in the area? >> there is an important colony of new zealand shorebirds found in the vicinity. there are only 1500. >> 350 tons of oil have already spilled in the area. what are your concerns for the future of wildlife in the region? >> this oil can persist for many years. particularly if it's -- the danger is not just washed up on beaches. the bulk of its will disappear without trace. those that survive will poison their nests. the index could last for years. >> -- the impact could last for

years. >> for more, i'm joined on the line by laura, who lives in a house next to the beach. what have the scene today? have you seen any wildlife affected by this oil spill? >> i have seen some dead fish out on the beach. a couple of siegel's that looked like they had oil on them. thatiegel's -- seagulls looked like they had oil on them. >> laura, have you seen -- have you been helping in the cleanup operations? >> i went down this morning and help clear up some of the oil that was on the beach. they started about 9:00 and we finished at about 12. it was really good to feel like you're doing something. >> you are volunteering

yourself, but what are authorities telling you to keep yourself safe while volunteering in the clean-up? >> they are telling us to not clean up because it might damage the beach. i am not too sure about that. they're telling us to wear gloves and not getty oil understand. -- and to not get any oil on our skin. >> i guess you'll have to leave it there. she lives in a house next to the beach. flooding in thailand is been described as the worst in decades. the prime minister calling it a national crisis. i least 260 people have been killed and heavy rain is continuing to fall. the authorities are racing to build sand bags in the capital city to prevent flooding there. one of the worst affected areas is about 100 kilometers north of bangkok.

please tell us how bad the flooding is. >> it is very bad, indeed. a lot of this area, you can not get around in a motorized vehicle at all. i've just seen an inflatable dinghies on the back of a trailer heading in that direction. that is where the worst of the flooding is. there's a point after which cars, motorbikes are no good at all. army trucks are the only way of getting around. the authorities are trying to evacuate more people. we have seen people turning up here today. people are pushing shopping carts in front of them with animals, belongings. there is now a lot of food and help for people once they get to this point. we're being told by officials that some people are still at this stage, reluctant to leave. there is another big weather system on the way, despite the sunshine.

>> what are the people saying about the help from the government? are they there for the people? are they giving them enough services in terms of food, drink, shelter, and help? >> there is certainly plenty here. we have seen people giving out a hot meals. the red cross is here in long -- and large numbers providing basic first-aid. they may not be safe in this flooded areas. the government is now trying to coordinate things as best as it can. it was criticized earlier on for not communicating between departments. now there is a concerted effort and international help or writing. -- international help or writing. one of the items on the agenda at is whether or not to call

today's of holidays for tomorrow. -- two days of holidays for tomorrow. it is an indication of how serious they are taking this. so people can get ready for the further flooding that they are predicting might come. >> absolutely, flooding is expected to get worse later in the week. what about in bangkok? are there fears that the flooding there could also be as bad? >> yes, there are fears. the officials are trying to make a reassuring noises, they are preparing for the worst. we're hoping for the best. basically, those preparations take various forms. they're trying to build sandbag barriers. there has been a shortage of sand bags. they're building sandbag wall >> -- sandbag walls to the east

and north of bangkok. they want to force the water down towards the seat and digging deeper canals all in an effort to relieve the pressure, but with more rain on the way, it is a race against time and weather. >> thank you so much for the update. there are serious hopes of the deal to bail out the euro zone from its debt crisis. >> it is interesting when you look at the asian stock markets. they have ended up higher. this is all after france and germany promised to deliver a plan. stocks in japan are currently up over 2% after a good session on wall street. france, belgium, luxembourg announced to bail out the troubled bank dexia. we have more details.

>> the european union and the euro, consummate european economies with huge debt to be forced out of the euro? that crisis became more acute when a huge bank was -- struggled to borrow and faced possible collapse. >> it is clear that the banking sector crisis give government a difficult choice, to intervene or face a problem with all of the bank customers? that would have a system of the fact on the belgian economy. >> dexia is big, roughly the size of the entire greek banking system. it is being broken up. the taxpayers are providing 90 billion euros to support the debt. euro zone leaders led by the german chancellor and the french president have recognized some of your's biggest banks need

strengthening. they need more capital for the protection against losses on loans to >> of greece. as the greek back -- greek economic mess worsens, one solution may be on the way. goodness only knows what will happen if it does not get moving. >> the government has failed to strike a deal to extend the powers of the bailout. the prime minister is threatening to resign as the coalition does not sign an agreement. discussions will resume later ahead of the official vote on a measure. the boats is usually an important and could go against -- the vote is you'd -- is important. >> all eyes will be here on this. all 17 members of the euro zone have to vote in favor of this much increased bailout fund.

the suns are here that slovakia may say no. that would lead to a delay, in fighting, the prime minister threatened to resign over it. why is all this happening? significant numbers of people here question why a relatively poor country like slovakia is involved in helping countries like greece. if there is a no vote, that will only add pressure on europe's leaders. the european summit is going to be postponed, why is that? international pressure is growing on europe to come up with convincing answers. what are their plans for greece? at the moment, we still do not know. >> u.s. president barack obama has condemned the violence in egypt and called for restraint. at least 24 people were killed when christians protesting about

an attack on a church across with the security forces. from the egyptian capital, we have this report. >> the violence over the last 24 hours has been as confusing as it has been bloody. this was filmed this morning. many of the christians here say it was the army did carried out most of the killings and they have evidence to prove it. this young woman described her fiancee. she said he was run down by an armored car. the soldier, she says, it was the soldiers. it ran him down, when i tried to tell them, -- when i try to help him, at the soldiers insulted me. i tried to carry into the car, but he was dead. whether it was the army or muslim extremist, there is no

doubt that egypt's kristin committee believes it is the victim. -- christian community believes it is the victim. thousands crowded into the cathedral for the first euro. the mood was angry. they waved the bloody clothes of the marchers. egypt's christians are part of the community of 8 million. they are a community increasingly under attack, particularly from islamic fundamentalists. they say that things got worse, not better. since january's revolution, and egypt has become a much freer country. but also more chaotic and more open to muslim extremism. >> on their churches, on their homes, on their property, the attacks are becoming more

frequent. the action on part of the regime. >> of this video of an armored car plowing into a crowd of christian protesters for only add to their suspicions that it is not just muslim extremists who are against them. >> you are watching "newsday." demanding an end to anglican persecution in zimbabwe, the archbishop hold frank talks with the president. >> compulsory classes, fears that technology could be killing the art of calligraphy. to libya and the battle for the city of sirte, forces have captured the hospital there. the red cross is trying to grips

with the humanitarian situation. " the once lavished conference center then sirte, the kind of place that colonel gaddafi like to spend his millions. not that it is in ruins, it is vandalized by provincial fighters. -- a vengeful fighters. also during the scars of battle, the nearby central hospital. we found dozens of injured people and boards and the corridors. fighters and civilians. among them, two young boys. wounded by shrapnel and lucky to be alive. >> we are totally impartial and we do not discriminate.

>> in dealing with urgent cases, the red cross may not distinguish between pro-and anti-gadhafi protestors. there are concerns that the colonel's fighters might be trying to flee. with the final battle raging on, the priority is to get these people evacuated. an estimated 10,000 civilians trapped inside the city. the front line is now a few hundred meters beyond the hospital. slowly, but surely, gaddafi forces are being squeezed and pushed back towards the sea. they're putting up a fierce resistance. >> maritime authorities in new

zealand said the container ship stranded off the north island coast is not leaking a significant amount of oil. >> of board is in thailand are rushing to protect the capital of bangkok from the worst of floods in decades. the aborted killed 260 people across the country. -- they have already killed 260 people across the country. an international judge has resigned from a u.n. in cambodia. the german judge has alleged interference by the government, which has been trying to block further trials of people who may be involved in atrocities. or correspondent says political interference in the tribunal has been an ongoing concern for the un >> there is always been an awareness that there was likely to be an issue. nine years ago, the u.n. broke off negotiations precisely because they thought it was

going to be political interference. we have seen the government time and again the same day it wanted a limited to the trial just five leaders. the problem is, this is meant to be an independent court. an independent court with international participation. these are meant to be judicial decisions, not political decisions. for the court officials, it is not for us to decide, but time and again, government says we will not allow the trust to happen. >> what are people telling you on the ground? will the judge be missed? >> frankly, i do not think he will be missed. the judge, widely viewed as one of the more problematic officials. because of the way that he was investigating or not investigating the potential third and fourth cases at the tribunal. the prosecution called its

investigation deficient. human rights watch called for him to quit because he was not doing his job properly. his own staff, a great number of them, resigned because of what they called a dysfunctional office. i do not think he will be missed personally. the matter of this leaving, for the first time, an international official making a resignation issue. i think there is an appreciation for that. >> moving now to china. many people say they are struggling with their ancient writing system. basic computers are to blame. in response, schools across shanghai i brought in compulsory calligraphy class is. >> computer training is compulsory at this school in

shanghai. 13-year-old says it is his favorite class. he has become so accustomed to typing with predictive software, he occasionally forget how to write some of the more complex characters by hand. >> when i write by hand, i have to memorize the character, or at least, have a dictionary in front of me. when i type, i'd just have to be familiar with the keyboard. >> he is a longtime collector feed teacher at the school. he says that technology is getting in the way of passing on traditional writing and traditional values. >> as a chinese person, how you write represents who you are. they -- there is a saying, if you love china, you must love chinese characters. because they are so full of meaning. i feel that the chinese person must be able to write well.

>> it has been about 25 years since the last time i picked out a brush. let's see if i can actually put into practice what the teacher has been explaining to me. i will be a riveting the character -- i will be writing the character -- not just with one's head. but also with one's heart. appealing to both the head and the heart, the educators are tackling the challenge posed by computers and mobile phones. he wants to instill l love of language and writing through every stroke of the calligraphy brush. >> when i first started, my figures were sore and my hands

were very uncomfortable. but with help, i practiced for a long time. and now i am used to writing like this. >> students less comfortable with a brush writing will now have to practice harder because for the first time, in all schools in shanghai, they will be tested on it. the hope is that as they come to appreciate the difficult art of calligraphy, it will help keep the writing system very much alive in the modern world. >> frank talks between two prominent leaders. >> the archbishop of canterbury has robustly defended his decision to meet president on his visit to zimbabwe. the visit has highlighted the abuses from the regime, including what he calls

lawlessness of zimbabwe. our correspondents and this report. >> after days of uncertainty, the confirmation came through that the archbishop of canterbury would be allowed to meet with zimbabwe's president. there was little to suggest a hostile reception, as the president opened his door to one of his biggest critics. in front of the cameras, smiling. behind the scenes, a frank exchange. concerned about the churches stand on homosexuality, the archbishop condemned the violence against and the cans. -- anglicans. after two hours of talks, he presented a list of abuses to his presidential post. >> we have asked him that he'd used to guarantee the security

of visitors and to put an end to unacceptable and illegal behavior. >> it is a very candid meeting. >> yesterday, at 16,000 applicants packed into this stadium. they had come to read the archbishop stinging rebuke, which broke away three years ago. the archbishop called for an end to the prosecution of fellow christians. religion still used as a potent weapon in zimbabwe. >> a new officials human rights

in a lesser public and state media. it is the strongest sign that the country may soon freed the estimated 2000 political prisoners. >> you have been watching "newsday." >> maritime authorities in new zealand said the container ship stranded off the north island coast is not leaking a significant amount of oil. teams from around the world, including britain have a joint specialist in new zealand dealing with an oil tanker which ran aground last week. keep up-to-date, with both of us. the website, until then, we will see you again soon.

>> 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.

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