>> this is "bbc world news." >> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. shell. 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." >> the you cut its growth forecast for the year ahead, raising fears of renewed recession. all eyes on germany as it comes under pressure to provide more euro zone bailout funds. >> the corruption scandal finally comes to court. what happens when the bbc tried to reach a veteran chinese human rights lawyer? >> we are broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world. this is "newsday."

>> there is a risk of renewed recession in europe. the eu has announced a drastic reduction in its growth forecast for the euro zone next year, down 2.5%. the senior european commissioner described these as the last wake-up call. >> we did not have to travel far this afternoon to find concern, anxiety, about what is happening in europe. >> we are in the middle of crisis, i guess. we are worried about salaries, the market. >> further along the road, the commission. inside today, the top euro official. >> i am looking forward to the day when i can begin to bring you some good news. but not today, though. with this latest forecast. >> this forecast is the last

wake-up call. the recovery in the european union has come to a standstill. there is a risk of a new recession. >> that should strike fear into the hearts of all of us. it had been hoped that economic growth would help europe recover from its debt crisis. that is no longer a solution. the heart of old brussels gleams with the memory of more prosperous times. this is a continent short of ideas on how to emerge from its current economic problems. with no growth and a deepening debt crisis, politicians cannot see a way forward. the strings -- the strains are really starting to show. countries say the euro cannot survive in its present form. there is only one certainty -- this is a full-blown crisis and

nobody has a workable solution. in italy, support for the prime minister is fracturing. palo euro zone countries want to see the back of berlusconi. -- fell zero euro zone countries want to see the back of berlusconi. >> running the country -- it was impossible for making important reforms. >> there was some action. in athens, the focus of last week's market panic, a former european central banker will now lead a government committee -- a government committed to bringing down greece's massive debts. angela merkel said she is focused on one goal, to stabilize at the zero -- the euro zone in its current form. even france came under increasing pressure from the financial markets. this is the biggest crisis in

europe since world war ii. >> germany's chancellor said it was essential that italy move quickly to employment and new austerity package. angela merkel dismissed reports that she favored a smaller euro zone. she told a news conference that the only goal was to -- germany's options are limited. >> with the euro zone crisis deepening, all eyes turn to germany. these german mps know they will determine the future of a single currency. today, the german chancellor said she still believes the euro zone can survive in its present form. >> since the beginning of the debt crisis, and germany has presuming one single goal.

stabilizing the euro zone in its current form. >> the euro zone badly needs fixing and germany has been the main country applying the sticking plaster. it has been the largest contributor to two greek bailouts. the question is whether germany will step in to help italy. it has contributed to under 11 billion euros to the main euro zone bailout fund. but says that is the limit. it is unwilling to allow the european central bank to become a lender of last resort. this is why. the memory of inflation in the '20s. truckloads of money were needed to pay basic wages on a daily basis. germany will not agree to the ecb printing money. it is the weight of history that makes germans hypersensitive to the idea that the european

central bank could be used to help countries in difficulty. when it comes to big economies like italy, at the german government is still hoping that tough economic reforms may be enough to help italy set itself. >> the most important step is to be done by italy itself. indeed they stable, reliable government. -- it needs a stable, reliable government. >> some mps are prepared to see countries in trouble leave the euro zone. >> member states of the euro zone which cannot reach sufficient competitiveness will reach a point in which they might be no alternative than to leave. >> one of chancellor murkowski advisers says more funds may be needed -- one of chancellor merkel's advisers says more funds may be needed to shore up the euro zone.

>> we need a bold step that guarantees sovereign bonds without any limitation. >> the big country -- the big question for germany remains unanswered. will it act as the main guarantor of the euro zone debt? >> the u.s. treasury secretary called for fast action by europe. speaking at the apec summit in hawaii, tim geithner says leaders have been discussing how the asia-pacific enemy could strengthen their own defenses against a bailout -- a fallout. >> it is crucial to all of us that europe moved quickly to restore financial stability. we're all directly affected by the crisis in europe. the economies of the asia- pacific region or in a better position than most countries are

to take steps to strengthen growth in the face of the pressures from europe. >> you have news of the sports star that has gone missing. >> he is a member of the washington nationals baseball team in the united states. he has been kidnapped by gunmen in venezuela. wilson ramos is a catcher for the major-league team and was back, during the american off- season. the venezuelan government has said it is pursuing the kidnappers. >> in baseball, there is little which makes vans more proud than a local player making good in the u.s. major leagues. such is the case with wilson ramos. like many u.s.-based players, he returned to venezuela during the off-season. however, on wednesday, a group

of armed men kidnapped him from outside his parents, just east of the city of valencia. there were believed to be thousands of kidnappings a year in venezuela. most are expressed kidnappings and often go unreported. there is still no word from the wilson ramos. the government has promised to do everything in its power to find >> we have not had any communication with the kidnappers. what we did have was a very important find earlier this morning. we found the vehicle we presume the criminals used to commit their crimes. >> the u.s. major leagues have issued a joint statement with the washington nationals. they're working with the it venezuelan authority's parent did it they are working with the venezuelan authorities. this high-profile case has returned the controversial issues of crime and civil

security in venezuela back to the top of the political agenda. >> tens of thousands of students in colombia have joined demonstrations against government plans for educational reform. despite pouring rain, 12 different marches converged on the capital. police in rio the janeiro say they cocked their most wanted drug gang -- said they caught their most drug gang leader. it is the latest results in a drive to reduce violent crimes in the city before the 2014 world cup.

the american secretary of state hillary clinton has publicly voiced her concern over the treatment of a blind human rights lawyer by the chinese authorities. human-rights groups have alleged that he was beaten up while under house arrest. our reporter went to try to meet him, but ran into trouble. >> the men are waiting and never exactly what to do. there were no pleasantries. when they realized i was a journalist, they go through everything. it is a glimpse into world many do not know exist in china. they are carrying out the work of the state. these people lied -- at no time did these people identified themselves. they were obviously an authority.

they threw our equipment back address and close the doors. they did not want us to see this man. a blind activist who taught himself the law. he used his knowledge to help -- the authorities now keep them a prisoner in his own home. video shows just how closely they keep watch. >> there is no law that allows the government to place restrictions. he should have the full range of freedom. the freedom to move around, freedom to speak out, and the freedom to meet friends. >> if china's leaders hope people will forget about him, they were wrong. dozens of activists, like this man, had traveled to see him. he said it was beaten up, but that will not stop him going again. >> when i heard about the blind

lawyer that fights for himyarites, -- that fight for human rights, i was deeply moved. that is what i wanted to go see him. >> others have shown their support in different ways. posting photographs of themselves on the internet. the blind activist has become a symbol of peoples' unhappiness with the government and its heavy-handed way of dealing with the discontent. >> you are watching "newsday." new insight into one of the biggest political scandal in american history. what president nixon told its legal investigation into the watergate affair. it is published for the first time. >> the southeast asian games will begin in just a few hours.

in a new departure, the public sector workers' union says the 10-year deal is an accident waiting to happen. >> another big hit -- another busy day for the staff. circle is promising doctors and nurses a bigger say. the hospital. the doctor told me he hopes it will mean less red tape. >> it never allows them the speed to deliver these changes. but we're hoping to have is to achieve that speed by which we can bring this new innovation. >> the hospital has about 40 million pounds worth of debt. that is partly due to this treatment center, which did not

bring in a minute that was expected. the deal with circle is meant to pay off those debts. staff have been told no job losses, but union officials said there are bigger questions. >> it is one thing running a private elected surgery, but not running the range of services. >> hello. >> circle is one of the contracts up for competition and. it will lose money if it does not make the finances work. the first thing patient should seek is better care. even so, many experts believe making this work is going to be tough. in a circle pulls it off, at least some of what happened here could be copied. circle officially takes over the hospital in february of next year. the contract is for 10 years,

but the pressure will be on to show results much sooner. >> this is "newsday." >> these are the headlines. the european union has cut its forecast for growth next year, raising new fears that the euro zone is at risk of entering a new recession. >> a major league baseball player has been kidnapped by gunmen in venezuela. there are no immediate reports of a ransom demand. one of the biggest corruption scandals in indian history is expected to come to trial on friday. prosecutors allege the allocation of mobile phone licenses in 2008 could cost the country as much as $14 billion. the man who was the telecoms minister at the time is accused of playing a central role, but

he denies selling the license for less than their commercial rate. for more on this, i am joined from mumbai by a lawyer and public policy analyst. welcome to the program. this is one of the corruption cases. how has the start of the trial been greeted there? >> india is looking forward to this trial leading to conviction of everyone involved in the scale. -- in the scam. this has been the biggest scam in history. >> how tough will it be to prove allegations that any wrongdoing did take place? all of those accused denied the charges. >> usually, the trial process is pretty long and india.

that is how often -- prolonging the trial. the supreme court of india has issued and ordered the trial has to take place on a day-to-day basis. until it is over. in that respect, this is going to be a benchmark in the history of criminal trial in india. >> you say it will be a benchmark. what do you think might be the likely outcome? >> considering the court is hearing it, i cannot speculate on the outcome. the prosecution seems to have some evidence, did lead to a conviction of quite a number of people.

>> we will leave it there. thank you for joining us. an american sergeant who led a rope u.s. army unit has been found guilty of killing civilians for sports. a military court has convicted calvin gibbs on three counts of premeditated murder. there is new light on one of the greatest political scandals in american history. >> that scandal, being watergate, 1974. it forced richard nixon to become the only u.s. president to resign from office. the first time the official transcripts has been made public. we have the highlights. >> richard nixon was already a broken man when he appeared before the grand jury in june of

1975. he resigned as president a year earlier. he still rest perjury charges and lied under oath. he was asked about a meeting with his chief of staff just days after burglars broke into the democratic party's headquarters at the watergate building. he secretly taped it, but investigators found a mysterious 18-minute gap in the recording. nixon told the grand jury, i practically blew my staff, earning part of the recording was missing. he added, if you are interested in my view as to what happened, it is very simple. it was an accident. nixon's secretary told the grand jury she on intentionally deleted up to five minutes of material. investigators suspected potentially incriminating dialogue had been deliberately wiped. we can read it all for ourselves

in a vast online treasure trove opened up by the national archives. there are handwritten notes, diary entries, and a full transcript of what nixon told the grand jury. it will take a historian some time to troll through all this to tell us whether there is something new here about watergate. even from just a quick reading of the document, there are fascinating glimpses into the psyche of one of america's most complex presidents. in this previously unreleased audio, nixon recalled the memo to his chief of staff about vietnam, suggesting how to improve america's image. >> how we can get a good pr story, held the rise that has been captured is used for the starving cambodians. >> a man under pressure, who eventually folded. we noticed a little bit more about him.

>> in tunisia, preparations for the opening of the southeast asian games. on the islandheld of sumatra. the gains of been dogged by allegations of corruption and the construction of sporting venues are behind schedule. >> diving in the hopes of victory, a 17-year-old swimming star. he is hoping to win the gold medals in this week's -- in the games. >> it is good for my morale to

be supported by my countrymen. >> on the surface, the sporting venues look ground. looking a little closer and you will see that organizers have been struggling to get things ready in time. the roads are filled with dust because of the unfinished work. in the haste to get ready, there has not been enough time to check the english on the street signs. allegations of -- a senior politician from indonesias ruling party was arrested for taking bribes worth millions for awarding contracts to build the athletes' dormitories. six athletes now have to be squeezed in one of these rooms. not enough was built for the games. others associated may end up having to sleep and far less glamorous quarters. this indonesian city does not have room to accommodate all of them.

desperate times call for desperate measures. the organizers of this event have had to borrow ships from the indonesian military and the private sector to make up for the shortfall. the woman in charge of making sure the games meet international standards. she admits the corruption scandal has affected the ability to host a successful game. >> of course, i am worried. this is the best that we can do. we hired a friend from here or there and guide the local organizations. to solve the problems. i am very much optimistic that the games will be delivered. >> this is one of the oldest cities in indonesia.

hosting the games is a huge matter of pride for the local people. the event has been overshadowed by the dark clouds of indonesian corruption. >> you have been watching "newsday." >> the european union has dramatically cut its forecast for economic growth for 2012. raising fears that euro zone is heading for a recession. the senior eu commissioner said it was the last wake up call for the euro zone. the pressure is growing, and germany to provide more money to the bailout fund. angela merkel has said she is not interested in a smaller euro zone, one that would do without troubled economies. she said she wanted to stabilize the bloc as it currently exist. that is it, thank you for your

company. >> 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. moreell, we're developing 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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