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what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." question of into news day on the bbc. i am in singapore. >> and i am in london and with the headlines. at least 58 killed at a shiite festival in the afghan capital raising fears of new conflicts. claims of fraud in the russian elections bring protesters to the streets of moscow. >> a new european treaty but the british prime minister will block it. and the 70th anniversary of the japanese attack on pearl harbor. veterans the night to remember. >> is 2:00 a.m. in london. broadcasting to viewers around the world, this is "newsday."

the afghan president hamid karzai has cut short a visit to europe and returned home after nearly 60 people were killed in a bombing attack in kabul. more than 150 people were injured. president karzai called it an unprecedented attack. >> afghan cheers in the traditional mourning ritual. then, this. [explosion] [sirens] >> a massive explosion from a suicide bomber tears through the crowd.

hundreds are hurt and dozens are dead. the injured are being piled up in the tropics. at a city hospital, they struggle to cope with wave after wave of victims. on the pavement outside, a mother mourns for her lost son. "my heart is broken," she cries. more gather for news of missing family and friends. this is a day of mourning, says this man. it is an attack against humanity and islam. part of a coordinated assault against shi'ites. the kabul attack was in the heart of the city, near the presidential palace.

people here are angry. this kind of sectarian violence is unprecedented. president karzai was due to leave the summit in germany for britain. today, he will be returning home. >> this is the first time that such an important religious game, in afghanistan, terrorism of that horrible nature is taking place. we all wish the best for those who are injured to make a quick recovery and patients to those families who have lost their loved ones. >> as families were being treated, the taliban entered a statement saying they had not planned out the attack. the government says they are lying. it has brought a new kind of suffering to this already for agile culture.

>> a tense standoff in the russian capital, moscow, between police and demonstrators. police have arrested 250 people during the second day of protests following the recent parliamentary elections. demonstrators plan begun test -- claim the contest was rate. -- was rigged. >> driving through the crowd, the city's riot police. there to break up a demonstration of more than 1000 people protesting once more against what they say was a fixed election and against the prime minister, vladimir putin. russia without written -- "russia without putin" is their slogan. it is the second night they have come out on the street.

last night it was a legal demonstration. tonight, it has not been sanctioned. and they all face arrest. on twitter and facebook, they are calling it the slavik spring, even though russia's bitter winter is around the corner. the movement now has some momentum. "putin is a thief," they shouted. >> with this leader, russia has no future. >> just yards away, there were chants in favor of vladimir putin. one of the youth movements also turned up. none of them were arrested for it several opposition leaders were rounded up. the former deputy prime minister was detained and later released. the influential anti-corruption

campaigner received a 15-day sentence for disobeying police at last night's demonstration in. >> the official spokesman of vladimir putin says anyone who protests should be stopped and he will continue to descend the election results despite international criticism. >> authorities are bracing themselves for further unrest in the days ahead -- in the days ahead. this is a critical moment for vladimir putin. will the protests here out or will the momentum built? >> the latest on the eurozone crisis. >> absolutely. the british prime minister, david cameron, said he will not agree to measures aimed resolving the eurozone crisis if they do not protect british interests. germany and france proposed a new amended treaty that would

impose further discipline on countries to use the single currency. >> if european countries do need to come together, if they choose to use the european treaty to do that, britain will be insisting on some safeguards too. as long as we get those, the treaty will go ahead. if we cannot get those, it will not. >> this is a critical week for the e4uro -- for the euro. european leaders are trying to find a way to save the common currency. timothy geithner has travelled across the atlantic to stretch the urgency of resolving europe's debt problem. >> and our meet our. the u.s. treasury secretary and his counterpart shoulder to shoulder as they try to work out how to keep the currency afloat. the message of timothy geithner

was that he is reassured that european leaders are acting to prevent the euro from shattering. >> i am very encouraged by the developments in europe over the past few weeks, including the reform commitment made by the new governments of italy, spain, and greece. and the new steps we have heard about progress towards a fiscal compact for a -- for the eurozone. >> he had been to the central bank in frankfurt at the start of a world tour. it comes at the -- it comes as the rating agency standard and poor's, which assesses credit risk, threatened to strip european countries, including germany, of their aaa rating. there has been irritation from political leaders. the chairman of the eurozone says that the threat to downgrade was a wild exaggeration and unfair. in paris, there were similar annoyances.

"we have done much to cut deficits and we will do more," was the tone. >> this week is important for the quality of the success and the agreement friday at the european summit. a lot will depend on that. what's the talking continues as many leaders gathered for a political conference. the european central bank meets on a thursday with the crisis at the top of the agenda. and the summit in brussels to consider the merkel-sarkozy plan. spender -- shoppers are outspending but with uncertainty. it depends on whether the leaders at the end of the week can set it right. timothy geithner goes from the german finance ministry to meet the leaders of france, italy, and spain. his message is if the euro

collapses, the damage is wider than the eurozone. what he is not saying is when extra funds might be available to keep it afloat. >> the greek parliament has approved a new 2012 budget to seal the country's commitment to a bailout. as politicians agree to the measures, there are clashes between protesters and police outside. the plan would cut pensions and salaries. the irish government unveiled a new austerity budget, including an increase in taxes. this follows the announcement on monday of spending cuts of more than 1 billion euros. they will attempt to repair a decade of disastrous economic policy and tackle the deficit. the election commission in congo has announced that due to technical difficulties, it is delaying the publication of the

results from last week's election for 48 hours. thousands of people have fled and riot police are patrolling with the fears that the election results could spark violence. >> fleeing from the post- election violence they fear is on its way in the democratic republic of congo. over the last few days, more and more people have left the capital, making the short journey to the neighboring republic of congo. >> i am from the ivory coast. i saw what happened there. i do not want to go through the same thing here. >> with two-thirds of the votes counted, the incumbent is ahead of his arrival. the opposition has said it will reject the outcome. all of these electoral

documents, these result sheets, are being compiled here in this italian center. this is one of 169 centers across the country where the presidential results are being tallied together. tensions have been increased by a slow and seemingly chaotic accounting process as well as allegations of vote rigging. >> the results that will leave this place will in no way represent the real results that were counted immediately after the official ballot. [gunshots] >> this is what people fear. violence broke out as rival supporters clashed. according to human rights watch, at least 18 people have been killed in election-related violence so far and witnesses are reporting the climate in

several cities around the country. these were the first locally organized and funded elections since 2003 and chairman to offer hope of greater stability. fears are mounting that the rejection of the results will pave the way for further bloodshed. >> you are watching "newsday.' we are live from singapore and relative. still to come, a colombian rebels -- a colombian rebel group. and a rare honor for poets in westminster abbey. british airways says it has abandoned plans to create 400 jobs next year, blaming the u.k. government position to go ahead with an 8% increase in passenger

duties. the tax raises more than 2.5 billion pounds. the row between the airlines and the government has been taking over for a while. ba accuse ministers of harming economic growth by imposing a steep increase in passenger duty. >> this is a huge opportunity lost. it is making the uk non- competitive. making it impossible for us to compete on a global scale. >> the treasury said the move was announced in the budget in march and airlines had plenty of time to prepare. the duty will go up by 8% next april. ba says it will scale back the creation of 800 jobs to 400. and it will postpone a planned to bring an extra boeing 747 into service.

this is on the same day the ministers have been launching the latest phase of the growth strategy, with more than 100 million pounds for investors in manufacturing. >> we have got to raise revenue as well as public spending. what airlines are not going out is that we have a passenger duty like other countries, but they do not play -- they do not pay taxes on their flights. air passenger duty is a tax on travel that is paid for by the passengers. it weakens the airline's ability to service the economy. i hope the chancellor will think again. >> the latest figures from high street revealing subdued spending. it is clear the government will not find it easy to boost growth across the whole economy. >> this is "newsda y" on the

bbc. i am and london. >> and i'm in singapore. a bombing in afghanistan killed nearly 50 people. >> and violence in moscow disrupted the election of vladimir putin as they claim the election was rigged. >> a problem with our line to singapore. tens of thousands of people across colombia has taken part in protests against the left- wing guerrilla group. demonstrators in the main cities demanded they released the hostages they hold, many of whom have been in khaki here in captivity for a decade. >> this much was clear -- no more violence.

>> they do not expect the sentiment of the colombian people. there are not colombian. they do not represent our message. they are murderers. >> dressed in white, carrying flags and images of their missing loved ones, protesters called on the country's left- wing guerrilla army to release the hostages, some of whom have been held captive for over a decade. tens of thousands lined the streets and gathered in the main square in bogota as well as the other major cities. the president address it directly. >> release the hostages now and without condition. if there really is a desire for peace, take this step as a demonstration of that intention. >> also among the protesters were a former president.

colombians are tired and frustrated after nearly 50 years of civil war. >> they lost the war. the loss militarily and politically. we want the hostages to be freed, alive and well, now. >> the protests, and one week after four hostages were aesthete -- hostages or executed during a raid by the government. there has been outrage over their debts after the men were held for 13 years in the jungle. for decades, and they funded their guerrilla war for drug trafficking while claiming to represent a genuine desire of the colombian people to overthrow the state and restore a revolutionary government in but was shot. -- in bogota. from today's evidence, that could not be further from the truth. >> hospital officials in the gaza strip say israeli troops have killed a palestinian

gunmen and wounded another after clashing with jihanna militants. the air force has dropped two groups of gunmen preparing to launch rockets. a small number of army vehicles crossed through the east of gaza and. a key day in american history. later on wednesday, ceremonies will be held in hawaii to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the japanese attack on the u.s. fleet in pearl harbor. it killed more than 1000 americans and propel the country into world war two. veterans who were there that morning causing to remember the historic event. >> december 7, 1941, in a day that will live in infinite -- in infamy. >> they did a lot of damage.

they caught us sound asleep that morning. that shows what pearl harbor looked like five minutes before the war started. my ship was this one right there. >> very peaceful. >> very peaceful. >> he was a 22-year-old sailor, reading a popeye comic when the attack began. >> at first, we thought one of the ships had a fire. we were going to put the fire out. as soon as we discovered planes flying around, with japanese flags painted on the side, it immediately changed from -- we knew where we were. >> every ship in the harbor has been hit him. cracks in the attack sank or damaged 18 ships, killed more than 2400 americans. >> pearl harbor -- >> the country was catapulted into war. pearl harbor, the subject of

frequent propaganda films. hitler thought his success would win. churchill knew the opposite was true. >> they are marching out. our marching voiced throws the world. >> for more than 100,000 japanese americans, it meant internment in detention camps. it did not matter out patriotic you were, you were now the enemy. >> at the end of december of 1941, a decision was made by the american government to change our designation. my designation became 4 . the designation of an enemy alien. >> the got -- a designation was reversed.

a soldier who went on into politics harbors no regrets. >> in war, you do things that we look back upon and say, we must have the knots. that is what it is. war is a naughty thing. -- a nutty thing. it is insanity. >> the remaining group of survivors will be disbanded at the end of the year. >> a prince among poets. who is he? >> it is the english poet who died in 1988. his name to now be seen alongside greatest writers, including shakespeare. crux i do not know exactly what duties a poet laureate has, but

i do not think writing water is one of them. >> speaking shortly after being made the whole laureate in 1984. he died 14 years later at the age of 68. a service at westminster abbey. his outstanding contribution to literature came with the unveiling of a memorial stone bearing his name. >> will come to the corner where the word is celebrated. >> he read his palm. >> and you, listening. >> his friend and fellow poet gave the address. >> what he created is a phantasmagoria, an article of elemental, and, not for all seasons and as a logical science.

grex he says that pettigrew met everything to him, describing his writing as a bible -- as high-voltage. >> not just as a poet laureate, but for his achievement in his poetry and for the power of his poetry and power of his presence in culture heriot >> one man got to the summit. >> the voice of the ted hughes, who faces poetry should be heard as well as seen. >> he is being remembered in such a permanent way in a place that will carry his name forever. >> here is the newly installed

memorial stone to ted hughes. it was cast and designed from sun makers from the village where he made his home. above the memorial is the one dedicated to t.s. eliot, the great mentor and publisher. he thought it was it placement about which ted hughes would have been exulted. >> you have been >"newsday" on the bbc. i am in singapore. >> i am in london. the afghan president, hamid karzai, has cut short a visit to europe and returned home after nearly 60 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack kabul. the afghan government blamed the taliban, but they denied responsibility. that is all from us in london and singapore. coming up next, the asia prison

-- the asia and business report. >> 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. and union bank.

>> union bank has put its global strength to work for a wide range of financial companies. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles. presented by kcet los angeles.