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>> this is "newsday". >> the headlines this hour. a prominent dissident explains why he left the safety of the american embassy. sarkozy and allonde accuse each other of lying ahead of the french election. end of the road. newt gingrich abandoned his campaign to challenge president a bomb in november. >> a jaw dropping price for masterpiece at an auction in new york. >> broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world, this is "newsday".

>> the chinese dissident left the u.s. embassy in beijing because he feared for the safety of his wife and children. he had been given refuge in the embassy after escaping from house arrest last month. his presence in the embassy had overshadowed a visit to china by hillary clinton with chinese authorities accusing the u.s. of unacceptable interference in its internal affairs. our correspondent has details. >> this is one of the biggest hospitals in beijing. chinese security agents desperate to keep one of the bestknown human-rights activists hidden. at the end of the corridor in a wheelchair we have glimpsed him. his leg was injured, brought

here by u.s. diplomats who negotiated a deal with china for him to get medical treatment and to study freely. his safety guaranteed. the silhouettes of his wife and children, long held captive by chinese security, reunited with him under the deal. >> she said she was [inaudible] >> the blind lawyer became an icon of human rights abuses after he exposed the way thousands of women had undergone forced abortion. for seven years, he was held here under illegal house arrest. he and his family beaten savagely, guarded around the clock. despite his lack of sight, he outwitted his guard. now china has been using his family for bargaining chip. u.s. officials said china was threatening to beat his wife to

death that he did not leave the embassy. this evening speaking on the telephone, chen said the danger to his family and children the reason he left. >> at no time did u.s. officials speak to chen about the physical or legal threats to his wife or children nor did any chinese officials make threats to us or threats. >> american diplomats did tell him chinese officials had said his wife and children would be set -- sent back to the the village if he stayed in the embassy. they demanded an apology. the u.s. has said it will not be one. hillary clinton is in beijing for scheduled talks with china's leaders. on a host of major issues, america has to work with china. whether it is the state of the

global economy or stopping the bloodshed in syria. tonight, from his hospital, chen guangcheng vergie might be kidnapped again. he appealed for help that his china -- his family once lived china. >> live now to beijing. we know the economic dialogue is kicking off with hillary clinton and tim geithner in attendance. will his case dominate the talks? >> i think it will. this deal yesterday was reached to try and stop the case of chen guangcheng over shuttering the talks. the u.s. secretary of state is attending. with the details still marching as to why mr. chen left the nsc, that will cast a shadow over the

talks. we understand he has talked to the reuters news agency. he has repeated he wants to leave the country with his family. certainly the sensitive topic for china and america. the u.s. secretary of state, hillary clinton, will come under pressure on this point particularly as in the past, she has spoken about chen guangcheng's case so publicly. >> the u.s. might come under pressure. china wants to apologize for their alleged role in this -- his escape. is there evidence of the u.s. in this case? >> the chinese authorities have said he was taken into the embassy through what it called at normal channels. certainly the american officials confirmed that and said it was a humanitarian case. they said he was given medical

treatment in the embassy before leaving to the hospital yesterday. certainly from china opposing point of view, there is a great deal of anger over this case. this has been a huge embarrassment for beijing. once again it is the focus -- puts the focus on the issue of human rights and that is something beijing does not want to see and regards this case as china meddling in china's affairs. -- the u.s. meddling in china's affairs. >> aside from the case there are other items on the agenda what might we see from these talks? but these are today talks and a hosty are talking on

of issues. america wants chinese support. this will be one of the key issues as well as in iran. it remains to be seen whether we will get from agreement or details over the next couple of days. america will be pushing its position as well china. it will be the case if this overshadows the talks. >> kasia, you have more on that he did tv debate. >> tempers flared between the contenders in the french presidential election, both men accused of lying. nicolas sarkozy trailing his socialist rival, francois hollande, by about six points. >> on a rainy parisienne night,

the candidates arrive to what has been called the dual. -- duel. francois hollande said he hoped for decency in the debate. sarkozy arrived. he described himself as determined by not extremely determined. the expected audience, 20 million. perhaps the last chance to fight back and win a second term. almost immediately, they were arguing. let me teach you something, said the president. let me assure you, said francois hollande, you cannot teach me anything. thus it continued, a scrappy are given. francois hollande went on the attack. you have read the french economy, your not in the best place to relaunch it.

whatever happens, you're always happy. the french people are less happy. president sarkozy came back, that is a shameless expression. francois hollande, i have not said anything that justifies that expression. mr. sarkozy, it is a lie, it is a lie, it is a lie. when you say i am always happy about france, when you said i do not live up to my responsibilities, it is a lie. it is easy to form the impression they did not like each other as they traded accusations. that is the difference between you and me. i protect the children of the republic. you protect the privileged. >> you want to make deeper poor.

i want to make people richer. so far he has not been able to land a killer blow and mr. hollande @ rehm,. it is president sarkozy who needs to come out of this wealtwith momentum for his camp. >> the u.s. security council has threatened sedan and south sudan -- sudan and south sudan. they want to renew talks. at least 20 people have been killed on an attack on the ministry of defense in cairo. they were protesting about the exclusion of a hard-line

islamist candidate in the upcoming election. ukraine has insisted it will host the 2012 matches. authorities have denied she has been beaten in prison. she was jailed for abuse of office. unemployment had a fresh high of nearly 11%. critics say politicians have prioritized austerity at the expense of jobs and growth. newt gingrich has pulled out of the republican race for the white house. he did not immediately endorse his rival, mitt romney. he described him last week as certain to become the republican nominee. >> today i am suspending the campaign, but suspending the campaign does not mean suspending citizenship. >> he managed to win two states

during the primary season. it is reported his campaign is $4 million in debt. our corresponded is in washington and explains his support of rival mitt romney. >> it would be fair to say it was an almost non-endorsement for an almost-endorsement. he was basically saying, mitt romney may not be a conservative, but he is better than the alternative in president obama. he did describe him as the most radical, a leftist president in u.s. history. he was romney's vitter rival. his campaign was over a while ago. it started last year with a mass resignation of his senior campaign staff and peach with strong performances in the debate and a win in south carolina and fizzled out. it has been limping to a close.

>> one of that most well-known pieces of art has sold for 19 -- 20 million -- $120 million. there was heated competition. "the screm" was said to be a modern record of what earnings ready. in 2010 -- he wrote he was with some friends when he suffered anxiety. watching "newsday". still to come. why this mission will need plenty of juice to reach its

destination. why the movement set up nearly a century ago is at the heart of modern design. now a quick look at what is making front-page news. high tension after tempers flared. hollande does win, he will be under pressure not to seek renegotiation of the compact. and extraordinary mission of -- admission of failure. a founder of the chinese dissidents chen guangcheng le.

the guardian said senior advisers to mitt romney have criticized the british prime minister david cameron for his "love in" with president obama. >> this is "newsday". >> the chinese dissident chen guangcheng has left the embassy over fears about his wife and children. >> the two contenders in the french presidential election have accused each other of lying in their only televised debate before second -- the second round about. the un is to release a report on how people can use media to transform society to markets press freedom day. uprisings have highlighted the

power of the media. it says they power of the internet and journalists have remained fragile and is not within the reach of everyone. our guest joins us via skype. new media, social media has made such an impact on how we report stories. normally -- what is your view of this? >> the internet and social media has been transformative in many regions of the world. in asia a particularly. it is something that is always growing and which oppressive governments like china and burma are seeking to repress. >> we talked about china specifically. we're talking about chen guangcheng. how was that reported by the chinese press compared to the western press?

>> his story has been centered in the mainstream media in china for some time. -- censored in the mainstream media in china for some time. he has been under house arrest. the mainstream media says the u.s. is interfering in chinese affairs and should back off. >> in terms of how they're perceived and in terms of how they're opening up their relationship with the u.s. and we have these talks with hillary clinton, how should they be approaching mr. chen's situation? >> they value his ability to engage in society. i think they need to also

stressed that media freedom and allowing journalists [inaudible] allowing foreign journalists' access to him and others in his situation is vital for the protest. >> are you not concerned that by having or by trying to gain access to him, we're not in danger in his position? >> i think that is a valid concern. i think that he and other dissidents recognize the risk involved in speaking out. once they are willing to take that risk, it is up to reporters in the u.s. and around the world to broadcast their own wishes. >> thank you very much for that. we can cross live to pictures from beijing. those high-level talks are now under way. we can see that this is the opening ceremony of those talks. the american secretary of state, hillary clinton, is there with

the treasury secretary, at timothy geithner a-- timothy geithner. these talks are being overshadowed by chen guangcheng 's escape and leaving the u.s. embassy. and calling to be taken back to the united states. this is to show you, these are live pictures from beijing. these are annual and very high profile talks, today talks -- two-day talks where hillary clinton is present. other issues like syria and iran. the situation with chen guangcheng is overshadowing the

talks. >> the european space agency esa has approved an exploration and to the moon of jupiter. a kraft should arrive at jupiter -- craft should arrive at jupiter in 2013. here is our science correspondent. >> the month of jupiter, some encrusted in ice. others fiery and volcanic. they're among the most fascinating of world but they remind -- remain largely unexplored. some of these motions are the destination of the next space mission. >> is an exciting process -- is an exciting prospect. these moons have water under

their cross. >> nasa has led the way but because of budget cuts, the americans have to scrap many of its missions. european nations are still prepared to fund research to see whether life could exist elsewhere. jupiter is much further from the sun than the earth. the sun's rays are weak and temperatures are well below freezing. orbiting around jupiter are more than 60 months. it is thought that some of them including ganymede, callisto, and europe but maybe able to support life. europea has an icy surface that could be up to 100 meters deep. underneath, the ice is warm and melted, caused by jupiter's huge gravitational forces. and so below the frozen crust, there is thought to be a vast ocean encircling the month which could be home to simple life forms or even strange kinds of

alien fish. >> if you think of it, to have life, you need to have water. and so where else to go in the solar system other than places we know there is liquid water under the surface. that is where we would like to search for life. >> is there a possibility there might be life on one of these worlds? >> i would be surprised if there was not life of some kind. quex in the far future, our son will expand and jupiter -- our sun will expand and jupiter's moons will warm. inlet's get more on events new york where one of the most well known pieces of art has sold for $119.90 million at sotheby's in new york. ray waterhouse joins us on the

line. what was the atmosphere like? >> the atmosphere was electric. there were probably six or seven bidders come up to 17 million and from there, there were two firm bidders who took it up to $107 million. the atmosphere was amazing. it took 10 minutes to sell the work. i have to point out, this is one of four versions of "the cream," it is actually a pastel. not oil. these are more fragile so it is remarkable. >> the figures are by watering. -- eye-watering. who buys this? >> i know for sure that [inaudible] did not buy. it is rumored that the -- royal

family was represented. i have no idea if they got it. it is likely will never know who the buyer was. all the bidding was done on the phone, than to preserve the buyer's -- done to preserve the -- anonymity.y >> what is it that makes this so visual? >> it is pretty obvious. everyone has seen this as posters. it represents angst by one of the norwegian masters of expressionism and it is so recognizable. something has iconic is partly

because it is recognizable. and this is a work on pastel. it has made the world record price at auction. the family bought a cezanne for $250 million so it is not the world record for art. >> thank you. it went for $119.5 million. talkscrossover to this taking place in beijing. >> on iran, the u.s. and china share the goal of preventing iraq from acquiring a nuclear weapon. and we had a productive first meeting as members of the p-5 plus one in istanbul.

>> 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. >> at union bank, our relationship managers use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended, global network to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?

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