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>> hello and welcome. >> our headlines this hour. the eurozone storm gathers. seeking the truth while trying to come to terms with its past. >> bidding fed where -- bidding farewell at the funeral of carlos fuentes. it is 11:00 a.m. here in singapore. >> it is 4:00 a.m. here in london, broadcasting to tv viewers in america and around the world. this is newsday. >> hello and welcome. the continuing political uncertainty in greece is not

only unnerve and international markets, but also the great greek public. political leaders have failed to form a coalition and special elections have been scheduled. the parliament will be led by a judge. >> no mandate to use any of them. a new greek prime minister is a senior judge. he is the head of an emergency government and to pave the way for fresh elections in a month's time. ♪ >> 3 will hoping the prayers of the faithful keep the economy afloat until then. emerging from the president's futile talks with party leaders was a warning direct from the central bank that all the chaos is risking panic. greeks have withdrawn 700

million euros from the banks in the week up until monday according to the president. but there are no signs of a bank run, despite fears that commit the drachma it does come back, savings will collapse in value. >> i worry for my money because it would turn to drachma. i don't know what would be the future might deposits. >> waiting in the wings is a list block predicted by the polls to emerge as the party of the elections. its leader opposes the austere terms of greece's international bailout. >> our choice is to stay in europe without austerity policy. we are in favor of the euro without the austerity that is destroying it. >> delaying spending cuts while keeping greece inside the europe is simply not possible, according to the other major parties.

the bailout deal they have negotiated with the other eurozone countries and the imf requires tough targets to be hit first for the next tranche of loans to be released. time is running short with greek officials warning they may run out of cash as early as next month. and that will mean nothing in the coffers for pensions, salaries for members of state, the thing that would please the incoming parliament. >> the brazilian president has inaugurated a truth commission to investigate abuses, including those committed during military rule but the military era amnesty means there will be no trial. some brazilians believe the commission is overdue. >> it has been a long awaited and other latin american countries like chile, peru,

paraguay. they have had their military dictatorships in the 1960's and 1970's like brazil. there have been through the truth commission right at the end of the dictatorship. it has taken since 1985 for this to happen. the commission now has two years to examine the magnitude and to produce a report detailing exactly what happened during those years, possibly the naming of perpetrators of human rights abuses. but they won't have the authority to prosecute anybody. there is in 1979 amnesty law that so far has feuded all the accused and the dictatorship from being brought to court. >> major convoys between pakistan and afghanistan. >> the pakistani chairman appears to be on the verge of

listing its six-month blockade on the transport of goods through pakistan into afghanistan. it will be seen as something of an improvement between washington and islamabad. but there is opposition among many pakistanis. >> there are hundreds of oil tankers with field meant for nato forces in afghanistan sitting idle here. their drivers anare desperate to get back to work despite the risks. >> just days before pakistan imposed its blockade, he said his nephew was on the way to deliver his cargo appeared he was shot dead by militants. mohammed himself as a driver and he still wants the nato supply route reopened. forget politics, he says. we're thinking about how to feed ourselves.

it is poverty that forces us to do this job. but there are huge numbers of pakistanis who feel he should never transport need to of goods. tens -- nato goods. tens of thousands of right-wing and religious parties are calling for ab ebd -- calling for an and to all cooperation with the u.s. army. >> they will sit on the roads. we will lie down on them and say, drive the containers over if you want to. this protest we can make. >> militant groups have done much worse in the past, including attacks on convoys. nato kept using the rate because the alternatives were far more costly although it knew many here blame america for the spilling of muslim blood.

it was the death of 24 pakistani soldiers in a nato raid in november that caused this, but to block the route for nato fuel and goods. in the freight yard behind me, there are 89 trucks loaded with nato supplies. they have equipment and generator packs and even for by four vehicles that are needed by troops in afghanistan. the company hopes that these trucks will be back on the road soon. the fear is that their journey to afghanistan will now be all the more dangerous. sometimes there is furious opposition here for pakistan allowing them through. >> the funeral of carlos fuentez has been held that the country's finance palace. he is one of the most prolific latin american writers in fiction and his essays on politics and culture. [applause]

>> it was mexico's final adios to its most political voice in modern times. his writings uniquely identified with his native country. in the palace of fine arts, mexico's political, academic, and cultural dignitaries have gathered to pay their last respects, among them president felipe calderon and the mayor of mexico city. but this was also a family's funeral. >> it makes me very happy to see so much spontaneity, some as caring. he deserves it. i feel like he reserve -- he deserves that. >> carlos fuentes was a prolific novelist and essayist, producing dozens of important works over his distinguished career. among those which gained international acclaim werth "the death of artemio cruz" and th

"the old gringo.">> when we studied literature in high school, his works were crucial. i cannot forget "aura,"for example, which affected me at 14 years old. it still affects me today. >> you will be remembered for what he wrote. he was the internal voice for mexico. >> but fuentes also played a key role in mexican political life. he was never afraid to speak out against political governments in mexico or the united states. mexico has lost one of its most important than one of its most critical voices. with the current difficulties in the country, many feel his loss will be keenly felt. >> two patients who have been

paralyzed from the neck down have been allowed to use robotics that brings electrical signals into command. an engineer involved with the project ran us through how it worked. this sensor, it says 96 tiny electrodes on this platform. this is tapped into the top of the brain to a part of the brain called the motor cortex. it is very important for the voluntary control of the arm and hand. the motor cortex is disconnected from the rest of the body in such diseases and disorders such as stroke or spinal cord injury. so we take this sensor, which is

resting in the motor cortex for each of these electrodes can record neural signals, brain cell activity associated with the intended movement of the hand. we then record those neural signals. it goes down through some fine wires to in the pedestal for a slug that sits on top of the head. during the research session, there's a cable to connect those recordings to a series of computers and the job of those computers is to decode that neural activity, that is to turn that person's intention to move into the actual movement of an assist device such as the cursor on a computer screen or the movement of a robotic device. >> it is such a tiny piece of technology. it can help a lot of paralyzed people. what is the possibility that this technology could be rolled out on a wider scale and help more people? >> we are certainly hopeful

that, in the future, this technology and subsequent to evolutions of the technology will help people with paralysis, possibly people with little loss, and perhaps the same technology will be used for people with other neurologic diseases or injuries. it is important for me to emphasize, while we are pleased and i am person incurs by the results and the progress we have made this far, it is still early days in this -- in the research. we have a lot more learning to do, learning how this part of this brain works and how to provide a reliable command signal that a person can use 24 hours a day and seven days a week. and one day to make that a fully deployable system. >> you are watching news day on the bbc live from singapore and london. still to come, crossing mount

etna with a group of students skiers. the sport of ski flying. a quick look at what is making front-page news around the world. those 12 zeros on the cover of "the guardian" represent the estimated $1 trillion cost of the eurozone. an escalating diplomatic row over gibraltar -- the spanish they're meant told the queen to revoke her acceptance. and minority of all births and the united states, the census data published today will show that, for the first time, hispanics, blacks, asians, and mixed-race birth will account

for over 50%. >> our headlines the sour -- as political uncertainty continues in greece, greeks have withdrawn millions of euros from greek banks in the past week. >> the brazilian president has set up a truth commission for human rights abuses between 1964 and 1985. but there will be no trial. to the eurozone crisis. for more than two years, europe has been on the press of this. -- on the press of this. how did your upd -- headed

europe get itself into this current financial mess? >> outside the headquarters of the european central bank in frankfurt, and in canada ncampment of- a protesters. >> and difficulties to fanned themselves. we're very close from a collapse in a banking system in the euro viruel, which would also lead to a collapse in the economy and lead to inflation. this is something that the ec economics at. >> the european central bank but 800 european banks on my support by providing more than euros on loan to them. this is only temporary solution, not a cure. >> it is a powerful one.

this has to be used properly by governments. fiscal issues and competitive issues that europe is facing. >> the calm has evaporated. there are escalating fears that greece will leave the euro. the ensuing turmoil will form a more serious fracture of the currency union. but spain and italy look considerably weaker. the cost of their government's soaring again. these crises have been met with fire fighting, which for a time would put out the flames. the question is whether the currency union is up for the kind of fundamental reform necessary to ensure its long- term survival. what may be needed is a greater willingness by germany to deploy more of its fearsome financial resources to help the weaker economies such as spain and italy in that time a painful

transition. but it's sharing of the debt burden probably requires near revolution in the way the eu is government. >> one thing is obvious. we need more of your peer political union is the only way to save the stability of the eurozone. >> it is the -- if the former german chancellor is right, creation of a european superstate and survival of the euro or disastrous monetary political disintegration. >> the french prime minister has been aiming members of his new cabinet. one wasted no time in filling the top job. is to beign minister's the finance minister. the director of the fbi has condemned recent leaks of information about the al qaeda

plot to put an explosive device on board an airplane bound for the u.s.. he said that such leaks threaten intelligence operations and damaged america's relationship with its foreign partners. robert f. kennedy, jr.'s estranged wife mary has been found dead in your state. the cause is unknown. our washington correspondent explains what is known about the death. >> police in bedford, new york, which is a few hours' drive north of new york city, has said that a body was found at a home belonging to robert f. kennedy, jr. and his former wife mary earlier this afternoon. they have not confirmed reports that it was mary kennedy and they have not confirmed or denied reports that the body was found in an apparent suicide.

ap news here in the united states reported that mary kennedy was found hanged. tonight, her family has paid tribute to her in a statement saying that they regret her death -- day regret the death of their beloved sister mary who they say her radiant creative spirit will be missed by those who loved her. she had four children with her former husband robert f. kennedy. so the family is confirming that mary kennedy has been found dead in that house in upstate new york. but not giving any further details as to how she died at this stage. we do know that she suffered with drugs and alcohol problems in the past. there were two incidents, one driving under the influence of alcohol and one driving under the influence of drugs around the time as she split up with her husband robert kennedy back in 2010. >> this is yet another tragedy

in the troubled history of what is one of america's most famous families. >> that is right. the kennedy dynasty has been beset by tragedy for generations now over the past several decades. john f. kennedy, of course, assassinated as president. he was the uncle of robert f. kennedy whose wife has died today. and robert f. kennedy, senior, robert kennedy's father, was also assassinated. several plane crashes have claimed several members of that family. this is yet another tragedy, as you say, in a long line of events which have been made at a very dramatic history of the kennedy family here in the united states. >> new york city, it is no stranger to passionate politics. right now, a fierce debate is raging between two presidential candidates. we're not talking about obama vs. ronnie.

we're talking about the dominican presidential contests that is playing out. the votes in the manhattan neighborhood of washington heights could tip the election back home. ♪ >> the music and slogans are unmistakably dominican. but this political rally taking place in new york. more than 100,000 people here are registered to vote in sunday's dominican republic presidential election. >> we are very close to our culture. even if we are in different places. >> politics is like during the music press. it is something traditional. it is like sports. it is in our blood. >> there are pragmatic reasons for getting involved, too. >> most of us have family there,

investments, businesses, homes. and they want to make sure that things are going well. >> dominicans in new york remain attached to the political culture of their country of origin. as the growing number in new york, they become more influential, both in the dominican republic and in the u.s. washington heights in manhattan is the heart of the demand -- of the dominican diaspora. it has become such a powerful bloc, that both candidates of the dominican presidential election have campaign here. every vote from the u.s. could be crucial. >> here, there's no possibility of buying off anyone. that is why our votes here are hard to get. >> but the community in washington heights is also targeting washington, d.c. ♪ >> he started his political

career in this neighborhood. he could become the first dominican american congressman. his campaign is focusing on hispanic issues. >> this particular election is defining what we will do in the next 10-20 years. what we do as a state, as a country, when we have a diverse population, an immigrant population that is growing more importance in the country? >> much more latino and african- american. it is a shift that could challenge rep rango. dominican american voters are enjoying their new-found influence in both countries. >> a team of ski fliers of the first to descend it please mount etna. it is a combination of pair of lighting and skiing. it is a dangerous sport in itself.

but this has its risks. >> mount etna is no stranger to scandal direction here and there. this was her latest outburst. there is the snow and ice, not to mention the plumes of smoke. getting to the top is an achievement in itself. >> you can smell the smoke, the smell a volcanic activity. you can listen to the noise and you can see the sea around us, surrounding us. it is just a beautiful environment. i am really looking forward to do some nice -- the conditions are good and the sky is clear. i am looking forward to start. >> this is what he is talking about. speed flying, a combination of arab light and skiing.

-- a combination of para gliding and skiing. descending europe's largest and most active volcano has its risks, to peer out aetna has unpredictably arrested 24 times in the last year. but she was happy to accommodate her guests. the team completed their dissent without harm. a memory worth keeping. >> you have been watching newsday from the bbc. >> a quick reminder of our main news appeared in greece, the caretaker prime minister has been sworn in after the main party failed to form a no government. thank you for watching newsday.

>> 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. >> this is kim. about to fill one of his favorite sensations. at shell we're developing more efficient fuels in countries like malaysia that can help us get the most out of our energy resources. let's use energy more efficiently. let's go.

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