thousands demonstrated in budapest at the beginning of the year.urious that the new constitutional measures to curb press freedoms. outside the headquarters of the state broadcaster, laid off workers and government opponents are holding a constant vigil. they called themselves solidarity, like poland's former anti-communist movement. this tv journalist was fired from his job. he said the government suppressed support -- reporting of the anti-orban demonstrations at the beginning of january. >> you could see the other television, the commercial one, that's appeared the same kindpo. >> more than press freedom is at stake. >> i think it is too early to say. i think it will be kind of half democracy if we continue this way. >> the protesters are also making noise online. ♪ >> i do not like the system, saying these activists. >> offline, it is becoming more difficult to criticize the government. this is the founder of a forum for critical discussion. but his station is under pressure. the station has been refused a new license by the prime minister's al

anchorage in budapest. did they say the new constitution is an attack on the mark -- anger in budapest. they say the new constitution is an attack. welcome to "newday." -- "newsday." the head of the arab league has said the syrian army has pulled out of residential areas. the killings continue and snipers remain a threat. observers were sent to monitor the violence. >> of the arab league observers have been in the country for a week. protesters want them to listen. these pictures are believed to be from close to the capital of damascus. their chants, people want international protection. there is disagreement about whether the mission is achieving anything. today in cairo, the arab league secretary-general said there had been progress. >> military vehicles and tanks have been withdrawn . they are now positioned on the outskirts. monitors have been able to provide food for the people and retrieved dead bodies. >> yes, there is gunfire. there are snipers. according to the account to receive from the head of t

budapest. >> this is "gmt" from bbc world news.he headlines -- the syrian authorities have condemned what they describe as a terrorist attack by suicide bombers on an eastern suburb of the syrian capital. after meeting >> 's democracy activists -- activist aung san suu kyi, british foreign secretary william hague says more reforms are needed before the use sanctions can be lifted. aaron is here, i believe with news on the smartphone business. >> samsung -- i think it is fair to say, it is firing on all cylinders. let me explain. the south korean tech giant samsung said it made record profits in the last three months of 2011. it is all, as stephen said, largely thanks to booming sales of its smartphones. samsung overtook apple, the top maker, as the samsung galaxy outsold the iphone for the very first time. >> there is no doubting the popularity of samsung's mobile phones. they are now the firm's biggest money maker and why they will soon report record quarterly earnings of $4.5 billion. sales of the galaxy mobile phone help samsung

at budapest's food bank, there is concern for the pour. international criticism for the new constitution has put loan that negotiations on hold at a time when poverty is increasing. back over the danube, but this former empire is heading into the unknown. minister say they will do everything possible to satisfy changes?onal investors. up bbc news. >> a year ago this weekend, gabrielle giffords' life changed forever. the arizona congresswoman was shot in the head when a gunman opened fire at a political rally, killing 6. she has spent the last 12 months making what doctors call a remarkable recovery. there are even suggestions she will run for office next election. we spoke to her husband, mark kelly, as per family prepares for -- as for family prepares for this weekend's event. how has it been for you? how would you sum up her progress today? >> it is extraordinary. she is in the one percentile of people who could survive this kind of injury. and most of those to not make a very good recovery over time, but in the months afterward, she sta

mark doyle, bbc news. >> i am joined from budapest by the minister of communications at the hon. justice ministry. thank you for being on "gmt." constitutions are supposed to be above politics, they are supposed to be timeless, but you have been accused of creating a document that is intensely political. >> the nature of the process is political. many in central europe have managed to get rid of the old communist constitution's. now hungary is the last one. >> no one is doubting your right, what they are arguing about, and tens of thousands of people turned up on the street, you are producing a document that entrenches values of the right rather than producing documents that are all hungarian -- that all hungarians can rally around. >> the biggest christian democrat, with new fundamental laws, that is the democracy causeway. in i wanted to remind you that 23 years ago, it would have been impossible to call any kind of rally. and >> let's take a look at a couple of examples. the european union is also worried about what the government has done as far as a central bank taking away

at budapest's food bank, there is concern for the pour. international criticism for the new constitution has put loan that negotiations on hold at a time when poverty is increasing. back over the danube, but this former empire is heading into the unknown. minister say they will do everything possible to satisfy international investors. but will they have to give up their cherished changes? bbc news. >> a year ago this weekend, gabrielle giffords' life changed forever. the arizona congresswoman was shot in the head when a gunman opened fire at a political rally, killing 6. she has spent the last 12 months making what doctors call a remarkable recovery. there are even suggestions she will run for office next election. we spoke to her husband, mark kelly, as per family prepares for -- as for family prepares for this weekend's event. how has it been for you? how would you sum up her progress today? >> it is extraordinary. she is in the one percentile of people who could survive this kind of injury. and most of those to not make a very good rec

at budapest food banks, there is concern what that might mean for the poor.ernational criticism of the new constitution has put loan negotiations on hold at a time when poverty here is increasing. back over the danube and this once affluent empire is heading into the unknown. the minister said that they will do all they must to satisfy international investors but will have to give up their cherished constitutional changes? >> finally, there is some good news today when it comes to the u.s. economy and those all the important job figures. figures for december show that the unemployment rate has fallen to 8.5%, its lowest level in more than three years. more than 200,000 jobs were created in december. the news could not come at a better time for the white house. >> there are now more americans doing this, working, then there has been in nearly three years. the u.s. jobless rate is down 8.5%. unemployment is up for the sixth straight month. this is a boost for a president whose stewardship of the economy will be the main issue in this year's election. >> we're m

for some reaction, we spoke to someone in budapest, and i ask that the people view this eu legal challengean attack against the government there or against their country? >> i think they view it as both, especially if you speak to supporters of the party of the communist. they will see it definitely as an attack on both the prime minister and their country. there are also extremists, one for a party which translates as movement for a better country, and they go further. they not only view it as an attack on hungary, but they also want to leave the european union as soon as possible, something that made clear over the weekend during demonstrations where, if right -- quite frankly, people wearing uniforms and flags of the pro-nazi regime or a rallying against the european union. >> does he had the backing of the vast majority the hungarian people? >> according to opinion polls, he has lost about half of the 2.7 million people that voted for him. his support is clearly defining. -- clearly declining. the far right might pick up some of those votes. but i have to tell you, people also suggest

. >> this was a rather bizarre period in my life, because ten days earlier i got married in budapest to patty martin, born in budapest that lives in new york and you have haon the program, and the day we got married, which was a sunday, was a day i am sure your viewers will remember, when 500 u.n. peace keepers had been chained, telephone pole on trees and being photographed by the world and the bosnian serbs are saying we are going to execute these people if any bombing takes place. d three hours before our wedding, knowing there was a meeting that was going to take place in the white house, at the exact moment of our wedding, i called my deputy john corn bloom, the chief of staff, and madeleine albright the u.n. ambassador on a conference call and said, look, my recommendation is you give the serbs 48 hours to free everyone unharmed, if they don't start bombing. and they thought i was kidding, i really wasn't. i believed then and how that would have worked. and then we talked a while and they said they would relay. and i said i have to go now i am going get married. so we got marri

this from budapest. hungry is a country where austerity start early and never stopped. its currency is exapsing. its population in the syria of crisis the >> i aware it's donning on them that the government they hired to sort things is out becoming the pariah. in the space of 18 months, victor has achieved a lot. he has introduced a flat tax that put a hole in the country's budget. to fill the hole he nationalized the private pension scheme to prevent a challenge to that, he neutralized the constitutional court and changeed if law to near permanent majority here in the nationaler parliament and then he's asked the i.m.n. for $20 billion. >> victor all ban was elected in "20/20" -- was elected in to tax large companies and take control of the central bank. last week, tens of thousands of hungarians took to the street for what they saw was the youth, the usual mixture in these times of protests but find big supports in our problem he reflects a generation in despair. >> at times they attach themselves to the central bank, the national bank which has reserve of $35 billion

it also rejects claims that budapest is pending asylum seekers back to damascus. >> no one has been deported to syria since last april. even if we were to send these men and women back to hungary, they would be safe there. >> the dispute is another sign of how hard it is for europe to adapt to the turbulence caused by the arab spring. >> let's go to sarah. a very stark warning for the eurozone out with the2 imf. >> the threat of a major recession. if the situation gets worse, the bloc could see a 4% contraction in gdp over the last two years. -- over the next two years. >> in its revised global outlook, the imf says gdp will grow even slower than initially forecast. incites the eurozone and sovereign debt crisis as a major factorn says the recession is on the brink of a mild recession. >> the world recovery, which was weak in the first place, it is in danger of stalling. the center of the danger is europe. the rest of the world is increasingly affected. >> the imf was less competitive states like greece, italy, and spain to press on with reforms, and to make sure struggling economies are ade

. >> tens of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of the hungarian capital of budapest to protest against the introduction of the country's new constitution. critics say it kurds democracy and freedom of the press. the governing -- curbs democracy in the freedom of the press. the governing party passed the new constitution as a result of its two-thirds majority in parliament. elsewhere in europe, there are also concerns. >> supporters say simply a " hungry." -- "hungary." they have dropped "republic of" from the name. >> orban must go, according to this headline. referring to the prime minister. tv journalist and been on a hunger strike. >> when independent institutions are put under the control of the government, checks and balances are destroyed. one has to be very concerned about the democratic rule of law. >> the prime minister put the new -- pushed the new constitution through in april with support from his right conservative party. the new constitution will have provisions that restrict the core. there were also new measures central bank. leaders from the internat

budapest is trying to borrow 20 billion euros for its high sovereign debt. concerns sent the euro to 320 florence on wednesday -- florins on wed.. a new rule requiring chevron to pay $18 billion in damages for pollution in the amazon jungle. chevron failed to make a public apology. the oil giant has slammed the decision saying it is further evidence of corruption in ecuador's court system and it will not comply with the ruling. 2011 was a bad year for natural disasters. it was the costliest year on record for the global insurance industry. the most expensive disaster was the earthquake and tsunami in japan in march that caused losses of 27 billion euros. coming in second, the new zealand earthquake. overall the year for a whole had damages of 81 billion euros, topping a previous records from 2005. >> northern europe is being battered by powerful storms disrupting rail and sea travel. coastal regions in northern germany saw winds of over 100 kilometers an hour and forecasters say the worst is yet to come. it could be two more days to for the storm passes. now

. >> big protests broke out in the streets of the hungarian capital budapest after the constitution came into force at the beginning of this month. now hungary could be subject to the european court of justice. but it seems to be willing to compromise before it comes to that. >> when you have any kind of assumption or you come to a point -- if it turns out that the legal issue is not in line with european law, then it should be recommended. >> the commission had to play tough to get the endurance to back down. hungry cannot afford to lose eu support. but questions remain about whether the concessions will be enough. the hungarian prime minister is now preparing to address to the european parliament. the last time he came here, he got a mulling over the constitution. even if he is now willing to compromise, it may not be enough to appease left-of-center groups. >> at least 51 people have been killed in inter-ethnic clashes in south sudan. a state of emergency has been declared in the area. five foreign tourists have been killed by armed rebels in ethiopia. it happened in the northern regi

anger in budapest. some say it is an attack on democracy. >> broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world. welcome. the head of the arab league has said the syrian army has pulled out of residential areas in the main cities, but killing and snipers remain a threat. he was speaking a week after they sent observers to monitor the violence. we report from beirut. >> dear bling has been in the area four weeks. new -- the arab league has been in the area four weeks. these pictures are from close to damascus. people want international protection, but there is disagreement about whether the mission is achieving anything. today in cairo, the arab league secretary general said there had been progress. military vehicles and tanks have been withdrawn from the cities in residential districts. they are now positioned in the outskirts. the arab league monitors have been able to provide food for the people and retrieved dead bodies. >> yes, there is still gun fire. yes, there are still snipers, accor

. >> this was a rather bizarre period in my life, because ten days earlier i got married in budapest to patty martin, born in budapest that lives in new york and you have haon the program, and the day we got married, which was a sunday, was a day i am sure your viewers will remember, when 500 u.n. peace keepers had been chained, telephone pole on trees and being photographed by the world and the bosnian serbs are saying we are going to execute these people if any bombing takes place. d three hours before our wedding, knowing there was a meeting that was going to take place in the white house, at the exact moment of our wedding, i called my deputy john corn bloom, the chief of staff, and madeleine albright the u.n. ambassador on a conference call and said, look, my recommendation is you give the serbs 48 hours to free everyone unharmed, if they don't start bombing. and they thought i was kidding, i really wasn't. i believed then and how that would have worked. and then we talked a while and they said they would relay. and i said i have to go now i am going get married. so we got marri

. >> hungary is drowning inebt, but the i and the eu broke off talks with the government in budapest about new financing because of concerns about a proposed law that threatens the independence of hungary's central bank. still, government officials appear confident that the talks will resume. >> we think it is important to reach an agreement with the imf and the eu. we want to move towards a deal. we are ready to n negotte without preconditions, and we are ready to discuss everything at the negotiating table. >> the hungarian currency slumumped new lows this week. that, plus the new higher cost of borrowing, has put pressure on the government to make a deal. many analysts say that market confidence in theovernment has now hit rock bobottom that is reflected in the the minister value of the currency against the europe. and the increased value of default insurance for government bonds. an auction this week failed to reach the government's target, and thee situation could worsen unless the government talks with the imf and eu. >> thanks. the czech republic has granted political asylum t

is not part of the euro, but there are regular financial policy of the government in protest -- budapests causing concern to the unit's credit, a bank which is big in hungary, shares lost 20% in only two trading days. >> let's get a closer look at the market numbers. we stick in frankfurt or the blue chip dax was down on the day, down 0.25%. the euro stoxx 50 at a similar story. in new york, the dow jones industrial average trading under way, and it is down on the day. the euro losing majorly against the u.s. dollar, trading for $1.2784. well, switzerland, the central bank chief has dismissed suggestions he should resign following a probe into the timing of the currency deal made by his wife. he said he followed the swiss national bank's internal rules when his wife made half a million dollar trade. the timing of the move is in question, because days later, he took action to lower the value of the swiss franc. his wife is a former currency trader who is now running an art gallery in zurich. as the debt crisis rages on in europe, many market leaders are focusing on emerging economies. ind

. >> big protests broke out on streets of the hungarian capital budapest after the constitution came into force at the beginning of this month. now the government could be fined or prosecuted at the european court of justice, but it seems willing to compromise before it comes to that. >> when you have any kind of assumption or you come to a point where it turns out that the legal issue is not in line with the european law, then of course, it should be amended. >> and yet the commission had to play tough to get the hungarians to back down. the fact is, hungary can't afford to lose e.u. support because it desperately needs a loan to help repay debt. but questions remain about whether the concessions will be enough. the hungarian prime minister is now preparing to address the european parliament. last time he came here, he got a mauling over the constitution. and even if he's now willing to compromise, it may not be enough to appease left of center groups. >> in other news, at least 51 people have been killed in interethnic clashes in south sudan. members of the tribe attack rivals on m

tens of thousands have protested in central budapest against the new hunger and constitution a day after it came into effect activists denounced president viktor or bombs a center right regime as a dictatorship and chanted anti-government slogans they claim that new laws undermine democracy and threaten judicial independence the legislation was pushed. despite the us and e.u. asking a lot to be withdrawn. despite a dark past with fascism like many other european countries germany is seeing a surge in support for neo nazi groups it's a problem that sometimes divides whole terms between those in favor of extremism and those trying to make a stand you go to school of investigates what is driving young people down this violent path. a quiet down disturbed. a small community divided. it began with the appearance of nazi symbols then the local social center was burned to the ground your own office was also vandalized says for him the final straw was when your nazis marched through the town's main square. i used to be afraid but it helps not to act alone to have supporters i became a public per

take a look at what's making news elsewhere in the world towns of thousands have rallied outside budapest opera house to protest against the new hungary and constitution a day after it came into force activists chanted anti-government slogans and denounce president viktor orban center right as dictatorship they say the new laws will undermine democracy and threaten judicial independence legislation was pushed through parliament last april despite criticism from the u.s. and. in the u.s. republican presidential hopefuls are pushing to win over the people of iowa in the first election of a voting season the polls are the first in a state by state qantas to choose obama's republican rival in next year's presidential election candidates ron paul rick santorum and mitt romney are the current favorites around one hundred twenty thousand are expected to vote on tuesday a. massive forest fires have swept through chile's southern and central regions with one confirmed death and over twenty thousand hectares of force landed steroid hundreds have been forced from their homes as firefighters battle t

hungary and on saturday crowds of more than one hundred thousand took to the streets of the capital budapest where they were supporting their government which recently came under fire from the e.u. for passing what brussels thought to be anti-democratic laws it also stalled belo talks with the i.m.f. prompting threats of court action this week to hungary and prime minister backed down in the dispute saying the legislation will be changed. parties tom barton is in the region following all the latest developments you can check out our team's twitter feed as well as his personal one for the latest on hungary's dispute with the e.u. as well as the current referendum the latest updates all online for you right now. europe in the u.s. have expressed their willingness to return to talks with iran over its controversial nuclear program despite this the e.u. is seemingly still set to approve an embargo on iranian oil france even says it's time to avoid military intervention the time to avoid military intervention rather is running out as for the u.s. this week strengthened its presence in the region

tens of hundreds of thousands have rallied in central budapest to protest against the new home going constitution a day after it came into force activists chanted anti-government slogans and denounce president viktor orban space center right regime as a dictatorship they say the new laws undermine democracy and threaten judicial independence the legislation was pushed through parliament last april despite criticism from the u.s. and new. in the u.s. republican presidential hopefuls are competing to win over the people of iowa in the first election of the voting season the polls are the first in the state by state contests to choose the republican contender for barack obama's white house chair in the presidential election later this year candidates ron paul rick santorum and mitt romney are the current favorites around one hundred twenty thousand are expected to vote in tuesday's party election. and afghanistan a suicide bomber on a motorcycle has killed five people including a police officer in the city of the hut an official said the explosives were set off near a police checkpoint

about anti-government protesters calling them quote violent slum dwellers protesters gathered in budapest to the university square a saying the dismissal did not go far enough and called for the resignation of the president this comes amidst almost two weeks of violent clashes in the country as the e.u. second poorest nation around manias are facing wage cuts and tax increases as their country struggles to meet the demands of its international creditors. and now to paris where both houses of the french parliament have passed a bill making it a crime to deny the killings of an estimated one and a half armenians in one thousand fifteen. the ottoman empire twenty countries have already officially recognized the armenian genocide but the move has been strongly criticized by turkey which maintains the deaths were a consequence of the first world war around home power an executive director of the armenian national committee of america says ancora has no choice but to acknowledge the genocide so many countries around the world russia canada france of course it will be sweden switzerland others r

take a look at some other stories from around the world tens of thousands have rallied in central budapest to protest against the new hunger and constitution a day after it came into force. activists chanted anti-government slogans and denounced president viktor orban central ride regime as a dictatorship they say the new wasn't remind him obviously and threaten traditional independence the legislation was pushed through parliament last april despite criticism from the u.s. and the e.u. . in the u.s. republican presidential hopefuls are competing to win over people of iowa in the first election of the voting season the polls are the first in a state by state qantas to choose the republican contender for obama's white house chair in the presidential election later this year candidates ron paul rakes and torm and mitt romney are the current favorites around one hundred twenty thousand are expected to vote in tuesday's party you action. massive forest fires have swept through chile's southern and central regions with one confirmed death and over twenty thousand hectares of forest destroyed hu