at budapest that a food banks there is concern over what it might mean for hungary's poor. international criticism of the new competition has put loan negotiations on hold, at a time poverty is increasing. back over the danube, and this one's a fluent empire is heading into the unknown. ministers say they will do all they must to satisfy international investors, but will they have to give up their cherished constitutional changes? matthew price, bbc news. budapest. >> this is "gmt" from bbc world news. the 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 2

official name from the republic of hungary to hungary. it was effective january 1st and demonstrations are supported bythe opposition socialist party and democratic coalition and green lmp. >>> in hong kong a bus driver died from contracting a strain of the bird flu virus. first in a year in a half. shipments of the poultry products within 8 miles of the man's home have been stopped e died on new year's day after being infected with h5n1. shipment will be halted for 21 days that went into effect sunday. >>> and christ church has been rocked by another set of earthquakes. more than a dozen tremors hit new zealand on monday. they were some of the thousands that rattled the conditionry in the recent months. >>> and more evacuations in three district of thailand following more heavy rain. several hillsides have been put on high alert for landslides and flash floods have been reported in many areas. there is some good news, though. flooding in the lower south has improved and traffic returned to normal and there's been no rain in that area sin

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 martin is in the region following the latest developments you can check out his twitter feed as well as his personal one for the latest on hungary's dispute with the e.u. as well as the croatian referendum all those updates on line. europe and the u.s. have expressed their willingness to return to talks with iran over the country's controversial nuclear program despite this the e.u. seemingly still set to approve an embargo on iranian oil france even says the time to avoid military intervention is running out as for the u.s. this week it strengthened its presence in the region sending a second aircraft carrier to the arabian sea it's reportedly planning to sail through the strait of hormuz which iran has threatened to block in response to the sanctions the straits a strategic waterway with that which the majority of oil exports from the gulf to the west passes through brian becker from the anti-war answer coalition says washington ma

pressure of young right that's walking about the pressure on hungary on saturday crowds of more than eight hundred thousand protesters took to the streets in the capital budapest they were supporting the government which recently came under fire from the e.u. passing what brussels considered to be anti democratic law. school the bailout told the i.m.f. threats of court action just this week the prime minister backed down in the rolla saying the legislation will be checked. well he's told boston is in the region following developments for us so you can check out our twitter feed as well as his personal one for the latest on hungary's dispute as well as croatia and referendum latest updates online right now. watching our city europe and the u.s. have expressed willingness to return to talks with iran over its controversial nuclear program but despite that the e.u. is seemingly still set to approve an embargo want to iranian oil france even says the time to avoid a military action is running out that's what the u.s. this week it strengthened its presence in the region by sending a secon

website which i think was their main target and you know people were were messaging that it was down in hungary or it was done in belgium or it was young malaysia and the goal was to shut it down worldwide and i think it was successful for quite a while it went up and down and you know there was a lot of resistance kind of triumph but there was also a sense of paranoia because people knew that the f.b.i. it was monitoring them it was probably there in this very chat room kind of shout outs to the f.b.i. like high of the i. and there was lots of paranoia because in the past the f.b.i. has actually arrested members of anonymous for launching similar denial of service attacks on web sites like pay pal now we see this is in response to. taking down that website my got blown dot com and so the government was able to take the sound of that without being passed so i mean what's going to happen if this law worth of work to pass. well i think if the law were to possibly give content companies you know the motion picture and music companies the ability to sort of call the shots more than they do right no

and hungary has a new constitution and thousands are protesting the adjustments as undemocratic. well, 2012 kicks off in germany with a new twist in the negative headlines around germany's president. the mass-circulation tabloid confirmed reports that he tried to stop publication of a story. the president reportedly threatened war on the paper if it ran the story. here is our report. >> four weeks, the popular german newspaper has been running stories about the president by in this house. the paper has confirmed that he tried to stop the story. he reportedly left a voicemail threatening a lawsuit. he is also alleged to have called a the editor in chief back to retract the threat, but that has not satisfied journalist. >> when they are threatened, journalists do not take it lightly. it is troubling the president would engage in this behavior. >> the opposition had been restrained in their criticism, but now they are asking for answers. >> it seems we're getting the information bit by bit. we need a full explanation as soon as possible. my own trust has been shaken. >> christian wu

a rift between the eu and hungary could cost a shift in financial aid. they are shifting policy making authority to the government. end of last month they passed legislation that will remove power from central bank to appoint the deputy governor. the european commission expressed concerns that the country's move will violate eu laws, which uphold the independence of essential bank from its government. >> so we will use all our powers to make sure that hungary come plies with the rules of the european union, and i am confident that we will achieve that. >> eu policy makers are to decide what actions it will take by tuesday next week. >>> u.s. stocks ended slightly higher following favorable bond auctions in italy and spain. for more on how stocks are trading in japan, let's go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. there are positive developments in the market for the tokyo open, but still some uncertainty about the u.s. economic outlook. >> a bit of a reversal, with markets fearful over developments in the eurozone. then on the oth

they are the biggest lenders to hungary. it is estimated that the exposures amount to over $40 billion. this is a big amount of money and this is causing a concern. >> the eurozone crisis is not just a debt crisis, this is also a crisis of conference -- crisis of confidence. reading what the s&p put into their report will not make investors feel any better. yes, we have to reiterate that it is only the opinion of one ratings agency and only the opinion of a ratings agency. the french government and others have different opinions. s&p has said that essentially europe's leaders have got it wrong in their analysis of what the problem is and how they are trying to tackle it. the s&p say that they are only tackling one half of the problem, they are focused on the overspending of the peripheral countries and they have said that until europe also tries to tackle the imbalances that exist between the booming economies like germany and the impoverished economies like greece, portugal, ireland, then there cannot be a solution and they

this concern has been driven by worries over hungary's new constitution. thousands of activists taking to the streets this week. protesting the passage of the changes which include a new central bank law. and just very quickly, on monday, we have the former socialist prime minister actually taking part in the protest as well. we're talking about this man here, right in the middle of your screen. he joined the 0 sigs to the center right party's move. he was detained by police in late december along with several other opposition mps. they say the measure threatens democracy. it's not only protesters on the streets of hungary who are voicing their opposition. concerns have been raised by the eu. the u.s. secretary of state, the imf and the european central bank. but despite all that, hunga hun secretary of communications defended the actions. >> the government had a huge mandate to achieve what we are achieving at the moment. that was to refurbish, renew, reboot the system. the new hungarian constitution is showing to the future, it is getting rid of the remn

union movement to not get the euro zone are in a situation where they see neighboring countries such as hungary i mean the government of hungry for the past two weeks have been vilified by the european union i'm not going to get into the argument of on whether or not the prime minister is right or wrong there but certainly people get very very and feel very very uneasy about things that are being said we have clear examples of the german government trying very very hard to manipulate the politics of serbia serbia and its state kossovo you've got all sorts of issues a right thing through white the european union work when things seem to go against the european union's viewpoint they're dropping in technocrats we could argue that this is all because of huge economic problems in terms of the technocratic element but of course what's happening is the groundswell of those on the streets the people in bucharest for example in romania who are protesting today are protesting because what they see is a european union that is not delivering its side of the deal and the deal is free trade and jobs and ult

is acting in a way which it regards as being anti democratic yet the government of hungary was elected by sixty six percent of the people so i'm sorry i don't quite get that one myself i mean i really don't understand i'm not trying to support anything that's being done in the government but why on earth in the long term i do not believe that we're going to see the italian middle classes and the italian party of silvio berlusconi supporting their technocrat government and in greece we can already see the support for the technocrat government has dwindled at the polls and there's going to be a very very ugly election coming up and i think it's going to be very difficult for the european union to manage to control the outcome there with by managing to try and impose another technocrat which i simply don't believe the greek people are going to will be willing to let happen soon after a general election which is imminent in the next few months let's address the issue of a worst case scenario here and the issue of whether or not if the eurozone did indeed collapse and what consequences woul

hungary may become the first e.u. country to face sanctions for apparently violating the group's basic principles. upon that past new constitution including governance of its central bank the e.u. and the u.s. say the war undermines the bank's independence broken off talks on giving financial aid to the deep the struggling country there's growing public transit through their thousands of hungary's protesting the legal changes saying they home democracy. readers in arizona maximum alert after the storms destroyed a dam protecting the city is now a scramble to evacuate people from the areas most in danger with around thirty five thousand residents already displaced eight people died on thursday as floods swept through dozens of towns across brazil. russia tame now ventures to parts of the country's far east which you know it's russians ukrainians tatas and even koreans. yes we're in the region where the areas indigenous population is adapting to the world getting smaller as cultures and people mix tom bottom explores ho

. >> he was trembling in hungary but i am pleased to report he is in good health and called. he is eating well and looks to be in great help. we received a phone call from police last night. the police are still investigating the matter. allegedly the monkey was found in strong growth. he is on his own right now is being examined, the khedive they were up to 30 days. we hope we can return and some of them. >>vicki: in 2000 another koala and her baby were stolen. they were taken by two teenagers who want to give them to their girlfriends. oakland police are searching for a person who shot and killed a five year-old friday night. the boy was with his family at the top of a truck that his family owns. the suspect ordered a taco, started shooting. police did not know why the man opened fire. in march in oakland since a bart officer shot and killed oscar brand. it was on new year's day 2009 when johannes mehserle shot his firearm and said of his taser. >>brian: some beautiful weather for this new year's day. we saw mostly sunny skies. we saw '60s and a few low seventies. divorce a

hungary's center-right government is defending its constitution in the face of criticism it erodes democracy. there are signs that the government in budapest may be prepared to renegotiate some or all of the changes. here's our your co matthew price. -- here's our europe correspondenct, that the price. >> little cheer on the train across the danube. there is little wonder. some accuse the government of turning back democracy. >> hello. >> this is the new constitution. >> ministers are not shy of showing off their new constitution and for the idea is anti-democratic? >> i think even the question is bizarre. finally we are managing to get that contract. this is for the development of the country. >> that is not how they see it. tens of thousands turned out to protest the new laws this week, claiming the independence of the judiciary and the central bank are threatens. 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

there are videos coming from sweden, hungary, costa rica, all with similar strange sounds. >> what? >> that is the same sound almost. >> this has to be some keend of really bri -- kind of brilliant ad campaign for a horror movie. >> i'm thinking the same thing. i also have to say, guys, i mentioned videos popping up all over the place. i found one i think is probably the best one from winnipeg, canada. listen. >> can you guys hear that? listen. >> i knew it. i was going to say it sounds like your horn. >> my secret santa gift. >> messages. >>> fifteen seconds, i have to tell you after the show you should head over to our website rightthisminute.com but i did it in 10 seconds. rightthisminute.com. >>> for those of us that love animals, specifically cats. first cats donclimb anywhere, sp anywhere. they do not care. here is sophie, head cat. sophie likes to crawl on the roommate's head. >> it's like a coon skin cat. >> they were adopted from the humane society. they don't know what kind of cats they are. at one point she gets in position like riding a ycle. bars, ready for adventure. s

he was the son of a rabbi and an immigrant from hungary and he came here with his father and family. it was the story of an immigrant trying to find his way in the world. he took up the place of the stage. he's intrigued generations upon generations of young people and old people, exploring the whole notion of the body and illusion and everything. it's a remarkable exhibition. it has original footage. he came to san francisco three times. he has a remarkable way of performing outside in front of a newspaper building. these are the days before facebook and twitter and everything. so he wanted to be sure he was covered in the news. if he did it right by the newspaper station, he would be able to be covered needily -- immediately. he performed once on third and market street to over 30,000 people watching him and removing himself from a straight jacket. >> and we have a picture? >> yes, one of the posters announcing him coming to -- town. it was intriguing. there he is in his handcuffs. you can see his sleeves rolled up. many times, he performed with the handcuff trick nude. he would go

it is a group of the czech republic, slovakia, poland, and hungary. all the countries are members of the european union. but we do have a lot in common. so our second priority, of course, is to be a good and valid member of the european union and to integrate this project -- even though we do have many -- i would say, not differences, but many issues how the european union should develop in the future. and we are just having this discussion in europe right now. and the third and, of course, not least one -- not in this order -- is the transatlantic ties. particularly the strategic partnership with the united states. because we have made this experience that without the united states, europe is really not as whole, and there always has to be this partnership between the two parts on the atlantic. >> i want to focus on the relationship between the united states and czechoslovakia because it goes back a long way and i gather at the time of president wilson, that some of the basis of your own constitution was based on our constitution as well. but it is a

leaking, back on land, the "costa concordia"'s first victim was identified. 38 year-old shandor from hungary was the first victim identified. he was helping children get their life vests on. he went to his cab on the get his vie line and never came back. the captain is quoted as saying he didn't leave the ship on purpose. he says he tripped and fell into a lifeboat which hauled him to safety while passengers and crew members fought for their life. this vid know shows the same boat passing even closer to the island. the cruise company blames him for going off course. when divers can get back on the ship, they'll be up to their shoulders in water and debris. the grim reality, they're no longer looking for survivors. officials are now saying 21 people are listed as missing, including the heils from the u.s. one woman that had been on the list turned up alive back home in germany. >>> be sure to tune into a special edition of "20/20" tomorrow night called "cruise ship confidential." >>> new weather worries in the pacific northwest after all that snow. warmer weather is on the way and that raises

the debt crisis is spreading, hungary was forced to pay 10% on its 12-month debt. nevertheless, bank stocks here led the drive back upward. advancing for a third day led by bank of america. techs made the nasdaq, the leading index led by marvel and seagate technology. target, jcpenney and gap were among the s&p's worst but macy's rose strongly. barnes & noble tumbled after saying it might break off the nook reader. bmw beat out mercedes benz for tops in 2011 luxury car sales. hbo will no longer sell dvds to netflix. a florida man threatened by foreclosure by bank of america for being 80 cents less after paying the wrong number on the phone, finally got a human to listen to him. he won't be losing his home. >>> bill clinton looks hockey. the nba team that got fired up after their coach got fired. plus, two of the big three miami millionaires sit the game out but the one who played was key. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >>> as we head into the weekend everyone is wondering when is the cold air going to return. i'll have your answer. the fore

investors are losing confidence in hungary. the nation's currency fell to its lowest level ever against the euro. 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 germ

. -- hungary was among the dead. he helped some children with their life jackets. , and missing is a waitress on board. his brother came to the islands, his first sight of the costa concordia. does he think his brother could possibly be alive? >> it is an assumption. people have come home after many days. >> on the mainland, the captain's wife was mobbed by a journalist. he is enemy number one here, criticized for abandoning ship. few here believe that. his lawyer says the captain, who is under house arrest, is deeply shaken by what happened. the sister of another missing crew member has no sympathy. >> it is outrageous to have him under house arrest. it is like he is a free man. >> a satellite picked up this image of the ship. it looks stable, it is not. it has shifted slightly, stopping the rescue efforts and postponing the start of the salvage operation. the people here know that until the costa concordia can be secured, there is a chance that fueled a week from its tanks. there are reports the capt. has admitted

and also the debt crisis, hungary forced to pay the unsustainable interest rate of 10% on 12-month debt. nevertheless, bank stocks led the drive up. advancing a third day, led by bank of america. techs made the nasdaq the leading index, ned by marve and cnet technologies. jp penny and gap were among the s&p's worst. macy's rose strongly and barnes & noble tumbled after saying it may break off its nook. and bmw was top in luxury car sales. finally, a florida man, threatened with foreclosure by bank of america for being 80 cents short on his monthly mortgage payment after he hit the wrong numbers paying over the phone, finally got a human at the bank to listen to him. he won't be losing his home. >>> and bill clinton likes hockey, the nba team got fired up after their coach got fired, plus two of the big three miami millionaires sit the game out, but the one who played was key. your early morning sports headlines, straight ahead. >>> as we head into the weekend, everyone wondering when cold air will return. i'll have your answer. you're watching "early today." >>> very good morning to you

. >> hungary's controversial prime minister is due to meet the president of the european commission later and the talks will be on whether they can qualify for a loan from the european union and imf. the country needs to consider new rules which put its central bank at risk. this is bbc world news. gulf states follow saudi arabia and pulling their monitors out of the arab league mission to syria. multimillionaire republican presidential nominee mitt romney bows to pressure, releasing his tax returns for the past two years. the spanish judge who indicted a former chilean dictator is himself going on trial. balthazatom has this report from madrid. >> they want to remember the past. crimes committed under a dictatorship should now be remembered in a democratic spain, they said. they are supporters of this man. baltasar garzon. he was on trial last week and now will go on trial again. in 2008 he started to investigate alleged crimes committed during spain's civil war and under the dictatorship of francisco franco that followed. he stands accused of breaking spain's amnesty law which was broug

hungary's center-right government is defending its constitution in the face of criticism it erodes democracy. there are signs that the government in budapest may be prepared to renegotiate some or all of the changes. here's our your correspondent, matthew price. -- here's our europe correspondenct, that the price. >> little cheer on the train across the danube. there is little wonder. some accuse the government of turning back democracy. >> hello. >> this is the new constitution. >> ministers are not shy of showing off their new constitution and for the idea is anti-democratic? >> i think even the question is bizarre. finally we are managing to get that contract. this is for the development of the country. >> that is not how they see it. tens of thousands turned out to protest the new laws this week, claiming the independence of the judiciary and the central bank are threatens. 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 form

hungary's economy is in a slump and so here accuse the government of turning back democracy. >> there you go. >> this is what all the fuss is about? the new constitution. >> ministers are not shy of showing off the new constitution. as for the idea it's anti- democratic, i think it's the question is a bizarre question. finally we are managing to get back on track to the democratic position. >> that's not how they see it. tens of thousands turned out to protest the new laws claiming the independence of the judiciary and central bank are threatened. the public tv stayings some yournl journalists are on hunger strikes in protest. >> they are dismantling the democratic process and trying to set up a kind of tierney and regime which is unprecedented here in europe. >> this row couldn't have come at a worse time with the country in dire straits and the country needing euros in international loans to help it pay its bills. however, the legal changes put such loans in jeopardy. >> ministers say they'll do all they must to satisfy international debts but will they give up their democracy? >> y

hungary has just tightened its media laws, and often reporters who are too critical are simply sacked. in san francisco, investigative journalists can also find themselves victims of unwelcome attention from the state. >> where there is light, there is always shadow. more and more journalists in san francisco are experiencing the dark side of state power. investigations keep pointing in the same direction, toward president nicolas sarkozy. the latest affair is about election campaign funding in the 1990's. sales commissions from submarine sales to pakistan may have been channeled into the election campaign of sarkozy's former prime minister. one of the journalists trying to prove that sarkozy was involved. one day, he found out that his telephone data was in the hands of france's secret direct rat of central sbemmings. -- intelligence. >> when i read the record, i was shocked. they knew who my daughter's friends were and had information about my wife, an attorney. that's a real data protection issue. they went very far. >> his computer was stolen. it contained explosive information ab

hungary's center-right government is facing fierce criticism. your opinion has examined whether the changes introduced this week break eu law but there are signs that the government in budapest may be prepared to renegotiate some or all of the changes. has examined whether the changes introduced this week break the law. >> we have found little change. the economy is in a slump and some here accuse the government of turning back democracy. this is what the fuss is all about. ministers are not shy about showing off their new constitution. but there is the charge that it is anti-democratic. >> that is a bizarre charge. we have managed to get back on track to see democracy tradition. this was disrupted by communism. >> that is not how they see it. tens of thousands came out to protest the new laws. they claim that the independence of the judiciary and the central bank are threatened. at budapest food banks, there is concern what that might mean for the poor. international criticism of the new constitution has put loan negotiations on hold at a time

there were challenges to changes in hungary's constitution. the european union says this violates laws for changes in the judiciary and the edges -- and legislature. we look back on the expedition of captain scott and the team and never made it home. the aircraft manufacturer airbus delivered a record number of planes last year, the ninth year in a row that they beat their rival boeing. while they might be doing well, many of their customers are struggling. >> airlines across the world may be facing higher fuel prices, higher taxes and lower profits but for the first time in a trace -- in the space of the year, airbus and boeing together have sold more than a thousand aircraft. airbus has announced they are taking on 4002 staff to bring down a backlog of orders. >> we're still well above production. so, that is not a catastrophe, it is just that 2011 was an extraordinary year. we cannot grow our backlog if we cannot reach the production numbers that we have to. >> by far the most orders have been for short-haul planes with more fuel-efficient