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capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> this is bbc world news america. reporting from washington. anchor over austerity, the -- anger over austerity, there is a looming crisis and we tracked down a band of extremists using an anti islamic video as the rallying cry. and why americans woke up when they got away from the interstate highways.

hello and welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and also run the globe. austerity has become all too familiar in europe, facing spiraling deficits and higher unemployment, spain unleashed drafting spending cuts to date are around $50 billion. it is europe's largest -- fourth largest economy. gavin hewitt has more from madrid. >> lines of police outside the education ministry in madrid tonight. teachers protested here against cuts. they came onto the street at the government's announced the most severe round of budget savings so far. these latest austerity measures are widely seen as paving the way for a full-scale bailout.

>> [spending -- speaking spanish] >> the minister of finance said he heard 2012 would be the last year the economy would shrink. another minister described it as a crisis budget designed to exit the crisis. this austerity budget aims to find savings of 40 billion joerres next year. each government department would how to make cuts of 90%. public-sector pay will be frozen for another year, and the retirement age is set to rise. >> just a few weeks ago, europe believed it had achieved a breakthrough. the european central bank said it would help come -- countries like spain by buying their bonds and reducing their borrowing costs. but there was a catch, spain would have to apply for a rescue and it would be strict conditions. but spain has resisted accepting conditions imposed from outside. part of the strategy behind today's budget was to adopt

tough measures voluntarily in the hope no more would be needed in the event the country needed a bailout >> when i come to request a bailout, the european union set out conditions. but say, the spanish government is already volunteering to implement those conditions. >> you do not need to travel far to discover the death of spain's problems. this is a population of just 2100 people. its debts are 6 million joerres, however. these public-sector workers are not being paid. >> i have not been paid since october, 2011. -- october, 2011, said this administrator. >> how do you survive without being paid? >> my parents and partner are paying the mortgage. family helps, yes. my parents, i live with them.

this week, the frustration has fuelled large protests. the government is caught in a dilemma. the mounting austerity, but it also fears of the humiliation of asking for a bailout. spain may be cutting its spending, but unrest is rising. >> talks between israel and palestine are breaking down completely. speaking in your, but he said they are facing a crisis. >> there can be only one view of the israeli government's actions in our homeland, and it -- and of the position it has provided us with regarding the

substantive agreement to end the conflict and achieve peace, that one understanding leads to one conclusion, that the reece daily -- the israeli government rejects the to-state solution >> prime minister benjamin netanyahu then to the stand. he wasted no time in condemning saying its speech, was libelous. he then claimed iran will have enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear bomb by next summer. >> at this late hour, there is only one way to peacefully prevent iran from getting a tobben bomb spirited and that is, by placing a clear red line -- getting atomic bombs. and that is, by placing a clear red line on iran's nuclear program. it redlines do not lead to war. president kennedy set a red line during the cuban missile crisis.

it also prevented a war and help preserve the peace for decades. >> for more on the implications of what both leaders said at the u.n., and joined by former state department adviser now at the woodrow wilson center. aaron, thank you for coming in. benjamin netanyahu had a big diagram and relying on it. what happens if iran carries on enriching uranium? >> that is a problem that no one has the answer to. negotiations may have slowed to some degree iran's determination to acquire nuclear weapons capacity, but the truth is, we do not know. israel's default position is clear, if we do not succeed to negotiation, then military strength, preferably by the u.s. >> [indiscernible] >> this is the key. president obama is running for reelection. he understands that the last thing he needs is more

uncertainty. oil prices could quadruple. plunging markets, more americans dying in afghanistan as a consequence of iran in troublemaker in -- troublemaking. as of right now, he does not accept the notion that this is a war of necessity. israel believes so, but no one else in the international community right now believes it. >> could there be a difference path for iran? >> i do not know. i suspect the intelligence agencies and the pentagon will provide cautionary tales and lay out their risks of what a unilateral american military strike would be like. this is not a 2012 issue. this will be joined sometime. the prime minister actually stated it -- >> next summer.

>> yes. and he has compromised credibility and deterrent capacity because the truth is, no one is going to strike iran most likely until any time next spring. what good is a red line if you do not enforce it? >> just to move on, harsh words from the palestinian president about israeli settlements. not for the first time, but is that peace process completely solve? >> he is confronting a problem he can resolve. mahmoud abbas is frustrated. i would not call him desperate, but he is clearly frustrated. if you got them in the same room and you confronted jerusalem border security refugees, guess what, you have a worse situation that now. you have a complete and utter breakdown and rupture. the palestinian economic situation is not good at all, according to the u.n. palestinian unity remaining with abbas is elusive at best.

everybody will wait to see who wins the american elections and whether in the aftermath, president obama, who is very much seized with this issue, will continue to be seized with it. >> thank you very much. world leaders at the u.n. have also debated the line between free speech and religious intolerance following the anti- islamic video. it caused ripples across the muslim world. in pakistan, at least 20 were killed in demonstrations. who exactly are the demonstrators? we are in karachi. >> they have been gathering here every day to pray. for the soul of muhammed, a policeman. become to try to comfort his mother. she said she does not understand why her son, a muslim, became the enemy. his family says that he himself had been upset by the anti-islam

video. >> they said this was going to be a peaceful rally for the honor of the prophet. we were shocked to see the terrorist and weapons there. >> the family watched the news channels in horror as the demonstrations became more violent. and then on live tv, they saw their sign being carried from the scene. -- saw their son being carried from the scene. >> during the protests, thousands of demonstrators came up this hill, trying to get access to the american consulate. this is where police were holding them back and it is where muhammed fell. he was one of 15 who died that day in the protests in gratia alone. -- in karachi alone. >> who were the protesters that died? eight were from this extremist

group. it is supposed to be banned. the group is thought to have carried out scores of many sectarian attacks over the years. that video has become its latest rallying cry. >> we hold the biggest march and wanted it to be peaceful, says the group's leader in karachi. the violence and conspiracy to stop us from protesting, but even of the world tries to stop but, we will not stop in our cause. >> the 17-year-old lost his life in the cause. the clerics told his mother to be proud and is encouraging other young men to join in, saying it is the only way to send a message to the world. bbc news, rajeev. >> in other news, praised for her efforts to promote democracy, aung san suu kyi.

she was thankful for the first time as a nobel laureate and congratulate it on the honor that she recently received in the u.s. as many as 700,000 refugees could have fled syria to neighboring countries by the end of the year. that would mark a huge increase on the previous estimate. already, some 700,000 have left the country. the south sudan split from the north has been a messy divorce. the two nations have fought over oil exports. tensions along the border have seen them come close to war. the presidents of both countries are trying to negotiate a way out. they have struck a deal to resume oil production, but many other issues remain. james explains. >> and shaikh for an agreement, but many questions remain. -- a handshake for an agreement, but many questions remain. they signed the accord after

several days of tense negotiations and several months of international pressure. they agree to set up a demilitarized buffer zone along the disputed border. the bulk of the oil is in south sudan, but the pipelines and refineries are in sudan. the two have agreed to reach an agreement to allow transport of oil through sudan to the sea for export. the fierce disagreement over the border has not been resolved and there is no agreement over and -- a region claimed by two ethnic groups. it could be damaging for either side to drop its claim of ownership. >> we want to be sure that the people do not continue in agony because of our pride and arrogance. made the spirit of reason and logic prevailed on ice. >> other issues have been kicked

further down the road, despite u.n. calls for a resolution. >> these negotiations have come to an end without finding a conclusive agreement. the african union mediators are calling this a giant step forward, but the sudan and -- for sudan and south sudan to truly have peace, there will need to be many more giant steps to come. >> to china where the artist and government critic ai weiwei has lost his final battle against the tax evasion filing. the record forces him to pay $2.4 million. >> ai weiwei says this is a case he never believed he could win. during his time as -- during a time of protest as an artist, he said he never sought a way to win. >> people say, you knew the

results of this from the beginning. that is true. the result today is not the result that should have been given. china should be changing every day, but in truth, this is not happening. we are still living under iran legal system. this system cannot possibly have -- under a rotten legal system. at the system cannot possibly have a place in the future. >> he is also an outspoken critic of the ruling communist party. his high-profile case is carefully watched to see how chinese leaders deal with the scent. last year, he was secretly detained for 81 days, sparking international condemnation. following his release, his firm was charged with tax evasion. he believed the charges were politically motivated, designed to silence him. authorities would not allow him to attend proceedings, so instead, his wife attended on

his behalf. but now he has lost his final appeal and will need to pay a massive fine. >> ai weiwei has labelled china's legal system as backward and barbaric. he said he will not pay the outstanding tax fight against him -- tax find against him, and that is a move that is likely to put him on a collision authorities there. >> you are watching bbc world news america. still to come, who said electric cars are slow? we are on the racetrack of the uk team as they attempt to put the record straight. it seems like the familiar tale of a father wanting to find a loving husband for his daughter, but the story is far more complicated than it appears.

offers have flooded in from around the world after a man offered a large reward to marry his daughter. but there is one issue, his daughter is a lesbian. >> this is just one of the thousands of marriage proposals is just one issue. the daughter of the property tycoonthat gigi chao has receiv. why? because her father, a hong kong billionaire, has offered $54 million to the man who can successfully woo her. but there is already taken. she entered into a single partnership with her girlfriend of seven years in paris five months ago. the guay daughter of one of the richest men in hong kong have laughed off her father's plan. >> which is thought it was a joke or something like that. and i was not angry or anything. as time went on, soon, i

realized it is really his expression of love, his expression of fatherly love. gregg's her father's marriage county has grabbed a worldwide attention, and the daughter of the hong kong billionaire said she has been bombarded with marriage proposals. is this a waste of time? >> i am really close to my dad and we talk very intimately about our lives and relationships and the future of the daily and the office. >> if this marriage offer appeals to you, it looks like you have to join the queue. bbc news. >> the puck -- the price of petrol has soared, some electric cars have become more popular. but it can seem a bit slow. a team in the u.k. wants to show that they can be green and

swift. today, they set a new speed record. john acquire -- john mcguire reports. >> this is no milk float. nick haunting is at the wheel of a vehicle that may not sound like a super car, but certainly behaves like one. the speed on the first leg tops 145. nick, this is john, go, go, go. and on the return mile, he goes even faster, setting a new record of 140 miles per hour. they have done it, have they? they have done it? yes, they have done it. congratulations, you have broken the record. >> but what is it like to drive? >> it is very different. it is phenomenally quick. it feels different to any racing car or road car that i have driven. the acceleration is phenomenal. it is probably one of the quickest cars are driven.

it is quicker than a be-while for raleigh. -- a v-12 ferrari. >> the company behind it, ec otricity is a clean energy firm and wants to challenge the concept that all grain cars are slow. >> they are not the kinds of things that normally, he would drive. they are super cars. they are as good as anything else on the road today. >> we brit have long harbored a the previous record, set by the grandson of sir malcolm campbell, a family name synonymous with speed records. the new record has to be officially ratified, but it is, they will have achieved it not with a bang, but with a whistle.

>> it is not just speed reconnect with cars. in the 1950's, the u.s. began building a huge system of highways. before the concrete with even dry, the internet -- the interstate became an airey place. a series of killings makes the highway fragging. what author describes the uneasy relationship americans continue to have with their roads. >> really, the first person to be seen nationally as a highway killer was a down juvenile delinquent named charles stark weather. he was 17 and went on the road in 1958 with his underage girl friend, carol and fugate. -- carol ann fugate. in their flight across nebraska, they killed a total of 11 people.

people linked it very clearly as a sign of where the culture was going, a sign of the kind of audit mobility -- automobility and lack of values and ruthlessness that were representative of the highways that were at that point just beginning to be built across the nation. i decided to write, "killer on the road to" because i started writing out about the interstate highway system and then the killers kind of took over. the interstate in the beginning was the route to all possible -- to all best possible worlds. people got the notion early on that there was something about the roads that was scary, and that there were people stalking them are haunting them. and that first step of anxiety settled on hitchhikers, the idea

that it could potentially be a murderer you were letting into your car. in fact, the danger was almost entirely to the hitchhiker from the driver. the hitch hiking counterculture release of the interstate highway system as a completely different thing. they side rather than in the nation as a place of connection. there were people who preyed upon hitchhikers, one of the most infamous being at kemper, who worked out of santa cruz and picked up hitchhiking when men and murdered them. one of those who benefited from the construction of the interstate highway system was trucking. interestingly, this, too has led to a rise in violence. the fbi recently announced an initiative called the highway serial killings initiative in which they are tracking unidentified remains and murders along the interstate highways that can actually be linked together our highway system.

-- by the highway system. the vast majority of victims are, in fact, long-haul truckers. 90% of these murders are murders of truck stop prostitute. i have no doubt we will continue to have an uneasy relationship with the interstate highways. i think americans love the roads and they hate them. i think people have an affection for old route 66, but there is no affection for i 40. there is a sense in which the highways are sold less places. we use them, we need them, but we do not love them or relate to them. correct no hitchhiking on a highway for me. that -- >> no hitchhiking on the highway for me. becher in today's show to a close. tomorrow, kathy kaye will bring us a special edition of the news live from brazil. >> i'm in sao paulo, looking at whether the brazilian education system can keep up with the demands that are growing in its

economy or will it hold them back? will have a live report tomorrow. >> you can find constant updates on our website. make sure to visit our facebook page. i'm laura trevelyan. the problem was a bbc world news america, thank you for watching. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding for this presentation 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 work hard

to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles. presented by kcet, los angeles.