>> "bbc world news" is presented by kcet, los angeles. funding for this presentation is made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news."

>> taking into the streets. more than 2 million protest against sarkozy's plan to raise the retirement age in france. deadlock over. julia gillard wins but the narrowest margin. hollywood star angelina jolie in visits pakistan flood victims to give the appeal for aid of boost. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america, also around the globe. my name is mike embley. coming up later for you -- man of iron. prime minister again for another -- is russians -- is russia's prime minister hoping for another stint as president?

hello to you. hundreds of thousands of protesters have been on the streets of france, demonstrating their anger at government austerity measures. they are rallying in support of a 24-hour national strike. french unions are opposed to plans that would raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, although that is not much when compared with europe. from there, christian fraser. >> all eyes fixed on the departure board today. it delayed trains, missed appointments. two-thirds of the people in the country say they support the action of the unions. >> what is happening now -- we need to strike against reform, everything happening at the

moment. i agree completely. >> 2 million are expected to take to the streets in our around 190 towns and cities across the country. not everyone is on strike, but it takes some ingenuity to get to work. >> usually and take public transport, but today it will have to be with my rollerblades. >> is the government's proposal to raise the retirement age that has angered the unions. but the president says there is no alternative to pension reform. the country is getting older, and the system is no longer affordable. if the government is to pull itself out of this whole, it means the result of the country's chairmen and directors. at the last week, there was a conference in paris. what did they make of the growing threat from their own unions? >> [unintelligible]

it is just the same as we have to postpone the age of retirement. there is no other way. >> people are also realistic. and now the -- and they now. more and to live longer -- >> which is why the mood is somewhat more sanguine than in previous demonstrations. this is a nation being driven solemnly into the modern world, frustrated, but perhaps resigned to the grand inevitability of a longer working life. christian fraser, bbc news. >> the spanish prime minister has called on be asked sec test group to lay down its arms forever -- on the basque separatist group to lay down its arms forever.

mozambique has reversed its decision to raise oil prices by 30%. food riots left 13 dead last week. bread will now be sold at its previous price, 14 cents. help ministry as saying cases of suicide and depression it cost the economy an estimated $32 billion last year. the government launched at task force to address the problem. every year since 1998, more than 30,000 japanese people have committed suicide. more than two weeks of political deadlock that ended in australia. labor's julia gillard has won and will continue as prime minister. she has announced she is ready to lead what she calls a stable and effective administration.

interesting phrase since she has been narrowest possible majority. howard nick bryant reports from sydney. >> it is like the finale of the tv reality show, with the winner kept a closely-guarded secret. it all came down to two of the so-called three amigos. >> my vote will be going to the julia gillard government. >> i am confirming for the governor general of australia that i will do what i have always done, ironically, and give confidence to government. >> julia gillard faced the end of her government and possibly her career. she survived as prime minister by the narrowest possible margin. >> the election two weeks ago was the closest in modern memory. but the australian people told us in no uncertain terms on that

day and the days that followed is this -- that we will be held more accountable than ever before. >> the election august 21 ended in deadlock. neither julia gillard nor tony abbott's liberal coalition succeeded in forming a government. the arithmetic was not balanced. yesterday, it was neck and neck. do you get right -- julia gillard had 74 seats. tony abbott had 73. first, a vote for tony abbott, giving both sides 74 seats. but then the but -- two for julia gillard. last week, the opposition leader tony abbott described himself as the head of the government in waiting.

today, he was forced to concede. >> the coalition won more seats than our opponents, but sadly, we did not get the opportunity to form a government. >> there has not been a hung parliament here since the second world war. australians are used to strong and decisive government. this one looks altogether more for agile and raises the question -- how long will it last? nick bryant, bbc news, sydney. >> and six months after their election in iraq, still no government. gabriel gatehouse reports, iraqis do seem hard to every possible chance -- challenge. >> ouch. that looks painful. the twists and turns of iraq's six-month political stalemate

are no less treacherous. outside the air-conditioned back rooms where the horse trading goes on, iraqis have other, more pressing concerns. and what better place to feel the culture of baghdad then this barbershop? after all, you can hear about concerns all day every day. i will have a little bit off the top, thank you. pour electricity supply, a few jobs. these are some of the things that the barber hears about to his customers. he says a political breakthrough could make things worse, not better. >> we will have more problems at the government is formed because the losers will not concede defeat and the situation could go back to the sectarian violence we saw a few years ago. >> the months of deadlock have taken their toll on people's faith in politicians across the board.

many say that having a new government would not make much difference to their lives. there is one area where most agree the effect of the political vacuum is being felt -- and that is security. >> the security it could be handled more firmly. now they are hoping the terrorist, by having these political differences, that they can penetrate the cracks, if you like in the political system. >> on the stage in baghdad, actors are rehearsing in a new play. it is a black comedy about the relationship between politicians and the people. >> the fact is the government -- the fact that the government has not been formed as pure comedy. we can make fun of the government, but we would rather not because of a lack of security.

>> oday says he has been asked by government officials to tone down his satire. iraqis have not lived through harsher times the nest. people are getting used to the current stalemate. better the old caretaker you know, then you do not. gabriel gatehouse, bbc news, baghdad. >> one of hollywood's most well- known stars was in pakistan did that. angelina jolie had a job to do. there are warnings from the u.n. that 21 million people directly affected by the floods are not receiving an update. orla guerin is there. >> coming to bear witness. the hollywood star was conservatively dressed for her visit to a place of suffering. for decades, this is a campus

home to those displaced by conflict, and now by the floods. angelina jolie met families who lost homes, and some who lost children. women shared their stories of lives changed in an instant. afterwards, she said she had been moved by what she saw and heard from those robbed of so much. >> there are people displaced by the floods, and they have left their homes. the flood water was as high as the ceiling. and i was surprised by that. it is not just the tent that is washed away in somebody's mind. it is their entire life. many of them lost their children during the floods. it is terrible. >> the united nations refugee agency hoped her presence would keep the spotlight on the victims and remind the world of the need to get. but those we met were not so

sure. these men knew it someone had come from america, but they did not know how do. -- who. >> people come and go. they speak with officials, but there is no change for us. we are still living in misery. >> the needs here are enormous and growing. now angelina jolie has had a chance to see this camp for herself. she has had a glimpse of the living conditions here, the families struggling to survive. she has heard stories of great loss, and she is appealing to the international community for more help five weeks on, the floods are continuing to drive people from their homes. for some in the southern province, not the water has just arrived. the nightmare is just beginning. more people in need in a country unable to cope.

orla guerin, bbc news, pakistan. >> and still in pakistan, militants have carried out a huge bomb attacks against police in the northwest. at least 20 died when a vehicle exploded. on monday, a suicide bomber killed 19 at a police station. at the u.s. commander in afghanistan has warned that the lives of troops will be in danger if an american church takes out -- carries out its plans to burn copies of the koran. the florida church says it wants to cancel out the "evil of is lon." stay with us, if you can, on "bbc world news." still to come -- paying tribute to former comrades. first though, france's foreign minister says he will do anything to save an iranian woman due to be sounded -- stem to death for adultery.

france is one of many countries urging iran to reconsider it be execution. >> hurt family -- her family fears that she may only have days left to that. she was condemned for adultery. iran executes more prisoners than any other country except china. but is the manner in which she is due to die that has caused international outrage. no pictures have ever emerged of a stoning in iran, although this shows the bloodstained rocks and in the aftermath of one. her case has been taken up across europe. here in rahm, an italian politicians have called on iran to show mercy. while the vatican has hinted it may not be tehran on it it -- on her behalf. and france's foreign minister was more direct. >> this punishment is an act

that is impossible to even imagine. it is the height of barbarity and a return to the middle ages. the sentence should be placed in the context of the oppression, of the rest, of the sentencing, and the execution that followed the reelection of president mahmoud ahmadinejad. >> the execution has been put on hold during the holy month of ramadan. during last summer's demonstrations, iran's leaders brushed aside international criticism with a harsh crackdown on protesters. at the state may use the case of this woman to remain -- to remind the populace and the government remains in charge. bbc news. >> the latest headlines on "bbc world news."

french unions are taking to the police to protest pension reforms. and julia gillard has managed to hold on as prime minister in australia. st. paul's cathedral in london has been hosting at a service to mark 70 years as the battle of britain. in the summer of 1940, raf pilots successfully battled the german air force. we have this. >> the iconic symbols of britain's defiance in a blitz. but many attending have no spur to their memory. they have lived through the days when the luftwaffe bomb to the streets of britain. >> you know what they are like. they scream, and we had to run from one end of the streets you

the next, for the shelter. -- to the next, for the shelter. >> that was the real shock, that we might be invaded. >> 436 of londoners died on the first night of the blitz. the bombing raids spread across the country, even to scotland and the south coast. at [siren] the air raid siren, bleached and to the memories of many in the congregation. >> the lots are ended, the dreams are not yet -- the lives are ended, the dreams are not yet lost. if you remember these boys. >> at st. paul's became part of the blitz history, standing intact among the rubble waldbaum's cent -- set the city of london of land around it.

>> there has got to be someone there with a hand. you can take care of everything around it, but you are not touching this place. >> a salute to the veterans on the cathedral steps. this was their battlefield in a new kind of world. bbc news, st. paul's cathedral. >> now, whether it is holiday snaps or motorbikes fighting fires, the message is clear -- vladimir putin is the man in command. there are rumors that russia's prime minister would like another go at his old job. >> vladimir putin has not spent much time at the office lately. russia's prime minister has been busy bear watching. he has been taking skin samples from wales.

and fighting forest fires from the air, images that reinforced his reputation as the action man of politics. but the next presidential election and year-and-a-half away, could this activity be the start of an election campaign? >> it could move led to become once again president of russia, i could not see why he would not. realistically, he is very popular in russia. people love all this stuff. their refunds, raising hell. -- very fun, raising hell. that is what they expect from him. >> in contrast, russia's president, dmitry medvedev, is different. there are signs that tension is growing between the two men.

>> there are rumors that dmitry medvedev does not want prime minister could to come back. for them, that is a disaster. >> but does the man who has already been president twice already have an appetite for a third 10 -- a third term? he kept us guessing at dinner this week. >> president and you did -- president dmitry medvedev have -- and i have said that what we do will depend on the situation in the country. >> most russian still view vladimir putin as the most powerful men in russia. if he decides he wants to return to the kremlin, that is likely to happen. do not expect mr. putin to

reveal his plans anytime sand. bbc news, moscow. >> question for you. what does freddie mercury, and conductors have in common? from other descended zoroastrian my gratitude fled thousands of years ago. life in a relatively close community has its drawbacks. >> of fading of faith. at the teachings of the prophet zoroaster. passed down through the ages through word of mouth. now they fight to keep the tradition alive for the next generation of india. young priests have taught special rituals to be performed

inside traditional groups. the ceremony is closed. the community is fast shrinking. >> the population has a diminishing trend. [unintelligible] in case of the this erastianism -- there are 10,000. it is a big number. >> mumbai. india's thriving financial capital. it shows at the majestic area. and here, the founder of india's best known -- despite their tiny numbers, they are instrumental in india's global presence.

it is a legacy that is cherished by men like this, who has found andia's contemporary art -- founded india's contemporary art movement in the 1990's. >> this country would not be around. india. so india was in their country first. they are putting in their best. >> crowds poured into the britannia cafe. of mumbai -- a mumbai tradition. many poor in for authentic cuisine. he still takes orders at the restaurant he inherited from his father. [unintelligible]

>> we do not accept [unintelligible] there are many, many foreigners. they may disappear. or they may just decline. >> from the time they moved here from persia about 1000 years ago, the they have integrated into india while maintaining their unique identity and culture. but now faced with the threat of extinction, these are new desperate measures to keep the community going. among them, a fertility project aimed at couples who find it difficult to conceive.

this couple's the twin girls were born after they signed up. >> is basically an awareness. to encourage them to conceive earlier in their reproductive age group. >> and for the next generation, new ways to reach out and bonds, like facebook and social networking events, to find partners within the community. >> it will help you meet a number of people within one spot. no one has time to go on for beginners, 40 lunches, what ever is. >> desperate measures perhaps, but these are desperate times. they have survived centuries. they need all the help they can get if they want their way of life to endure. bbc news. >> more on that and all the

international news online. we are on twitter and facebook as well of course. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold. get the top stories from around the globe and click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major

corporations. what can we do for you? >> there is one stage that is the met and carnegie hall. >> o, that this too, too solid flesh -- >> it is the kennedy center -- >> check, one, two. >> and a club in austin. [woman vocalizing] >> it is closer than any seat in the house, no matter where you call home. >> ♪ the top of the world, and i'm there, i'm home ♪ >> pbs -- the great american stage that fits in every living room. your support of pbs brings the arts home. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles. presented by kcet, los angeles.