>> "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? >> now, "bbc world news." >> don't forget your christian roots, the pope warns against the dangers of secularism on his first state visit to britain. the human cost of the u.s. financial downturn as poverty levels rise to their highest level for nearly 50 years. e.u. summit row as president sarkozy lashing out against critics and vows to clear out illegal roma camps. >> french men and women have to know that this policy will continue while strictly abiding by the letter and spirit of our republican law. >> welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. coming up later, women in a man's world, the dangers of being a female candidate in

afghanistan's election. and pakistan's hindus river may be flowing, but not international aid. the u.n. appeals for more money. hello, it is the first state visit by a pope to britain since the 16th century when henry viii broke from rome and formed the anglican church. the pope has been forced to acknowledge failings over pedophile priests and issued a warning about the dangers of what he calls aggressive secularism in britain. we look at an occasion that matches protocol with religious

fervor. >> it was as the pope's aircraft brought him to edinburgh that he talked about the sex abuse scandal. he said the catholic church hadn't dealt with the problem decisive enough. these revelations were for me a shock and great sadness, he said. this is a time of penitence. the first priority is taking care of the victims. that's probably all the pope will say about the matter. the man greeted by the duke of edinburgh is a rather shy and scholarly man. the duke escorted the pope through military honor. absent from the cardinals traveling with the pope, his friend, cardinal casper, whose comparison of the u.k. to a

third world nation is not to reflect his view. once inside, he was invisible. at the palace of holyroodhouse in the center of edinburgh, the queen was waiting to greet him. two holders of ancient offices of the same generation and shared christian faith, but separated by 500 years of division between anglican and catholic churches. this is an occasion with many of trappings of a state visit. in her teach of welcome, the queen talked about the importance of people being free to worship. >> your holiness, in recent times, you have said that religions can never become vehicles of hatred, that never by invoking the name of god can evil and hatred be justified. today, in this country, we stand

united in that conviction. we hold that freedom to worship is at the core of our tolerant and democratic society. >> in reply, the pope talked about the atheistic extremism in our century and warned about aggressive secularism now. >> united kingdom strives to be a modern society. this challenging enterprise, may it always maintain respectful values. aggressive secularism is no longer valued or tolerated. >> the queen took the pope on a brief, guided tour of holyroodhouse. she gave him a set of drawings, he gave her an eighth century gospel. then it was time for his first major encounter with the public,

boarding his glass-topped vehicle for a drive through the center of edinburgh. the crowds watched as the pope went by. there were protestors, groups that expressed their anger to opposition of women priest and his criticism of homosexuality. and inevitably, there was the reverend ian paisley. no papal visit would be complete without a protest by him. but the overwhelming majority of those who gathered to greet the pope were welcoming. some, perhaps a good many, were there out of curiosity, but many were there out of a sense of commitment. it's hard to judge the public side of this welcome. it's sincere.

the crowds have appeared and now line the half-mile length of the princes street. >> my husband and i are both roman catholics and we are excited that he's come to edinburgh. >> it's once in a lifetime. >> finally, in edinburgh, the pope met members of the public on a brief walk-about. the scandals were forgotten as pope benedict xvi brought his message of the importance of religion in the modern world. >> the number of people living in poverty in america has jumped to its highest level since 1994. the latest census bureau reports show that one in 7 americans, or 43 million people, are living in poverty, another awkward headline from the obama

administration. michelle ferry reports from upstate new york where the poverty rate is above the national average. >> delaina boward has been out of work since she lost her job at the nursing home. she relies on food stamps to feed her children. in the land of plenty that is the u.s., she, like more and more americans, is learning to do without. >> have you ever found yourself in a situation where you've been short of things, when you've needed things you can't afford? >> yes, every day, basically, because i call my mom. she lives in texas. i call my friends, and they help me out. if it wasn't for my friends, i wouldn't have a lot of stuff. >> from houses left uncared for to empty storefronts, the symptoms of poverty are everywhere here in poughkeepsie,

and with the recession, the times have only become harder. the non-profit group, love inc., is in the business of helping the poor. they bring together churches to meet the basic needs of those in the community. the demand for their services has never been greater. how long have you worked with the poor? >> oh, for a year. >> how does this particular moment in time compare to what you've seen over the last 30 years? >> this is the worst that i've seen. resources don't come close to matching the need, and we have to be more creative, we have to be more committed, especially the church. >> behind the trappings of wealth and success in this hudson river community and beyond, a growing number of americans are being left behind.

>> tropical storm karl has been upgraded to a hurricane after it reached the gulf of mexico. it is expected to make landfall in mexico for a second time on friday. earlier, it passed over the yucatan peninsula where it left over 10,000 homes without electricity. a man shot and wounded at world renowned john hopkins hospital in baltimore, maryland, then killed himself and a relative in a standoff. a spokesperson said that the gunman died in a hospital room. the relationship between the gunman and the doctor is still unknown. russia and canada have both insisted they should have control over a disputed underwater mountain range in the arctic ocean. possession of the area would allow the owner to exploit any mineral resources. following a meeting in moscow,

russian's foreign minister said the countries agreed the u.n. should rule on the issue. the verbal gloves came off at an e.u. summit in brussels today. they belonged to the french president nicolas sarkozy and e.u. commissioner delima. the. >> for weeks, now, french police have been dismantling illegal camps of roma and expelling some of them from france. the european union has threatened to take legal action against france, saying it is targeting ethnic groups. it has led to a major row between paris and the european union. today, it overshadowed a meeting

in brussels. nicolas sarkozy was involved in a blazing argument with the most senior european official. >> this is a situation i have thought europe would not have to witness again after the second world war. >> today, he described those words as shameful, disrespectful. >> everyone here was deeply shocked, especially given our wartime history. these words were deeply wounding and insulting to my fellow countrymen. >> president sarkozy says they will continue to clear illegal camps. he insisted those actions were not only against one ethnic group. he went on to say that france would not accept shanty towns which he said were degrading to those who lived in them. from europe's officials, there was an expression of regret at the language used, but no backing down.

the row isn't over and the e.u. will still consider taking legal action against france and president sarkozy will continue with the expulsion. >> the american secretary of state, hillary clinton, dropped a strong hint it would be extremely helpful for israel to extend its partial freeze on southwest bank settlement buildings. she spent a third day in the region. she expressed confidence that talks between the israeli and palestinian leaders would ultimately be successful. >> they are serious about this effort. they are committed, and they have begun to grapple with the hard but necessary questions. i am convinced that this is the time and these are the leaders who can achieve the result we all seek, two states for two people living in peace and security. >> you're watching "bbc world news." still to come, when millions of

its people are facing hunger, why does niger continue to export food? they're in their 70s and 80s, frail and in poor health, but today, the four surviving leaders of cambodia's khmer rouge, blamed for over a million deaths, were ordered to stand trial for genocide. >> it hasn't always been easy with all the public notoriety about this and it hasn't been easy for me, either, but we have come to this today, which is obviously very satisfying. it's taken the investigating judges three years to get to this point, contomorrowation that they believe there is enough evidence to put the

former senior khmer rouge leaders on trial for genocide. the right-hand man of the khmer rouge leader, paul potp and key figure in devising the ideology. as far as serving as social affairs minister, the leader's wife was paul potp sister. ku sam pau entered the party later. the four stand accused of causing carnage on a barely imaginable scale. supposed enemies of the revolution were, as the khmer rouge put it, smashed.

investigators say minority groups were targeted for extermination. the trial is set to start next year. then, perhaps, cambodians will discover why their country had to suffer so much. >> this is "bbc world news," the headlines. pope benedict has called on britain to respect its christian roots on the first ever papal state visit to the country. and the human cost of the u.s. financial downturn as poverty levels rise to their highest level for nearly 50 years. a record number of female candidates are taking part in this saturday's parliamentary elections in iran. female rights in afghanistan are much improved since taliban times when women were banned from going to school and work. aur -- our kabul correspondent

reports. >> she's campaigning for parliament. the last time she ran for her country was at the beijing olympics as a sprinter. in this male-dominated society, she's one of 406 women standing for the 200 seats in parliament. despite her inexperience, she is confident of her success. >> if this election is transparent and fair, i'm sure those people who wanted me to stand will vote for me. i think i can get plenty of votes. >> there is hardly an inch of kabul where you can't see her posters. she came last in beijing, but it gives hope to some. >> i'm going to vote for this candidate because she is young and she might help the youth of this country.

>> i do not know who is this lady who just passed by. it's good to vote for someone you know. how can i say something about her when i do not know her? >> back at her headquarters, they are readying more forces. some candidates have received death threats from the taliban. >> yes, i've been threatened. every night i put up my posters but the next morning they are gone. every day people tell me they've heard i've been killed or injured. >> despite the threat, she says she won't be deterred from campaigning. the female m.p.s are no guarantee of female rights. it's the men who will decide whether wives or daughters can attend school. afghanistan's female parliamentarians largely

supported that law. the rights to work and to be educated were denied to women under the taliban. this business trains local women to be jewelers. shamir is its founder. >> we want to elect a man or woman who is well-educated with ideas that can improve the government. >> afghanistan's young democracy has brought greater freedom for these women. the challenge for the next parliament will be ensuring those hard-won rights aren't lost. >> e.u. e.u. has agreed to grant pakistan trade concessions to help the the country deal with the impacts of the recent devastating flood. waters have receded, but more than 10 million are homeless. all this week, our correspondent

has been traveling the length of the indus river to assess the damage. >> we are in the city district of mazafagau, in punjab, an area where over 2.5 million are estimated to have been affected. we have a huge crush of people. the reason they're here is because food rations are about to be distributed. a lot of them are surrounding this man, tashid, a government official in charge of this area. if i could just ask you, just explain, there are all these people waiting around you, they all want to have some of the food aid you're about to distribute. how do you decide who gets the aid and who doesn't? >> they are all affected people. this place was under water at one time.

when we do, they have a national i.d. card. on that i.d. card, the place is mentioned. what they're doing, we look at that, this man is particularly not settled there but his permanent address is here. technically, he is not eligible. you see the other one, i'm just showing an example. this place had been under water. our revenue people who know the details will look at the i.d.s and distribute food. >> you have to be aware, of course, of the criticism there has been of the pakistani government. they said the aid distribution was inadequate, the response was inadequate, and there are accusations that government officials are giving aid to

their own supporters and not to people more widely. what is our response to those accusations? >> i 100% deny those things. when, in a family, two people are ill, then the parents don't look who is closer to me and who is not. same is the case here. everybody is affected. how can you determine this man is of this party or the next party. it happens everywhere. we are doing what the government wants, and then we have the other districts who support us. the dry districts are supporting us. the distribution is impartial. we send our trucks to localities that is the normal routine we do. >> thank you very much, indeed. there is massive need here. this area, we can still see areas submerged by water. with so many people affected, there are people who will leave here disappointed and there are

millions like that across the country. >> yesterday, bbc world correspondent reported on the crippling food crisis in the west african state of niger. it has faced food shortages in 2005, but this report shows why lessons have not been learned. >> there's a severe food crisis in niger affecting about eight million people here. yet, look around the main market 1,000 kilometers south of the capital, and it's not obvious why. there's clearly plenty of food around, it's just that many can't afford it. and another puzzling fact, that the lifestock market nearby, cattle are being exported, mostly to trade with neighboring

nigeria. this nigerrian businessman just bought a bull for nearly $700 u.s. to take back home and sell for a profit. he was pleased at his price specimen, even if he was nervous of it. but why are there food exports in a country experiencing widespread hunger? that's a question i put to niger's prime minister. >> the relationship between niger and nigeria is a very old one. there have been cross-border trade for many decades. people in niger with sites must be able to exploit them and make money. >> according to the government,

food exports are simply the result of market forces. a bigger challenge is the climate. half of the country's provinces have endured the worst foods in nearly a century. >> i've lost all my crops. there's only a small bit of land that isn't flooded, but that's not enough to feed my family. >> a simple cement dike could have helped this farmer, but his community doesn't have the means to build it. that's why the why u.n.'s food and agriculture agency says the aid is desperately needed. >> we go through the country, select the best seeds, the one that will withstand the drought

and give a high yield. this is the ordinarily millet and this is the naturally improved seeds. you can see the difference. >> and the new transitional government is anxious to support this project. >> we founded the office of food security, whose mission is to develop long-term policies. we must move from an emergency footing to one where we can plan for the future. >> these women farmers say the drought-resistant supersedes have transformed their lives and they need never go hungry again. so the cycle of poverty could be broken if countries learn the lessons from the past. >> that's it for now.

>> 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, union bank, and siemens. >> somewhere in america there's a doctor who can peer into the future. there's a nurse who can access in an instant every patient's past, and because the whole hospital is working together, there's a family who can breathe easy right now. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest healthcare questions. and the over 60,000 people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers.

>> 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? >> i'm julia styles. >> i'm kevin bacon, i'm kim cattrall. >> i'm ken burns. >> i'm henry louis gates jr., and public broadcasting is my source. >> for intelligent conversation. >> for election coverage you can count on. >> i'm kerry washington, and public broadcasting is my source for intelligent connections to my community. >> "bbc world