>> "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. >> and now "bbc world news."

>> this is "bbc world news @." a tipoff from a former al-qaeda member exposed the package bomb plot. and new restrictions on flights free -- from yemen and increased airport security. >> we will work with international partners to make sure this is result as fast as possible. >> iraq in morning after more than 50 died in an attack on a catholic church in baghdad. it is the faugh tea party on the brink of changing politics in america? and high hopes for the film industry with the tribeca film festival.

hello and welcome british security officials say the crucial tip off came from a suspected al-qaeda member. jabr al-faifi handed himself in to saudi authorities two weeks ago. he is a former detainee from guantanamo bay. our world affairs correspondent has the details. >> the widening repercussions of the bomb plot. germany, which had already banned cargo flights, has now suspended passenger flights coming from yemen as well. >> there was of flight ban on all yemeni air companies flying

to germany and the german aviation agency has been instructed to refuse all direct and indirect flights from yemen. note flights to or over german airspace will be allowed. >> in britain, the government's emergency committee met again to discuss security measures in the u.k., later announced and parliament by the home secretary. >> from midnight tonight, we will extend the limits of unaccompanied air freight from yemen and somalia to this country. this is a precautionary measure and will be reviewed in the coming weeks. it is based on possible contacts between al-qaeda in yemen and terrorist groups in somalia, as well as concerns about airport security in mogadishu. >> the home secretary also said flights will be suspended from

carrying out toner cartridges and they cannot be carried as a cargo unless sent by an approved shipper. this man is the leading suspect in the latest bomb plots, 28 years old, saudi, an alleged al- qaeda bomb maker and but to be hiding in yemen. the americans believe he used a device in his attempts to bring down at a detroit-bound airliner last september. the tipoff came from jabr al- faifi, a former al-qaeda member who turned themselves in to saudi authorities just two weeks ago. the two packages left yemen by different routes. one was aboard a cargo flights that brought it first to germany and then to britain and

east midlands airport where it was discovered. the second package began on passenger flights, it is now known. the issue of screening cargo is now under debate >> -- under debate. >> you have to have common sense. we have had these ludicrous measures. confiscating lipstick and bottles of water over 100 milliliters. note security whatsoever. >> what ever new measures are taken, the events of the last four days will have one certain consequence -- new measures to contain the threats posed by al- qaeda on the arabian peninsula. >> authorities in yemen say they are combating terrorism in the arabian peninsula. so what is al-qaeda and the

arabian peninsula? our correspondent is the only western television correspondent in yemen and she sent this report. >> there was celebration after the release of a student who had been arrested in connection with the bomb plot. >> thank you for all who supported me and stood by my side. >> authorities tracked the name and address it used on the suspect packages. investigators now believe someone stole her identity and used it to mail the bombs. >> we think that she is a victim of someone who used her mobile phone number for the parcel. >> but this latest plot increases the pressure on yemen from the west to crack down on al-qaeda. these yemeni security forces

have been trained with the help of british and american security advisers, who are cleared the country has become a haven for terrorists. some believe that al-qaeda and in the arabian peninsula is already more dangerous than its counterpart in pakistan. the government has stepped up its security measures and announced today it will have stricter measures on cargo and in airports. but some doubt yemen's ability to beat al-qaeda when it has problems to deal with at home. bbc news. >> we hope to return to the story later in the program. let's look at some of the day's other news. japan criticized at visit by the russian president dmitry medvedev. it japan and described the visit as "regrettable."

moscow and tokyo have summoned each other's ambassadors to explain the situation. four people have been arrested in greece after a car bomb exploded in athens, injuring one employee. three other bombs were discovered, one addressed to the french president nicolas sarkozy. brazil's first female president- elect dilma rousseff has promised to fight for greater gender equality at every level of society. she said her victory was a victory for the women of brazil. she has also vowed to continue the fight against poverty. the former british prime minister margaret thatcher has been discharged from hospital after nearly a fortnight of treatment following a bout of flu. at she has now been given the

all clear by doctors. on tuesday, millions of americans will vote in elections for the house of representatives and the senate, and it looks like the democrats are facing big defeats. president obama's leadership has been criticized come out while the grass roots tea party movement has been galvanizing support for the republicans. the republicans could win control of congress from the democrats. >> halloween in to come up park in southern maryland. many here were elated when two years ago barack obama took the white house and the democrats held both houses of congress. now they are getting ready to elect a new congress. how did they feel? >> we have lost momentum. the climate legislation did not go through. obviously, the economic situation is really bad.

>> it feels like we do not have the same kind of power we had two years ago. >> i think it is rough now, it is going to be ok. >> a president obama look-alike can still attract much years. mr. obama has only been in office 21 months. he has made huge reforms to change american life. and yet, some of his own supporters seem to doubt him. >> i think he has not fought hard enough for us. >> for the democratic party, these elections are a very scary prospect. they are talking about not even bothering to vote. that spells bill for the democratic party and their ability to hold on to both houses of congress. >> ♪ take back america >> on the right of american politics, the picture is different.

rowdy, passionate, extreme, the tea party movement has led the charge against president obama and galvanized conservative voters. here they are rallying in idaho. can they would wait -- can they ride the wave of populist energy to take control of congress? polls suggest it is more than possible. >> they are going to be looked at investigating a lot of things they did not like about the obama administration. able allstate be looking at 2012, his presidential election year. they do not have a candidate yet. they are setting him up for things that will work against him on the campaign trail of two years from now. >> the democrats may well lose control of the house of representatives and maybe the senate, too. president obama and his party now we to see how much of a horror show it will be. bbc news, washington. >> joining us from washington to discuss this, a democratic

strategist and former senior adviser to the house democratic party. i think the latest poll suggests the democrats will lose the house of representatives but hang on to the senate. is that how you see it? >> yes. i think it will be a very close election. in all likelihood, the democrats will suffer a significant losses. >> that means political gridlock for obama. it -- he will find it hard to get his policies through, apart from those with bipartisan support like trade deals. >> the message for both parties is going to be we have to work harder to fix the economy. the republicans say no, they are not going to bill president obama, they will suffer in two years. if he does not compromise, he will suffer in two years. >> looking at one key constituency, the independent voters, it would seem the

message that is really resonating with them, swinging them more toward the right, is the fact that the democrats are being depicted as obama's liberals. >> i think what's won the election is people's frustration with their own economic well- being. i think that over the next two years, but parties are going to happen have to figure out how they will improve people's economic standing at they want to get reelected in two years. >> but the tea party movement is very much against the liberal policies they see and the establishment, advancing the tentacles of the states as they see it. that is what i mean by saying they have successfully depicted the democrats as obama's liberals. said the president is a liability. >> and i think in two years if

people do not see results, they will get thrown out just like the democrats got thrown out of office. >> what about obama and his standing in 2012? not that far away. >> there are people who would argue that in 2012 he is better off to have the republicans to blame. i think he is going to have to do some things to fix the economy. he will not get reelected at the unemployment rate is where it is today and get the economy continues to stagnate. he is going to have to work with the republicans to move the country forward to get himself reelected. >> thank you very much, live from washington. this is world news today. coming up, we have a special report from a film festival. do stay with us. >> a report by a former british hasrnment official

determined that alcohol is more costly to society than heroin or crack cocaine. he was dismissed by the previous government for his liberal views on policies. >> it is almost exactly one year since the professor was sacked from his job. ministers accused him of campaigning against government policy, following a finding that ecstasy was less dangerous than horse riding. now he has a research paper that rates alcohol as more harmful than heroin. the analysis, published in the lancet, links de it usage and it's hard to society.

cocaine is found to be almost equally harmful. ecstasy and lsd are among the least damaging. the report's conclusion is that aggressively targeting alcohol halls is a valid and necessary public health strategy, and the present drug classifications systems have little relation to the evidence of harm. a separate scientific paper, also published today, spoke to portugal's policy of decriminalizing all illicit drugs. this did not lead to major reductions in problematic years. the home office recently made it clear it had no intention of following the portuguese model. mark houston, bbc news. >> this is world news today.

these are our main headlines. british security officials say the crucial tip off on the parcel bomb plot came from of former al-qaeda member. and new restrictions on airspace are being introduced following the terror scale. germany restricts passenger flights to and from yemen. let's stay with those stories and the terror of dirt and mud of the developments on friday. from 2006 to 2007, our guest served on the national security council. mike mcgann. authorities say al-qaeda has been based and in yemen since 1992, and the problem has been ignored by the world. >> i think we have certainly seen since the uss cole and the

christmas bombings that there has been quite a bit of activity in yemen. two weeks ago, with the bombing of the british motorcade as well, there has been a clear sign that there are problems in union and. >> what the yemeni say is they want more assistance from countries like the united states, to assist their economic development. the united states has only given $200 million to yemen. surely it should answer the call and do more. >> i am sure the president and secretary of state have had meetings of the weekend and will continue to have meetings and stuck to their british counterparts and even the saudis about how they look at these packages, how you prioritize said. how do you help a country that has over 40% of its population

living on less than $2 a day. >> and they could it work more closely with the yemeni authorities, training special forces, that kind of thing. what about america engaging in militarily on yemeni territory? >> i think america will look at it at various levels. i think they will talk about what are the best options to prevent terror attacks, but also how do you engage with the community there. how do you work with them to empower them? how do you establish rule of law? things that are important for civil society. >> what about the threat that emanates from yemen from al- qaeda? >> and think this is a growing problem. i think the al-qaeda and in the arabian peninsula is one of the most active groups of al-qaeda. they look at where opportunity

is best, poverty-stricken areas. we can probably expect places like yemen are hotbeds of activity. >> what is clear is that al- qaeda is fixated very much on airlines. united kingdom, germany introduced new security measures on air freight. there is a limit to what you can do. >> it is an enormous challenge. there are no restrictions that come in at midnight this evening. and you will see a review, not just an united kingdom, but also in the united states about how best to try to prevent airlines being used as weapons and in the future. >> ok, thank you very much indeed for talking to us. the government of iraq says it has no choice but to take military action to end a hostage crisis in baghdad on sunday. 50 people died when police stormed a catholic church where worshipers were being held by

gunmen. the iraq -- iraqi defense ministry has declared the operation a success, despite the casualties. the pope has condemned the hostage-taking. >> church service was turned into a violent nightmare. the gunmen, some wearing suicide vests, stormed the charge after shooting guards outside. they also set off a car bomb nearby, causing further casualties and damage is -- damages. >> they ran into the church. we were praying inside. they started to beat us. 15 people were killed inside the hall, and additions you others killed in the street. >> despite the tales of carnage, -- >> we took the decision to

launch a land offensive because it was impossible to wait. the terrorists planned to kill a large number of our brothers, christians at mass. all the terrorists were killed. >> as far as the local people and survivors are concerned, success is hardly the word. they are critical of the authorities, mostly for allowing it to happen, and also for the way it was handled. >> we are shocked every day and scared. so many people have gone to hospital for such violent acts. >> since 2003, the numbers have dropped because of immigration. the fear now is the latest outbreak make further speed up the human hemorrhage. bbc news, baghdad. >> for the past five days, the most promising film makers in

the middle east have been on hand for the tribeca film festival. the middle east has high hopes for its film industry. >> from new york to the heart of the gulf, the tribeca film festival is a celebration of all things at the home with an emphasis on the cinema. it is a new platform for up-and- coming film makers and in the region. >> i think it is important they have a strong voice internationally. it is a very good platform for them. >> 10 directors were in this year's arab film competition. it the best film went away with $100,000. >> the director is known for his

highly improvised filmmaking techniques. >> i insist on low-budget films because i do not want to wait to ask for money. when i wake up with a fresh idea, and to go and make the film. -- i want to go and make the film. >> "grandma 1000 times" when a special jury mention and the audience award for best documentary. >> in the film, his grandmother shares her memories of his home country, lebanon. >> to be here with my grandmother, who i have almost never seen -- i want to speak to the audience about her story.

>> and its second year, the festival has become one of the areas of greatest attractions. never before has an oil-rich country gathered hollywood and oil barons in the same place. >> it is a no-brainer to be here. we have to come. >> the tribeca film festival has not only brought glamour to the local population. it is also seen as a serious attempt to make this the next film destination in the gulf and showcase of local talent. there were unprecedented chances to show work to top names in the industry. all these efforts remain in the region. even of the arab film industry has been around for decades, it has never really been able to

break into an international market. >> outside the law was at cannes this year. >> winning best arab flom in a festival like tribeca -- the film in a festival like rebecca means international exposure. >> i make friends to share my ideas. whether there are five or 10 or 20 or 20 million. >> the film institute continues after the festival and eight continue the search for new talent in the region. bbc news. >> that is all from the program for now, from me. goodbye.

>> 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 offers unique insight and expertise in a range of industries.

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. >> 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.