>> and now "bbc world news." >> fifa 2018 -- ladies and gentlemen will be overnight in >> russia gets to host the 2018 football world cup. jubilation in qatar where it will be hosted in 2022. 40 are killed, many others injured in a huge forest fire and israel. 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 -- not up to the task. the american and afghan the view of british troops in helmand province in 2008. and on million dollar giveaway in one night. -- a million dollar giveaway in

one night. hello to you. football's world governing body has decreed russia will host the 2018 world cup and qatar will host the tournament in 2022. it is a first for eastern europe and the arab world. there were bids from australia, the united states, and south korea. russia beat england, spain, and portugal, and the netherlands and belgium. it is especially disappointing in england where it had been highly fancied. we have this. >> 2018, the world cup -- ladies and gentlemen, will be organized in russia. >> it was the day the world cup had into uncharted territory. first, russia, and then there

was this. >> the 2022 fifa world cup is qatar. >> for many, qatar is an even more daring choice, a small country with no football pedigree. but they believe they can deliver. >> we promise you will never regret. let us make history together. >> thank you for giving qatar a chance. we will not let you down. you will be proud of us. you will be proud of the middle east. i promise you this. [applause] >> both countries have their work cut out. russia will have to build almost all the stadiums from scratch and update its transport network, whereas qatar will have to deal with temperatures up to 50 degrees, even building air

conditioning units in the fields. while there was disappointment, england has prince william and david beckham on their side, and yet their bid finished last with two votes. >> it is very sad. we did everything we could. >> fans in the u.s. were also disappointed, although at least they had the world cup in 1994. while they commiserate, the winners can celebrate. two countries enjoying the moment of history. bbc news. >> minutes after the announcement, russia's prime minister said he was traveling to think fifa. vladimir putin said that the decision showed russia could be trusted. our moscow correspondent richard galpin reports. >> pure delight here in moscow,

and that the country's allegiance of football fans. celebrating the first time the country has ever won the right to host the world cup. there is not so much surprised here because russia has been of favorite for 2018 for some time now. although there has been a bit of all wabble for the last few days, in yen, it made a difference -- indienne, it made no difference. >> and a sense of the huge impact it have on the country's future. >> the future opportunities. for football fans, for government, to make our country better. >> now all be lavish promises made in the bid must be turned into reality. spending billions to build 10

new stadiums from scratch, and improve transport links between the host cities, which is spread out across western russia. >> of course, we need to build a lot. railroads, airports, stadiums. that is the challenge and the advantage of our bid. >> it is hard to believe that this drab city and town hundreds of miles from moscow is now set to become a world cup city. but here and in many other places, work is underway. richard galpin, bbc news, moscow. >> when he was finally in zurich and speaking to reporters there, vladimir putin thanks fifa. >> it is a challenge, and we are honored to win in a fair fight. you can take my word for it.

2018 world cup onion brushup will be up to the highest standards. -- in russia will be up to the highest standards. the facilities will be built in time and to perfection. >> and vladimir putin, of course. and with an eye to 2022, the celebrations in qatar as well. stephanie hancock has the reaction. >> it was supposed to be the wild card entry, but the gulf state successfully fended off a big competition to win the right to host the world cup in 2022. tonight, qatar is in the party mud, with thousands taking to the streets. -- is in party mode. they are the smallest country ever to host an event on this scale. the population is just one with 5 million, a quarter of whom are

native. what it lacks in size, it makes up for in financial muscle. it is one of the world's fastest-growing economies. its wealth means it has already set aside $50 billion to build the necessary infrastructure. they plan to build new high-tech stadiums which will use special cooling technology to control the scorching summer temperatures here. when the world cup is finished, it will be dismantled and shipped to developing countries. the national team is ranked 113 in the world. but fifa likely sought the bid as a safe pair of hands. the fact that qatar has won the right to host the world cup means for the first time ever it will be held here in the middle east.

qatar has said all along that an arab world cup might result tensions in the region. qatar, a small and relatively unknown gulf state, is finally on the map. bbc news. >> also for you, a huge wildfire in northern israel has killed about 40 people and forced the evacuation of 12,000. some guards from a local prison were traveling in a bus and were caught in the flames. emergency services have been battling to contain the flames. we have this from jerusalem. >> the hills in northern israel. firefighters say the country has not seen ablaze like this for over a decade. >> the fire is enormous. if we did not have the firefighting technology, it would be difficult to take control of the fire. >> is believed many of those who

died were traveling on a bus. there were prison guards helping to evacuate inmates from a nearby jail. hundreds more have been forced to leave their homes. the prime minister appealed for international help. >> a huge fire is raging in it now carmel. -- mount carmel. it is a disaster on a scale we are not using. >> meanwhile, firefighters are working through the night to bring the fire under control. israel is currently suffering a period of drought. with little significant rain in the last six months. bbc news, jerusalem. >> the military in the ivory coast has announced the closure of the country's borders. just before hand, the election commission declared the

opposition candidates the winner of the presidential election runoff. that announcement was described by the constitutional council as "invalid." swedish police are saying they will refile an international arrest warrant for the founder of wikileaks, julian assange, who is accused of rape and other sexual offenses. british newspapers and reporting he is in the u.k. the latest secret u.s. diplomatic correspondent unearthed by wikileaks reveals afghan and american criticism of british forces in 2008. the documents have the american and afghan embassy suggesting that british forces were not capable of securing helmand province on their own. our correspondent has this report. >> today, the u.s. forces are fighting and dying in helmand

province where british troops have fought since 2006. according to confidential u.s. cables revealed by wikileaks, the u.s. and afghan government in 20008 were very critical of the performance of the uk in helmand. one cable has the afghan president telling a u.s. senator that he wanted them to take the british away and give back the americans instead. another cable alleged that the british were not up to the task of securing helmand. the afghan foreign minister expressed his disappointment with british soldiers. he said "we are not ready to fight as actively as americans'." >> that is just not true. the facts do not bear that out. here they are, the pulling together of the americans and the british as the core of nato, and we should not allow that

very factual position to be distracted from 5 d documents which, quite frankly, are not helpful to anyone. not least to the poor british and american soldiers who are struggling their guts out to improve the lot of the afghans. >> but then, a general is described in 2007 of saying that there was little progress from the british and he was dismayed by the british effort. "they have made a mess of things in helmand." his son james was one of the first to be killed when british forces went in in 2006. he is dismayed by the sentiment in these cables. >> we went in there. we have done the best we could but some of the finest infantry in the world. we've taken terrible casualties. and yes, the place is still a hotbed of violence. but i think it always will be.

>> much of this criticism has been heard before. british tactics, and also there are questions of the best approach to take. two years ago, british commanders made clear they wanted more troops, more resources to counter the insurgency in helmand. but some of the u.s. criticism might be more muted today. the american marines who took over have suffered some of their highest casualty's there, too. 16 men in a matter of weeks. bbc news. >> still to come for you on "bbc world news." stay with us, if you can. poorly paid and dangerous work. we report from georgia on in the christmas tree trade. first though, the u.k. has confirmed that linda norgrove,

british aid worker taken captive in afghanistan,, was killed by a grenade thrown by a soldier trying to rescue her. >> she was killed, not by her islamist kidnappers, as was first announced, but in an accident leads from grenade by one of her u.s. rescuers. the initial findings of the joint investigation were announced. but the investigation team found there was a failure to disclose information that i grenade was thrown. it reached military law. they have been disciplined for failing to provide a complete and full account of their actions according to u.s. military procedure. >> 1000 u.s. and afghan troops went searching for linda norgrove. she was tracked down to a small cluster of buildings. it was feared that she would be passed on to jihadist

extremists. two helicopters took off in terrain similar to this. they soon came under fire. a u.s. soldier threw a grenade in self-defense, and aware of how close he was to linda norgrove. when david petraeus came to london soon after, his visit was overshadowed by the confusion over her death. now the facts are known. anti-western i'll of scotland, her parents are coming -- in the western islands of scotland, our parents are coming to terms with her death. but the u.s. and britain say the kidnappers were ultimately responsible for her death. frank gardner, bbc news. >> the latest headlines this hour. fifa has awarded russia the

right to host the 2018 world cup. this is the first time it will be held in eastern europe. and qatar will host a in 2022, the first arab nation to host the world's biggest football tournament. more travel chaos across northern europe. heavy snow disrupted train services in britain, france, and germany. britain's second biggest airport was paralyzed, and flights were grounded in paris, amsterdam, berlin, and geneva. some have estimated that this has caused the british economy more than 1 billion pounds a day. >> the day started in a way that has become familiar to many since winter began. almost a foot of snow to be cleared before we could begin the journey. an alpine landscape. on the ground, those trying to

follow their daily routine had little time to admire the view. the snow continued to fall. men and machines still trying to free the tarmac from its freezing blanket. the airport was due to remain closed until 6:00 tomorrow morning. leaving passengers stranded, plans unraveling. >> [unintelligible] >> we have accepted what is happening. >> flights resumed in edinburgh late this afternoon, but airports are warning that disruption is likely to continue. >> we will drop through the conditions. and it will be cancelled. >> in kent, platforms were deserted. trains were in mobile. the trap was virtually invisible. as of this afternoon, more than a quarter of services were not running. passengers trapped overnight on a commuter service in at sussex

filled these images of their chilly flight. >> there is no question as to whether we would get out, what their plan was, what the were going to do with the passengers. i think that was the most distressing thing. we had no indication of when or how we were going to make it back. >> this is the a-57 at a workshop. two cab drivers spent the night here. there are still hazards on the roads. the man reviewing our preparations for winter travel says long-term travel plans are complicated by the unpredictability of the weather. >> in north america, canada, they knew almost to the week when winter is going to come. they know how long it is going to last. they know how much snow it they are going to get. for us, it is completely different. >> traders reported some

shortages of food and supplies -- especially in isolated communities. >> it has been three days without bread and milk. >> where ever you travel, there is one other shared experience. school closures have released pupils and parents to enjoy impromptu winter sport. some at least in see the positive side of the big chill. bbc news. >> campaigners trying to highlight working conditions for the people who harvest the seeds that christmas trees are grown from. the charges they are paid little and work in dangerous conditions. our correspondent went to georgia. he found cases of disregard for the safety of workers, but also hope that the pine gun trained -- trade will bring prosperity. >> pine cones fall from the top

of the tree, fuelling an industry worth more than $1 billion a year. every september, groups of local men come into the forest and start the harvest. when they sell the seeds into foreign companies, they'd get 30 cents per kilo. but a jury can sell for substantially more. they get none of that. >> this man says, i love my country. i love to live here. i do not like collecting the pine cones. it is a tough job. >> most christmas trees sold in europe start out like this, as of pine cone in georgia. species are grown into the finished product. but look up there. the harvester is wearing a safety equipment at all.

some companies enforce safety rules. others do not. with few other jobs around, and then take risks he used to climb the trees, but one day fell more than 30 meters and suffered serious injuries. he is still in constant pain. duty camouflages the poverty. most -- beauty camouflages the poverty. most families here live on less than 3 euros a day. marian has set up a local trade business to keep more business in the area. >> instead of just taking the comes out of georgia -- cones out of georgia, we have a factory. >> there are free health checks and toys. welcomed by local people. many have moved away in recent years and immigration will not

be stopped so easily. >> the governor of the area has a solution. foreign companies should pay more for the seats in georgia must start selling trees itself. that, and tourism, will bring people back. until then, life for most harvesters will not change. prosperity is out of reach. bbc news, georgia. >> 1 million books to be given away, a campaign by the publishing industry to persuade more people to read. a list of 25 inspiring titles has been drawn up. they range from popular fiction to poetry. organizers are appealing for volunteers and to tell them why they should be handing out the books for free on world book night in march. >> detectives, spies, classics, poetry, memoirs.

40,000 copies of each one of the 25 famous titles will be given away on a single night next march. that is 1 million books. and it could be due doing some of the dishing out. all you have to do is fill in an application form, right 100 words explaining why he went to give away a specific title, and if chosen, you will be sent 48 copies to dispatch to whoever you wish. all the books are free. >> 20,000 people are going to be giving away a book they are passionate about to anyone they want in their community. the kingdom up with any idea that they want to give this book away. the key point is they want to give this book away. >> there are books for all tastes. >> what actually happens when you die is it your brain stops working and your body blots. >> but what about the authors? >> these 25 books are so good,

people are going to tell everyone else. and i am sure more books will be sold as a result of this. i think everyone is going to prop it somehow. >> the the of course, in part, this is great giveaway is a commercial exercise. that is why he will not find any austen or dickens. they are out of copyright. the publishers want to promote books to which they own exclusive rights. they are hoping readers will come back for more of the same. the projects aim is to encourage a passion for books, but is there a strategy built around personal recommendation? >> suddenly everybody is talking about them. your recommendation is important. it makes you feel more social. it makes people feel more included. our hope is the books that are

distributed it to people who are not already reading. >> and that, according to a nationwide survey, is over one- third of the uk population. if the world book night -- just a portion of them, it will be a success. >> just before we leave you, this just in, the egyptian environment minister announced 3 chart -- sharks have been hunted down and captured. there is confusion about this though. the head of the egyptian died in ministry said the hunt is going on because one of the sharks did not match photos taken by the divers. this is highly unusual, for the sharks to attack humans, particularly close to shore. only nine such attacks have been recorded worldwide. also just in -- japan and the united states have signed the biggest ever joint military drill on the korean peninsula.

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