>> this is "bbc world news." funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help meet your growth objectives. tailoredexpertise and 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. standing at the brandenburg gate of berlin, barack obama calls for a major reduction in u.s. and russian nuclear stockpiles. >> i have asked to move beyond cold war nuclear pashtun. >> nobody said it would be easy. the president of afghanistan takes aim at the u.s. after direct talks with the taliban. the chinese economy opened up a world of opportunities. a world of brand new shoppers. >> farmers are leaving these

fields and are not becoming just workers but consumers. they are off to join the middle class. >> welcome to our viewers on public television and around the globe. kennedy'sfter john f. famous speech in berlin -- president obama a vote the cold war -- with a call to stop nuclear weapons. he asked for the u.s. and russia to reduce their stockpiles by one-third. the reaction from moscow was dismissive. >> president obama inspected the troops in the city that has known to much war.

facing east of the brandenburg gate, he was cheered for removing his coat. >> i am feeling so good i am going to take off my jacket. >> speaking from behind bulletproof glass, he said the city has withstood war but has to be torn down. >> we can say in berlin and europe, our values one, onwon.ce and freedom >> he said they had to help people in burma and afghanistan. >> these people want to join the free world -- free world. they want our support because they are citizens of berlin in their own way. >> he echoed at the famous words

of john kennedy 40 years ago. the future he promised today was similar to the one he outlined five years ago as a candidate. >> this is different from last time. the people who filled the streets before are not allowed anywhere near here. of promisedate full -- this is a president with problems on his plate. >> at the news conference with angela merkel he faced difficult questions. one of them the government of afghanistan pulling out after talking to the taliban. angela merkel called for assurances that they are not insured and on privacy and he refused to say the that america is sending the rebels. describing what he wants instead of how to get there. >> for more on his call to

reduce nuclear stockpiles -- jim walsh from the mit securities program. thank you for being here and joining me. he makes a proposal to reduce nuclear arsenals. what do the russians say? >> we have not heard yet. they have been a little bit less affirmative -- the u.s. and russia did agree on cuts under new starts and now president obama is looking to advance of that agenda. he tried to do that after the last meeting. he will have to persuade the russians that this is a priority. this is a speech that was about policy and politics with an audience in europe and at home. talking about arms control and climate change and other issues, this is meant to conjure up images of john f. kennedy, and a barack obama that was

known for hope and change and not spying. >> the russians have been skeptical. the prime minister said -- how can we take this seriously when the united states is building up their ability to intercept nuclear weapons? this sounds like the cold war language. we cannot give this up as you have your deterrence. >> this is bargaining over missile defense. this is a reference to missile defense -- and the president has continued to support missile defense but is not a big fan of it. at the same time, the u.s. congress loves missile defense, so he is in between there. my own view is a lot of what he talked about with the nuclear agenda -- at the banning of these materials that required treaties, we will not see this in the u.s. senate.

what russia and the united states can do following the example, is w. bush come to an informal agreement or both sides agree not to do things. and it does not come to a treaty -- which would have a senate vote. >> we have had republicans say -- we are in the process -- of having to reduce conventional weapons. why reduce our nuclear weapons as well? >> these were created for a situation that no longer exists. the soviet union is gone. both sides had 20,000 nuclear weapons of peace, they still have 90% of all the nuclear weapons in the world. most analysts go from 1500 down affect -- this will not

the united states but it will -- do something positive. the rest of the world as part of that bridge is part of the nonproliferation regime, wants to see them reduce their nuclear arsenal. states that don't get nuclear weapons have peaceful nuclear programs and a promise that they will reduce their arsenal. theywill act on that if expect the other states to help them with tighter restrictions on exports. i think that this will be a very positive thing. >> we will have to leave it right there. thank you very much. the process will not be quick or easy. that was the message of barack obama when he said the u.s. would speak with the taliban. there is confusion as to whether president karzai will participate unless the u.s. steps aside. already created a

rift, showing just how it will be. from kabul, we report. >> this marked the historic moment when afghans took control of security across the country. >> for the people of afghanistan, this is a great day. >> for the president -- there was national pride that this was eclipsed as the u.s. and taliban would begin peace talks in doha. this clearly angered the president, who has suspended separate negotiations with the americans. with a long-term presence in the country beyond 2014. before the peace talks could thought theykarzai would have the taliban recognize the afghan government.

but no such assurances have been given so far. despite those feelings of the trail, president obama was hoping that the afghans would take part. >> they have been fighting for a long time, even before 9/11. we don't expect it will be easy but we think ultimately we will need to see afghans' talking to afghans about how they will move forward, and the cycle of violence so that they can start building their country. >> 4 u.s. soldiers were killed just hours after the taliban committed themselves to peace talks. the end to the violence is still a long way off. potential talks and the rift that has opened, i am joined by the lieutenant- general who was the former commander of u.s. troops in afghanistan. is this indicative of how tricky it will be?

>> it has been a rough week and this has been said about afghanistan over the last 12 years. disappointing to see them with a political ploy -- with predictable results, with president karzai backing away from the talks. >> does this suggest that the taliban -- they suggested they were the government in waiting -- does this suggest to you that they are not serious about these talks? or are they just misunderstood? >> they understood what they were doing and have the television cameras, with a strong political statement. i don't think their view is the same as the u.s., certainly not those of the afghan government. they are looking at another weapon in their arsenal. >> do you still think the talks are the best thing we have? >> as president obama pointed

out, this has to be between the afghans themselves and after december 2013, the united states will only be there with a very small residual force. the ultimate outcome will happen sometime after that -- and it will be continued fighting among the afghans, or it will be resolved by talks they both agreed to, and not centered on the united states. >> how was your understanding of the taliban -- how likely is it to deal with one entity? >> there is a lot of mystery, several factors inside the taliban and they have a political office reflecting there is a grid -- rudimentary amount of unity and this represents the taliban -- there'll be fighters discounting what they negotiate but this is a very positive sign that there has been some degree of coalescing of the

taliban to get to this point. that there was not agreement this would never have happened. >> why should they negotiate? they seem to be doing very well. >> this is advancing their own agenda. they are not doing this because there were about losing the war, they are positioning themselves for political power after december 2014. they have political objectives as well. for those who have studied them this is not new information, but this is a unique way to express things. we have not seen this before in the entire world. i think they're beginning to look at what the post 2014 environment will endeavor to fall down in, and the u.s. will help facilitate these talks. >> and david bonior, thank you for joining us.

at least 15 people including four foreigners have been killed in an attack by islamists in the somalia capital of mogadishu. said they were behind this assault. there are more protests in egypt with the new governor being part of a group that killed tourists in 1997, the tourism minister is also threatening to resign. and stefanoce gabbana have been sentenced to one year in prison for tax evasion -- but because of the appeals process is unlikely they will spend any time behind bars. the government of brazil will

place a security force -- after protests involving a quarter of a million people. this began with a rise in bus fares -- but the demonstrators now have grievances that stretch much farther. we have more. >> this was supposed to be brazil showing the world how well things were going ahead of the world cup. nobody expected this. hundreds of thousands of protesters across the country -- this is in the northeast where brazil is planning mexico tonight. images of the way police responded to the demonstrators including a video that shows a journalist being beaten up -- prompting a surge of support for social media. most were peaceful but some attacked government buildings. brasilia, the of

protests reached the roof of the congress building. there have not been protests like this in 20 years. this began with a plan to increase bus fares -- but these suddenly escalated. the response galvanize people, angry at corruption and how their taxes were being spent, rather than on schools and hospitals. >> for many people -- it became a sudden opportunity to voice previously unspoken discontent. here,els had been drawn to have the occupy movement started in britain and america. >> people went out on the streets -- to the public space to see what is going on. and also to participate -- maybe for the first time. >> federal police special forces

are deployed in five cities to stop the protests from escalating. and the fires are burning again tonight. janiero. >> the government has backed down on the planned transport hikes. still to come on tonight's program. three years average devastating earthquake struck haiti, we visit the camps that hundreds of thousands still call home. three years after the massive powerp of the fukushima plant began, there are concerns about radioactive water leaking out. contamination continues to go up. >> two years after meltdown tore apart this nuclear park, radiation is still leaking into the surrounding environment. despite denials, the company

that runs fukushima says large amounts of radioactive strontium 90 have been found around the plant and are going up. this is a byproduct of nuclear fission that the only come from the nuclear reactor. the statement from the company was far from clear about how radiation got out. probability, this has been found in water near reactor no. 2. >> this statement does not explain why the levels have gone up 100 times in the last five months alone. some experts suspect that the reactor vessel #two is cracked and leaking, pepco denies this. water is now the biggest issue

with the fukushima cleanup. the land around the plant is covered with hundreds of temporary storage tanks, each with 1,000 tons of contaminated water. a new tank is added every two days. they want to filter most of the road -- radiation out of the water stored, dumping the water into the sea. after today's revelation, this looks further away than ever. bbc news in tokyo. up 3.5 years after the devastating your request that killed 200,000 people, -- the devastating earthquake that killed two dozen people -- those left homeless are leaving their shelters.

a growinge camp for slum. relaxing and enjoying the surroundings. after the 2010 earthquake this -- tentanet city 00 t city. they work to keep this park christine, but the contamination is evidence. ise is hard, everything hard, she tells me. food is expensive and i can get my children to do their exams at school. the number living in camps has dropped, but on the outskirts is a vast settlement taking shape. the government estimates that 300,000 people could live here. >> this started after the survivors of the earthquake --

this has become a gigantic shantytown, and the people who live here say they are in danger of being forgotten altogether. >> this is hardly the promised land. she came here when her home was destroyed by the earthquake and has never left. >> we don't have water or electricity, we don't have anything, she tells me. on how the school can manage when the parents are struggling to pay $3 in tuition per month -- prospects for children are few. >> we are like people who have been abandoned. our own.r problems are >> the prime minister of haiti

says a lot has changed. >> we had over 1.5 million people living in the tense and very difficult conditions. having very little hope that tomorrow will be better. >> there are 320,000 people still living in the camps. will they be there forever? arehat is the best -- we setting for an objective and -- as we speak, people are being removed. >> the government of haiti wants to move beyond the earthquake and present a better image to the world. progress is being made but the problem of poverty persists. much to do there. from the poverty of haiti to a different problem. growing economies of the world are becoming more affluent and for many who grew up in rural

areas, find themselves as part of what is described as a new middle-class. this is allowing them to make choices their parents could only dream of. we begin this series of special reports. the chinese masses are leaving the countryside -- this is an old story. but now there is a new chapter, the farmers leaving these fields -- they are not just workers but consumers. in short, they're off to join the middle class. >> she earns little more than 12,000 u.s. dollars per year, spending every last bit of it, often with the help of her credit card. parents would never spend money they don't have, she tells me, but attitudes are changing fast.

china needs for this to happen so that the new cities can become the building blocks of economic growth, replacing the reliance on exports and government spending. this family lives on $40,000 per year, the mother is a hospital administrator and the father is the boss of a construction company. they live in an ice apartment typical of many chinese families. >> i do feel middle-class, it is right that the weak get left behind and the strongest survive. >> the expanded middle-class of china means more opportunities. >> more than one dozen wine bars have opened in this city.

>> they currently spend half of their monthly income on payment for this. >> the new amusement park is a sign that there is a booming leisure industry. >> for a little more than $30 per ticket, this is a decidedly middle-class experience. >> there are concerns that this economy could falter before the fledgling consumer society really takes off. but if the music doesn't stop, the middle-class may keep spending themselves and to global prosperity. >> amazing. their parents would never imagine that their children would be living like that in modern day china. that brings today's program to a close. you can watch us on the 24 hour

news channel. i am kathy kay. thank you so much for watching. i will see you here tomorrow. >> make sense of international news -- at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, 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.

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> brown: the afghan government today backed away from peace talks with the taliban and security discussions with the u.s. good evening, i'm jeffrey brown. >> suarez: and i'm ray suarez. on the "newshour" tonight, we take a closer look at the reversal by afghan president karzai and its impact on the drive toward stability in the country. >> brown: then, before berlin's historic brandenburg gate, president obama called for a dramatic decrease in nuclear weapons. margaret warner explores the prospects of the potential arms agreement with russia. >> suarez: miles o'brien has the story of the strange looking insects that emerge every 17-years and the scientists charmed by the chorus of the cicadas. >> this is kind of our super bowl. this is a blockbuster for us. it's got