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insight and expertise in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> 70 countries take part in a conference mapping out afghanistan's future. the british call it the special relationship but as the new prime minister visits the u.s., how close are these the two leaders devastating floods in china and they are putting pressure on the recently completed three gorges dam. coming up later, as the north korean spy, she blew up an aircraft. now she is a best-selling author. why she is visiting japan. the warning that this activity could live up to its grim name, it is called

>> hello and welcome. -an army recruit has turned up n foreigners, this time in two american civilians were shot dead at a training base in afghanistan. on an afghan soldier and a suspected gunmen were also killed. this is the second incident in as many weeks and it comes as representatives of from 70 countries descended on the capital to discuss the future of the country. the president of hamid karzai says that he would like afghan troops to take over total responsibility. >> he is the president of the nation at war but he has been accused of presiding over a cop and sissy -- over incompetency and corruption. now he is being touted as a man who can turn this around.

more than 70 representatives came to give him their backing. he has pledged that his troops will take over from foreign forces in 2014. this is welcome news for many. >> the aim of the whole international community here are the afghan national security forces taking over by 2014. what he said and the prime minister has said that within five years, the british combat troops will not be involved in combat operations in afghanistan. >> america and britain would like the president to do more to stamp out corruption but the big thing was putting afghans in charge. in the middle of this group, the u.s. secretary of state and hamid karzai. the announcements made are important, this is about style

and substance, showing that they can support president karzai and bring their troops home. past promises have been broken so i asked the president about what the differences would be. >> the differences are that we can shed the capacity of the army. -- we can show the capacity of the army. the ability and good of our soldiers. >> any pullout depends on demand coming into land. with four stars on his hat, david petraeus is a new commander. he has the daunting task of getting the force is ready. the news has come that another soldier has turned his guns on his trainers. this raises fear that the taliban may be infiltrating. bringing british troops home depends on stopping the taliban.

this was the scene for u.k. forces last summer, this year the fighting is just as hard. the casualties are also graves. -- are also just as grave. >> the afghan president, hamid karzai, says that he would like the forces to charge up security by it the end of this year and across the country by 2014. is that feasible? we have been to a training camp to find out. >> training hard to fight of their own battle. this is the afghan national army at a new complex built with british money. they have been drilled by coalition sponsors, part of the accelerated drive towards a transition of handing the security over to afghan forces. >> as a soldier in this

country's national army, i am saying that this war is here because of the evil intentions of the enemy. we are getting this training to help us to feed the insurgents. >> this is what they are up against. -- we are getting this training to help us to seek the insurgents. >> this is what they're up against, ied's. they don't have many people to help them deal with this but this is a skill they will need to learn fast. >> many of them have a genuine interest. some of them are volunteers. they realize that they will be facing this every day. they know that they will not have coalition forces there and in the future. they have put their hands up. >> this has taken a terrible

toll on colson and afghan troops allieike. this situation only happens 60% of the time. they have volunteered for some the most dangerous work in afghanistan. once they have passed this, they will go straight out to front line units and they will be dealing with roadside bombs on an almost daily basis. late last week while on operation, afghan plan, afghan- let. -- afghan-led. a rogues' soldiers sent shockwaves by sending his weapons on to his trainers, killing them. >> the leaders of britain and the u.s. has spent nearly three

hours in talks in washington today. they have both describe their relationship as essential to international prosperity and community. they discussed the middle east, the global economy, and the bp oil spill. david cameron received a warm welcome from the american president. >> it is interesting to see that barack obama is a formal on these occasions. they were joking about the children and addressing each other by their first name. they also stressed their common interest. whenever a british prime minister comes, the president mentions special the phrase "special religious -- relationship." >> the u.s. and u.k. enjoyed a truly special relationship,

celebrate a common heritage, a cherished common values, speak a common language most of the time. we honor the sacrifices of our brave men and women who have served together once again and even lay at the rest together. of of all, our alliance drives because of the offenses of the common interest, whether it is preventing the spread of nuclear weapons or securing vulnerable nuclear materials, thwarting terrorist attacks or climate change, while developing economic growth and development. when we stand together as a people and when people around the world are more secure and prosperous. >> the strain has come in the comments that have been made by some american lawmakers because of the bp oil spill and the

release of the lockerbie bomber. lawmakers here are alleging that british petroleum lobbied hard for the release of the terrorists. david cameron has spent much of the last 24 hours on the defensive saying that this was a decision not made by his government or by the previous government but by the scottish government. david cameron said he was not aware of any role played by pp in that decision to release the bomber on congressional grounds. the prime minister made it clear that he personally thinks that the scottish government got it wrong. -- david cameron said he was not aware of any role played by bp in the decision to release the bomber on compassionate grounds. >> this was the largest act of terrorism ever committed in the united kingdom and the release of the perpetrator was

completely wrong. he showed them no compassion. they were not allowed to die surrounded by their families. in my view, he should not have been given that luxury. this is not a decision made by british petroleum, this was made by the scottish government. under our form of government, this was a decision for the scottish executive. >> david cameron knows that the americans are concerned about the issue and he said that he would ask a senior civil servant to look at all of the pit or to see whether more documents should be made public. -- to look at all of the documents and see if any of them should be made public. >> lindsay lohan has started her jail term for violating her probation. the star of "the parent trap," has been convicted for drunk driving had been ordered to go to a substance abuse program but

she missed seven of the classes breaking the terms of her role. here in europe, the french international football rebiry has been put under criminal investigation because two has been accused of paying for sex with an underage girl. >> this is not been the best summer for french football. there was the poor showing at the world cup, then the strike by the team. now the biggest star has showed up at a police station in handcuffs. delegation is that he paid for sex with an underage prostitutes. the woman in question is now 18. she sold her story to the

tabloids in which she claimed that she slept with ribery in 2009 while still a minor. today, the two footballers were brought in for questioning mr. ribery now under formal investigation. his lawyer said that he confirms that her client did have sex but he denies that he knew that she was underage. having sex with an underage prostitutes carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. the question for the judge is whether he could or indeed should have known how young she was. so far, the french football association has kept their distance. after a summer of such a miserable headlines, this might test the patience of the new french manager.

>> you are watching bbc world news. new warnings about the danger of tombstoning as schools here in britain break off for the summer holidays. a court has given details of the former media magnate koran -- conrad black. he was convicted and served more than two years of a six and a half year sentence. there will be a hearing to rule on conditions of his release. >> conrad black went to jail in 2007. an international media giant brought down by greed and arrogance. he was found guilty of stealing millions of dollars from a company and he gave under -- of this newspaper deals.

details emerged of his lavish lifestyle involving parties and extravagant gifts for his wife. he was often described as a millionaire who lived like a billionaire. the supreme court says that his fourth conviction was on a stage piece of law which was interpreted too broadly. that paves the way for a deal. there will be a decision on a retrial soon. black has always maintained his innocence. >> all sorts of people, no matter what happens, will think that i committed crimes. i invite our people to think about what it is like to be falsely accused and wrongly convicted of anything. it is not a very pleasant. >> you was captured on camera trying to smuggle a way 13 boxes of documents from some of the offices. the prostitutes and says that is

one reason why he should stay behind bars. -- the prosecution says that that is one reason why he should stay behind bars. a judge will set conditions of his release at a bail hearing. >> this is bbc world news. here are our top stories. the president of the afghan afghanistan posted a conference. one of his soldiers killed two of his american trainers. the prime minister says that the lockerbie bombing should not have been released. officials in china say the three gorges dam has withstood its highest flood water levels since it was finished four years ago. weeks of floods and mudslides in central and southern china have left several hundred people dead or missing.

overnight, the increase in the dam was the fifth fastest ever recorded. >> this is the fourth of the chinese flood season. this house was toppled. rivers turned to torrance high in the mountains. this is the result. -- rivers turned to torrents high in the mountains. people are stranded. this is the worst flood they have seen since 1847. the old town, submerged cents monday, half a million people affected. had to this house, we found this couple trying valiantly to shift the salt and much of that now coats their hardware shop. -- mud that now coats their

hardware shop. he tells me that it was up to the ceiling. it will take many years to recover. these floods pose a real challenge to china as a whole because the rain has been falling across this region four days and it flows right into the three gorges dam. this is under more stress than at any time since it was constructed four years ago. the dam was controversial. its operators say it is preventing catastrophic floods downstream by catching and storing up to half of the flood water. it is 600 kilometers long. water levels have risen four meters in the past four days alone. their efforts to stop the river has not stopped the flood from happening. more rain has been falling below

the dame. -- below the dam. some 13 million people have been made homeless. despite the giants teams that china's leaders have dreamed up to re-engineering their nation, they cannot escape the curse of the chinese summer flood. -- despite the giant schemes of china's leaders. -- has seen a series of political assassinations. the world food program says there has been a rise in malnutrition in niger. they're looking to increase food supplies to young children there. they estimate about 8 million people have lost crops and livestock because of a severe drought. q. but is ready to release more

jailed dissidents. -- cuba is ready to release more jailed dissidents. the chairman of the assembly said they could remain in cuba if they wish. now to a spy story with a bit of a twist -- 20 years ago, a north korean spy blew up a south korean airliner. that spy was later pardoned and went on to become a best-selling author. now she is visiting japan and will meet with the families of those people who are affected by her nor did -- native north korea. >> the plane arrived in tokyo before dawn. the passenger hidden bohai and umbrellas, north korean spy, passenger jet bomber. she was driven to the mountains of central japan to the house owned by the former prime minister. the government arranged her

visit. she might have information about japanese citizens abducted by north korea. >> we would like to bring back the attention to the devastation of human rights. we would like to have a prompt settlement to the issue of those that have been adopted. >> 115 passengers were killed when a jet blew up in 1987. she took a sign that capsules and tried to kill herself as she was arrested. she was part and on the grounds that she had been brainwashed. -- she was pardoned on the grounds that she had been brainwashed. 8 years ago, north korea confessed it had taken 13 japanese citizens. five of them were allowed to return home, the rest were said to have died.

there used to train spies during the 70's and 80's. among them, was this person who was kidnapped while walking home from school. they were 13. her parents are due to meet the spy. >> i don't know if this would lead to a solution but it least i could hear about life my daughter had in the country. >> pieces of information about a daughter they saw half a lifetime ago. the decision to allow this woman into japan, the information would be decades out of date. >> customs officer at the mexico city office and -- airports say they have arrested a man who had 18 baby monkeys hidden under his clothing. they noticed a strange bolts in

his t-shirt. the south american monkeys are protected. they were tied it to socks and were tied to his body. two had died. authorities have launched an animal cruelty investigation after a donkey was strapped to a parasail before -- for a publicity stunt. the animal was hanging in the air for half an hour and then returned. schools across the u.k. breakup for the summer holidays, there are new warnings about the dangers of tombstoning. it involves jumping off those a

steep cliff into water. the number of incidents has doubled within the past four years. >> excitement, adrenaline, adventure, this means different things to different people. for this man, it means life in a wheelchair. >> i thought i was going to be fine. i jumped off and i had never done this before. the title was different. -- tide level was different. i would like to have the moment back just before i jumped. >> for years, safety campaigners

have warned about the danger. increasing numbers are doing it. in the u.k., the southwest is a hot spot. this was shot by people on holiday. this man survived but was lucky to do so happen fallen unconscious below the water. the problem is not confined to the coastlines, they are ready here. there's also this, -- and they can prove just as tempting to jump off of. this man manages lifeguards of the east coast and he does not expect this activity to stop anytime soon. >> the rise of youtube and internet sites have raised the appeal for people to do this. >> then there is this, exploring the shoreline and jumping into

the water but in a managed environment. it has been suggested that the increase in popularity could be encouraging people to try this. this instructor finds that hard to believe. >> tombstoning is simply jumping from a high place into water. they don't know what they are jumping into it. they are doing this at the encouragement of their peers. our activity is guided. >> we live on an island. jumping into the sea will always be possible. those that do so will be cursed to stop and think. >> -- will be encouraged to stop and think. >> you can find all of this and more on our website, bbc.com.

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