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

what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> israeli and lebanese soldiers clashed at their shared border. this is the worst between the two countries -- this is the worstrow 20 two countries since the war. >> of more rain has come. torrential monsoon downpours. >> bp starts its static kill operation in the gulf of mexico, hoping it will seal the blown out underwater well. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america, also around the globe. coming up later for you -- controversy in new york. the mosque near ground zero gets the go-ahead. and revolutionary, playwright,

president, moviemaker. that is his latest challenge. hello. an emergency meeting at the united nations has urged israel and lebanon to show maximum restraint on their shared border area. at least two lebanese soldiers, a lebanese journalist, and a senior israeli officer were killed. our middle east correspondent has the latest. >> thousands of people storming the streets of beirut tonight, marking the fourth anniversary of hezbollah's war with israel. speaking by satellite and condemning the israelis, a

shi'a group level -- group leader warned that his organization from getting involved. it was a fight over a tree. israel said it was on its own side of the border, but it was ambushed by lebanese soldiers. levon non-said they only fired after it is released -- < non-@ said they only fired after israelis -- lebanon said the only fired after israelis crossed on their side of the border. at least two lebanese soldiers and a journalist were killed. others were injured. there were is really casualty's, too. a lieutenant and an army captain seriously injured. >> we warned them of the

consequences. >> the fighting has stopped, but 11 non-is accusing israel of violating -- lebanon is accusing is a real of violating agreements. >> this has prompted the lebanese army to answer to this a violation. >> u.n. peacekeepers in southern lebanon were quick to intervene and urged both sides to show restraint. bbc news. >> just as the pakastani army and emergency services are making some headway getting aid to a small number of those hit by the worst flooding in 80 years, the monsoon rains are falling again. helicopters are grounded. the u.n. estimates at least 3 million people are affected. the government was already fighting a major insurgency and

is struggling with a humanitarian disaster now. we have this report from northwest pakistan. >> thousands of people now find themselves totally dependent on aid. for many, is a demeaning way to live. they are sheltering any way they can come good arrangements for those affected. we do not have food.

we are bundled up in the small rooms. five or six families are living in one room. there is hardly any space to sleep. >> the town is devastated. water in the main streets reached record levels. we are told many lost their lives right here. the waters may have receded for the time being, but now it is a serious concern about the spread of disease, especially with all the remains of drowned livestock around. >> there are animals lying dead for three or four days. the smell is terrible. we're trying to keep our children away. >> they admit there are still difficulties. the biggest threat though remains the weather. >> just as the army was starting to make headway, more rain has come. torrential downpours. people are worried the rivers will burst their banks again. but what it also has meant is the suspension of crucial a helicopter -- crucial helicopter flights. >> even when the showers stop,

there is the fear about what could happen. none of these people are thinking of leaving. they will know they will face more desperate times away. >> miles away in the gulf of mexico, what everyone hopes will be the final act in the great bp oil spill, is playing out. the company has started operation at static kill which should end in operation bottom kill. u.s. government has now confirmed this is the biggest oil leak in u.s. history. >> this cap has already stopped the oil spill. it will not do the job forever. engineers want to smother the

leak forever. they have a name they want to try -- static kill. it sound like an underwater the assassination project. it will push the oil back into the reservoir. if the first step goes well, cement would be pumped on top of the well. this could be done in two or three days. engineers are continuing to dig a relief well. this would allow mud and cement to be pumped in from underneath it to seal the well for good. >> there is a limit to how much we know and we can find out from the static kill. this thing will not be truly sealed until those relief wells are done. >> that could take several weeks, leaving plenty of time for arguments about this -- the effect of the spill on the environment.

4.9 billion barrels of oil have spilled into the gulf. that is more than previously estimated. it may take longer to work out the damage this oil has caused. >> there is less damage on the surface and we were afraid up. the bad news is we do not know the impact underwater and we probably will not know for many years whether this is just bad or catastrophic and in terms of the effect on marine life. >> one thing we do know is the oil spill explosion has caused the biggest accidental oil spill in history. we do not know if it is also the most devastating. that will perhaps have to wait for another decade. >> from water, to fire. the reports of a shortage of fire engines outside moscow. some local people have been fighting the flames with hand- held water containers or sticks.

we have this report. >> this is the moment a cart full of russian volunteers almost lost their lives, trying to flee of village inhabited sticking to rescue. panicking, they battle to turn their car around and they escaped alive. just. most in the village were burnt to the ground. vast suedes of russia cloaked in smoke and -- swaths of russia cloaked in smoke and ashes. moscow itself is wrapped in cloying smoke and fog. the record heat has purged the soil and turned across to tender. -- tinder.

>> our agriculture is dependent on the weather. we in russia have been unlucky for the second year in a row. last year, there was a minor drought. this year there is an unprecedented drought. >> russia is the world's fourth largest wheat producer, but this year is expected to produce a quarter less than last. even ukraine sets its forecast short of the 20 million tons produced last year. kazakhstan has also cut its outlook. despite the devastation, russia says it will not cut its exports. this is welcome relief for customers in the middle east. but global wheat prices have risen by 50% in a month. rekindling fears of another food crisis of the type last seen in 2007. the difference this time around

is the worldwide wheat stocks are higher, -- have surged higher. we producers like the united states are performing well. food prices have become more volatile since the credit crunch. speculators have poured their money into the agricultural markets. while the droughts are cutting the supply of grain, demand from economic powerhouses like china is racing ahead, is not just weeks. in recent weeks, it is the price of everything -- from rice to raise sense -- that has risen. bbc news. >> stay with us, if you can, on "bbc world news." kenya votes on an new constitution. and the violence of the election two years ago be avoided? -- can the violence of the election two years ago be avoided? >> first though, more violence

in kashmir. a series of anti-india protests were triggered by the death of a 17-year-old boy in june. our correspondent chris morris reports the appeals for calm from political leaders are not being heeded. >> another political march that quickly becomes a demonstration against indian rule in kashmir. once again, thousands of people defied strict curfew and come to vent their anger against indian rule. clashes between the security forces and the crowds of protesters throwing rocks and stones taking place in locations across the region. appeals from political leaders for, and restraint are not being heated, at least for now. -- appeals from political leaders for calm.

among the dead in the last few days is an 8-year-old child. he was repeatedly kicked in the abdomen allegedly by indian paramilitary forces before he died. the authorities say police are trying to exercise restraint, but they have to respond when demonstrators attempt to attack government buildings and set them on fire. many cashmere -- kashmiri say the demonstrations are spontaneous, representative of the unrest people feel. the situation here is now precarious in the extreme. chris morris, bbc news, delhi. >> i have just been reading about it. i can vouch for it. you can read much more about the conflict on our website -- bbc.com/news.

the latest headlines for you this hour on "bbc world news." a rare exchange of fire on the shared border between israel and lebanon. two lebanese soldiers, a lebanese journalist, and an israeli soldier are dead. 3 million people are affected by the worst flooding in eight decades in pakistan. pakistan frills -- pakistan's president is under criticism for leaving his country behind in crisis. hours before he arrived in britain to meet with prime minister david cameron, there were criticisms that pakistan is losing its battle with the taliban. we have this report on the tensions. >> living under the cover of darkness, british and afghan troops are moving.

by daylight, they walked into this former taliban stronghold almost unopposed. new footage released tonight by the ministry of defence shows the initial goal of this helmand operation has been achieved, but not the critical part. winning the local trust and holding the ground. today, the president of pakistan declares that is a war he thinks we are losing. he goes to london ahead of his talks with the prime minister on friday with a stark assessment that could not have been gloomier. speaking in paris earlier today, he said the international community to which pakistan belongs is losing the war against the taliban. "i think we have all lost the battle for hearts and minds." he said he would look david cameron in the face and say the war on terror should bring us

together, not oppose us. forthright talk, but in birmingham, the prime minister was having none of it. >> in the areas where we are, there are markets functioning and schools' opening. i was at a grain distribution center quite recently. all life is going on. i do not accept we're losing the battle for hearts and minds. his criticism about -- >> in his criticism about the prime minister, he said, has not changed. he still wants pakistan to crack down on homegrown terrorists. >> there is still a problem of terror groups in pakistan that threaten other countries that also threaten our troops and afghanistan and in india and threaten us here in the uk. they need to be dealt with. >> it is an admission that pakistan must be dealt with in a key role for any strategy to

work. so the soldiers and homeland province can come home. pakistan has had its share of victims, too. thousands of pakastani soldiers killed in battle before the conflict began. thousands of civilian casualties from suicide bombs. and political instability, criminal violence. but the riots after a leading politician was shot dead -- like the riots after a leading politician was shot dead in karachi monday. there are those who say the prime minister -- the president of pakistan should have canceled his visit altogether. when they meet on friday, will the irritation that surfaced last week in india and aired again today erupt into a full- blown diplomatic conflict behind

the obligatory smiles? bbc news. >> police are being deployed anti thousands in kenya for a vote on the new constitution. the new constitution aims to cut the powers of the president's and devolve power away from nairobi. we have this. >> enthusiasm in the green camp. thousands are voicing their support for a new constitution. it still feels like a premature celebration ahead of wednesday's referendum. spearheading the celebration, a former enemies -- the president and prime minister, awkward partners in a coalition government, but now with a common goal. at least in theory, at the new constitution should bring accountability to the dirty world of canyon -- kenyan

politics. and canyons should have more of a say as to another country -- kenyans should have more of a say as to how their country is run. >> they are involved and governance. -- and governance. it can change things. >> but there are two sides. but the stronghold for the no campaign is in at this valley. for a while it looked like the constitution would sail through, but then the no camp picked up momentum. the are leaving nothing to chance. the new constitution proposes of land commission to investigate who owns what lance and whether it was acquired legally. many are worried that this could trigger more clashes.

>> in a country -- [unintelligible] this is a very serious land claim issue. there will actually give constitutional backing to some of those claims. >> this is the breadbasket of kenya. daniel has farmed here for generations, harvesting his -- farm here for generations. harvesting his latest crop, he tells me what he is opposed to the new constitution. >> this form was handed down to his children and grandchildren. he is worried the new commission would have the power to take away his land. the tension of the land and the country's ethnic divisions will remain long after the referendum. the immediate help -- this process that will end peacefully. kenya can and show the world it has turned the corner and move down from the days when voting meant violence.

bbc news, nairobi, will ross. >> a former police chief has been jailed for 15 years for accepting bribes from a convicted drug leader. the former president of interpol is the most senior south african official to be sentenced for corruption. he is now free pending appeal. >> a group in new york has been given the go-ahead to build an islamic cultural center near the site of the 9/11 attack. to opponents, this is disrespectful to the memory of those killed in attacks carried out by islamist extremists. >> this is the building which is so controversial. there's a plan to build a muslim community center containing a mosque here, just a few blocks from ground zero, where more than 3000 people died

on september 11, 2001. some say it is insensitive to build a mosque at so close by. but opponents of the mosque hope that commissioners would say the building was historic and could not be demolished. but they did not. >> all in favor? >> aye. >> tensions were high after the vote. [shouting] >> i think the center as a great potential and bringing several religions together. >> it is also a cultural center. it will have a memorial for those who died on september 11. even so, the key issue is emerging as a potent force in november's midterm elections. some say it is disrespectful to build a mosque so close to a site where so many died.

bbc news. >> what do former world leaders do when they are out of a job? the czech president was president for 13 years. he is directing his first feature film about a politician coping with life after politics. our correspondent went to visit the set. >> his cv is already impressive. world renowned playwright. anti-communist dissident. and of course, president of this country for more than a decade. but now at the tender age of 73, he is adding another string to his boat. we're on a film set in a distant corner of the czech countryside. he is filming a screen version of his latest play which describes the story of a politician coming to terms with

his loss of power. >> i think in surprised at how well everything works. i come up with an idea. i tell the person standing next to me about it. the next day, we are filming it. it certainly wasn't like that when i held political office. >> "leaving" is about an unnamed chancellor in a country who is locked in a battle with his successor. he wrote the main female role, the chancellor's wife, for his own wife. >> is obviously an honor, but i should point out that he wrote the role for me, not about me. i was there when he wrote the screenplay. i am incredibly happy to get a chance to act in it. >> the former president denies the film is autobiographical. he says he merely and cellist the script with his own

experience of power. his former colleagues are keen to see the results. >> the director is, again, -- to be a director is, again, something new and a challenge. we will stay. >> he was affiliated with the first film studios in the 1920's. now his multitalented nephew will see his dream come true. bbc news. >> just briefly, the main news for you. a rare exchange of fire on the shared border between israel and lebanon has left a senior israeli officer, two lebanese soldiers, and in lebanese -- and a lebanese journalist dead. and the worst flooding in decades in pakistan after

monsoon rains. thank you for being with us. we are on twitter and facebook. >> 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.

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