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tv   BBC World News  PBS  September 24, 2010 12:30am-1:00am PDT

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>> "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, union bank, ♪ financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?
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>> and now, bbc world news. >> a mass walkout. more than 30 delegations leave the un general assembly as the running government claims that the u.s. orchestrated the september 11 attacks. standing photographs reveal shocking conditions at the athletes' village in delhi. and the u.s. state of virginia executes its first female prisoner in almost a hundred years. also coming up in the program, the military leader of the colombian fark rebel group is killed by security forces.
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russia's we ban it is up even further, prompting fears of a looming crisis. ♪ it is an ambitious projection to any weary observers of middle eastern politics. president obama has suggested that when the un general assembly meets next year it may be worked -- it may be welcoming in a palestinian state. he encouraged talks between palestinians and israelis. this next segment does contain some flash photography. >> president obama looks like a man in a hurry, the free-speech over peace in the middle east -- late for a speech over peace in
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the middle east. >> he told them that as a mix- pessimists and cynics would predict figure. but he told them to reach inside themselves for a bold prediction. >> when we come back next year we can have an independent, sovereign state of palestine living in peace with israel. >> the israeli delegation, observing a religious holiday, were not there to hear him call for them to keep a ban on settlements. they were urged to live up to their promises with practical policies. outside it was not the middle east, but iran that consumed protesters. the president wants iran to show is not developing nuclear weapons. >> the door to diplomacy remains open should iran choose to walk
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through it, but the iranian government must demonstrate a clear commitment and confirm to the world a peaceful intent to its nuclear programs. >> if you are expecting an "or else" that is not surprising. usually president obama goes on to discuss sanctions and today he did not. that is a softening of the line. the running president's suggested that america was behind 9/11 and then hinted that he might walk through obama's open door. >> iran has always been ready for a dialogue based on respect and justice. secondly, the message based on have longing nation's become ineffective. the crux of the president may hope for peace in the middle east next year, handling the
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thrift in the region is urgent. trex -- the threat in the region is urgent. >> our correspondent was at the u.n. and we asked him earlier what happened. the >> there were 30 delegations that walked out, led first of all, of course, by the americans, who were deeply offended by president ahmadinejad's remarks. they were followed by all the european countries, canada, australia, new zealand and a tiny coastal regions as well. some 33 delegations in all left the chamber. these walkouts are not entirely new. they're becoming something of a routine when president ahmadinejad speaks. what annoyed the american so much was this preference to the possibly carrying out the 9/11 attacks themselves.
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and ahmadinejad referred to israel as the "entity that was saved" as a result. that was the trigger, i think. >> president ahmadinejad's comments have been seen in the local press. why is he bringing this to the international stage now, do you think? >> i think he is pretty consistent. i think he actually believes what he is saying. it may seem strange to many people, certainly, in the western world, but mr. ahmadinejad has used both his speeches here at the un to set out his world view and it is one in stark contrast to those in the western capital. he believes that capitalism is collapsing. he believes that the current world order needs to be swept away, that the institutions need
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to beat revised and changed and iran is the country he sees as one that will take a more prominent role in any new international order that will replace it. gartz have we have any comments from the u.s. since -- >> have we have any comments from the u.s. since? >> yes, we have. they described mr. ahmadinejad's comments as "appa morant and delusional." t and delusional." i spoke to a senior american official today who said there have been a number of contacts from senior iranian officials with americans seeking back channel diplomacy, but as yet, they have not found anybody with a thought represented the supreme leader and they do not want to be drawn into the different factional -- actionable -- factional battles
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in iran. >> syria has held a series of urgent meetings trying to set -- to sort out the crisis in delhi. india is now calling the event the shame game. but more countries have announced that they will be sending their teams. chris reports from delhi. >> pictures obtained by the bbc about such -- about what some of the accommodations in the athletes' village looks like -- look like in the last couple of days. several teams have now delayed their arrival. on the road leading toward the village, barefoot workers are as the on the street with last- minute road repairs. this is not the image that delhi wanted to convey to the world. and the first time -- and for the first time, an apology on delhi tv. sorry for what has
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happened and not only on my part or the part of the committee, but everybody that is committed -- connected. >> security around the village is certainly in place and there's a feeling that things inside are improving. the government has put preparations in place, but not in time for everything to go ahead on schedule. england men's hockey team is going to deadly tonight. ireland, scotland and wales will all be heading there in the next few days. everyone is hoping for the debt -- the best. >> i know things need cleaning up a little, and that is about it. there is just a little bit of cleaning and needs to be done. >> still, there is a scramble to get everything ready in time and
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the preparations are already beginning. >> this is the symbol of disarray in delhi this week. and over there in the stadium, it is looking good. most of the commonwealth games are there already. but there's a growing theory that harrigan management has met -- arrogant management has meant that way too many things were left to the last minute. >> it has left many in delhi wondering if it is worthwhile. many are calling it the shane game. >> i think what is more shameful is the response. >> work has been done in a poor manner. we put so much money into this. >> the word this evening from the headquarters of the organizing committee, the show will go on. we have seen questions over
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these big sporting events before. they're leaving it later than most. it up cracks in the past hour, a 41-year-old woman with learning difficulties have been executed by lethal objection -- lethal injection in the american state of virginia. she admitted to hiring a hit man to kill her husband and stepson. she is the first woman put to death in the u.s. in five years and the first in virginia in nearly a century. our correspondent dave this background to the case. >> teresa lewis confessed to arranging the murder of her husband and stepson at age rather park in 2002. she arranged this with the two hit men that she had met in the local supermarket. one of those hit man later becombecame her lover. she confessed to this, but what her lawyers argued is that
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because she had learning difficulties -- her iq is 72, two pointys abovepoint the legal limits for execution in virginia that she should have an appeal, but those calls for appeal were turned down. >> what is the opinion in the state of virginia? >> this case has attracted a lot of attention because, as you say, it is the first execution of a woman in virginia in almost 100 years. and in general, execution of foreign -- executions of women in the u.s. are rare. there have only been about five since 1973, and that is just about 1% of all of the death penalty cases in the u.s. the second question was the question of her learning
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difficulties. many people were concerned that perhaps she had been manipulated or that she was borderline. with her iq of 72, it is just above the legal limit in the state of virginia. the appeals went all the way to the supreme court. the execution went ahead this evening. >> what have we heard from the family of the husband and stepson that she had killed. >> we understand that relatives of the victims were there to watch the execution. speaking before the execution, they said that justice was being done. they felt she was guilty and was not a question of whether or not she held the gun. >> still to come, britain take a gamble on the weather and opens the biggest wind farm in the world.
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the dvd and games rental company blockbuster has filed for bankruptcy protection in the u.s. the company said it made the decision as part of a plan to cut debt and restructure the business. >> it is the and vanara for people of a certain age. the video rentals -- the end of an era for people of a certain age. the video rental company blockbuster goes out with a sense of the stock drop. -- of no solid job. -- nostalgia. >> these days you can watch movies on line without leaving home. netflix has more than 15 million subscribers. the blockbuster way of doing the movie business has died. david parker is an analyst in
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the industry. he recommends that wiping out all that by declaring bankruptcy is the best move. >> the concept has migrated and is now looking for content on the internet or by mail from companies like netflix and people do not necessarily go to the store to rent movies anymore. >> this man is part of the charge for restructuring. he is known as a culprit vulture and is expected to sell the company eventually -- a corporate vulture and is expected to sell the company eventually to the highest bidder. >> it is likely that a competitor or a private equity firm will pick it up and keep it going for a while, but it does not have a long future. >> for now, though, it is business as usual for blockbuster stores in america and overseas. as it recruits into new ownership, hundreds of stores are expected to close and
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thousands of employees may lose their jobs. >> you are watching bbc news. the headlines this hour -- president obama has urged nations to support palestinian and israeli middle east peace talks. he also called on iran for diplomatic relations. damming photographs have revealed shocking conditions at the athletes' village in delhi. the foreign ministry in tokyo has confirmed that four japanese have been detained in china hund suspicion of violating the law regarding the protection of military facilities. the two countries are locked in a fight over the chinese fishing boat captain after a collision near a disputed island. joining me now from tokyo is our correspondent, roblin burk.
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rowland, how were the men detained? >> this incident has the potential to ratchet up the tension between japan and china. these four employees of a japanese construction company were in china to bid for a contract to dispose of chemical weapons that had been abandoned in china by japanese forces at the end of the second world war. according to state media in china, they were detained because they had entered a military facility without authorization and had illegally videotaped military targets. the company they work for says it is looking into the whereabouts of these men. the last communication they had from them was an e-mail that just said, "help us." >> have we had any reaction from the japanese foreign ministry? >> the foreign ministry here in tokyo said they had received confirmation from the chinese
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government that these four japanese nationals had been detained. they are charged with violating the law and a military facility. whether or not this incident is linked to the fight going on over china and japan and the chinese fishing boat captain, the japanese official said he did not want to speculate the relationship between japan and china has been at its lowest for years. the chinese fishing boat captain was detained after a collision in the disputed islands of the china sea. china has been demanding that japan release him immediately and japan said this is a judicial matter and prosecutors here have until next wednesday to decide whether to charge him. >> thank you so much from tokyo. the colombian military forces said they have killed the leader of the farc rebel group.
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the leader, known as manal jojoy -- mono jojoy is said to be the leader in one of the biggest coca growing areas. >> for the foreign minister it was a moment of triumph. for his staff, too. their smiles of relief show this is about more than the death of one rebel leader. the plan had been simple, to strike at the heart of the farc insurgency, and deep in the mountains they found a fierce struggle -- fierce rebel stronghold. >> we reached what we call the mother of all farc camps. about 300 meters, a bunker made of cement, complete with tunnels and an escape area.
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among the rebels killed was this man, better known by his alias, monnat jojoy. for 30 years he had risen through the marxist rebel movement, a brilliant tactician who is said to have planned some of the group's most bloodthirsty attacks. the reason he is here is because they were all hostages taken by the kidnapping campaign that he helped organize. >> he is a symbol of terror that has harmed our country so much. mono jojoy symbolized violence and terrorism and because of that, i think it is the most crushing blow against the farc in all of history. >> even his supporters describe him as a radical and uncompromising leader. with his death, the farc has lost its best military brain. the president sworn to run down
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the remaining leaders. >> it is clearly a blow to the farc guerrillas. but that does not mean we should not enter into negotiation. >> of the farc is no longer the force it once was. a sustained government campaign has killed several of its commanders. but a to in bogota last month -- a car bomb in bogota last month shows it is far from a spent force. >> it is estimated at around 40 million people around the world are starving because of food shortages and high fuel prices. now there is a looming food crisis, which prompted the un to stage an emergency meeting. the problem has been made by the drought and sites in russia.
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by contrast, the u.s. is having a bumper season. >> good times in the land of plenty. this year's united states harvest is among the best on record. combine's are rolling 3 kolding crop, burning in bumper of -- bringing in it -- are rolling through a golden crop, bringing in a bumper crop. colorado farmer rhey hynson knows that devastating drought and wildfires in russia will force up the value of wheat across the world. last year, this fuel was not worth the price of irrigation. now he believes he is looking at peter. next year's crop is in the ground and the -- now he believes he is looking at pay dirt. next year's crops is in the ground -- next year's crop is in the ground.
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>> we had actually left in this field fallow a year ago because it would not be profitable for us to plant spring wheat. now we have the opportunity to plant fall wheat and make a substantial profit. >> with the russian export ban taking a huge amount of wheat off the market, it falls to the americans to make up the shortfall. >> but it goes beyond the simple equation of supply and demand. this is an international commodity and its price is set not here in the field of colorado, but the trading floors of the global exchanges. it is here in chicago where fortunes are state as traders speculate -- are at stake as traders speculate on the future price of wheat. the irony here is that it is calculated as plenty of wheat held in giant storage elevators around the world. grain is being loaded up and shipped out. it looks quite business as
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usual. but uncertainties over supply and demand and over security from speculators looking for a profit. >> people with money are looking at opportunities look at wheat and say, we think it is a good opportunity. they will buy it and hold it and when they do that, the price increases. >> does that drive the price of? >> absolutely. >> there is an emergency meeting in rome with warnings that another major drought or earthquake somewhere in the world could bring serious consequences to the global food supply. >> the world's biggest offshore wind farm has opened off the southeast coast of england. it has 100 turbines and can produce enough electricity for 200,000 homes. it is the latest that toward the
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government target of having 50% of the nation's inner -- 15% of the nation's energy in renewals by 2012. >> it has been called one of the world's most audacious green energy products -- projects. it is the biggest win farm in the world. more than anywhere else, the u.k. government is betting that this is the energy of the future. in the next decade, it wants about 20% of our electricity to come from the wind. it is only about 2.5% at the moment. a big gamble, according to critics. >> what i am worried about is fascinationnt's with wind power. there are other renewable is that have been starved of support. they should be going down that route. >> wind power has been proven as
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a technology today. it has been used for several countries around europe. and it is definitely one of the links we are relying upon in the production of energy. >> the technology has its problems. it sounds obvious, but no wind, no power. it is hard to store it as well. britain has more offshore wind farms than anyone else in the world. but this is just the start. it is tiny compared to what is coming. >> let's recap the main news again. president obama has urged those attending the un general assembly to put aside pessimism and cynicism and support recently relaunched middle east peace talks. also in the last half-hour, a 41-year-old woman with learning difficulties has been executed
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by lethal injection in the american state of virginia, the first woman to be put to death in the u.s. in five years. >> 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, union bank, and siemens. >> somewhere in america there is a doctor who can. to the future. there is a nurse who can access in an instant every patient's past. and because the whole hospital is working together, there is a family who can breathe easily right now. somewhere in america we have already answered the nation's toughest health care questions. and the over 60,000 people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens answers. ♪
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