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>> somewhere in america, there is a doctor who can peer into 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 easy right now. somewhere in america we have already answered some of the nation's toughest health care questions. and the over 60,000 people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens, answers. >> and now, "bbc world news." >> president obama tells the bbc that the iranian president's comments about possible u.s. involvement on september 11th are absolutely unacceptable. english athletes arrived in india but there are questions about whether the hostess fit. the chilean president tells the

bbc the miners will be freed by november. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america. the mother is the man sitting -- at the mother's demanding answers in a kurdish city that is divided. the multimillion dollar art collection belonging to lehman brothers goes under the hammer. in an exclusive interview with bbc persian television, president obama has called the comments made by mahmoud ahmadinejad about the september 11th attacks as it is usable.

later, the iranian leader said that the american government might have been involved in the attack. president obama says that he believes that mr. -- that the iranian president's opinions are inconsistent with that of the american people. >> this was offensive, hateful, and for him to make the statement here in manhattan just a little north of ground zero where families lost their loved ones, people of all races and ethnicities who see this as a seminal tragedy of this generation, for him to make a statement like that was inexcusable. this stands in contrast with the response of the iranian people

went 911 happened. there were candlelight vigils and a shared sense of humanity and sympathy that was expressed within iran. this shows once again the difference between how the iranian leadership and this regime operates and how i think the vast majority of the iranian people who are respectful and thoughtful think about these issues. >> in your first video message, he spoke to the people of iran and you talked about how you are committed to diplomacy and you also said that this process of talking about to the issues on the table will only succeed if there are no threats. with threats, this will not go forward. yet, your administration in much of this year not only threaten

to iran with sanctions but enacted those that have been branded as crippling. what do you say to those who see this as a departure from no threats and diplomacy? >> we have to look at what we have done this year and this is very consistent. what i have said consistently is that we are willing to reach out with an open hand to the iranian government and the iranian people because we believe there is nothing inevitable that should cause iran and it united states to be enemies. there's a history that that it can be bridged with mutual understanding and respect. we want to see the people of iran succeed. the government has taken iran on a path that has led to international condemnation.

the sanctions that arose this year had to do with the fact that alone among signatories to the nuclear it is restoration treaty, iran has not been able to convince the international agency that their program is peaceful. -- the sanctions that arose this year had to do with the fact that alone among the signatories of the nuclear non- proliferation treaty, iran has not been able to convince the international agency. they have seen behavior on the part of the iranian government that indicates that they have a nuclear program that does not abide by international rules and that potentially poses a threat to the region as well as the world. that is a choice that to the iranian regime has made. we would welcome them making and other choice. this would be to act responsibly and they would be able to have their rights for peaceful

nuclear program under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. that would remove the sanctions and would allow them to fully enter the international community in a way that is true tremendously benefit the iranian people. this is the matter of the iranian government ultimately betraying the interests of their own people by isolating it further. >> high on president obama agenda -- high on president obama's agenda are the growing tensions in african countries. >> it was once the longest civil war in africa and killed almost 2 million people in two decades.

the fighting was over i kennedy, culture, religion, resources. now there is a referendum on secession and the fear is rising that war could break out again. -- the fighting was over identity, culture, religion. now people are looking for someone to blame. >> i know that this will complicate the situation which is already complicated. no one knows what will happen because there is a lot of the motion and that there are many agreements that have happened before. mostly what we fear is that the parties will go back to war. there are many bad signals coming from the national congress. >> hillary clinton said that

that the southerners are for secession if they get a free and fair vote. america is offering a package of sanctions or rewards if khartoum follows through. >> what is already known that we think that this is high time for the american administration and the government of mr. obama to lift the sanctions on sudan and to remove them from the list that the u.s. thinks that these countries are sponsoring terrorism. >> with most of the lucrative oil resources in the south, human rights organizations are contemplating whether the north will let the south go. >> one thing seems clear.

no amount of international pressure will work unless the sudanese themselves are prepared to sort out their own province. >> and other news, the nigerian government officials say 2 million people have been displaced in the north of the country after the authorities have forced open floodgates following heavy rains. half of the population has been affected and the floodgates are opened and the water levels are dangerously high. people have been running too dry areas. the detained pro-democracy leader in burma has been included on a voters' list for the first general election in years. our election victory in 1990 was annulled by the military rulers. she is currently under house arrest and was initially excluded from the alleged moral role. the defense minister says he

will put pressure on the united states to hand over the scientist who was sentenced to murder for 86 years. there was protests organized after the sentence was passed. there are signs that the crisis following the commonwealth in delhi could be starting to ease. the athletes are starting to show up, a team england has arrived. some have delayed their flights. there was trouble that began with the collapse of a pedestrian bridge. those conditions have not improved, some teams are choosing to stay elsewhere. >> at last some good news for

the beleaguered commonwealth games. the athletes arrived. the hotel is their first port of call. everyone is simply relieved that they are here. >> everyone would like to get in with the action and get going. >> these are the pictures given to bbc yesterday which shows the village is filthy. the village is beginning to come to life. buildings are being customized. team officials say that there is still work to be done. the move has certainly changed. >> we are very pleased with the accommodations. they have been working very hard over the three days and a lot has been achieved. >> from elsewhere in the sporting world, there is still

skepticism about deli. >> they should not have been awarded the games. the problem is that the commonwealth organization does not have the ability to monitor the progress of cities in a way that the olympic committee does. >> still working on the final touches, the authorities are racing against time. this event was supposed to show the rising economic and diplomatic power of india. instead, this has exposed weaknesses and flaws within the state system which have proved to be rather embarrassing. >> you are watching "bbc world news." the u.n. warns of potential on rest of the price of grain and shoots up. -- if the price of grain shoots up. japan has released the captain a

chinese fishing boat who was detained in a fishing waters. >> japanese prosecutors have been questioning the fishing boat captain for two weeks. in the end, they decided to let him go in the national interest. >> after taking into consideration the effect that it would have upon our country and people as well as how it would affect japan-china relations, we decided it was not appropriate to continue holding the suspect. >> early this month, the chinese fishermen was brought to japan in handcuffs and his face was hidden from view. is the tension caused the deepest rift between the two biggest economies. the japanese coast guard ships have been left dented by a

collision with the boat. the suspicion was that he did this deliberately. it happened as they patrolled disputed waters near the island's patroled by japan trained by china. on the arrest triggered protests against japan and china. beijing allowed a demonstration in many cities. the japanese ambassador was summoned six times to hear that china demanded that the captain be freed at once. the government cut off high- level contact. japan exports more goods to china than anyone else. they had a lot to lose. their decision to link the release to political pressure has drawn widespread criticism. the fear is that japan has shown weakness and china will be tempted to test their growing strength again.

>> this is "bbc world this." in an exclusive interview with the bbc, barack obama condemns the comments by the iranian president as hateful. athletes arrived in new delhi. despite doubts, indian insist they can host of the commonwealth games. exactly 50 days ago, falling rocks trapped miners have at a mine in the chilean desert. this has been followed by many of us around the world. today, the chilean president said that he hoped that they would be freed by november. >> night and day in the desert, families keep up their vigil waiting and watching as rescue teams to drill around the clock to create the shaft which should mean escape for the miners' almost half a mile below.

no one has ever been trapped underground as long as these 33 men. they have endured 33 weeks without a light, fresh air, or freedom. it took 17 days after the mine collapsed just to find them. since then, they have been given everything possible to squeeze down the supply tubes. this mother finds the waiting almost unbearable. >> it would be 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning and i was praying. this is very frustrating. to me, this is not over. >> what progress has there been to rescue the men since they were discovered? the miners are trap almost half a mile down and a shaft is being drilled. the first is down 1,300 feet already. at second, 364 feet down when it down any much shorter time.

the third, 240 feet. the plan is to bring the amount in these rescue pots being designed by the navy. they can be brought up one at a time. for one of them, rescue will mean the first sight of his baby daughter. now the chilean president said that the men should get out by november. >> i hope that by november we will have all of our miners back with their families alive and healthy. >> even rescue my dad and the worry for the miners and their families. -- even the rest you might not -- rescue might not end of the worry for the miners and their families. >> there is a strong possibility

that dissident groups opposed to power-sharing will attack the british mainland. a belgian woman has appeared in court accused of murdering her love rival by sabotage and her parachute in 2006. the woman fell 1,000 meters to her death. the queue to denies the charges. the price of gold has hit $13 -- $1,300 an ounce for the first time in trading. the rise has been spurred by caution over the global economy as well as weakness in the u.s. dollar. the united nations food agency has convened a meeting on the unusually high price of food. the decision to extend the ban has led to a hike on prices. that has affected the most poor

people in this world. >> there have been signs that the world was once again heading for a food price crisis. riots in mozambique's earlier this month following a summer of drought which caused russia, one of the world's big grain producers, to impose an export ban. despite this, the u.n. experts concluded that there was no crisis at least not yet. >> i will be talking about this crop as a security crop. i did not want to undermine this. look at the spillover. this is nothing like we had in 2007. there are lots of other conditions which leapt to that sort of situation and these are completely not present. >> the harvest in many places back here has been good.

this could be the third highest total on record so it might not be a crisis but prices remain high and those responsible for feeding the hungry have had to find new ways of reaching them. support to buy food might be the way to go. >> what we have put in place to make things better for the people in the poorest countries is a greater awareness that access to food is critical, not just looking at places where there is no food but where food might be there on the markets. they don't have the resources to actually buy this, it is simply too expensive. >> the food market is vulnerable to deep swings up and down. these are wering times for the poorest people in the world to spend all that they can earn on food. there is a close eye on this and

they're hoping that the grain prices will stabilize soon. >> three months ago, 400 people died during ethnic clashes in kyrgyzstan. the arrival of an international police force has been delayed as has an international inquiry. as our central asian correspondent reports, the wounds inflicted last summer are still wrong -- raw. >> this was once a school. this is one of many neighborhoods that were completely destroyed during ethnic fighting. both sides have suffered. uzbeks bore the brunt of the violence. this school is set up by the

u.n. children's fund. a 12-year-old lost his father in the violence. his house was burned down. every child in this neighborhood has a story to tell. >> we had blankets piled up and my bed stood right here. it has been burned down. there have been losses on both sides. they would like justice for their sons or were killed or went missing. all they have is a folder of his sons decapitated body. -- a photo of his sons decapitated body. >> they still have not buried the body. >> in order to move on with their lives, people want justice. questions are being asked over

the government's will to find justice for those who have suffered. those who are accused of being involved in the violence have been severely beaten up. these claims are rejected by the authorities. the concern is that the overwhelming majority of those arrested are uzbeks but above government denies this. >> i have not noticed and ethnic bias. >> the three months since the violence, there are some signs of normality. the suspicion and mistrust between the committees remain. regardless of their ethnicity, the residents want peace and justice. without that, the prospect of

consolation is slim. >> in america, a multimillion dollar art collection that once hung on the walls of lehman brothers is up for auction. the art goes up for sale on saturday. >> a day of turmoil on the world financial markets. bankers all over the world are anxious to night. >> when lehman brothers went under, it shook the world. their art is going up for sale. and this includes some of the biggest names in art history. might this goes some way to pay off creditors? >> this is going for about 40,000. how much will this make? >> we think it will make somewhere in the region of 1 million pounds.

>> what is the total debt? >> this is somewhere north of 300 billion pounds. this is a drop in the ocean. >> this is worth around 350,000 pounds. you would need 2 million of these to pay off that debt. some of the items are not worth a great deal in and of themselves but they have a special value. you realize what they are a part of. they are all rather symbolic. how about this little commemorative plaque back when gordon brown was a visitor to their new offices just six years ago? we have had a lot of interest in this piece and in a sense it falls into the trophy cabinet of some of the bankers. >> in di, it is the mementos of the crash that have drawn the

most attention. the framed corporate statement, their promise that they would not let their shareholders down. >> our main news, in an exclusive interview with bbc persian television, president obama says that comments made by president mahmoud ahmadinejad about the 9/11 attacks were hateful and is usable. you can find all of this and much more on bbc.com/news. you can get in touch with me and the rest of the team on twitter. >> 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,

>> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> public broadcasting is my source for news about the world. >> for intelligent conversation. >> for election coverage you can count on. >> for a commitment to journalism. >> public broadcasting is my source for intelligence connections to my community. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.