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 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? >> and now "bbc world news. >> hopes rise that the burmese prodemocracy leader aung san suu kyi will soon be released from house arrest. suicide bombers have launched an attack near the airport. the u.n. appeals for million s of dollars to tackle cholera in haiti. 3 also in this program, leaders from across asia meet in japan for the apec summit, but will tensions between the host and china overshadow the event? and the annual pilgramive

continues in saudi arabia. a network opens up to help deal with congestion. the burmese prodemocracy leader aung san suu kyi could be free from house arrest when her latest term of detention expires. there has been no official comment by burmese authorities. documents for her release have been signed reportedly. she has been detained for 20 years. we have this report from inside burmese. >> aung san suu kyi's followers began to gather outside the opposition headquarters. they expected their leader to be released at the weekend and heard from somewhere that she

might be freed tonight and they made their way to her home in rangoon where she has been under house arrest for much of the past two decades. but no official announcement came and a senior party member told the crowd to go home and come back in the morning. no one knows what aung san suu kyi will do when she's free. she has refused to back down on her demands for justice and democracy for the people of burma. she was released briefly in 1995 but again spoke out and was put back in detention. it is feared the same could happen all over again. elections a week ago won easily by the ruling military elite have been condemned as a sham. burmese generals may hope her release may divert attention from the rigged sydney pollacks. -- rigged polls.

>> i don't think it will make any difference. there are many things that are -- i think she will go back again. >> the government has again made it clear today that they will not tolerate descent. aung san suu kyi is deeply revered by her people but many burmese, particularly the young think her uncompromising approach has not worked and maybe now it is time for a different, if less high-principled way to secure freedom. bbc news, burma. >> we've had reports from afghanistan that terrorists have carried out attacks. >> it appears there has been a substantial attack in the

largest city in eastern afghanistan east of kabul near the border with pakistan. the reuters news agency's correspondent said that's where the attack has been carried out. it is a large international air base. as we understand, it is there that the attacks happened. eyewitnesses are saying they saw smoke rising from the airport. they heard explosions and then saw helicopters flying overhead. >> have they seen anything like that before? >> that air base -- there was a similar attack back in june where the taliban sent in six suicide bombers. the early indications we have of this latest attack is that it could have been even bigger. some suggesting as many as 14 suicide bombers sent in to attack the air base.

>> thanks very much for keeping us up to date. now after weeks of delay due to chinese objections, the u.n. security council has received a controversial report on violations of the embargo in the darfur region that infuriated beijing. they found the government breached the embargo and that china did little to enis that your chinese weapons were not used in the conflict. medvedev said he was aware of the spy ring in the u.s. when the scandal broke. it led to the largest spy swap between the two countries since the end of the cold war. the funerals of eight policeman have been held in karachi in pakistan. the blast almost completely

destroyed a police come pound and high security zone. the medical aid group msf said the number of new cases of cholera in haiti have increased seven-fold in the last few days. they are making a plea for more funds. they said the disease has so far killed about 800 people. >> haiti's latest torment. children with cholera on the streets over the capital. in the past three days there has been an explosion in the number of cases. the epidemic intensified. the overstretched hospitals are overflowing with patients and exhausted doctors are overwhelmed. >> increasing patients here. because of constraints, we have to make sure that people can be

sent to another place where we can provide better care. >> officially more than 12,000 people are being treated for cholera and 796 have died. the u.n. predicts up to 200,000 haitians could contract the disease. more than double the cases in zimbabwe two years ago. funds are sorely needed. >> the situation is getting more and more worse. every day we hear about increasing numbers of deaths. >> in the sprawling port-au-prince area, few have toilets or clean running water. in the crowded earthquake

survivors camps, too, there are confirmed cases. they are told hand washing and basic hygiene could stop the outbreak. >> we're very scared of cholera. they put this tank of water there for us and told us that it has been treated. since i have no other choice, we drink it. the river is thought to be the original source of the cholera infection. flooding after last week's hurricane has only made matters worse. how many are dying, we may never know. the cholera epidemic has brought even more agony to the people of this earthquake-ravaged nation. bbc news. >> the apec meeting today after a tough g-20 summit.

with 21 world leaders in town for the summit, the security is tight. more than 21,000 police from all over the country have been brought to yokohama to secure the venue. i asked our correspondent about the scale of preparations. >> 21,000 police officers as you say from all over japan. word has spread that some kids have been collecting each of the -- they meet the police officers from. what the leaders are hoping to talk about is free trade. the long-term goal of apec is to set up a free trade area right around the pacific rim, the most dynamic part of the world's economy. what could overshadow these talks is the ran cor from the g-20 that took place in seoul. there the disputes were over currency and exchange rates and

trade imbalances. >> we're seeing leaders arriving at the summit. there were tensions between japan and china. >> those tensions are certainly very high on the minds of the japanese media here. the problem is there was a territorial dispute going on for over two months now on a small chain of islands in the east china sea claimed by japan and controlled by china. the rare earth is not being shipped to japan from china. they are elements in which china has a monopoly. they rely on them to make things like hybrid cars. the leaders of the country also meet, the signs, perhaps, if it

happens, of a thaw. >> i understand that perhaps silly shirts are in season. >> actually silly shirts are not in season. for the first time they are not. they have said the dress code for the final photo op is going to be smart-casual. something the average unstylish male might inspire as much fear as getting dressed in something like kimono. >> still to come this hour, one is a british novelist. the other an american musician. their transatlantic collaboration has produced a remarkable record. here in britain, where celebrations have begun to mark 800 years since one of the earliest examples since the bill of rights were inside.

-- were inside. -- were signed. >> a gently sloping hillside, a procession marking the start of the 800 anniversary celebrations of the selling a of the magna carta. it was the first key document establishing the rule of law in england. and as the most senior civil judge explained to me this morning, it was a landmark moment. >> just capture people's imagination and the signing of the magna carta on this wet, probably wrigley field in 1215 just captured the imagination of people throughout the past 800 years. >> one of the originals is held at this cathedral stored in a sealed box and kept away from bright light, but it is on public display.

this is the best of the four original copies of the magna carta. it is quite difficult to read. it is written in a tiny latin script. but the message is clear. it is all about the rights and freedom of the individual. >> the most important clauses are 39 and 40, which say that nobody should be imprisoned except by lawful judgment and justice shall not be sold or delayed. today the lord chancellor ken clarke described the magna carta as one of the greatest events in our history. he said people may be surprised to find that the freedom they fought for applied to everyone and not just the aristrocracy. >> you're watching bbc news. the headlines at this hour, supporters of the burmese prodemocracy leader aung san suu

kyi say they have been told that she will be freed from house art later when her latest term of detention is due to end. reports from afghanistan say insurgents have launched an attack on a military outpost at the airport in the east of the country. more now on burma and the expected release of aung san suu kyi. her party won the only free election ever held in burma in 1990, though the army overturned the results and over the last two decades she has become a symbol of the country's struggle against military oppression. still, if aung san suu kyi is released, can she live up to her supporters' expectations? >> now in her mid 60's and perhaps the world's most famous prisoner of conscious, aung san suu kyi led a fight against dictatorship but it has come at a personal cost. when she don nobel peace prize

in 1991, it was her british husband and two sons that collected the award. she never saw her husband again before he died of cancer. she never has seen her grandchildren. her contacts with the outside world is minimal msm no international tv. few visitors. alone with two servants. a lonely existence she has borne with fort fude attitude for much of two -- with fortitude for two decades. >> if they are frightened they are certainly less free than i was. for me, real freedom is freedom from fear. >> aung san suu kyi was first propelled into politics in 1988. the daughter of burma's independence hero, she took to the podium to lead protest rallies for democracy instead of military dictatorship.

her popularity soared but the demonstrations were crushed. the army seized the country in a coupe. long periods of detention for her and military rule for burma. what might happen if she is freed? >> her role is not going to commission in. actually her role is going to increase. the regime is actually taking a huge gamble and despite 22 years of attempts to persecute her and sideline her. >> but others think burma's reclusive generals are so firmly entrenched, they have little to fear from her. >> if it were to happen, this release would be a single step on the 1,000-mile journey. she has been released twice before in this the mid 1990's and early 2000 and nothing has changed in the country. >> all day crowds of supporters gathered outside her house in

rangoon waiting quietly for the news. it is 18 months since her latest incarceration began who she really walks free is uncertain. >> >> she is on the line now from india. thank you for joining us. tell me about your relationship with aung san suu kyi. >> we have known -- we have known each other 50 years. from 1960 onward we have been friends and very close friends, of course, the last 22 years, one has been somewhat out of touch for obvious reasons, but we have been school, college and university friends and it is a deep relationship i would say. >> give us an insight into aung san suu kyi's personality and her nature.

>> that's a tough one, you know, because after all, she has developed very differently over the last two decades but i can tell you a little bit about the way she was when we were young women. when she first came to school, she was withdrawn, gentle, shy, etc. and then over the next few years, she evolved into a strong, self-possessed young woman. when we were in college and then of course when we went on to oxford but if you ask me what is my abiding memory of aung san suu kyi, it is of a strong-willed woman with very, very basic ideas and views and -- came to at the strangest of moments. we might be having a tremendously -- conversation

about something and then she will say something off the top of her head and we would all burst into giggles. that's what suu was like. when we were in college in dell hawaii, she -- in delhi, she enacted a script with great gusto. very unusual in the sense that she had a very different take on life and if you ask me if she is political when we were young women, no, not at all. not at all. >> well, she went back to burma in 1988, i understand, to care for her mother but obviously a very different turn. >> yes. you know, i have often reflected on that. suppose suu hasn't gone back that summer. remember, she went back in about june, if i remember right.

all hell broke loose about a month longer and she went back because her mother had had a stroke and she had gone to tend to her mother. suppose she wasn't there that summer. what would have happened? it is something in the realm of hypothesis. but it is something that does come to one's mind. it is not as though she would have flown out there to take charge of the democratic revolution. it is not as though her family would have said no, this is not the time for you to go. so if you believe in fate and destiny, this is it, that she was fated to be there that summer. >> i understand you passed messages through people going into burma. have you had much contact with her? >> very little. very, very little and the last few years, i think the only time the hotel was kind enough to allow her access to the outside world was when michael passed on. at that point, her friends in

india, spoke to her on the phone. that was in the early to mid 1990's. subsequently we tried but there has been no contact. it became extremely difficult for her sons also to get visas to go to burma to visit her. >> thank you very much for joining us. as the annual pilgrammage continues in saudi arabia there are working on easing traffic jams caused by the huge congregation of vehicles carrying pilgrims to the holy site. we report from mecca. >> china, the largest country in the world is making its technology available to saudi, a deeply religious and conservative country. this railway network is part of the project to help transport million s of pilgrims to the

important location. every pilgrim is required to travel over 14 miles from mecca to the place where the prophet mohammed made his speech to followers. >> they make the trip using any means possible but with that comes traffic jams and the risk of deaths. saudi authorities say -- >> these are the things pilgrims are trying to avoid but the train would operate at 1/3 of its capacity but would not be available for all this year. >> all the pill grim -- pilgrims this year. all this number of cars we want them to use.

the train and we will -- about 3,000. >> the project, which will be fully operational next year, is expected to take up to 35,000 off the streets. >> lennon and mccartney are perhaps the greatest songwriting partnership but is such intimacy special to collaborate? we report on how a famous british author and american singer are building a special musical relationship. >> nick hornby wrote such novels as "about a boy" and "high fidelity" both hit films. the music itself is almost another character in his fiction work and when he met this character, ben folds, the seeds

were planted for a unique transatlantic project. an album called "lonely avenue" with lyrics written by nick hornby and music by nick fold. we asked if this was a match made in artistic heaven or an experiment that looked better on happy? >> ♪ >> for me, it was not unlike any other writing gig. i had to write in a document and think about characters and words and write them down. it wasn't as if i suddenly became a musician in this process. i was paying