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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> thousands line the streets of tucson as gabrielle giffords, the u.s. congresswoman shot in the head is moved to a rehabilitation center. as the protests continue, tunisia's prime minister promises new politics. no date has been set. back at the inquishey, tony blair faces his -- inquiry, tony blair faces his toughest questions yet about going to war. >> welcome to "bbc news." >> coming up later, pope benedict makes an appearance. and shock in the netherlands over pictures of a teenager tethered to a wall in a psychiatric hospital.

>> the american congresswoman, gabrielle giffords, who was shot in the head outside a supermarket has been transferred to a rehabilitation center in texas. six people died in the attack two weeks ago. people lined the streets of tucson in arizona as she have driven to the airport. her am ambulance was. >> few thought she would leave this hospital so soon, less than two weeks since she was hot in the head. congresswoman gabrielle giffords departed to cheer crowds. her office had made the route public.

inside the ambulance she was tearful and smiled when she heard them. from the ambulance, she was carried on to a waiting plane, a specially equipped medical flight. members of her family, a medical team and staff on board for the two-hour journey, on her way, her husband said, to the next phase of her recovery. this will be her home for the coming weeks, maybe months. a rehabilitation facility in houston, renowned for its work with brain injuries. doctors here are encouraged by their initial assessment of ms. giffords. >> she looks spectacular there all ways. from a neurological point of view, she came into the i.c.u., and she was alert, awake, calm. she looked comfortable. i think we were already seeing in interaction, which is important. >> gabrielle giffords was the target of the attack that killed six and wounded more

than a dozen. the alleged gunman faces charges including murder. the attack horrified the nation. they belief the political rhetoric may have spurred on the attack. today the vice president echoed calls for conciliation. >> sort of generic recognition that we have to change the way we talk to one another. we have to change that. [applause] tone matters. >> at the texas rehab center, the congresswoman's tuesday arrived, confident she will recover. but he knows it will take time to assess what if any long-term effects are. the same goes for the country. "bbc news," los angeles. >> as the protests continue,

tunisia's prime minister has prime ministered to leave politics after president ben ali's foul last week. mohammed ghannouchi said he would quit in the shortest time frame. so far a date hasn't been set. david reports. >> another day in the capital of tunisia, bringing more protests, demanding the prime minister's resignation. bring the government down, they chant. those gathered here say the interim administration still contains too many members of the old regime. the prime minister was a key alley of the ousted president, who fell and fled after weeks of unrest, spurred by anger over poverty, unemployment and repression. in all, 78 people have been

killed since protests began last december. the transition government has promised to release around 1,800 political prisoners, but only a minority of them have been set free. this protestor is waiting to united with his son. >> the tunisian government says he has been released, but so far he has not been released, he said. the hunger for change here appears to be gathering momentum. earlier in the day, tunisian transport workers staged their own protest, demanding the removal of company members who they accuse of being corrupt. >> we are the company's employees. we are the first people that cooperate with the police and everything else, and no one offers us any praise. we want to improve the image of the company because it is full of good men. >> as well as the transport

workers protests, there have been other demonstrations elsewhere. one man said the people have been liberated. >> tunisia can sort itself out. the police are with us. the army are with us. we are free. we can do anything we want. >> tunisia's prime minister says he will retire from public life after the planned elections. it is unclear at this stage when those will take place. "bbc news." >> returned to give evidence for the second time to give evidence. during his testimony, the former british prime minister said he regretted and profoundly the loss of life during and after the invasion of iraq. this report contains flash photography. >> there was no slipping through a side door as last time. tony blair walked through the

main entrance. it was two hours before the hearing started, and there were barely a dozen protestors there. he took his place at the witness table. he listened as they explained what the inquiry wanted to clarify. foremost among them, the private letters that mr. blair sent to president george bush in the year leading up to the war. what exactly he had committed to. >> what i was saying to president bush is clear and simple. you can counts on us, but here are the difficulties. i was having to persuade him to take a view radically different farrah any in his administration. what i was saying to him is i am going to be with you in handling it this way. i am not going to push you down this path and then back out when it gets too hot politically, because it is going to get hot politically. for me, very much sew. i believed in this. i thought it was the right thing to do. >> but virtually all the time

mr. blair was making promises to mr. bush, the legality was being questioned by his own toring, peter goldsmith. had he ais sumed that mr. gold-smith would change his mind? >> no. there was a debate still going on. >> lord goldsmith said he was uncomfortable about the language mr. blair used about the law full ns of an invision. >> i was making a political point, but i was saying it not in the sense of a lawyer, but politically. >> there was one section of his testimony from a year ago that mr. blair did want to correct. >> at the conclusion of the last hearing you asked me whether i had any refwrets -- regrets, and i took that as a question about the decision to go to war, and i took

responsibility. that was taken as my meaning that i had no regrets about the loss of life. that was never my meaning nor my intention, and i wanted to make that clear, that of course i regret deeply and profoundly the loss of life, whether from our armed forces, from other nations, the civilians or the iraqi's themselves. it is right to say it, and it is what i feel. thank you. >> quiet, please. be quiet, please. >> from the public gallery, the mother of a pilot killed in iraq had shouted too late, too late. mr. blair's head was down. he did not look around. moments later, the hearing concluded. the former prime minister departed. the questioning was more detailed than last year, but at

no stage was mr. blair discome fitted. his answers were robust and confident. >> he put his case, not enough to persuade the critics, but answers which the inquiry will pour over as they start to prepare their findings. "bbc news" at the iraq inquiry. >> the former haitian leader, jean-claude bobby doc chavez returned. he expressed sorry for those who considered themselves victims of his government. >> authorities in the democratic republic of congo have arrested the commander of a raid. he led the rape of more than 50 women. he has dismissed the

allegations. officials in albania say three people were shot dead on friday in clashes between riot police and protestors. they rallied in the capital city, tirana, calling for a recall. >> osama bin laden appears to be demanding that french soldiers withdraw. the afghan president is making the first official state visit to russian since the soviet invision of his country ended in 1989. he is traveling with a large del it gation of business leaders. he says he is building stronger trade and links with russia. >> the italian prime minister is under yet more pressure over

allegations that he paid for sex with underaged prostitutes. pope benedict xvi has spoken out, following up earlier comments by vatican officials. he says public officials must rediscover their moral roots. >> wild parties, underage sex, prostitution. the devastations allegations that have left berlusconi reeling, his premiereship at its lowest mark. the most damage can't accusation, that he paid for sex with a 17-year-old nicknamed ruby the heart-stealer. she denies the sex, but admits mr. berlusconi gave her 6,000 pounds. twice in three days the prime minister has gone on television in the face of almost universal condemnation. >> there hasn't been any abuse of power or any prostitution. there has been nothing i should

be ashamed of. the accusations are laughable. >> i think it is always the same story about berlusconi. it is really strange. >> it is really disgusting because it has been going on for a long time >> sometimes we feel ashamed. i feel ashamed. >> pope benedict appeared to pass his own judgment during an audience at the vatican. >> without naming mr. berlusconi, the pope spoke of people in public life needing to be committed to a more robust morality. other figures in the catholic church have gone further with bishops calling the scandal a devastating tornado. some say he must now resign. mr. berlusconi today refused to be questioned by magistrates.

but their phone tap evidence about the girls and his money has been leaked to the press. one girl describes mr. berlusconi as a cash machine for which you need no pin. another was asked to dress up as a nurse. you will have to get a white coat with nothing under underneath of course. you know how much he likes playing the patient. a third described the prime minister's residence as a whorehouse. >> i think that this has certainly been the most damaging media event for burial ascione since he has -- berlusconi since he has been prime minister. >> italians are used to him facing allegations of financial crimes, not sexual ones. but he is unlikely to resign with enough alleys for him to hang on through this scandal. "bbc news" in rome.

>> you are watching "bbc news." still to come, the royal image. we hear from american about the british monarchy's future. the former head of europe's entertainment industry has been found guilty by a court in paris. he is to appeal his three-year suspended sentence. here is more from paris. >> he was once the darling of global business. messier took a water utility and turned it into a multinational media. as its share price soared, so did his ego. he called himself master of the world. but first pride, then the fall. the purchase of universal film studios cost a fortune, and then the dot come bubble burst,

and it collapsed. he has been convicted of criminal charges in relation to the universal disaster. the court found that he deliberately misled the market about the company's true financial things and that his 20 million euro golden hand shake was a misuse of funds. >> we just don't understand the steps taken by the court, in particular the miss use of public funds, when it was established that not one cent went into messier's pocket. >> for the shareholders who launched the action against him, it is an important if belated victory. >> the court was not unfair. it heavily sanctioned mr. messier and certain other employees for committing a serious crime, the crime of insider trading, meaning taking advantage of information and

using it to the detriment of the company of which we are shareholders. >> however, the court cleared him on a chird charge. "bbc news," paris. >> you are watching "bbc news." the headlines this hour. the u.s. congresswoman shot in the head in arizona has left the hospital after two weeks. gabrielle giffords is being taken to a rehabilitation center to continue her recovery. tunisia's prime minister has promised to leave politics after the election, but no date has been set. the netherlands has been plunged into a debate that has to deal with violent psychiatric patients, this after images of a tethered teenager appeared on dutch television. the pictures were taken after a tip-off from a whistleblower who works at the institution where the teenager is confined. our correspondent has more.

>> this is 18-year-old brandon filmed at the institution where he has been tethered to the wall every day for the past three years. the length of the leather strep attached to his harness allows him some move, but not much. this was done with the permission of a judge in 2007 after members of staff grew afraid of his violent moods. mental health experts in the netherlands say this is not an isolated case. there may be 40 patients held in similar circumstances. but when these pictures appeared on dutch television this week, there was widespread shock. brandon's mother said he lives like a cage the and -- animal. >> it really hurts to see your own child like this. he never gets any fresh air. even the windows in his own room are sealed shut.

>> politicians were among those expressing concern. this was an emergency debate in parliament where the practice of constant restraint came in for withering criticism. but the government defended the way wran do not has been treated -- brandon has been treated. the deputy health minister visiting the institution where brandon has been confined described the images as truly heroing, but sometimes she said you need to protect people from thells. however, she promised an urgent review of this policy to see if any other methods could be used. chris morris, brussels. >> the russian who is on trial for arms dealing made a brief court appearance on friday in new york to hear his trial would begin later this year on the 12th of september. he stands accused of trafficking arms since the 1990's to dictators in conflict

zones in africa, south america and the middle east. he faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. cuba has suspended pose tal delivery to the united states following a dispute over tightened u.s. security. large numbers of letters and parcels are being refused entry and sent back to cuba. here is our correspondent in hall of fame that. >> it has never been easy for cubans to set letters or parcels to the united states or the or way around. direct mail services between these two former cold war foes was suspended almost half a century ago as a result of the u.s. embargo against this communist-run island. under the obama administration, mail was finally allowed in via other countries such as canada and mexico. but that has ground to a halt. >> the cuban pose tal service

says that it cannot accept in its offices any type of mail destined to the united states. >> cuba has fallen afoul of the recent tightening of anti-terrorism procedures following last year's parcel bomb threat from the yemen. now the company says large numbers of letters and parcels have been refused entry into the u.s. and sent back via third country's airlines. cuba is on the list of terrorists, which the president says is politically motivated and no longer justified. relations have started to ease. several hundred thousand cuban-americans flew to havana

last year to visit cuban-americans after america lifted travel restrictions. and they began discussionings on the re-- resumption of mail services, but these talks have dissolved. >> there is a great deal of excitement surrounding the wedding between prince william and kate middleton. our correspondent has been talk to go a group of americans living here in london. ♪ >> the house of wind so brand has had some recent ups and downs. at the top remains a c.e.o., stable and revered. below those, there have been problems. reputations dent, deals broken. now a new partnership has

emerged. perhaps even a chance for a rebrand. this family has been reduced to the basest of all creatures. we have become actors. we are not a family. >> the film has opened in london, the film about a reluctant king struggling to communicate. it resonates today, a royal family trying to connect with the public, trying to get its message across. that distant thaurt is very british. we are schizophrenic. are we too harsh? in a completely unscientific survey, we wondered what americans living in london thought. we threw in the popcorn and the movie to get them in the mood. >> it held the british union through all the years. the current queen is one of the most respected ever.

the longer you live here, you appreciate what a non-political head of state means. >> there are some who don't seem to be too interested in. but i have met an equal number of people who find it sort of a nice tense of tradition, one that sort of takes the english people back. >> perhaps you should change jobs. >> he can't. >> that is of course the point. you can't change it. barring a major crisis, it's a job for life. kings and queens are unelected and essentially unaccountable. to outsiders living here, that can be heart to get your head around. >> they are so much a part of society. i didn't realize that they have an important constitutional role to play. it doesn't make sense back home in america, and it is still

confusing. but you do see that they play a bigger role than you would have thought. >> there are few bigger roles than royal bride and groom. >> i don't particularly care about the future of the royal family, which is probably a terrible thing to say. but i do see a sentiment that people are excited about the future of the monarchy, where before it didn't seem that way. >> there will be change. but the shape of that change in the hands of two privileged though seemingly grounded young people will ultimately determine what happens next. >> the bbc's correspondent there. now, officials at a uconnian -- you ukranian zoo says one of their crocodiles may need surgery after swallowing a mobile phone. they didn't believe it had been eaten until it began to ring in the croc.

>> 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 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? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.