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, and siemens. >> 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? >> somewhere in america, there's a doctor who can peer into the future. there's a nurse who can access in an instant every patient's past. and because the whole hospital is working together, there's a family who can breathe easy

right now. somewhere in america we've 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." >> making the case for religion. and the pope gives it an historic speech to parliament. >> there is increasing margin ionization of religion, particularly christianity. >> on the same day anti- terrorist police in london are arrested six men in connection with a plot to harm the pope. the taliban have vowed to disrupt afghan elections.

welcome to bbc world news. coming up in the program -- karachi and shuts down after a senior pakastani politician is murdered in london. approaching the end of his trip along the indus river, our correspondent discovers the depths of despair among the flood victims of pakistan. >> every time we saw a car in the area, it was surrounded by the people who have been hurt by the floods. the people we are here to help. >> the pope has issued a rallying cry for religion in an historic speech delivered to both houses of parliament. he said the world of faith and

secular rationality needed one another for the good of civilization. allan little reports. ♪ >> the majesty of westminster's great hall pakastani centuries. this is the spot where the catholic martyr thomas mort was sentenced to death by the newly-protestant english states. [applause] with britain's contemporary earthly authority before him, the pope warned of the dangers of growing secularization of life in the west, the marginal as asian of christian --

marginalization of christian values. >> this is a contribution to allied national conversation. i voiced my concern at the increasing marginalization of religion, particularly christianity. [applause] >> as he met successive prime ministers, it seemed a rebuke, however polite, and also a warning. he wants the re-evangelization of the west. the turning back of the secular tied. -- tide. on this, he buys, and ground

with the leader of the anglican -- he finds common ground with the leader of the anglican communion. it is 500 years since the break with rome, 50 cents the two churches began a dialogue aimed at reunification. of goals still separates the two christian traditions. -- a gulf still separates the two christian traditions. the overriding message is how religious belief can find its place again in the public discourse of a secular society, how to make christian values shape the culture of the public square. >> on this, they are united. the archbishop of canterbury articulated his vision of the role of faith and should play in society. >> we do not seek political power or control as churchmen,

or the dominance of the christian faith in the public sphere. but the opportunity to testify, to argue, sometimes to protest, sometimes to affirm, to play our part in any public debate of our societies. ♪ >> it was a long day for the 83- year-old pontiff, ending in another symbolic first. a visit to westminster abbey. >> when we have persuaded our neighbors that the light of faith is a life well lived and joyfully lived. >> the world. restoring religious belief to secular life is their shared purpose. bbc news. >> security is tight in london

after the police arrested six men in connection with an alleged plot against the po. >> just two miles from the heart of westminster where the pope was for most of the dead, -- day, there were searching. it is here that counter- terrorism detectives were acting on a tip, that the cleaners were planning to attack the pontiff during his visit to london. add they are apparently north african, including some algerians. their ages range from 26 to 50. a sixth man was arrested later in north london. scotland yard says the information came in late last night. as they were unable to disprove

it, detectives felt they had to arrest the men first thing this morning. the security policy for the pope's visit has involved a delicate balance between making a religious leader accessible and protecting an international leader. >> what we know is not much more than what you know. we can say that we are totally confident in the work of the police of scotland yard'. we have no particular preoccupation. >> in the back of everyone's mind is how close pope john came to beingii killed in 1981. he suffered massive blood loss after being shot. pope benedict xvi himself was attacked by a woman last christmas eve, although it was not badly hurt.

>> how relaxed do you get, and how close to the public do you get? interestingly enough, in scotland and the other day, for a brief period, the pope got face-to-face with people. there were security personnel very close. >> scotland yard says security arrangements for his visit did not change because of this morning's arrest, and detectives have not so far found anything suspicious. but the six men arrested are still in custody. bbc news, westminster. >> a drill boring a rescue whole has reached the 33 to lay an miners trapped -- chilean miners trapped underground. the drill is called "the machine of miracles" by the families of the miners. three people were killed in kashmir when security forces

opened fire. for the first time, the indian army during the police and paramilitary forces in trying to restore order. this came on the sixth day of curfew in the capital and other parts of the kashmir valley. new figures reveal that hiv infections that declined by more than a quarter of the last decade in sub-saharan africa, the region worst affected by aids. the figures compiled by the united nations world aids program shows that ivory coast, it be a bit, nigeria, in zimbabwe are leading the drop in new infections. paul kagame says that allegations that rwanda and police might have engaged in genocide are absurd. speaking to the bbc during a visit to london, he explained

why he was so enraged by the report. >> the conceptions of making this report was total fraud. the whole idea of the thinking that there was an genocide -- it is flawed. second, the whole process of investigation. nothing is said about how this report came together. if you read the report, -- and then the people behind it. these are people who hate rwanda

or have association with groups in the region that is well known. >> the white house says that there are serious security concerns over the afghan parliamentary elections which are being held saturday. richard holbrooke said the elections were likely to be flawed, but it was significant they were taking place at all. the taliban has warned afghans that they will be punished if they cast ballots. a record number of young afghans are competing. we have this from kabul. >> there is and you look in afghan politics this year. it is style. this 30-year-old tells his team they should emphasized young, educated, and conserve to people. he is one of 100 young afghans have been decided for all the failures of their new

parliamentary democracy, they see it as a future, and a future for them. >> if we want to build a peaceful, prosperous afghanistan, we want to stand up and say, we can bring peace to this country. we can bring dignity to this country. we can bring progress to this country. that is why i am standing on my own people. >> it is a message afghans will vote for. >> we have these new faces. the old mp's are only concerned with their own problems. look. this is full of poor and unemployed people. >> everywhere, reminders of the past. his stronghold is this village outside kabul. it is a former -- he is a former commander, and he is accused of war crimes. the people here voted for him in 2005.

they will again. they tell me he is a strong man who will fight for them in parliament. elections are about looking strong. lunch is provided at headquarters. politics still work in the traditional way. if your powerful, if you have resources, but voters come to year. if you get the both of these tribal elders, you get the vote of their communities, too. he held -- he handed over his weapons years ago. critics say that he should be barred from this poll. but he says he fought with a gun in the war, and now fights with a pen. parliament, he says, is the home of all afghans. in this race for the people's vote, some prefer turbans. some ties.

for one, it is the look of the winner in the u.s. presidential election. what ever choice the afghans make it, it will shape their future. bbc news, kabul. >> you're watching "bbc world news." still to come -- the mosque in a box. immobile per unit for the mobile muslim. prince william has graduated as our royal air force search and rescue helicopter pilot. he will now become part of the country's busiest search and rescue base off the coast of wales. >> he spent the past 19 months progressing through the raf training program. there have been stimulated rescue missions, the kind of operation he will soon be doing for real. flights over the atlantic where ships and yachts can run into trouble, and in the mountains of

snow dunny aware every year his squadron is called out to -- snowdonia where every year his squadron is called out to rescue. he is now part of an operational rescue squadron, and the raf says he has done it on merit. >> he has completed the course successfully, with at least the minimum standards, if not better than that. he is here on his own right. >> initially, william will be the co-pilot of the helicopter. then it all goes well, you will be in demand. those who know him say he is determined to make a success of it, so for the next 18 months, the rest of his life will have to fit around it. while on duty, william will live on the base, ready to respond when the calls for help are received. every year hundreds of find themselves and possibly in mortal danger, and very soon

now, flight lt. william wales will be one of the people coming to their rescue. but the time wasters be where. the raf says anyone hoping to have the future king come to their rescue could be charged for the cost of the operation. bbc news, raf valley. >> you are watching "bbc world news." here are the headlines. pope benedict xvi delivers an address to parliament. he warns religion is under threat across the world. thousands of afghan troops are being deployed to safeguard tomorrow's parliamentary elections. the taliban has threatened to disrupt the polls. it has been nearly two months since the floods in pakistan. the country is struggling to cope with the impact. the u.n. has said the

international community must do much more to help. all this week, our correspondent has been traveling the indus river, charting the damage to local communities. this reports comes from one of the areas hardest hit. >> the families that used to live here had homes, lively goods, and a community. it was all swept away. it is an indication of how desperate people are here that every time we saw a car here, there were surrounded by people affected by the floods. weeks after the disaster struck here, most are dependent on handouts and have no means of helping themselves. >> at least someone got something. by the government. with the local officials. that is what i can honestly tell

you, nobody has died of starvation. >> but it is not all going to be as smooth as the government says. there is not enough aid to go around. this area as soon descend into chaos. frustrated flood victims tired of waiting for food take matters into their own hands, as dozens stormed the aid trucks. the situation becomes more dangerous as authorities try to get the vehicle away from the crowd. in an extraordinary scene, the truck drives away, filled with people still clinging on trying to get rations. it has illustrated the pitiful plight of some many across the nation. bbc news. >> pakistan's biggest city karachi is on high alert after

the death of a politician from the region. he was the leader of the -- one of the leaders of the mqm party. he was killed in london. there have been protests and strikes. we have this report. >> the crowds in north london. hardly be must -- the most obvious place to conduct politics in pakistan. he was a prominent figure in the mqm party, and he was stabbed to death. authorities are investigating. no clear answer has emerged. he was a founding member of this party, which sees itself as an opposing it feudal landlords and championing the working-class says. it is the dominant party in karachi. he sought political asylum because he thought his life was in danger and london would be a

safe haven. the leader of his party has a bodyguard, but they cannot afford bodyguards for other political leaders in exile. besides, they did not believe he was in danger here. this has made them think very differently. at the london offices of the party, they are in mourning for their friend and political colleague. >> we never thought that our lives would be a threat. we are prepared to take risks. to change the country and the people of pakistan. >> there was some sporadic burning and shots fired. overall though, the city had shut down. last month, the assassination of an mqm politician in the city

resulted in serious riots and deaths. there are fears of other trouble. >> he may have enemies within the party or someone from a splinter group, the real mqm, might have carried this out. i would be surprised if there is official involvement here. >> it is still unclear whether this was our random murder or whether the tribal ballistics -- politics of pakistan have come to london in a dangerous fashion. >> a former military chief was found guilty of violating guidelines for the procurement of weapons. he said he would be appealing for the crime, which he could be sentenced for the three years in prison. a polish court has sentenced a man wanted in russia on

terrorism charges. he was released until a decision was made on whether he should be extradited to russia. hurricane karl has been downgraded to a category one storm, with winds of 150 kilometers an hour. the british government has denied suggestions that its cap on immigrants outside the european union is damaging british business. a spokesman says there is no rift within the cabinet. >> days after he became prime minister, david cameron visited a high-tech engineering plant in south wales, listing manufacturing as high on his priority list. now the company has criticized one of his key policies -- the limit of workers outside the european union. the message to ministers is it is damaging business. >> i think it will be difficult

for large companies do have confidence in long-term investment in u.k. if they feel there is going to be a constraint on their ability to bring people in it they cannot find the right people locally. >> are range of businesses are not happy with the new rules. it is understood that a couple of banks have moved operations to the far east because of the emigration restrictions here. they want the government to change the policies, and they found an ally in a senior member of the government. and that is advanced cable, the business secretary. -- vince cable, the business secretary. he has made it plain he sympathizes with the concerns of business. >> they cannot get key staff, management, business engineers, and so on, outside the european union. there is no concealing the fact that this is damaging to the u.k. economy. >> the home office defended the

policy, saying businesses are going to have to reduce their reliance on migrant workers. this has done nothing to help the millions of unemployed. today, officials stressed that message has not changed. the prime minister said there was no evidence that the cap was doing damage to the economy. onay's pro row is on the cap workers. expect more debate before next year. bbc news. >> attorney-general businessman -- a tunisian businessman has come up with a revolutionary idea for those muslims to busy to write. it may raise eyebrows, but he thinks he has hit on a winner. christian fraser reports. >> it is the ultimate for the busy modern livestock. portable, decorative, easy to

carry. it is the mosque in a box. he believes it is the perfect environment for prayer and contemplation. >> prayer is nourishment for the soul. you have to be in the right frame of mind. with all the media that surrounds us, the internet, the wii, the work in the office, you cannot always brought things to go out in an instance. >> it will stand tidily against any wall until it is time to pray and can be set up in the direction of mecca. his box is a retail fort $90 for the basic polystyrene model. it is up to $600 for the super

deluxe version. in a country with a growing population of some 6 million muslims, he may be praying for a tidy little profit. christian fraser, bbc news. >> you can follow up on all of our top stories on our website -- bbc.com/news. and also our facebook page. >> 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. >> 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? >> i'm julia stiles. >> i'm kevin bacon. >> i'm kim cattrall. >> hi, i'm ken burns. >> i'm lili taylor. >> i'm henry louis gates, jr., and public broadcasting is my source for news about the world. >> for intelligent conversation. >> for election coverage you can count on. >> for conversations beyond the sound bites. >> a commitment to journalism. >> for deciding who to vote for. >> i'm kerry washington, and public broadcasting is my source for intelligent connections to my community. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles. presented by kcet, los angeles.