>> this is "bbc world news america." >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions in capital

to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news america." >> this is bbc world news america from washington. the newspaper report and france alleges that american intelligence monitored millions calls.ch phone the u.s. ambassador is summoned to explain. australia's blue mountains are gray with smoke. fire has destroyed hundreds of homes but it might not be the work -- >> a are worried about these blazing merging into one massive fire later in the week.

in greece or chars with abducting this little girl. who is she? where did she come from? police launch a global investigation. welcome to our viewers on public television in america and also around the globe. when you spy on your friends, they don't like it. that is what the u.s. is learning again today as it finds itself in the position of explaining why it might have spied on one of its closest allies. the french newspaper is reporting that the national security agency wanted her to more than 70 million french phone calls and e-mails. we just learned that president obama called president along today to discuss the matter. --what a time to be finished visiting one of your closest allies.

he is meeting with arab league representatives but the latest revelations from edward snowden put a shadow on the trip. thereport was written by snowden to lift the lid on the work. between december and january, 70 million phone calls in france. the u.s. ambassador was summoned for an explanation. it was snooping on terrorists and senior business figures along with members of the french government. infringes on life and was totally unacceptable. we need to be assured that it is going to stop.

france and the u.s. are working closely with syria and on terrorism. protecting the security of our citizens in today's world is a very complicated and very challenging task. our goal is to try to find the right balance between protecting the security and the privacy of our citizens. >> they are criticized for prioritizing their relationship with the u.s. over the interest of their own citizens. it becomes harder to ignore widespread and uninhibited surveillance. noted, theseobama leaders are only too aware that their own intelligence agencies are involved in similar activity. frenchry will meet the minister tomorrow. leaders will be gathering in

summit in the digital economy and they are suggesting france will be pushing for much tighter protection for data and telecommunications. what is the fallout of all of this, really? he is a diplomatic writer for the associated press. the kateri carey said this is about the security of american citizens. --secretary kerry said this is about the security of american citizens. but how does that square with the security argument? >> they say that we are doing the same thing at home. amounts ofe huge data to look for various patterns and trends. whether one chooses to accept it or not is another question but they will make the argument this is all part of keeping america

safe and keeping american allies like the french safe. whether they buy that or not, i don't know. report from aso a german magazine that said that the former mexican president's phone calls were also being monitored. it is not as damaging as one might initially think. course, a public outcry, anger, and outrage. are any of these countries going to stop cooperating or working with the u.s. on issues like syria where they have huge equities? term, there will be some anger from the public. there is a bit of being shocked -- the french,

they do this, too. to the extent this was being done, i don't know. but it's not as if the french don't do surveillance. there is a bit of exasperation that the french have made such a big deal about this. they summoned the ambassador, yes. if this was really a threat to u.s. french ties, you would have the president or the foreign minister calling secretary kerry. >> the brazilians canceled a state visit because of these revelations which seems to be the only concrete fallout so far. you get no indication they are thinking of changing these practices? work will continue, the work of protecting the american

people and protecting american allies. no sense that this is going to change. american allies like the french will basically end up having to suck it up. an area the size of new york city has been destroyed by bushfires in the australian state of new south wales. the situation will get much worse and the fires are out of control to the west of sydney. the next 36 hours are critical. could be calamitous for firefighters with high temperatures and stronger wind driving three fires toward each other to form a massive front in the blue mountains. >> around-the-clock, firefighters are battling for control. the task is massive.

the biggest fire in the blue mountains has a perimeter stretching 200 miles. it is being carried out from the air. on the ground, thousands of firefighters and most of them volunteers. fighting fire with fire. dangerousf before the fighters can get here. merge.e temperatures rose into the high 30s and the real fear is the arrival of strong wind forecast for wednesday. many living here have been watching nervously to see if the fires can be held at a.

>> we can stop worrying about it. it is kind of like the sooner we got here, the sooner we can. >> it is not just his home under threat. a pet possum was injured but still alive. it is not known what damage they have wreaked on the wildlife. hundreds have already been lost. many more homes would go before this is over. >> it is usually one separate area. sydney is cloaked in smoke. a reminder that these fires are uncomfortably close.

>> firefighters hoping that the forecasts are not correct. been killed and 30 injured. a female suicide bomber from the beennce of doug a stan-- we hae sent this report. specialistsosal were at the scene. this appears to have been a suicide bomb attack. the first on public transport in russia in more than three years. the target was a local bus packed with people. the moment it exploded. filmed on a dashboard camera of the kind that is very popular in

russian cars. busnd 40 people were on the at the time, six now dead. most of the rest injured. russian investigators say the explosion was caused by a female suicide bomber. her passport shown on national television says that she was born in one of the troubled republics in russia'a. less than four months to go to the winter olympics, the russian government will find it an uncomfortable reminder of the instability in the nearby caucuses and the ease with which a single suicide bomber can grab the headlines. >> a lot of nervousness ahead of those winter olympics. a teacher is dead and two pupils have been wounded.

the suspected gunman who is also a student was killed as well. no shots were fired by police officers. moved to the nearby high school and class has been canceled. an auction to sell brazil's biggest oilfield. riot police clashed with government protesters, many of them striking oil workers. more than 1000 soldiers were deployed. says itnese government will have to delay the cleanup of six towns and villages around the fukushima nuclear plant. the decontamination was supposed to be finished by march of next year. the government says the cleanup will not be finished until 2017. camp in found in a greece is sparking an investigation. parents have been charged with

an abduction. up four-year-old was picked last week and police want to know who she really is. >> loving adopted terrence -- tarrant, or the kidnappers of an unknown girl for unknown reasons? they face charges that they denied. given to someone who could not look after her. they rallied in their defense. lived waswhere they locked up today. no answer at the door, just signs of a child's life strewn across the front porch. she was crying when the police took her. so what if she is blonde? she was their child. he found her presence unusual.

i don't know how she ended up to her, she says. >> we were attacked and chased away. they believe they are marginalized and that negative stereotypes of them will only be reinforced. many say it is the involvement of a legal activity that created that perception in the first place. it has exposed the lack of social integration here. >> what now for the search of her biological parents? they go missing in europe every year. >> it is very happy and feeling well. securing specific leads that might be useful to the police. of placeseemingly out

girl left here for so long. how far across this community does it stretch? >> 250,000 children go missing in europe every year. you are watching bbc world news america. still to come, sacrificing everything in the hopes of a better life. we start a special series on the perilous journey that many migrants face. the former u.s. federal reserve chairman has given his take on all the political fighting in washington. standoffned why the went out as long as it did. the most powerful figure in american economic policy. time in the chair was the second longest in the central bank's history. here is what he told evan davis

earlier. part ofee with a good what the tea party tries to do and wholly disagree with their tactics. largely because in a democratic society, you have to have certain fundamental things in common where you cannot obviously live together. the u.s. is largely an agreement on our bill of rights. everyone agrees with that. there is no dispute and indeed, arguments in respect to that issue, these are principles that cannot be advocated -- abdicated. berything else has to compromised and negotiated. opera mize is not a pejorative

term. in the way a democratic society functions, they are the with discuss oh issues that can't be discussed for compromise. the proportion of those issues are rising. it is a very fundamental debilitating effect on the society. to get there, you run into very -- today, a memorial service was held in italy for the 366 migrants that died on october 3. the tragedy highlighted the plight of those desperate to escape conflict in new york.

the perilousing on journey they face and the challenges they pose to european governments. migrants had for ports in egypt hoping to board a vessel for italy, malta, or greece. >> lashing the shore in alexandria. europe.the gateway to smugglers take them on a perilous voyage. some pay with their lives. others, the dream of escape has ended here, in detention. we managed to film covertly in this one. even infants have been detained.

wrapped in white, the bodies of three of her daughters, she wanted to take them to safety in sweden. they drowned 10 days ago when a smugglers vessel sank. i was kicking and trying to stay afloat. i looked over and i saw my handicapped daughter was gone. water.t under the goodbye, my child. my other daughter held onto my neck and said, where is my sister? did she drown? i had to tell her that she was saved. water came on top of us. i saw three white lights and i did not know that my third daughter was also gone. syrian refugees are being

treated decently here. that is not how it looks. they say they are being treated like convex and are facing growing hostility. >> they are fleeing these shores. they are welcomed in the past under president morsi. everything changed when he was ousted in july. many say that they have no choice but to go. >> we are concealing their identity because she still has family in damascus. now she is ready to flee egypt. i think this he will be more muscle full to us -- merciful to us. -- the sea will be more merciful

to us. she knows that she can be cheated by the traffickers, arrested by police, or drowned at sea. death than life without dignity, she says. >> there are a few names -- there are few names more powerful than rupert murdoch in media. it dominates much of the english-speaking world. have anrs and channels influence on politics. including the phone hacking that threatens to unravel the organization. we spoke with npr media correspondent about what he found in murdoch's world. you start your book with the , the of rupert murdoch

phones being hacked. it sets up the idea he is going to be chastened, maybe his empire will fall. what you have seen is his effort, coming to grips with a new reality that he can't dictate the terms, perhaps, on -- that he would find a way to do it and persevere, ultimately splitting wo. company in t toething he had or resisted try to create more value. but you are absolutely right, that moment in the summer of 2011, everything seemed at stake. there are stories, i don't

know if they are true, tony blair flying to meet rupert murdoch to get the blessing in the first election campaign. does rupert murdoch really hold that much sway over british politicians? >> it is a spectrum. u.k. and the u.s., you have power at that becomes key moments. at times, veering into domination of the media world that becomes incredible influence. >> there is no indication that rupert murdoch's influences about to decline? >> he allows an unusual degree of autonomy because fox news is so wildly profitable. particularly in their opinion

shows. the threads are probably further to the right then mr. murdoch himself. mindfulclinton was very of his power at the new york post. we can only imagine that she is gearing to make peace again as she gears up for a 2016 run. he was mindful of democrats supporting and koch -- ed koch years ago. it is part of what makes him so influential and powerful. murdoch's world, the last of the old media empire. with halloween fast approaching, there is one more thing we wanted to show you tonight. it is being carved to risible a made from other pumpkins buzzing around it.

at moreped the scales than 2000 pounds. you can find it there at that garden. that is it from us. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard

to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.