>> "bbc world news" is presented by kcet, los angeles. funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, the newman's own foundation, and the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. >> this is "world news" today. our correspondent gives an eyewitness account to the ethnic clashes in china's far west. han chinese take to the streets after uighur protests led to 150 deaths. >> president obama tells russian students they are the last

generation to be born in a divided world. >> in 2009, a great power does not show strength by dominating or demonizing other countries. >> tokyo replaces moscow as the costliest place to live. we will have the full crankiness. -- full rankings. >> jackson fans gathered in los angeles for a tribute to their hero. >> it is 7:00 a.m. in washington, midday in london. in china, a scene of escalating ethnic tensions by the han chinese people and the uighur population. protesters from both communities

have been on the streets. many are carrying weapons. after the death of more than 150 people in clashes on sunday. the remote region in the far west of china has seen growing instability as more han chinese migrated. hundreds of ethnic uighur women demanded the release of people arrested on sunday. many were seen directly challenging the police. they were not there for long. soon after, hundreds of angry han chinese took to the streets armed with weapons. a smashed shops and stores along into uighur -- they smashed shops and stores belonging to uighurs.

we do not have that report, but we can go to shanghai and our correspondent. chris, how significant do you think is now that you have two communities on the street at the same time? >> i think what was going on today was that the han chinese were determined to show that they were able to defend themselves. they were taking back the streets, if you like. use of them with these wooden bats and iron bars. they marched in huge numbers. they confronted the police, but it was not the same kind of confrontation that we saw on sunday, which resulted in so many deaths. they tried to get between the two groups. on the one hand, the huge numbers of han chinese, and on

the other hand, smaller numbers of the uighurs. according to reports, when police tried to create a barrier between the two groups, some in the han community were cheering on the police. it is a concern for the local authorities. there was an appeal for people to come back off the streets, and imposed a curfew. they will be less worried about this than they are about the uighurs. >> the difficulty in making any sort of judgment about this, as far as i know, we do not know who died. 150 people died. we do not know who they were. we have heard about all these arrests. >> on the one hand, the foreign media have been allowed into the city, and have been shown around by the official government minders. they are always accompanied by those official government minders.

on the one hand, we argentina is more open picture of these incidents then we were one year ago with the violence in tibet. on the other hand, we need to keep in mind this is very much a situation in terms of a news story that the chinese are controlling. they may not have complete control of the situation on the street, but they largely control the story that they're telling the rest of the world. that is why we have seen in the coverage that they are a lovely now very much this portrayal of the han chinese as the victims -- that is why they are allowing this the trail of the han chinese as the victims. we should keep in mind that the prism we are seeing this through, the chinese authorities are allowing us to see it. >> president obama has urged

russia to turn from its past to build a strong, prosperous relationship with america. he spoke to young graduates. he said they were the last generation to be born into a divided world. earlier he met with russian prime minister vladimir putin, who he previously accused of being a barrier to progress. >> president obama began his second day with a drive outside moscow. to a crucial meeting with the former president and now prime minister vladimir putin. the man is still widely considered to hold the reins of power here. president obama, just a few days ago, accused him of having 1 foot in the past and the cold war mentality. today he switched on the charm. >> i am aware of the extraordinary work say you have done on behalf of the russian people in your previous role as

president, and in your current role as prime minister. >> the median looks relaxed. mr. obama would have been looking for reassurances that mr. putin backs the agreements signed on monday. -- mediant looks relaxed. the american president returned to the center of moscow to deliver his big speech, a chance to address the russian people. [applause] >> it included an important statement on the controversial of issue of georgia and ukraine to any nato, which moscow opposes. >> america will never a pose a security arrangement on another country. for any country to become a member of nato, a majority of its people must choose to. they must undertake reforms. they must contribute to the mission. let me be clear. nato should be seeking collaboration with russia, not confrontation.

>> the audience of students also heard of the american president stressed that neither country should seek spears of influence in the world. mr. obama also emphasized the importance of democracy and year-old law. >> history shows that governments which serve only their own power do not thrive. governments that represent the will of their people are far likely to descend into failed states. >> and that would have made uncomfortable listening for the russian, government, which has become increasingly authoritarian. bbc news, moscow. >> let's get some reaction on that speech. joining me from the american embassy in london, richard. thank you for being with us. would you accept this was a

somewhat tougher assignment for president obama than some of his other foreign trips? >> president obama started out this assignment in london when he met with the russian president on april 1. at that time, they both agreed it was time to turn a page. the president calls this resetting the relationship. i think the media in moscow over the last two days have shown that that is moving into place -- i see the mediaetings in moscow over the last two days have been shown the. it is indicative of the direction we are going. >> i agree when you look at the students. also, when you look at the picture of prime minister vladimir putin, one got the impression that it was mr. obama is hitting the reset button, and putin hitting the pause button.

>> he is an excellent leader in his country and he will defend the interests of russia. we expect russian leaders to defend russian interests, just as we strongly defend our own. given that context, there are plenty of areas of cooperation. the was the theme of this visit. it is where we can move forward together. there were significant advances on proliferation, arms control, and afghanistan. >> look at one of the nato expansion. president obama said it would need a referendum and would need a reform before new countries like georgia and ukraine joined nato. was this new policy? >> absolutely not. those are the requirements for nato membership since nato began. we are not seeing anything noble. -- anything new.

i take his words at face value. a country has to agree to join nato. it has to be a volunteer, not forced into nato. it has to have a modern military and a military that is, is in of the difference between military and civilian power and that sort of thing. that has been our view since nato's inception. >> what about the u.s. defense shields? he said there was plenty of room for cooperation, but they did not really agree on that. >> the president is taking another look at the defense shields. his focus in this visit -- it will be there if we need it. for countries like iran, which are pursuing ballistic missiles, and we need to be ready to defend ourselves. if we can solve the problem without resorting to defensive missiles, that is all the better. we are working with the russians and other members of

the international community to address that through diplomacy. that is the key. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> u.s. drones have attacked a training camp in pakistan used by the taliban leaders. the missile strike in the tribal area flooded the camp and left 14 people dead. the trump attacked comes as the pakistani -- the attack comes as the pakistani continue its own operations. >> he has told his counterpart that the captured israeli soldier is in good health. he was captured by palestinian militants three years ago. he said he hoped the soldier would be freed in the near future. a commission set up by the president of liberia could force her from office. the truth commission them to the president gave money to charles taylor during the civil war.

the commission has recommended that she be banned from office for 30 years. a memorial has been unveiled in london for the victims of the bomb attacks on the city's transport system four years ago. 52 people were killed when four men blew themselves up of three underground trains and a bus. the memorial is made up of 52 stainless steel pillars, one for each victim. we will have a full business report in 25 minutes. the cost of living around the world. >> japan is the place to watch out for. tokyo has taken the no. 1 spot from moscow. this is all to do with the economic crisis and how it has been affecting currencies throughout the world.

the soaring value of the yen means tokyo is an expensive place to live. interestingly, other places have dropped out. london has fallen out of the top 10 expensive places to live. it is now at 16. new york, which was in 22 position, has now jumped to eight. the cheapest place to live is johannesburg. out of the 143 cities that were surveyed. >> we normally hear from the pope on moral and ethical issues, but what he has been talking about the economy. >> that is right. you send out a letter to roman catholics around the world. he talked about the need to have a new world body with real teeth to restore the global economy. it is clearly timed on the eve

of the g-8 summit in italy. he is appealing to rolled leaders -- world leaders. >> thank you. this is "world news" today. coming up, we returned to china to look at the ethnic balance between united states -- between uighur andhan chinese. michael jackson fans gather for a memorial. >> the government of bolivia it says it has seized and destroyed the largest cocaine processing plant ever discovered. they are calling it a major success in the fight against drug trafficking in bolivia. it is the third largest cocaine producer. last year it stopped cooperating with the u.s. war on drugs.

clack>> the remote jungle provis cover for one of the poorest countries. a huge cocaine processing plant was found in this area in march. the authorities say they have uncovered an even bigger operation. they say it could produce up to 100 kilos of cocaine per day. the interior minister flew in to see for himself. >> this is the most important hit against drug trafficking in a long time. we're hoping that these industrial plants that produce drugs and produce cocaine will not continue. >> previously, they would have been uprooted by the u.s. war on drugs. he says the traditional use of

cocoa for medicinal purposes should not be confused with the drug trade. it set him at odds with the u.s.. he ordered american anti-drug agents out of bolivia last year, accusing them of spaldeen and destabilizing the country. the u.s. suspended trade benefits. and all explains why the bolivian people are so key to trumpet this latest success. bbc news. >> this is "world news" today fm bbc. president obama calls on russia to be a great cover working in partnership with the united states. ethnic conflict in western china, han chinese living in the mainly muslim state, clashed

with uighurs. >> let's get more on those protests in urumqi. our correspondent was there and witnessed the clashes. he sent us this report. >> in the very heart of urumqi, just near people's square. if you just look over to the side, this is a bank. the office workers have come outside. many of them armed themselves with improvised weapons and metal poles. the various groups of han chinese have been marching through the streets with these improvised weapons. people on the sidelines have been doing them. the people we have spoken to say they are trying to protect themselves from the uighur muslim minority.

they say they're trying to protect their property. the authorities have sent tens of thousands of troops. if you look down the street here, you can see these men walked past wit past with theirs or metal poles. there are the authorities with riot shields. there really is a filly among both sides, both the uighurs and also the han chinese that the authorities do not have the situation under control. >> what is the history of the province and why are ethnic tensions coming to the floor? in 1953, the census showed

uighurs comprised 74% of the country paid in the 1950's and 1960's, the central government sent massive numbers of chinese to the area, greatly altering population numbers. the han chinese have drawn from 5% of the population to 40% today. uighurs make up 45%. joining us is our guest. thank you for being with us. those figures are significant. one thinks of china as a homogenous area. actually, it is a patchwork of ethnic differences. >> that is right. in the region, about 1/6 of the whole territory. in terms of ethnic make up, as

we said previously, the ethnic uighurs are the majority. with the immigration of han chinese into the air again, the majority has been heavily diluted -- into the area, the majority has been heavily diluted. the government wanted to say that every its message thethnic, but on the other hand, the uighurs feel they're not treated equally. >> are there any justifications' to signify that ? >> before the founding of the people's republic of china, the uighurs wanted to form a state of their own.

after the people's republic was founded 60 years ago, that was assimilated into the modern china. they feel, for example, some of the policies in the region -- the uighurs had to give up their own language in order to find a better job. most of the uighurs -- they could not practice their religion freely until now. they feel they have been discriminated against. on the other hand, the han chinese, most of them did not want to be there in the first place. it is a very remote place. the han chinese were kind of trance funded from the eastern provinces back to the west -- they were transported from the eastern provinces back to the west. they feel they are discriminated against as well. the local uighurs are against

them. that is very complicated, yes. >> we have to leave it there, but thank you very much. after the shock, the celebration. hundreds of millions of michael jackson fans around the world are preparing to bid farewell to the king of pop. some of the biggest names in music will attend the star- studded memorial service. stevie wonder and mariah carey will sing at the venue. from los angeles, roger reports. >> it is a stellar line up from the world of music, sports, and civil rights. stevie wonder, mariah carey, and even the son of the rev. martin luther king are some of the names that will appear in tribute to michael jackson. these are some of the 17,000

fans who won the chance to attend. they have to prove their identity before getting their passes. these are the golden tickets. organizers have gone to great lengths that only the people who won the tickets receive them. they are already on sale online to thousands of fans. >> for many, their tickets are not for sale. >> i did not have a confirmation that i was going to win. i prayed. i ran back in the house and i logged on. >> 1.6 million applied to be in the audience. there are report some paid huge sums on the promise of tickets. police say it is futile. >> two people tried to scam the systems. they copied the dodgers could become that right away. -- they copied the vouchers. they were kicked out right away.

>> bbc news, los angeles. >> let's get the latest on sports. >> cristiano ronaldo fulfilled a childhood dream. after a great reception on monday night, 80,000 attended just to say hello. the cost real 130 two million dollars to where the number nine shirt. in major league baseball, the blue jays picked up the second win in nine games. seven-six, they emerge victorious against the new york dentes. -- against the new york yankees. their tuin the first inning, ths a captain. did you reach the base? not according to the umpire.

the manager for the yankees does not like it. he is out. the yankees got, a got 7-6. he struck out, the ninth inning and that ended the game. >> thank you very much. escalating ethnic tensions between han chinese and the largely muslim uighur population. >> "bbc world news" is presented by kcet, los angeles. funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, the newman's own foundation, and the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation.