>> "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. >> if it fell added the sky, 168 killed. hillary clinton reaches out. the door still open she says for nuclear talks. ed >> we remain engaged with -- we remain ready to engage with iran, but the time is now. the opportunity will not remain open indefinitely. >> the price of the free speech

in russia's republics. ed will come. -- welcome. coming up, will it be six times lucky? space shuttle endeavour scheduled to lift off. and the all -- and the world's oldest mom dies. >> hello to you. witnesses talk about it simply falling out of the sky. the russian-built 7908 caspian took off. 168 people on board. it crashed minutes later just

north of the iranian capital. it seems no one survived. this report from our correspondent. >> in armenia, relatives took in the news that the russian-made caspian airlines plane crashed with no survivors. it went down shortly after takeoff. eyewitnesses said the plane suddenly plummeted from the sky, gouging of this huge crater. some spoke of the plane circling for a few minutes, as though the pilot were looking for an emergency landing site. others say the tail was on fire. >> my brother was only a few minutes away. the aircraft all of a sudden he fell out of the sky. exploded on impact. where you see the crater. >> most of those on board were armenian and georgian, but the

passengers included eight members of iran's youth judo team on their way to train in our media. -- in armenia. the safety record in iran it is not good. investigations have begun to find out the precise cause of the crash. the presidents of iran and armenia sent condolences to the families of the victims. the armenians declared thursday as a day of mourning. bbc news. >> let's take you live to florida. the space shuttle is about to take off from the launch pad. >> we have main engine start. four, three, two, one. booster ignition and liftoff. fulfiling japan's hope for an out of this world space

laboratory. >> there will be some celebrating their. -- there. the launch has been attempted five times. there have been problems including lightning strikes. if the orbiter had not headed off today, nasa would have had to wait to the end of the month. there are only a handful of space shuttle missions left. nasa is keen to finish building the international space station of course, before this iconic spacecraft is gone for good. this is its 60th mission. the space shuttle endeavour there. >> of throttle up. >> u.s. relations with iran may

be strained after elections, but today, the u.s. secretary of state said the offer of talks is on the table. hillary clinton said america would discuss the nuclear program, but warned the offer would not be on the table forever. >> neither the president nor i have aleutian said dialogue with the islamic republic will guarantee -- have illusions that dialogue with the islamic republic will guarantee success. we also understand the importance of offering to engage iran and giving its readers a clear choice -- whether to join the international community as a responsible member or continue down a path to further isolation. direct talks provide the best vehicle for presenting and explaining that choice. that is why we offered iran's leaders and unmistakeable opportunity. iran does not have a right to clear, nuclear and military

capacity. >> hillary clinton there. the tone of her speech does suggest the obama administration is set lead changing its stance toward iran. >> i do not think there is anything new there. i think clinton is trying to inject a note of silliness in u.s. policy. why? this administration -- in jack -- inject a note of saline -- for -- steeliness in u.s. policy. nothing has come of the obama administration's policy, and they run the risk of appearing in the '90s. i think hillary clinton is keen to make the policy appear more robust. that is why she said this offer of engagement would not be there forever. iran has to take it sooner,

rather than later. we hear that elsewhere in washington. the president is considering giving them perhaps another two or three months. and then they would go back to the united nations and push for a different course of action. >> as to say, not much has come from the approaches so far. the situation in iran is complicated. is the expectation much more will come from the stacks >> the speech that hillary clinton gave today, she gave for a number of reasons. it was directed to the washington elite. as for -- this was for washington policymakers. she has been injured for the past month. she broke her elbow. this is her coming back onto the scene. i do not think it was designed to lay down specific policy markers. i think, as much the american domestic consumption is designed to remind people she is back,

the obama administration has as strong policy vision. they will leverage america's smart power, as they'd like to call it these days. they wish to shore up the obama administration's foriegn policy at this. >> more top stories for you from around the world. french officials are saying two people were killed in an explosion in the east of the country. this is a chemicals plant. several others were injured in the blast. the cause is not yet clear. the plant makes material such as polystyrene. officials in mexico say 12 people have been found tortured and shot dead. 11 men and one woman were killed. police were in an intense struggle with drug gangs. over the weekend, police

arrested an individual accused of having one of the gangs. our rise in jobless people in britain. the figures for the three-month testament show a jump that is the biggest since records began nearly 40 years ago. in nigeria, there will be a 60- day cease-fire. this is a response to the release of the leader as an amnesty deal. they want a fair distribution of all revenues. >> that is all horribly familiar. a prominent human rights activist kidnapped and found dead. the body of natalia estemirova has been discovered. she had recently been investigating public executions in the region. she was a campaigner and close friends of activist involved in

similar work in similarly murder. this does again raised questions about russia's partners in chechnya. we have more from moscow. >> this is natalia estemirova, working with the bbc crew in chechnya last month. this 50-year-old single mother had a passion for one thing. justice. 10 years ago, moscow launched an incredibly brutal and discovered -- and destructive war to take control of chechnya. natalia estemirova documented the massive abuses committed by russian troops. >> i need met the members of the families whose relatives were kidnapped. i could see how they would weaken and die without news regarding their relatives. >> she helped journalists like me continue to document the abuses going on there today -- like this house, burned down by

government troops in retribution for a rebel attack. >> if you have the holy koran in the house, you can take it with you. >> but nothing else? >> nothing. >> she gave the bbc this video of a young chechen woman murdered. >> when people want information about chechnya, they would call natasha. with natasha gone, frankly, we will be able to get information from chechnya. >> that would suit this man very well. this is chechnya's warlord president. his men are still fighting a very dirty war in chechnya, one would prefer the outside world did not know about.

this is another brave russian woman who wrote about the war in chechnya. her name was anna politkovskaya. she was shot dead. officials say the murderer will be found. who is going to step forward to tell the world about the horrors going on in places like chechnya? abc news, in moscow. >> criticism of israel in gaza has so far come from human rights organizations. the israeli government has shrugged the criticism of. now soldiers who took part in the mission of claimed their army was guilty of abuses, using palestinian civilians as human

shields. these could amount to war crimes. >> the israeli army had a ready answer to accusations of war crimes in gaza. this was palestinian propaganda. now, claims of abuse are being made by israeli soldiers. it was policy to do this to gaza, and since breaking the silence, they describe rules of engagement that did not distinguish between combatants and civilians. >> everything you are seeing now is the result of a deliberate is really policy of destruction, according to breaking the silence. the key allegation is that the abuses were systematic and not the result of a few bad apples. above all, orders were given to prevent israeli casualties were ever the cost in palestinian life. one soldier statement said "the minute we got to our starting

line, we began to fire at suspect places. you do not see a terrorist, fire at the window. in urban warfare, anyone is your enemy. no one is innocent." another soldier said that there are people who deserve to go to jail. in shown at the ruins of this man's home and he explains how he was used as human shields. the soldiers handcuffed me, he says. they controlled every step. in this manner, he says he was forced to clear houses containing palestinian gunman. this was a clear breach of the law of war. exactly the same incident as described by one of the israeli soldiers who spoke to breaking the silence. a palestinian neighbor was brought in, he says. it was procedure. the soldier places his gun barrel on the civilian's

soldier. >> the idea -- yet another human rights organization is presenting to israel and the world testimony without fully investigating details or credibility. furthermore, this organization denied the idea of presenting the report to idf prior to publication. >> the israeli military says the went to extraordinary lengths. leaflets were dropped in areas soldiers were about to enter, warning them to leave. the israeli army's actions have been questioned. in gaza, bbc news. >> stay with us, if you can. edit troops have left baghdad.

we find out if people feel safer there. >> china has urged citizens in algeria to be vigilant amid reports the militant group may seek revenge for moslem uighur s in china. almost 180 people were killed. 1600 people were wounded. a correspondent in beijing reports. >> the chinese embassy in algeria has issued a warning. chinese internationals should be extra vigilant. it says is especially calling on organizations and personnel to raise the security awareness and strengthened security measures. this heightened alert follows alarming news from a security consultant who says anne al-

qaeda-affiliated groups as they would target china following the death of muslims. of course, those who died were chinese, although a number of muslims did die. it was a significant security operation following the riots in uighur neighborhoods. china of course has a considerable number of people and interests in africa. it has been building new railways, roads and using natural resources to fuel its economic boom. a significant chinese interest in africa. but the chinese public have been kidnapped and threatened before.

this is across china. they have seen i direct threat from al-qaeda. -- a direct threat from al- qaeda. >> the latest headlines for you. relatives are grieving for the 168 people killed in iran.

hillary clinton has told iran the door is still open for nuclear talks, but she warned there is a limit to washington's patience. still, with american foreign policy, one of president obama's first acts in the white house was to sign an executive order calling for the closure of guantanamo bay within a year. six months later, legal proceedings are drawing on and our correspondent has returned to guantanamo for today's proceedings involving five of the men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks. >> nothing much seems to have changed under the obama administration at guantanamo, even though president bush's policies were strongly criticized by barack obama and his supporters. they are keeping the trial system in place. the trials are not actually happening, but they have been taking place today and he faces

the same criticism from the detainees. they say the system is not fair, even if barack obama makes changes as he plans to do. those criticisms will once again be levelled at barack obama, even if the trials to take place at guantanamo. let's say at guantanamo or a u.s. military base on the mainland. there are still to under 29 detainees being held. only 11 have been transferred in the last six months. -- there are still 229 detainees being held. that gives you an idea of how difficult that is for barack obama. you get the sense that the timeline of promising to close down guantanamo by january will slip. it is a very difficult promise to make that happen within six months. >> from guantanamo bay. in the middle east, two weeks since the american forces pulled out of barack's -- the rocky's

towns and cities. -- iraq's towns and cities. normal life is still something of a relative concept. >> american forces see their military what trot, and american culture appears to be taken -- from iraq, and american culture appears to be taking root. they host one of the first ever performances of homegrown rabb. -- rap. >> it is not so bad. and there are not so many in that crowd. >> things are a lot better than they used to be. >> there is all that stuff.

it is cool. it is cold. >> so is life returning to normal? an ordinary man providing an everyday service for his community. but just the other day, as they are right to work, he discovered a bomb planted outside the bakery shop. >> the bag was only a few meters away. if it had gone off, the people in the bakery, the restaurant next door would have been hurt. >> he has come to expect such random danger, but he says clearly this is not normal life. one of the surest barometers of the sense of security here in baghdad is the city street cafes. during the worst of the violence, the street would be absolutely anti at this time of the evening. now, you can save that it -- you can see that it is not packed.

but there are people on the street. this man started coming back here at the beginning of the year. they have agreed things have gotten much better. but he says they still get nervous about something else. >> just a couple of hours after we spoke to those men, around the corner here in this busy area, bombs went off killing one on the spot and wounding more. these people were enjoying their evening and all this and young people to anywhere in the world. here in iraq, this is not even make the news bulletins anymore. we know iraqis have accepted this as an inevitable part of everyday life. abc news, in baghdad. >> another -- bbc news, in baghdad. >> another national park of india in the central state.

it was a leader in the conservation of royal bengal tigers. within three years, all of the parks will have lost all tigers. now this can only add to controversy with the debate about fertility treatments. how old is too old to have it? the world's oldest mother has died, three years after she gave birth to twins at the age of 66. maria del carmen bousada de lara conceived after lying about her age to a clinic in the united states. >> maria del carmen bousada de lara lied about her age to a clinic in the united states. her twins were born when she was a week short of persichetti's seventh birthday. that made her the oldest mother ever.

-- all week short of her 67th birthday. now she has died of cancer. neighbors expressed their surprise today. >> i have often seen the children and they look terrific. the mother looked great to -- great, too. i used to wonder if she was the grandmother. i was surprised when she said, no, no. i am the mother. >> in the story of the world's oldest mother became a worldwide talking point. fertility experts condemn her actions as selfish and unnatural. her death will reopen the debate about the ethics of reproductive science. in spain, there are no absolute age limits for ivf, but most clinics will refuse to treat women over 50. she said she would look for a younger man to help look for her children, but there is no word from her family about who will

now look after the twins. >> a brief reminder of our main news for you. all passengers, 168, had died on a caspian air flight. it was mostly armenian and iranian passengers. it is difficult to obtain replacement parts for these kinds of plants. thank you for being with us. you can get more anytime you want on bbc.com. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles. >> funding for this presentation was 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. macarthur foundation.