"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 boldness to death. the headlines, china grows while others are shrinking. john records growth of nearly 8% as the stimulus package kicks in. fears over house some of the money is spent. the telescan has grown in strength, a warning from an american commander.

troops are hobbled by lack of helicopters in afghanistan. america may be expanding military bases in colombia. what will their neighbors think? india and pakistan tried to get back to better relations after the terror attacks. >> the u.s. space shuttle endeavor finally lift off, destination, international space station. nasa celebrates 40 years since the launch of apollo 11. tom watson rolls back the years at the british open. it is 7:00 in washington, midday

in london, 7:00 in the evening in beijing. the government appears to have pulled off the amazing trick of expanding the economy while most major countries still languish far behind. a growth rate of nearly 8% for the three months to june is an indication of beijing's massive stimulus package. the authorities are the first to admit the growth is patty and may have problems ahead. now the report from shanghai. >> china is back in business sooner than some expected. there were signs of recovery was underway. companies are buying more equipment, hiring more staff. customers are more optimistic. the government statisticians are still cautious. prices are dropping. deflation is not healthy for any economy. there is still serious challenges ahead.

>> the recovery trend is still unstable. the recovery structure is still unbalanced. there are unknown factors in the recovery process. the next phase of development, we need to pull implement the principles of scientific development. >> if that means they want to see improvement in all sectors of the economy before they will say a full-fledged recovery is underway. the government's stimulus package created a lot of jobs and new infrastructure projects. the export sector is still suffering. >> so far, we believe that the main driver has been the government's stimulus, largely in increased fiscal spending. but there has been infrastructure-related investment. china exports continued to decline at the same time. global demand has not contributed positively to china's growth. >> there are many here who feel

the west is behind them. >> this is good news for the rest of us if china is on the road to recovery. probably not strong enough to pull other countries out of the slump. the world's third largest economy, if it had continued to decline, that would have made the global picture a lot worse. bbc news from shanghai. >> a ton analyst is joining me in central londo. let's to about -- an analyst from china is joining tme. >> exports were slowing sharply last year. the domestic economy as well. they've had a massive increase in bank lending and government spending. they have turned the corner. the economy is showing signs of growing strongly again. >> china is not the only country

with the stimulus package. there was the new deal in america, money pumped into the british economy as well. why are the other countries not showing the same turnaround? >> it is the size of china's stimulus package equivalent to 13% of gdp, bigger than the one in the u.s. and the u.k. also, consumers are not over leveraged and not indebted as they are in the u.s. and the uk, so they are already showing signs of recovery. the banking sector does not have any toxic loans. they've been increasing lending rapidly, driving growth. >> simply spending more money on stimulus packages in europe and america would not help things because of the other two things you spoke about. >> that's right. china does not suffer as many problems as the u.k. and the

u.s. does. the banking sector is largely state-owned in china. the government got the banks to start lending. >> what about the pitfalls? authorities there, themselves, suggest there are problems ahead. >> this is not the broad based recover china needs. exports are still weak. until they start to recover, then china will say its recovery is no longer patchy. some of the money is going to the stock market's. finally, most of their recovery is being driven by government spending. until the private sector improves, it won't be a full- blown recovery china and the world needs. thank you for your time. the number of foreign troops who've been killed in

afghanistan is already equal to the highest for any month in the eight-year old war. america's highest ranking military figure admiral michael mullen says the taliban are much more violent and much better organized than they were. he spoke in an exclusive interview with the bbc. >> people ask me how long? i don't know. i know it has gotten progressively worse over the last three years or so, since 2006. the taliban has gotten much better, much more violent and much more organized. so there's going to be fighting that is associated with this. but that is not the main effort. in the end, if we get it right for the afghan people, the afghan people will turn the caliban out. >> america's main military partner in afghanistan, the u.k., is under criticism for the lack of helicopters provided to

british troops fighting the tello baaliban. it's undermining current operations. commanders in the field are not able to undertake valued operations because of lack of helicopters. that is a bleak assessment from admiral mullen, isn't it? >> that's right. it's clear the admiral think it's going to be a hard struggle. the pakistan army trying to root out the pakistani talha band. the fight has begun in earnest in the way we have not seen in the last couple of years. >> -- the pakistan-- pakistani .

>> how are they stronger, the taliban? >> we spent most of those eight years guarding coupkabul. it's a couple of years before the international coalitions went to the south. then in that time the taliban regrouped on the other side of the border. we did not spent those eight years as aggressively as was required. >> then there's the question, are we up for it? we have criticism in britain. none of helicopters. >> the great british-afghan debate has begun. a lot of british people say 9000 troops, can they do what they are being required to do? it is important to look at what the sources on the ground say. there is much greater optimism on the ground than what we see back here. there's a feeling that finally

with the american uplift of 4000 marines who have arrived and 17,000 additional troops which are on the way will make a difference. >> the american man there says the enemy is tougher than ever. >> counterinsurgency of the most complex kind of warfare there is. it is important that the admiral recognizes how difficult it's going to be, knowing the enemy is half the battle. there's nothing else to say that we need to stick to it. we've begun in earnest. it's important to continue. >> thank you. there's extensive coverage of the afghan war on our website. there you can see the latest news. there's lots of background and analysis, including maps and a detailed look at who the taliban are. bbc.com/news. some other stories. the honduran government has

imposed a curfew because of the threat of unrest of supporters of ousted president zelaya. the interim leader mitch belletti says people restore order, provided mr. zelaya is prevented from regaining power. and one man says he will oversee the investigation into the killing of a prominent russian activist. he said the murder was provocative. the authority in chechnya has been linked to the murder. a full-scale investigation in iran as to what caused the crash of the caspian airline plane. 168 people killed on a flight to armenia. the damaged black box was found. the topix and get some clues as to how the plane came down. the colombian government is close to sealing an agreement with the u.s. that would make

columbia a base for american military and some of america. it would get access to three air bases in colombia. likely to be opposed by those arguing columbia's sovereignty is being compromised. >> the concept of increasing american military presence here is controversial even before an agreement is finalized. the bases would be used against narcotics trafficking and terrorism. america is having to move year partly because neighboring ecuador is refusing to renew an agreement. on the grounds that it infringes on national sovereignty. that is why columbia is treading carefully. >> this agreement does not include the creation of new american bases on colombian territory. it gives the u.s. greater access to our bases. columbia is only allowing a maximum of 800 military personnel and 600 contractors. >> for longtime columbia and the

u.s. have been military allies in attempts to end the cocaine trade. but this is not an isolated issue. politically, it becomes entangled with left-wing guerrilla movements and america's overall involvement in latin america. conjuring up alliances from the cold war. that was when daniel ortega of nicaragua became a prime target after he overthrew an american backed dictator. the war there became central to u.s. foreign policy. but ortega is now the country's democratically elected president. morales in bolivia. since colonial times, he tells the people, we have been fighting against invasion and oppression. he's been at odds with washington after he expelled the american ambassador last year. hugo chavez of venezuela, seen with his zero fidel castro,

both men for many years fo against america. the increased american military presence in columbia raises concerns washington might once again be taking sides between left and right wing governments in the region. bbc news reporting. >> this is world news today. coming up, it is a sellout show in cuba as the u.k. royal ballet arrives, the biggest performance since the bolshoi. they were driven from their homes, victims of racial violence. they've left northern ireland after a series of attacks. there in romania trying to rebuild their lives. we have been to see some of them in a village there. >> from northern ireland to northern romania.

it rains here as well. when there is no running water -- when there ithey go out on tr water. the families are in poverty. johann spent two months in belfast and he's back. he's not earn enough to fix his house. there is no paid work, so they travel abroad. france, italy, northern ireland. wherever they feel there might be an opportunity. >> the people in ireland were very kind to us. we also respected them. they saw that we honest and they respected us. >> when people can stay, you can see the difference. joseph completely rebuild his house with the money earned in northern ireland. local organizations say the only open the children. >-- only hope in the children.

>> for adults there's very little hope to have a new mentality to be integrated into the society. but it's all about the young people. but the people are poor, but not stupid. they know how to survive. they've been surviving like this for centuries. there's a lot of good will between romania and the european union. the challenge is how to use it to help these people picked themselves up out of the mud. bbc news reporting from northwest rumania. >> this is world news today from bbc world news. a man deadlines, china's economy is growing at a faster rate than expected. gdp expanded by nearly 8% in the last three months. the taliban in afghanistan are more violent and better

organized, according to the head of the u.s. joint chiefs of staff. he spoke to the bbc. the british embassy is about to debate the war. the indian and pakistan prime ministers have taken part in a rare meeting in sharm el-sheikh. they've been attending the nonaligned movement summit hosted by egypt. they've issued a communique describing their encounter as cordial and constructive. joining me from sharm el-sheikh is our reporter pereta nalanda, this communiqu-- is all reporte. yolanda. >> terrorism was the first thing mentioned in the joint statement. there were the mumbai bombings last year. both ministers say the meeting

has been cordial. they both say terrorism is the main focus. they need to bring the perpetrators of those attacks to justice, they agree. india is holding pakistan militants responsible. the pakistani prime minister says pakistan is doing everything in its power in this regard. we were told adel cear was handed over by pakistan to india -- we were told that daya documt was handed over toby pakistan to india on that. >> any practical steps coming out of this? >> we have yet to get a full briefing from the prime ministers. they held long talks that went on longer than expected over a 2.5 hours. journalists waited for briefings afterwards. those have not been given yet. we were told to come back for

the closing statements and that we would hear more later in terms of what concrete steps were being announced. the fact that the talks went on for so long seems to be a positive sign. it was more than most of the journalists were expecting. >> from the view of people in the subcontinent, these are two nuclear powers. it is important. >> i did not quite hear you. but these two powers have been very important. they are both major economic powers. india in particular. india is expecting a visit from the u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton. she will want to hear that these peace talks are on the road to being restarted. that's important for the u.s., which wants pakistan's attention focused to its western border with afghanistan because of taliban militants.

>> that you. a month since the iran pose a disputed presidential election. street protests followed, in which 26 people were killed in the violence and hundreds were arrested. speaking to ordinary iranians in the country is no easy task. there are restrictions imposed on journalists including the bbc. our correspondent managed to meet people and the iraqi border town for many sent this report. >> since the crackdown on the demonstrations last month, it's hard to find out what exactly is going on over there. some foreign journalists have been expelled from iran. others have had their movements severely restricted. we have not been able to get any idea about what's going on outside the capital in provincial towns and villages. one way we can do that is by being at a border post like this and try to speak to the people crossing from iran into iraq. they do that on a daily basis here. i have to say that most people

have been very nervous about speaking to me, told foreign journalists. some have refused. others have said are not ready to go on camera, because they say there are secret service, iranian secret service agents you're watching and listening on the iraqi side of the border, they say. i managed to speak to one man named habib. in some little town not far from here, but inside iran. he said there was a coup d'etat by ahmadinejad. he believes ahmadinejad stole the election. he said we have the right to press dissipate in the types of demonstrations in iran, but it was -- he said he wanted to participate in the types of demonstrations like there were in the capital, but it was not possible. another man told me he was

supportive of ahmadinejad because he helps poor people. he helped me by my truck, he said. everyone pretty much said the demonstrations are over. some people say there is still a heightened police presence, but no more demonstrations. that's for sure. and all the people were deeply nervous about speaking to a foreign journalist. >> thank you, gabriel. the uk's royal ballet has arrived in havana for its first visit to cuba. it's putting on five days of shows. tickets sold out within hours. locals with poulticing the first malley -- first major ballet company in the country since the bolshoi many years ago. >> all of the royal ballet's 96 dancers have come to havana along with technical and artistic staff. the local press have dubbed it the cultural event of the year.

the driving force behind its is the company's cuban-born star named carlos acosta. >> i always dreamed i could come and show my people what i have learned all these years in the royal ballet. the dream to come back to cuba. >> clouds were gathering outside havana pose a grand theater hours before opening night. -- crowds were gathering. the first such show in 30 years. alicia, the founder of the cuban national ballet was was possible for this show. >> classical ballet can be repetitive, but we are excited to see something new and different, this woman said. this man said he felt privileged to finally get to see the royal ballet.

tickets for all five performances sold out within hours. they have directed giant screens next to the theater for those not able to get in so they can watch it live. the visit is partly to give cubans a chance to see works that have never been performed on the island before, like this one choreographed by wayne mcgregor. but the rest are timeless classics, fresh versions of dances that audiences here know very well. . acost carlos acosta rose to the occasion, something they will remember for years ahea. >> now to the sports news. a blast from the past. >> tom watson setting the pace.

the championship in golf. 138th edition under way. tiger woods is the main headline. the 15th major title for him. playing at the course on the west coast of scotland for the first time in his career. there's a 70 year-old japanese player as well. after 12 holes tiger woods was 1 under par. westwood was three under par. tom watson at the age of 59 was looking very good indeed. the americans share the lead. the club house lead, that belongs to the australian. the 1989 champion is back in the clubhouse. i believe we can hear from him

now. >> it was perfect. as nice as it could get. i saw the first time. last year earlier was not good. but today, and it is so perfect out there, but the course could not play any easier. it is still hard, but it plays as easy as it possibly could today. >> that's it. >> thank you very much. we have gotten on the talks between india and pakistan while we've been on the air. "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.]