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, 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? >> canal, "bbc world news -- now, "bbc world news." >> headlines this hour, the end of hope for two british hostages in iraq. they are likely to be dead, victims of a shiite militia. don battles in nigeria, -- gun

battles in nigeria. progress on a military front, but with elections next month, can politics be effective? a car bomb in northern spain. seeing the good in global warming. the green land community celebrates every time an iceberg melts. not even the greatest olympics -- olympic swimmer of all time could beat this swimsuit. michael phelps comes in second at the world championship. it is 7:00 a.m. in washington, 2:00 in the afternoon in baghdad, mid day in the u.k. where the families of two british security guards have waited and hoped against hope

that their family members would be released from captivity in baghdad. the bbc has learned that there very likely to be dead. seized at gunpoint in 2007, the kidnappers, an obscure shiite militia that demanded the release of several members of the american military -- release of several held by the american military. >> they are believed to be two more victims in this long- running iraq hostage tragedy. they were shot dead and the bodies were recovered last month. there is hope that appear moore -- peter moore, their i.t. specialist, is still alive. they were kidnapped more than two years ago in may, 2007.

14 men wearing uniforms of the iraqi police drove up, surrounded the building, taking the hostages to a secure location. four month there was no news. in november there was a video. three months later, another. they called for the release of nine shia iraqis being held by the americans. one year ago, allen asked the british government to try to get them home as soon as possible. it was a low-profile approach. although the families spoke out from time to time, but nothing until last month. thousands of suspected insurgents are being held in iraq and are slowly being released. june 7, one of the nine referred to in the appeal was freed. 12 days later, the two bodies

were recovered and they had been shot sometime earlier. there is no known connection. there is a hope that peter more is alive with a chance of being released. >> with me now is our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams. as this news is digested, i suppose we are trying to find out as much about this organization has weekend. >> it is difficult. it has not been helped by a lack of clarity from baghdad and, from the iraqi government about exactly who they think they are dealing with. it is clear that this group, the band of the righteous, their name has changed over the last couple of years, they are a splinter group from the followers of the cleric.

we do not quite know what the relationship is between this splinter group and iran. they are thought to be people involved in a very audacious attack on american forces a few years ago as a result of that, americans detained a whole bunch of people. 10 of whom have been looking for the release on. >> this is already an issue from a bygone era. we are not getting kidnappings every day in baghdad anymore. >> much less prevalent. there was a time when they knew hundreds of people. some of them just disappeared, ransoms were paid on others. i do not know how many, if any, foreign nationals are being held in iraq. in a statement being released by the families today, that

statement says that we ask those holding the men with compassion while so many are working hard for reconciliation. in the spring it seems that those efforts at reconciliation, bringing those groups in from the cold into the political process might result from -- result in progress. that seemed to trigger a return of two bodies last month. there was a sense that others might follow. it is working out very badly. what we do know is the state of the last five. >> we wait in hope. thank you, paul. hillary clinton is due to meet her british counterpart shortly. on the agenda? afghanistan. looking at recent military advances in ways to persuade the taliban to switch sides, it is a crucial time for the country.

presidential elections are due next month. there is a fear that the insurgents will be out to disrupt them. joining me now, the chair of islamic studies from the american university in washington, d.c. there seems to be something of a strategy. we hear american soldiers talking about where they go, where they will stay in afghanistan. do you think that that will work? >> on one level, yes there is talk of talking to the "good taliban." but between the secretaries, it really helps to look at the big picture, asking hard questions. what is the long term objective of first -- specific american troops in afghanistan, the

strategy, and sharing it with us. we cannot look at one without the other. >> that is some sort of step forward, is it not? >> they have also talked about needing to understand the enemy. >> are they making the right moves? >> they are, but not fast enough. the army has had major operations over the last few months. she belongs to the royal family, telling me that just outside of the capital a lot of work has to be done -- capital. a lot of work has to be done in

the hearts and minds, they are afraid that it is not moving fast enough. >> we tend to think of a fiercely nationalist group of people that do not want interference from foreign orders. >> exactly. david milliban, i would ask that he reads up on his own british history. there is potential interaction between the british and great literature written by the british themselves. the one thing to even not do, which he has recently done, is to call the tribal areas badlands. this is not quite the wild west. they are independent tribes who are very proud of their culture, they have their own customs and traditions. once you demonize people you will create a monolith that

attracts the taliban, giving them renewed oxygen. >> we will have to leave it there. thank you. the nigerian military is continuing operations after days of violence that have left 150 people dead. there are reports suggesting that it could be considerably higher. something like 1000 people inside of an enclave in the northeast of the country, being guarded by more than 200 armed men that are exchanging fire with government forces. it is a very hostile situation there. we are joined by a lecturer in political science from the university. doctor, thank you for joining us. can you give us a sense of the scale of importance of this group? >> this islamic group just started a couple of months back,

although their leaders have taken years, trained to organize in a follow-up. >> ridiculous or not, it seems to have a following, does it not? there is a level of strength of the they have come up against. >> yes. here you can have quite a large population of students. cast your mind back to the red mosque, that is the exact replica of what we have here. the ideology here is different. the teacher in the role cannot say anything unless it is ordained from god.

there's a reason to follow the leader here, who has taught them how to organize and resist authority on these ideological inclinations. >> you see this as less of a religious issue and more perhaps about the reality of life in nigeria, perhaps? >> exactly. this has been brought into our face, because the 10 years of democracy in nigeria have given much. they have been sacrificed over 10 years. these people do not have what it takes in terms of what the state

has failed to provide. they come in this resistance, trying to show that democracy and western education has failed and that is exactly what they're facing. 24 hours back, there was less resistance. >> we are going to have to stop there. thank you for joining us. police in spain are blaming a disparate group for a car bomb in the northern cities. victims were hit mostly by flying glass, destroying part of the police barracks, leaving a crater where police officers and families were sleeping in the building at the time. >> the police barracks, bearing the scars of clearly a powerful

explosion. 14 stories were damaged. the lower floors were completely ripped out. the crater was left in the ground, wreckage was scattered for 70 meters. the attack came at 4:00 in the morning as police officers and their families slept. incredibly, there were only minor injuries. children were amongst those cut by flying glass. eta was blamed. >> we are repulsed by this barbaric act of terrorism. eta came here to kill and do maximum damage. separatist party in march were excluded. last month a police officer was killed by a car bomb.

this latest attack in the center of a historic city has put the authorities on alert. they still have the violent means to make their point. steve kingston, bbc news. >> this is "bbc world news." coming up, as conflict intensifies, in new york the u.n. is ready to hear a special report on somalia. michael phelps is knocked off of his pedestal by this man. is the true winner of the swimsuit? there is one topic on which the united states and china seemed to be able to both agree and disagree at the same time, the need to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. >> two of the world's biggest economies, increasingly

dependent on each other, focusing on politics as well. >> china shares our concerns about iran becoming a nuclear weapons state. the potential for destabilizing the middle east and the gulf is viewed similarly by the chinese as it is by s. >> no mention of north korea. they also have a nuclear program and have threatened to use nuclear weapons mercilessly if provoked. north korea is an ally of china, like iran. the scene between them is the economy, especially trade. a trade deficit has been led to a $17 billion. for its part, china holds vast reserves in u.s. debt. $800 billion in treasury securities. if the value of the dollar

falls, both sides agree, the u.s. should tighten financial regulations to avoid another crisis, while china will boost domestic markets. >> we hope that the united states will speed up preparing sanctions in the early economic recovery to continue to play an important role in promoting and driving economic growth. >> differences have appeared, but for now the two sides are investing in a way forward. >> this is world news today from "bbc world news." the main headline, two british hostages in iraq likely to be dead. security guards seized at

gunpoint in 2007 along with three others. the kidnappers have demanded the release of several kidnappers. hillary clinton is poised for talks on the future of afghanistan to discuss ways to build on military advances, including ways to persuade the taliban to switch sides. the crisis in somalia is intensifying. hundreds have been killed, hundreds of thousands forced to flee the capital. all the result of the intense fighting between the transition government and islamic militias. reporting to headquarters in the next few hours, we have the report. since may, violence has soared. the battle between the weak government and the lives of

groups dedicated to toppling it has intensified. support has been thrown behind the interim administration. given the responsibility of helping somalia out of the crisis, they say that this is the only option. >> because of the african union, the future of this country is definitely determined. taking power by force, this is what someone should understand. >> the area controlled by the government has been steadily shrinking. they hold just small parts of the capital now. the government has been in retreat since the beginning of the year. there was a departure of the ethiopian forces 2.5 years ago. >> they have left, so why are

they killing each other? the answer is some groups are not interested in peace. they are desirous to promote trade and business. >> the unceasing violence has added to overwhelming levels of hunger and security. the u.n. estimates that 3 million are in need of support. that figure is expected to rise as seasonal rains fail again. >> minimum stability that we cannot adapt on. these victims are taken hostage by the marquee of the elite, whoever they are. we have to free the population from hostage takers. >> the african union has 300

troops in somalia, less than the 8000 that they promised. the united nations is supporting the mission, resisting talks. they say that the future of the country and all lie in a legitimate government. >> is that enough? with me now in the studio, muhammed, thank you for joining us. the security council is still pointing towards the union to do the job. not happening, is it? no, they do not have enough forces in mogadishu. the role at the moment does not

seem to be offensive, where they would fight islamists. it seems like everybody is more concerned with containing them, rather than finding a political solution. that can undermine the islamists. >> there was a solution? >> the peace process, the accord was reached for the transitional government to make it work. that has crumbled completely, forgotten and moved on from. more or less basically collapsing, from when the people were very happy to see this new government being led.

there was hope that he would bring the sides together and have a legitimate government. but this kind of transitional government, not for lack of competence and honesty of dealing with the problems at hand. >> whoever it might be, how do you resolve that? do you hand over to this government the weaponry, the hardware to form a real police force? or is that going to create more problems? will it become more than a flaky institution? >> what the international community has been doing so far is bringing them back to more -- mogadishu. others go to climate areas, but at the moment it lacks a legitimacy. there is no system of government

for work and function at the moment. it works as a body that needs to be resuscitated by the international community. what the government should do, going back to mogadishu, they should have started reconciling. they are different groups. groups ready to join government, other groups ready to criticize the government. >> thank you very much indeed. we have the latest sports news now. >> thank you. hello. there was a major shock at the world swimming championships in rome. michael phelps lost for the first time i am an individual race for four years. beaten by a german. afterwards, he said that michael

phelps should not swim again until these new swimsuits are banned. those suits will be banned in competition next year. we are pleased to say that we can speak to the former british swimmer, karen pickering. you have broken two records in your career. put yourself in the position, do you sympathize? >> it is frustrating. they are just not quite sure when the rules are going to come in. they have been weak in making decisions. at the championship, every swimmer has the opportunity to wear whatever they want. they get a choice. it is a level playing field on those terms. >> the coach has indicated that michael felt would not swim again until the ban is in place.

you think that others might follow? >> not sure if it is to do with actually banning the suits are making sure that there's a date on when the rules will come in by and that everyone knows exactly what they are. remember, the suit that he wears is the suit that started this revolution in swimming. it is what he wore when he won his eight titles at the olympic games next year. -- last year. many people question whether or not that was legitimate. >> thank you, karen. we will have to leave it there. >> thanks very much. you are watching "bbc world news." >> "bbc world news" is 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.] , and union bank]

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