>> 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.

the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. 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? >> and now bbc world news. >> welcome to bbc world news today. the headlines -- the war in afghanistan is claiming more civilian casualties. new report from the u.n. which can says residential areas are now part of the battlefield. accused of hacking into the pentagon's computers, a british court rules that gary mckinnon should be extradited to america.

and aung san suu kyi must carry on waiting. a court in burma postponed a verdict in her trial. and killed in questionable circumstances the leader of an islammist uprising in nigeria dies in police custody. also this hour, resurgent eta or an organization flexing its muscles amidst waning support? spain's high alert after two bombings. the world of football mourns bobby robson, the former england and barcelona manager who died at the age of 76. >> it's 7:00 a.m. in washington, midday in london, and 3:30 p.m. in kabul. that's where more civilians are being killed because the afghan battlefield is spreading to residential areas. that's the conclusion drawn by the united nations in a new report. it says that 1,013 died in the first half of this year.

the figure is 24% higher than the same period in 2008. more than half lost their lives because of taliban car bombings and other attacks. international forces are also criticized, though, for carrying out air strikes. >> the sheer intensity of the fighting which this year did not make its customary break for the winter was the reason for the increase in civilian casualties, and the taliban foreign forces and the afghan army were all to blame. >> stay low! >> the u.n. report said the taliban had based themselves in civilian areas to deliberately blur the distinction between combatants and civilians. drawing a military response into areas where there was a high likelihood that civilians would be killed. at the same time, an increase in u.s. and u.k. forces in the south had made the likelihood of civilian casualties higher.

the number of casualties was up 24% since the same time last year. the taliban and other insurgents were blamed for 595 deaths, 310 were killed by afghan governments and foreign forces, and of these, 200 died in air strikes. the u.n. report pointed to the increased use of suicide attacks and roadside bombs by the taliban and other insurgent groups launched near civilian traffic and market places. but even the large increase recorded is likely to be an underestimate as many deaths are not counted. there is no formal process for collecting figures. both u.s. forces and the taliban have recently made statements saying their aim is to protect civilians. the issue of civilian casualties caused by u.s. forces is one of the reasons for a change in leadership in afghanistan. the new commander has put the protection of civilians at the

top of his priorities. meanwhile, this week, it emerged that the taliban have issued a new code of conduct which calls for a minimum of civilian casualties. >> and our correspondent joins us live from kabul. david, i guess this reporting tells us an awful lot about the intensity of what's going on in afghanistan right now. >> yes, i mean, the key thing is not really the total, because as i was hinting in that report, many of these deaths go unreported and really unremembered except by their relatives. there are lots of places in the south where people just buried, they're not formally counted. but the key is not in the total, but in the trend. this is the third year that the u.n. has been carrying out this survey, and for the third year, it's gone up, and it's gone up because there are just so many more soldiers on the ground than there are civilians being caught up in the fighting between the taliban and american and british and other international forces. and indeed, the afghan army has

by no means come out clean in this report. >> and if you look at what the taliban are trying to achieve now, it does seem as though they deliberately want to target civilians in some way, that they are keen to draw the facts with no distinction between civilians and afghan troops. this is a war involving everyone in the country. >> well, that's certainly the conclusion of the u.n. report, but it doesn't really accord with what the taliban has been saying recently. they brought out this code of conduct, was drafted for a while, but it now appears it's in hard copy, that soldiers are carrying it and saying don't waste your life, don't throw away your life on civilian casualties, only focus yourself on military targets. but certainly the u.n. believes there is a sort of cynicism to the taliban and other insurgents, that they carry out attacks on foreign forces where they can. and if civilians get caust in the way, well, i'm not sure that it's quite as you would describe it, that they're all the enemy. the taliban very much want to see and protect civilians in afghanistan for the future of

the country, but they have a cynicism about the tactics that they deploy along the way. >> and i suppose, david, this does underline what the international forces are trying to do. they are trying to move towards reducing the number of air strikes, minimizing civilian casualties. >> well, that's what they say. but again, this report finds that 200 recorded deaths in air strikes during this year, including one major air strike in the west, more than 60 civilians killed in that. so although there has been now this complete change of tack text under the new commander, he says protecting afghan civilian social security our number one priority, that's what we're here for. quite a different political tone from the u.s. forces. of course, there are an awful lot of civilians still on the ground, and they're dropping an awful lot of bombs. and afghan civilians are still being killed in really pretty large numbers eight years on into this war. >> see what the figures are for the second half of this year.

david, thank you very much indeed. now let's look at the rest of this hour. the biggest hacking of military computers of all time, and now he's failed in his latest bid to avoid extradition to the united states. the british high court has just ruled on gary mckinnon's case. he's 43 and suffers from asperger's syndrome. he's accused of hacking into 97 u.s. government computers during a period of heightened security in the wake of the september 11 attacks. amongst the systems that he supposedly got access to were those belonging to the u.s. navy and nasa. in a moment we'll be hearing live from the high court. but first, here's our report. all a the u.s. authorities claim gary mckinnon was responsible for the biggest computer hack of all time. it's alleged he broke into 97 computers at a time of heightened security following the 9/11 attacks. some of those systems belong to the naval weapons station, others to the pentagon and even nasa. gary mckinnon admits he hacked into computers, but denies it was malicious or that he caused

extensive damage. he has fought a long battle against extradition, arguing a trial should be held here instead. >> i'm not trying to get away from my punishment. i'm not saying let me off. i'm saying try me in the u.k. >> gary mckinnon has been diagnosed with asperger's syndrome. his lawyers have argued during hearings this was not given proper consideration and that extradition was disproportionate, but the prosecution serviceless the bulk of the evidence and the alleged harm was in the u.s.. home office lawyers have argue that had extradition is appropriate given the seriousness of the allegations. >> home affairs correspondent is he high court in central london. this is a bit of an unusual case because of the questions that have been raised about his mental condition. >> yes, that was one of the argument which is his lawyers have been advancing, that he's -- that he suffers from asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism, and that's why the british interior minister should not have signed the extradition papers. and indeed, the court does

agree that he will fight extradition to the u.s. and trial and sentenced there, even potential detention, very difficult indeed. they acknowledge his mental health will suffer. but not so much, they say, as to override the importance of him facing trial in america. the united states authorities say it's very serious charges indeed. >> if he's found guilty, what sort of sentence would he face, and snip >> potentially they're talking about up to 70 years in jail. the british government has put out a statement saying they have received assurances from the americans that his health and welfare needs would be met and it's already been accepted in a he wouldn't be put into one of these very rigorous super max jails. nevertheless, i suppose if he were to be extradited and he were facing the prospect of so many years in prison, bearing in mind that the sentence potentially in this country would be much lighter, he might then be tempted to plea bargain. but his lawyers don't even want to get involved in that. they still think they have a few limited cards to play

legally, and certainly also politically. they're also appealing to politicians really to step in here and strengthen their position. >> thank you. also this hour, the u.s. special enjoy to sudan says there's no evidence that keeping sudan on the list of countries that sponsor terrorism. it was recommended that u.s. sanctions against sudan be eased. he said keeping the country on the terrorism blacklist is a political decision and not based on evidence. the draft of a tough new media law is being presented to the national assembly in venezuela. under the proposed legislation, journalists will be sentenced to up to four years in prison. they considered this harmful to the civility of the state. after a ruling in the highest court in the u.k., the law concerning assisted suicide will need to be rewritten. the director of public prosecutions has been ordered to issue new guidance to clarify the circumstances under which someone would be charged with helping a loved one to die.

the long wait goes for burma's pro democracy leader, aung san suu kyi. a court in burma has now postponed the verdict in her high-profile trial until suggest 11. she's aused of breaking the terms of her house arrest. the charges sfrem a bizarre incident in may when an american man swam apparently uninvited across a lake to her rangoon home. this has come under intense international pressure to free aung san suu kyi. bbc is ban from the entering the country, but we have a report. >> this is where the trial of aung san suu kyi is being held, in this prison in rangoon. police reinforcements have been arriving here for the last few days in anticipation of demonstrations that her supporters might stage after an expected verdict this friday. but the court proceedings lasted no more than a few minutes. diplomats who attended the trial said the burmese judges wanted more time to deliberate. >> well, the judges entered the

courtroom. they are now saying it would require some more time to review the case, and that being the next hearing. >> critics of burma's regime say the trial is just a way to keep the woman so many in the country revere as a hero out of next year's elections. aung san suu kyi's house arrest was due to expire this may, but she was arrested just days before the deadline after this man, american citizen john william yettaw, swam to her lakeside home uninvited and stayed two nights in her house. burma's generals say this means she's broken the terms of her house arrest, but her lawyers argue she is innocent and the law that's being invoked to try her is outdated. for millions of ordinary burmese people, aung san suu kyi is a symbol of hope and courage. their last shot, some say, at

democracy. analysts say her popularity is what the burmese generals are afraid of. she has the ability to galvanize huge crowds of supporters. many say if she was freed, she would be able to give burma's people the courage to adget in a way they haven't been able to in the past. >> it's being claimed that he died in a shootout while trying to zprape police custody. new year jan forces shot dead an islammist leader who was captured after an uprising which led to hundreds of death. mohammed yusuf, head of the self-styled taliban, has spear head the revolt which brought violence to nigeria. on the line now is our correspondent. what are the authorities saying happened here? >> well, there is still confusion here as to what actually happened. initial reports from the police say the man has been captured, and our reporter on the ground there alongside journalists and the governor were about to see them, then they made a u-turn.

they were told that he is in a military barracks, then later again they've been asked to stand by for a press briefing later. it was shown that it was -- they were shown pictures of his bullet-ridden body. and the authorities said he was killed in a shootout. >> and i see that international human rights groups, including human rights watch, are already saying this was an unlawful killing. >> absolutely. and that is already drawing the reaction from ordinary nigerians, human rights groups, and other organizations like that. i sfoke one of the human rights activists in the bbc studio, and he sent an email saying they condemn it and they demand full and accurate investigation of what transpired. >> but whatever happens, i suppose this will bring an end to this insurgency. >> most likely. it could be said now that the organization has been mortally wound. their ability to regroup and

launch spectacular attacks have been seen over the last five days is absolutely not at the moment, but definitely the military and the security forces have a deadly flaw in that organization. >> it's an interesting time, isn't it? they're being very hard on this rejolt, but at the same time, where else in nigeria, they've been reaching out to rebels in the niger delta. >> somehow, yeah. i think it's' mix of a lot of problems bedeviling them today, high unemployment rate and other things combined together, crisis here and there, the inability of the authorities to bring down the crime level, and inability of government to some extent to address some of the critical issues facing the country. some real, real issues that need to be tackled. >> thank you very much for joining us. let me just bring you breaking news this hour that we're

getting out of iraq on news agencies from baghdad. we're being told that a string of bomb attacks have targeted muslim shiite worshipers as they emerged on friday. the news agency is saying that 10 people have been killed and 31 wounded. they're quoting officials. reuters is saying seven are dead and 15 are wounded. we'll bring you more on that, of course, as we get it. bbc.com is where you'll also find that breaking news and the background. jamie is now here with business news. >> this g.d.p. figure which we're expecting in just about an hour or so, it's very important, because it really is going to show whether we're coming to the end of this recession. president obama said the other day we're getting to the beginning of the end of the recession. doesn't mean we've got a recovery. in fact, those very words seem to suggest we're getting to the bottom here. whether we can climb up out of it is a completely different

matter, and a recovery is a dfrpblt thing altogether. the thing that we're looking for, and i better explain these figures because they're slightly difficult to understand, it's a rate of decline. we're expecting it to be minus 1.5% over three months. that is an annual rate, but only taken over three months. if the economy will continue to shrink at that rate, then over a whole year, it would decline by 1.5%. it does not mean that during those three months it decline bid 1.5%. that's a common mistake. so it is a rate which we're looking at. and we're thinking it probably will schrenk by that much. >> it does come after very painful contractions in the american economy. and people are still very reluctant to use the word recovery. people are worried it could be a double dip recession. >> i think the one thing that will stop it sinking back is the amount of money the government has been spending, which really hasn't come through properly in full force.

you'll see that at the understand of this year and into the next. that he wants a major factor which will stop us flipping back into the recession, going into this double dip as people sometimes call it. however, there are a lot of things holding back the recovery. look agent just unemployment, looking at the reluctance of banks to lend to companies, actually quite high interest rates which they're charging, never mind the fact that the central bank has interest rates down or close to zero. banks are not willing to lend at low rates, and they're very careful about how much they're lending money. i think those sort of things which are really holding back a recovery, and i think that's what will make it very slow rather than seeing a satisfying end. >> we'll have more in about 25 minutes. thank you. you're with bbc world news. coming up -- two bombing natural week. spain is on high alert for eta's 50th anniversary. and he's one of the biggest names in world football. sir bobby robson died at the age of 76.

stay with us. the british government says it's planning to ban all foreigners living outside the u.k. from having organ transplants in britain's private hospitals. the news follows reports of foreign patients paying to receive organs donated by british people. a new report fond more people in britain would become donors if money was removed from the process. let's get a report from our correspondent. >> stuart is waiting, waiting for a heart transplant that could change his life. he says it's unfair people who aren't british can pay for organs. he's been on the list for more than 1,000 days. >> if you're on dialysis, you can spend 20 years wasting. that's a life wasted. that's a family ruined. that's opportunities missed, gone forever, and you'll never get them back. i waited three years. i have three years of a wasted

life. >> there aren't enough organs available in the u.k. about 8,000 people are waiting. more than 3,500 transplants were carried out last year, mainly kidney and liver. in 199 , more than 600 foreign nationals received organs from dead british donors. we don't have figures on how many paid for the operation. there's no evidence of queue jumping, but the report says the practice might stop people from becoming don't ors. he also wants such operations band. >> it's natural when we're giving something to give it to people that we know or to people who are close to home, people that we relate to, and the n.h.s. is a mutual society in the u.k., much loved by u.k. residents, and the principle of mutual health i think needs to be supported. >> the government agrees and plans to bring the new rules into force by october, though no one will be allowed to pay for an organ donated for free.

>> this is world news today from bbc world news. i'm john -- jonathan charles. the war in afghanistan is claiming more casualties. a new report from the united nations says increased insurgent bombings and air streaks by international forces were the biggest killers. and the british computer hacker who broke into american military and nasa networks lost his latest legal bid to avoid extradition to the united states. they photograph wars, politicians, celebrity, and great events, but the recession, combined with competition from television and the internet, are making old-fashioned photo journalists too expensive. our reporter has been to paris, where one of the best-known photo agencies is on the brenk of bankruptcy, whilst another has been bought by microsoft founder, bill gates. >> they're among the most striking images of the 20th

century, photographs of war and disaster, politicians and performers, artists and sportsmen. there are 10 million of them, a vast archive taken by photographers working in the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's for a french photo agency. sigma seems to be an active photo agency commissioning and selling pictures. all that remains sits archives. now another of the great names of partiesian photo journalism, is fighting for its life. it's come here the french commercial court for seek protection. noel covers war for gamma. he took these pictures ameths the murder of chaos of liberia in 2003. but gamma's owners say they can no long air ford this kind journalism, which some photographers have paid a high price. >> gamma is a photographer

doing this and some of them dying and some disappear. some is for the lie. it's a very high price. >> but around the world, newspapers and magazines hit hard by recession find it cheaper to fill their pages with celebrities. >> 3/4 are to people, and the rates sometimes come from outside. and so what is the place left for the photographers doing their jobs, informing the citizen on what's going on in the world? >> the sigma archive is now housed here in a climate-controlled building near paris. many of the images are being digitized. it's costing millions, but then, bill gates is paying. >> it won't pay in the short

term, and the idea of do you finish it? it's not about a short term. and we're presenting this material for thousands of years, and so the idea is not to find a business that will never work. >> perhaps gamma too will become just an archive, so photographers like noel, who own copyright in their pictures, would have to agree. >> this archive is in gamma. >> and if it doesn't continue? >> it's in my office. >> and you won't let gamma keep it? >> yes, because it's my life, my picture is my life. >> a man who dedicated his life to that, he really was fantastic, bobby robson, former manager, is dead. >> he was mr. football in this country. and actually, in many, many other european countries as well. thanks very much, jonathan. the sad news today is the

former football manager bobby robson in 1976. he coached the national team from 1982 to 1990. he took them to the quarterfinals of the 1986 world cup in mexico and then the semifinals of italia 1990. it wasn't a manager that he made his name m. fans around europe will have very happy memories of the man. he was also open and eager to talk about the game. but it was his wealth of experience that made him so wanted. he won league titles, domestic and rurep european. back in 2003, he about his career. >> not because of the city, all over country europe. so i was proud of that, because i went with young players.

i took a lot of criticism, because the name of the game with any community wins. if you win, you're all right. if you don't, you're not. >> thank you very much indeed. let me just update before you we go on our breaking news this half-hour, and that is there's been a string of attacks on people leaving shiite mosques in baghdad. we're now hearing on reuters the number of testified has risen to 24. and 18 are dead. bbc.com slashe news for the latest. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. the newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. 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? >> i'm julia stiles. >> i'm kevin bacon. >> i'm kim cattrall. >> hi, i'm ken burns. >> i'm lili taylor. >> i'm henry louis gates jr., and public broadcasting is my source for news about the world. >> for intelligent conversation. >> for election coverage you can count on. >> for conversations beyond the sound bites. >> a commitment to journalism. >> for deciding who to vote for. >> i'm kerri washington, and public broadcasting is my source for intelligent connections to my community. >> bbc world news was presented by kcet, los angeles.