>> "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.

>> at no, "bbc world news." >> this is "world news today." , jonathan charles. former american president bill clinton flies in to north korea to try to negotiate the release of two u.s. journalists who were jailed. police detained four men who allegedly planned a third assault on an army base. arrests of three americans who crossed the border from iraq, entered illegally. the meeting for the first time

in 20 years. the palestinian groups fought a comes up with a fresher approach to dealing with israel. also this hour -- >> on the wrong side of europe, condemned to death. >> ukraine's poor health. how the economic and political crisis is having a serious impact on the country house unlocked -- and the new film "9." is 7:00 a.m. in washington, midday in london, 8:00 p.m. in the p'yongyang. where there has been a surprising turn in the troubled relations between north korea and the united states. the former american president, bill clinton, has a ride in the north capitol to try to negotiate the release of two u.s. journalists who were sentenced to 12 years' hard labor. euna lee and orlin were jailed

in june after being convicted of entering the country illegally. the invitation to bill clinton may be a sign that north korea is trying to reach out to the united states amidst the current standoff over its nuclear program. from the south korea capital of seoul -- that of the plane, carrying one of the world's best known politicians, was met by officials from one of its most secretive states. bill clinton's arrival in town gang is a mission of such sensitivity that even as these pictures were being -screened by the world over, there was still no official comment from washington. the state of palm has released a brief details about the purpose, and attempts to secure the release of two american journalists, laura ling, and euna lee, sentenced to 12 years in the no. 3 in jail for crossing the border from china earlier this year. it is not known whether the former president will meet with kim jong il, but there will be

little doubt that this visit is a political gamble by washington, sending a former president to deal face to face with a government that has so recently tested world opinion with a second nuclear test. the only other visit to north korea by a former american president, jimmy carter in 1994, was widely seen as a success, leading to a diplomatic breakthrough during another era of mounting nuclear tension. here in south korea, opinion is divided. some commentators are welcoming the visit, suggesting it could herald a return to dialogue on broader issues. others fear it is simply rewarding bad behavior and will be exploited for maximum propaganda value by p'yongyang. there is, though, so far no sign of that. bill clinton's arrival was covered by north korea's evening television news, but not until after apparently more newsworthy items such as the improving

quality standards at this biscuit factory. john somewheres, bbc news, seoul. >> an analyst at leeds university joins us now but the web can. how do you read this? is this an attempt by the north koreans to get a dialogue going? >> i think it probably is. as was just said, almost everybody who knows what is going on, i would think that the journalists -- unless the talks have been going on with the delegations with the u.n. in new york, so at the very least they will go home -- the route -- >> on the other hand, i suspect

that the north koreans probably want to focus on more than just the two journalists, don't they? >> i am sure you are right. he was greeted, i understand, at the airport in p'yongyang by the deputy foreign minister in north korea. he is the one at the long running six-party talks. where jimmy carter went actually earlier in the clinton presidency, 16 years ago, and really did result in -- but given the militancy of north korea, it is curious what they want. it is not acceptable, and i think many of the -- it will be fascinating. >> thank you very much.

live by web cam. let's take a look at the rest of the our's may news. the biggest tariff threat to australia -- the biggest terror threat to australia in recent times. four men accused of planning a suicide attack on an army base. it is raising concerns of al qaeda's supporters in africa. are also traded correspondent, nick brown, has more. >> the counterterrorism operation was carried out in the middle of the night over 19 addresses. four men have been taken into custody. australian nationals in their early to mid 20's, of lebanese and somali descent. the police believe they have thwarted a planned suicide attack on an australian army base in sydney in which the alleged plotters would have used a semiautomatic weapons to kill military personnel.

>> indicated the alleged offenders were prepared to inflict a sustained attack on military personnel until they themselves were killed. >> police believe the members were affiliated with al-shabab. it is believed one person at least traveled to somalia. the australian prime minister said it shows his country has to be alert to the threat of terrorism. as the australian government has said consistently, there is an enduring threat from terrorism at home here in australia as well as overseas. only two recently we have been reminded of the consequences to this threat in the tragic bombing in which three australians lost their lives. however, i would like to make clear that i am advised that the jakarta bombings are not connected to today's operation.

>> the police have not ruled out further arrests. a 25-year-old man has now been charged with conspiring to commit an act in preparation for or planning a terrorist act. the suspects were brought to this magistrate's court in mel bourne, where one of them was charged with terrorism-related offense. telephone recordings involving four men in somalia, surveillance footage with one of the suspects. police also planned at least one of the suspects has front-line fighting experience in somalia with al-shabab. nick brown, bbc news, sydney. >> also this hour, there are plenty of money to questions but now iran has confirmed that three americans have gone across the border from iraq and have been arrested for illegal entry. the iranian state media is claiming that it is being used for propaganda purposes. one of the journalists is a

free-lance journalist. they were supposed to be hiking along the mountainous frontier when they apparently lost their way. caroline, what is the amazing about all this? >> we have a deputy governor of the kurdistan region as saying that three people, definitely americans, were detained four days ago. we do not know whether they are tourists are not -- "we do not know whether they are terrorisourists or not we have arrested them." it is a mountainous area between kurdistan and iran. they strayed accidentally across the border. obviously there are not many tourists in iraq, but iraq's kurdistan area is safer than the rest of the country. in fact come to the kurdish regional government has been trying to promote tourism there. it seems that they -- the three

of them were in the area, two of them freelance journalist, one of them a woman, and two of them had been apparently studying arabic in damascus. the word from a relative is that they had crossed inadvertently into iran, but obviously the u.s. is very concerned, and yesterday the u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton appealed for their release as soon as possible and said that the u.s. wanted to know their whereabouts. of course you know that the u.s. has no embassy. >> yes, there is no u.s. diplomatic presence in iran. >> so they are pressing for consular access. >> police in the afghan capital of kabul say surgeons have filed -- have fired rockets into the city. one of the rockets landed in the diplomatic district between an

embassy in nato headquarters. the trial of a sudanese woman accused of dressing and easily because she was wearing trousers has been adjourned for a month. she faces 40 lashes if convicted. she argues that it is not forbidden in islam or sudanese law. other south american countries concerned about plans to increase the u.s. presence in colombia. officials say they are concerned. market and financial analysis in 25 minutes. first michele is here. interesting results. >> it was interesting is we saw this company last year effectively dethrone gm as the world's biggest seller of cars, but nonetheless it did not stop the company reporting a lot. the bright side and all this, the company also says it is

getting smaller and they set -- they expect to sell more cars in the months ahead. >> i suppose some of their japanese rivals did quite well and the last quarter? >> absolutely. that is why i think we are seeing the positive sales forecast on the company. they are expecting to improve, so you could argue that maybe efforts by the government could finally be taking hold. >> ubs's the latest report? >> yes, ubs is one of those who has been quite trouble of late, involved in a tax dispute with u.s. authorities, which is now -- which it is now coming close to selling. it has not stop the stampede of u.s. investors taking their money away from ubs. we also have positive news from other european banks, and we will have more of that in the business report. >> see you in about 25 minutes. you are with "world news today."

coming up, a new way for thousands of delegates to have the first leadership convention in 20 years. stay with us. he is known as the truck, the largest exporter of synthetics to the united states now miguel barraso it is under arrest in mexico. authorities say he is the leading member of a drug cartel. >> he was brought from church street to police custody. miguel angel barraso was with his associates and his family members when he was captured. he is accused of being a key logistics' man in the trafficking of amphetamines in the united states. >> he was presumably functioning as a top operator, introducing the cinematic -- the synthetic

drug known as crystal meth into the united states, later in los angeles, el paso, texas, houston, and in one month he set up to one-half metric ton into the united states. >> mexican drug cartels are increasingly diversifying their operations into the production and export of methamphetamine, which has the advantage over cocaine in that it can be produced locally. its supply is believed to be a core business of the familiar cartel, which is based in the western state. last month after one of its leaders was arrested, the cartel went on the offensive, targeting police stations in 10 cities. the bodies of 12 murdered police officers were later dumped on a main road. 5000 additional troops have now been deployed in the state. high-profile arrests like this are designed to demonstrate that the war on drugs in mexico is not a losing battle.

but there are those that see every arrest as simply creating a vacancy to be filled. stephen gibbs, bbc news, mexico city. >> this is "world news today" from bbc world news. our main story so far -- the former u.s. president bill clinton is in north korea on a surprise diplomatic mission seeking the release of two imprisoned american journalists. australian police have records -- have arrested four individuals with ties to a somali terrorist group. the fatah group is aiming to elect a new central committee and ruling council. they're giving it to a younger generation that has grown up fighting israel's occupation of the west bank, captured in the 1967 war.

they seek to regain ground lost to hamas. fatah dominates the palestinian authority, and the americans are trying to broker a peace between them and israel. joining me live as far correspondents. >> here we are at the first thought i conference in 20 years. fatah, of course, which dominated palestinian politics for decades. more than 2000 delegates are here, and what is their aim? to elect new leaders to the party and also to go for a revised political program. it is not as the palestinians watching, but the world as well. fatah is the international community's hope for a political solution to the israeli- palestinian conflict. but there have been no tangible results, and that has helped to eat away at fatah's popularity

over the years, including allegations of corruption and cronyism as well. it was a big slap in the face for fatah at the last palestinian parliamentary election in 2006. the party then said it needed to reform, and there is little evidence of that today. joining me is a fatah official. by the time this conference is over, how will palestinians be persuaded this is a revitalized, a new party. >> they will see a new elected revolutionary council consistent -- consisting of 121 new leaders, and they will see a new committee of 18 people leading the party, injecting new blood into the decision-making bodies of the party. that is a very credible sign for change. >> will that be new young faces, young faces like yours? >> well, we hope so. i am sure there will have a shot. >> what about the new approach to peace?

fatah says it is the party to bring independence and peace to the the palestinians. >> well, we want to liberate our country from an oppressive regime of occupation, the israeli occupation. it takes the will of israel -- and it will to convince the israeli government that they should withdraw. violent resistance is not an option, although an oppressed people can defend itself with any means possible, but we are committed to a peaceful solution. we are committed to every agreement that has been planned between the plo and the israeli government. violence is not the way. >> we have heard of other forms of civil disobedience, for example. >> we hope that the road will be open to nonviolent resistance at confine people in the foreign world to listen to

our demands. we need to fight peacefully against israeli settlement policy in our country, which is taking the land off our feet, and we need to find partners in the international community that can support these people struggle for liberty and freedom. >> what about finding partners back at home? unity has been a problem among palestinians since the death of the former leader, yasser arafat. within your own party and certainly within other parties, hamas has control of the gaza strip. >> unfortunate, hamas has successfully come under the watchful eye of the israeli army, smuggled big amounts of weapons. when the israeli government is told these weapons are dangerous to it, it has launched a war against the gaza and closed the tunnels. so hamas was smuggling weapons, encouraged by the israelis, to take over power in the gaza strip to end the story of the peace process when israel -- so

i think israel is very happy about taking over power by hamas in gaza. >> thank you very much. if you ask the palestinian people here in bethlehem, they are not much interested in internal party politics, but they want a pollock -- a party that can bring peace, prosperity, and a country of their own. so far, has not convinced people. everyone is watching over the next three days. >> now we have got nothing to hide. that is the response from the british government to accusations that its security agents are involved in torture overseas. the parliamentary human rights committee says there has to be an independent inquiry that looks into whether britain was complacent. >> this u.k. residents as he was

tortured in pakistan and morocco, and that british intelligence officials supplied questions and other materials. he is one of a number of people alleging britain colluded in their mistreatment, including a jailed terrorist, though the claims were dismissed by a judge. and the man convicted of being and al qaeda mastermind and who was raised in the house of commons. ministers have refused to answer questions about what if any involvement there was. >> you have a series of allegations, which isn't -- which it is important to recognize have not been tested by inquiry or the courts. that there is no a police -- >> there is now a police

investigation. today's report calls for greater accountability of the security services and says the committee that oversees them should answer to parliament, not the prime minister. >> the controversy in the world of swimming. >> thanks very much indeed. the world swimming championships concluded it in rome, and 43 world records were broken during those two weeks. some were previously untouchable. many of the records have been attributed to the new polyurethanes swimsuits that a lot of these rumors are wearing. the double olympic gold medalist was not wearing one of the new suits -- she refuses to. she was asked what it is like going against competitors whose suits give them and a bandage. >> everyone wants to compare it

to what i did in beijing last year, but also i am very comfortable in the laser. it is a brilliant suit to wear. it is not all about the suit. >> going forward, people like you will be in an advantage in a way because the suit will be banned in january, so that gives you an extra edge going to the games in delhi. >> going back, it is one of those things that i think people are either sponsored by them or they are comfortable in them. i think everybody is looking to going back to the textile once. >> michael schumacher's blade -- bid has been blocked. for a route -- furr three teams

are set by insisting that circuit testing must -- despite that, it seems most people are confused by the prospect of schumacher's return. >> michael is so good. he is going to put in a great performance. i think we will be all a little bit surprised if he won races, but i expected to be up there from the grand prix point of view. we need him competing with us. having michael around i think from our team's point of view is good. >> if you're is parting shot after discovering he had been dropped by the team. the 24-year-old has been lit -- has been released with immediate effect. having failed to score any points this season. the brazilian described him as

an executioner. -- the brazilian authority described him as an executioner. he has not played since the epic wimbledon final last month, but andy roddick is preparing to step on court. he has recovered from the hip injury he did pete -- he picked up in the defeat of roger federer. he is making his return to the court in washington this week, going into the legg mason classic at the second-round stage wednesday after getting a bye. former new york giants plaxico bres has been charged with two felony counts. he was released by the team after an accident where he shot himself in the leg in a nightclub. if convicted, he faces at least 3.5 years in prison and a maximum of 15 years.

that is all the sports. jonathan? >> salina, thank you very much indeed. let me update you on our top story. former american president bill clinton, a surprise visit to north korea. we have a statement by white house press secretary robert gibbs. " we will have no comment. we do not want to jeopardize the success of the former president's mission." he is trying to secure the release of euna lee and laura ling. >> funding for this presentation 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.