>> "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, and union bank.

>> and now the news. >> a freed from hard labour in north korea -- two american journalists grateful to their savior. >> when we walked through the door, we saw, standing before us, president bill clinton. [applause] >> he got what he wanted, but can he govern a divided nation? president ahmenijad is sworn in.

throwing stones -- palestinians say they have been abused in custody of israeli soldiers. welcome. we are broadcast on pbs in america. coming up later for you -- an unlikely savior for the humble honeybee. in the last place you might think of. picture perfect pass. we take a look. -- picture-perfect pets. hello to you. after the surprise, tears, and algiers, the speculation. how will north korea's sudden release of two journalists at the behest of former president bill clinton affect the relationship of the two countries? laura ling and euna lee are now

back in california. president clinton will be briefing president obama on his meeting with kim jong il. from washington, our correspondent. >> the plane touched down in california. [applause] the two journalists, laura ling and euna lee, rescued from the prospect of 12 years in a north korean labor camp. she had not seen her mother since the arrest on the chinese- north korean border in march. >> we were taken to a location, and when we walked through the doors, we saw standing before us, president bill clinton.

[applause] >> their rescuer said nothing. it took weeks of tense secret diplomacy to arrange the extraordinary measure. >> the reunion we've all seen on television, i think, is a source of happiness, not only for the families, both for the entire country. >> the white house wanted this to be seen just as a mission of mercy. but it might be much more. all the way from here at the national security council, this works its way up to the oval office. north korea, its intentions, its nuclear missiles, has been a preoccupation for the young obama administration. now we see a sudden and marked change in atmosphere. clinton spent more than three hours with kim jong il, the mysterious north korean leader. what else did they talk about?

this year, north korea launched missiles into the sea of japan. did mr. clinton tried to persuade mr. kim into international talks? the u.s. is giving nothing away, but there is a sense of expectation in washington. >> there are channels to begin a possible dialogue. this is certainly a humanitarian event, but it has implications, it has ripples, if you will, in other areas of policy. >> kim jong-il has been dogged by illness. tonight, he looks a little stronger and more in control. but the pressure of new u.n. sanctions and, i am told, fresh pressure from china may be forcing him to be engaged with the united states. at this moment, it may be more than a human story. north korea may be ready to make

another attempt at coming in from the cold. bbc news. , washington. >> the journalists have been welcomed by the secretary of state hillary clinton. she is in kenya where she strongly criticized the government's failure to prosecute those responsible for the violence that followed the 2007 election. officials in northwestern pakistan say the wife of a taliban leader has been killed in a suspected american missile attack. i drone that attack the relative of baitullah mehsud near the afghan border. the iraqi government has announced it will take down all the blast walls that separate the baghdad communities within four days. the wall sprung up at the height of sectarian violence. many say the walls made the city unrecognizable, but safer. after seven weeks of post-

election protests and the people, mahmoud ahmadinejad has been sworn in for a second term as president. the u.s. it took a second step back. the white house spokesman robert gibbs said he misspoke when he described ahmenijad as an elected leader. >> after the turmoil of the last two months, at last a moment when mr. ahmenijad could restore his dignity, pledging to serve iran for another four years. >>but look closely, and you coud see in pcs. this was boycotted by some reformist members and opposition leaders. there were no messages of congratulations. that provoked a bitter riposte from mr. ahmenijad. >> nobody in iran is waiting for

your congratulations. the iranian nation does not give significance to your friends or threats and congratulations and smiles. >> in many ways, the president's problems are just beginning. the opposition includes zero former presidents -- includes a former presidents, including the man who believes he won the election and a number of consecutive former allies. and the west is ramping up talks on the nuclear issue. >> the country is more divided than it has ever been since 1979. ahmenijad is the most divisive political figure in the history of the islamic republic and he has shown no interest in yielding. >> once again, thousands of demonstrators and alicia

presence outside the parliament. -- a militia presence outside the parliament. >> the police, they are in the square. never let any person stand in front of the parliament to make any demonstration or shot or anything else. >> despite the show of unity, president ahmenijad starts his own term with an election victory and increasingly the whole iranian system of government under question. bbc news. >> more news for you briefly. the world health organization has confirmed more than 1000 deaths from h1n1. a teenage girl was claimed dead from the disease. the man who killed three women

in american and gm apparently wrote about his plans beforehand on the internet. authorities have taken at the site down. the attack on an exercise class in pennsylvania left 10 others injured. internet addiction rehabilitation camp -- a boy has been beaten to death by his counselors. several employees have been arrested. a former israeli military commander has told the bbc that palestinian children are routinely bill treated in israeli custody. our release correspondent reports from the west bank. -- our middle east correspondent reports from the west bank. >> they are venting frustrations

at israel u.s. occupation of their home, the west bank. the target -- jewish settlers or israeli soldiers during this recent protest. >> israeli soldiers have come to the barrier now. i do not know if you can see the canisters through the smoke. they have disappeared, run away from the smoke, and over there, you can see the palestinian children continuing to protest. >> when stones are thrown, immediately arrayed often follows. usually late at night. as you see in this footage we obtained, israeli soldiers come to palestinian villages in large numbers. even when they are detaining one young boy. human rights activist witnessed the scene. >> he is a child. look at you. >> the arrests can be brutal. this boy it turned 13 when he

was detained, one of many young palestinians to say they were abused. >> they drag me by my -- from my home by the scruff of my neck. my mom was screaming. they took me all the way to the jeep. they cut off my hands -- cuffed my hands and blindfolded me and let me there 24 hours. >> detained children are taken to army bases like this one, often for interrogation. a former commander in israel's army told me that the treatment is routine. his experiences haunt him. >> someone is blindfolded and handcuffed has probably done something really bad. they will kick him sometimes. >> palestinian youngsters are tried in israel's military

courts. they did not want us to film, but israel says it has nothing to hide. >> if they throw a stone or molotov cocktail, it is a deadly weapon. every week, we find a 14-year- old or a 16-year-old carrying a deadly weapon. we have no choice but to find them, arrest them, and hope that they will not turn to this. >> he has not slept properly since the soldiers came. humanitarian are calling on the international community to investigate what they say is israel's abuse of children rights. >> stay with us, if you can, on baitullah mehsud -- bbc world news. coming up, loan sharks preying on the port. >> first, in south korea there

have been dramatic scenes full of protesting workers. staff have been resisting mass job losses. they want to cut more than a third of the work force. we have the latest on the industrial dispute, just south of the capital. >> it began as a dispute over job cuts, but this turned into this. a violent confrontation with potentially deadly consequences. police commandos descended from helicopters to take control of the building being occupied by striking workers at the car plant. other police used ladders, but the workers -- thought to number 500 -- have fought back again. they are occupying the paint shop, a building packed with flammable liquid. attempts to force them out with tear gas have been unsuccessful

so far. this has pitched worker against worker, for the small-to-ridden car maker. they need to lay off more than 2000 staff, a third of the total, in order to survive. those allowed to keep their jobs have been in clashes with their striking colleagues. the dispute has cost the company more than $200 million, and will force it into liquidation. for the moment, the striking workers show no signs of giving up. dozens of police and protesters are reported to have been injured. representatives of the workers say all jobs must be guaranteed, and any attempt to remove them from the paint shop could leave -- lead to violence.

>> good to have you with us. one main headline for you. two american journalists freed by north korea after months of detention. a return home to an emotional family reunion. here in britain, two separate court cases have exposed the reality of life for some of the poorest families caught up in the recession. loan sharks have been found guilty of charging crippling interest rates, and we are talking up to 2.5000%. >> they are pickings for a loan sharks. they are trying to capitalize on the recession. he ran a business and that lends small sums of money and demanded a huge sums of money in return. he charged up to 2437% interest, and those who owed him lived in fear. one victim agreed to speak, but

she was too scared to be identified. >> they did not even know. they did not know they had done something wrong. they would pass the house. every day, they would come several times a day. it would come through the window. i had to have an alarm if it did in the house. i was petrified. >> there is a concern that many victims do not come forward. >> loan the sharks get away with because of their reputation, because of the disproportionate impact they have on the community and the fear and intimidation tactics the years. >> today, another loan shark was sentenced. he eventually