>> "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.

çç >> 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." >> britain hits back as its health service becomes a weapon in the route of the health care reform in america. codes of rescue are fading in typhoon-stricken taiwan 3 and 15,000 still be trapped, at least 500 dead. -- in timtyphoon-stricken taiwan. 15,000 still trapped.

welcome to "bbc world news," on pbs in america and elsewhere around the world. a new brigade gets to work in afghanistan. the president pardon its five top traffickers. and theç liverpoolç and fun, singapore style. cashing in on a growing army of fans abroad. -- the liverpool anthem. hello to you. britain's national health service as a move to the center of the controversy in the u.s. over barack obama'proposeds health-care reform be and the president tries to regain. his opponents are trying to cite

the british model as the way not to do it. -- barack obama's proposed health-care reform. the president tries to recover. >> president barack obama and his family said it off for another town hall-style debate on health care, but as america has wrestled with how to solve the problems with its largely insurance-based system, public systems elsewhere have been coming under fire. >> what we need to do is come up with a uniquely united way of providing health care, so i am not in favor of a canadian system. i am not in favor of a british system. i am not in favor of a french system. >>çç some have been less diplomatic. >> your health care now has stopped. >> the strongest feature is of a government-run system, even though that is not really what has been proposed -- your health care has sucked.

>> they keep saying to not to the health plan because it does not do anything. >> who says that? >> on the news. >> some have been feeding the frenzy for several months. >> it has made people iller. we spend money and get bad results. the idea that you're going down this road is almost extraordinary. >> it was not just useless. it was actively harmful. >> that has embarrassed t leader, david cameron, who is in position to be britain's next prime minister, undermining support. >> the conservative party stands four square behind the nhs. we back it. we are going to expand it. >> anger, too, from british people inadvertently caught up. >> her mother suffered on a wait

list. k ate campaigns to improve the nhs and says she was duped into appearing. >> i could not believe that the work i do is being allied with those views. >> çthere are stark differencì+ between the two systems. in britain, around 8% of the nation's income is spent on health. in america, it is almost double that, but while the british system provides health care for almost everyone by the state, almost 45 million americans have almost no insurance, and so, almost zero health care. in true, the american general distrust of state support is so far from the european view that the ill informed comparisons being made are meaningless. bbc news, washington. >> more of the main news for you. in dawson, there was a group

inspired by al qaeda that has been battling with the government of hamas, and shooting it out in a mosque. -- in gaza. our bbc middle east correspondent gave us this update. >> the area around the mosque, which is under attack by hamas, has been declared a closed military zone by hamas, hundreds of hamas policemen and members of its military wing of firing rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine fire at the mosque. inside the mosque, it is thought there are around two dozen supporters of that imam. they are firing back. at least one rpg has killed someone, and they say the death toll is rising, and even though this is a strong extremist group within gaza, itç isç extremely well equipped. it has managed to keep up things

for more than four hours. >> the that is our reporter there. the coast guard said earlier that the arctic sea has been spotted around 400 nautical miles from the cape verde islands. the russian on voice as those reports are not true. -- the russian envoy says those reports are not true. prosecution for slander. the person has alleged that some protesters were raped in detention. officials denied the rape allegations but at mid there have been some abuses. american senator jim webb it is heading to burma. it has been five days since the leading opposition figure of burma suu kyi was sentenced to

more arrests. the typhoon has killed least 500 people. present ma ying-jeou is calling it the most severe damage to the island in many years. he says international assistance is required. they're trying to carry it earth diggers and to fix roads. we have this report. çç>> cloudy skies, a worrisome sign. the rain still falls, making road to rebuilding and clearing difficult, not to mention the task of trying to spend more survivors. on friday, a 52-year of fireman was drowned by the strong current of floodwaters in a rescue mission in central taiwan. the typhoon has changed the

landscape of taiwan. roads have tumbled off. bridges that used to stand have collapsed or are buried under 20 or 30 meters of debris. fallen things are everywhere. in a village of 300, this is all that is left. only two houses remain. most of the residents are buried under this avalanche. the task at hand was so enormous that the authorities do not know where to begin. >> but even as rescuers come to this grim conclusion, the press ought to search for more survivors elsewhere. -- they press on to search for more survivors. they are delivering food, medicine, and supplies to hundreds of people stranded. more than 40,000 soldiers have been mobilized, and many more will be deployed over the weekend. they will search for more survivors and possibly more villages, which might also have been buried.

but for many anxious relatives, there is little chance of finding their loved one's allies. as the death toll rises, the number found alive has not. their only comfort isçafaith,çd hope that this tragedy does not occur again. bbc, taiwan. >> at least 600 children are now deal with a lead poisoning in the north of china. -- are now ill with lead poisoning. local officials say they plan to relocate everyone living near the contaminated site within the next two years. iraqi journalists have demonstrated in central baghdad, calling for greater media freedom and an end to state censorship. the iraqi government is bringing in new rules to consider banning some websites. there have been lawsuits against media workers. britain has imposed direct rule

on the turks and caicos islands in the caribbean, and there is evidence suggesting systematic corruption. the government and an elected assembly of been suspended for up to two years researchers in boston in the u.s. -- for up to two years. researchers in boston in the u.s. think they may have found something to stop tumors from growing. it is still some way off. well, seven countries, 11 days. it has been quite a rollercoaster. the u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton completed her tour of africa today in cape verde. and there was restored by her husband's secret mission to north korea, and then there was the press conference where she lost her legendary ". we look back. -- her legendary cool. we lookç back. >>ç when hillary clinton steppd off the plane in cape verde, it

was 11 days, seven countries. the first-ever american president with african roots, they watched her. it began in a very african style in kenya, the homeland of president obama's father, but here, as in many cases it replaces, the issue of corruption was a topic. there were remarks that suggested that while the government has done much, it is still not enough. >> we strongly support and encourage the government of nigeria's efforts to increase transparency, reduce corruption, provide support for democratic processes him in preparation for the 2011 election. >> remarks from a long line of diplomats. there was a willingness to go deep into the most intractable conflicts. in the east of the democratic republic of congo, victims of

rape. there was a promise to help with justice. >> is a crime no matter who commits them. they must be prosecuted and punished. that is particularly important when those who commit such acts are in position of authority, including members of the congolese military. >> so plenty of strong words from the secretary of state, but no big check that many think would have helped, but still, this trip is being seen as a star of a conversation with ordinaryç africansç which they hope might yet prove productive. bbc news, nairobi. -- the strip being seen as a start of a conversation. >> center, , how the world's richest soccer league is beating the recession. -- still to come. first, the u.s. secretary of state has told scotland's justice secretary deliberate --

the manic involved in the bombing -- the man involved in the bombing -- he will be released next week on compassionate grounds. >> like liquid fire pouring from the sky, that is how one man describes the nine pan am flight 103 plunged to the ground. that was the biggest acts of terrorism in british history, the mass murder of 20070 people. now, reports suggest that the man convicted of its orchestration may be freed. abdelbaset ali al-megrahi may be released. >> they are appalled. his idea was to apply for compassionate release, and the

appeal does not have to be dropped for compassionately, so i am quite taken aback by this change. >> it comes more than two çdecades after aç bomb tore te airplane apart in the skies over lockerbie. after years, libya agreed to release two suspects for trial in april 1998. a scottish court was convened in the netherlands, and in january 2001, two judges found megrahi guilty. others, like jam, whose daughter was killed, believes he should never have been found guilty. the scottish government insists they have not put pressure on megrahi to drop his appeal, but they thought it would help bring new information to life. it remains unsolved crime. bbc news. >> ok, and broken. >> see the news unfold.

go to bbc news/news for "bbc world news" online. it is easy. click here to collect the one- minute news story. you can read the news headlines, get the top stories from around the globe, and click to play video reports. discover more about the subjects that really interest you and find out what issues the world is talking about right now. the "bbc world news" online, go to bbc news/news. and watch the news unfold. >> this is "bbc world news." the latest headlines for you. president obama is going on the road through four u.s. states to sell this plan for u.s. healthcare, and others are hitting back in britainç as thr healthç service becomes a mattr of debate. up to 15,000 taiwanese are

feared trapped in remote villages after the typhoon. less than one week before the presidential elections in afghanistan, the main candidate has spent the day chasing votes. the current president hamid karzai is the front runner. he flew to a city to address thousands of supporters. his main challenger is a former foreign minister, traveled to the central province. he has been speaking to the bbc about halki would try to improve security. >> my first target would be thousands and thousands of people who have joined the taliban ranks, because of other grievances. all of those who have joined the taliban are not among those who would like to destroy it and take it back to the old days. there are thousands of people who have joined them because of injustice, because of corruption, because of socio- economic circumstances. >> the form minister.

-- the former foreign minister. millions of dollars being poured into a new justice system targeting narcotics. afghanistan produces most of the world's opium. çthose and counfernarcotics hae just had a shot. president karzai has pardon defied senior drug traffickers related to a senior family -- has pardoned five senior drug traffickers. >> one of the most dangerous jobs in afghanistan. here in kabul, they are training to combat the drug mafia which produces 90% of the drugs opium and heroin. profits are used to buy off police, judges, and other officials. the counternarcotics but these are just one aspect of an entirely separate counter narcotics judicial system that has been built up here in afghanistan. there are separate police,

prosecutors, and judges, courts and prisons. all of it in a bid to get major drug traffickers off of the streets and into detention. this is just a practice drugs raid. in real life, you would be during the sign -- sound of gunfire. the five traffickers who have been pardoned by president karzai where wearing police uniforms and using a police car to shift more than 100 kilos of heroin. -- were wearing police uniforms. one was from a powerful family. convicting such a trafficker,çç previously thought of as untouchable, was a new milestone of the system. the man seen here was the governor in kabul until he resigned to run president karzai's election campaign. there has been or even from within the afghan government.

>> d.o.t. is guilty. -- guilty is guilty. >> possibly, hamid karzai thought that there were powerful political groups and that a pardon was a political necessity. i hope to ask a spokesman about this controversy, but despite repeated requests, nobody has been available to speak. a restaurant in kabul, and tonight, on tv, this news of the pardon is hitting the afghan local news headlines. >> it is shocking news. people are very shaken to find out that the president released these men, all because of deals in a campaign to get more votes. people are not happy. if the leader does this, what hope is there for people who'd do well? >> this may give president karzai the backing of a powerful family, but if these results are

anything to go by, there is a çdangerç that the pardons maye some support on voting day. bbc news, kabul. >> pakistanis are celebrating against a backdrop of economic hardship and increased threats from a resurgent taliban. from the bbc, a report from islamabad. >> pakistan at 62, a nation in need of peace, security, and an economic miracle. on the back streets, and they are weary of poverty, of rushing for water and electricity is on. this independence day does nothing to celebrate, to this man, in business here for more than 30 years. >> i have never seen things so bad. we sat idle all day with no customers. inflation is breaking everyone's back.

-- we sit idle. >> but there is a sense of progress. some feel safer on the street since the government took on the taliban in earnest. >> it has made a difference. there is no denying that. >> she lost her brother-in-law to a suicide bomber. she says pakistanis can now breathe easier. >> even for your morale, you feel good. youç feel as if,ç yes, you arn control now. whether you are or are not, that is a separate issue. >> but that is the big unknown. have they been seriously weakened? they believe the leader was killed last week and warned that al qaeda wants to choose his successor. >> they will definitely try to put somebody who is in their control and you can listen to them more, and, therefore, we

understand, because al qaeda is very much present, and they would like to install somebody of the road. -- of their own. >> but in downtown islamabad, the revelers are out. a show of hope? perhaps. and of resilience. as celebration. it keeps coming. for many pakistanis, this is a rare moment. for getting the blanchett of the past year and the dangers of tomorrow. bbc news, islamabad. >> now, whether you call it football or soccer, the beautiful game is loved by millions around the world, and on saturday, a new season kicks off in the world's richest a leak. it has become a massive global business, $1.5 billion to be topped this year. there is the storyç from our

>> it is a familiar football chant in an unfamiliar setting. the liverpool and some in the main stadium of singapore. -- the liverpool anthem. gone are the days that it meant a summer off. nowp is a chance to catch in -- cash in on what is one of britain's best exports. every sale means a profit for liverpool and raises the profile of the english premier league. >> some think it is a european base. no, no, no. it is about 51 or 600 million that watch the game. it is incredible numbers. >> -- it is about 500 or 600 million.

>> of the result is that international demand for television rights for premier football has never been higher. despite the global recession, the english top class will be celebrating record-breaking deals when a new round of contracts is signed later this year. there is no doubt that the english premier league has çbecome theç global game, and international deals, will take its in compean 1 billion pounds for the first time this year. -- and international deals will take its in compean to 1 billion pounds for the first time this year. -- will take its income to 1 billion pounds. >> it is important, and growth is important, because we know that this is all we have wanted, more, better players, and the fans ensure that pressure.

>> premier league club's carrasco also targeting those with no traditional allegiance to football. chelsea made more than 2 million pounds for their tour of the united states. and it is not just the big clubs to benefit. one went to beijing. in fact, every premier league went abroad this summer. somewhere in china, also selling the premier league brands with coaching sessions for local children. the sales pitch grows ever more sophisticated, if the product ever more popular. -- more sophisticated, the product ever more popular. >> playing games. you're going to get those kinds of receptions. it is fantastic for the game and for the league. >> fromç singapore to baltimorç when the season starts tomorrow, these fans will be watching their heroes on television. their sport is more important

than ever as the premier league tries to be the global recession. bbc news. -- tries to beat the global recession. >> ok, finally, you may wear a ping an suit to a wedding, but when does an ping an where a wet suit -- ok, finally, you may wear a penguin suit to a wedding, but when does a penguin wear a wet suit? thank you for watching "bbc world news." >> 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 wáuç can count on. >> for conversations beyond the sound bites. >> a commitment to journalism. >> for deciding who to vote for. >> i'm kerry washington, and public broadcasting is my source for intelligent connections to my community. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles. presented by kcet, los angeles.