>> "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." at least 95 are killed, hundreds injured in a series of bombs outside of government buildings in baghdad. security is tight as the taliban threatens more violence on the eve of elections in afghanistan. and we are reporting from libya. welcome to "bbc world news,"

broadcast onm pbs in america and around the globe. comicocong up, unlocking the information faults, the swiss banks agree to gihe american authorities the names of thousands of customers. and the picnic at on the first holes in the iron curtain. hello. baghdad has seen its bloodiest day since american forces withdrew from iraq cities at the end of june. 95 dead, hundreds injured, it undermines the government's insistence that security is under control. the biggest blast was near the foreign ministry, so powerful it damaged buildings inside it. another truck bomb exploded

close to the finance ministry. the iraqi prime minister has blamed sunni insurgents and ordered a review of security. >> the blast was felt across baghdad, a meeting of tribal chiefs disrupted by the massive explosion. no to terrorism, they chanted. the bomb went off sot -- went off just gets out of the conference hall. it was designed to kill and injure on a massive scale. and it did. >> we were sitting in the kitchen when suddenly we were showered with glass from the windows and doors were knocked down. >> with dozens dead, hundreds injured, it was the worst attack baghdad has seen in months. there were at least five other explosions. the government seems to have been a clear target.

the got -- the bonds just outside of the ministry of finance destroyed a major road. officials have blamed groups linked to al qaeda for the bombs. the hospitals have been receiving casualty's all day. many of them are injured. this man came looking for his brother who had been injured in the blast. "our security services cannot defend us. the situation is getting worse." u.s. troops stopped patrolling streets of baghdad at and other cities across iraq less than two months ago, and many people here say these attacks confirmed their worst fear that without the americans help, there and security services are not capable of protecting them. -- their own security services are not capable of protecting them. this was baghdad six years ago, an explosion killing 22 u.n. workers. it was the first large-scale

attack. over the years, it has been followed by many more. not even at the height of the violence have so many people been wounded in baghdad in just one day. with the number of the dead still rising, everyone here is reminded of just how little iraq has changed. more violence in afghanistan on the eve of elections. the taliban has pledged to disrupt the vote and security forces killed three insurgents who had occupied a bank in the capital. >> the police surround the bank in kabul. taliban fighters have occupied the building. a gun battle leaves three insurgents and one policeman dead. until recently, this was a relatively safe haven from the violence. not anymore. for now, there remain on high alert, in effect around the

city. security forces have been deployed elsewhere in the country, too. what is difficult to quantify is the extent to which people will be put off from voting by the security measures and the threats from the taliban. every car and driver is under suspicion. the taliban has threatened the police, the government, and even voters. they claim to have even more fighters ready to attack. now one of the most wanted insurgent leaders have spoken to the bbc. he is a former anti-soviet commander an expert minister. we submitted questions. the answers were given on camera weeks later. warning the fighting will continue until foreign troops pull out. >> my message is it the foreign forces are ready to leave our country and not insist on occupation, if they want to end the war, and look for exit, we

can help. if they insist on continuing the war, we do not have any other way of fighting. >> thousands of civilians have been killed, some from coalition bombs, most from insurgent attacks like these people. but they deny responsibility. >> it is a baseless claim. there is no truth to it. 95% of the civilians have been killed at the hands of the foreigners. they bombed the bridges, mosques, crowded places. the militants do these things far away from the villages. >> the truth is the violence here affects everyone. afghanistan is scarred by 30 years of war and it casts a brooding shadow over tomorrow's elections. some other stories around the world, nigeria's central

bank has named some of the wealthiest business people that were responsible for taking the banking system to the brink of disaster. the list includes men who owe billions of dollars to five banks the government was forced to bail out last week. they said they must pay their debts or face criminal charges. it is reported that police and zimbabwe have arrested 10 members for the movement of democratic change. the circumstances are still not clear, but the arrests are seen as an attempt to erode the position of the party. an investigation has revealed a sharp rise in elephant poaching and south africa. conservation groups are concerned that the international demand from ivory is behind it. 98 elephants were lost to poachers in 2008, up from 47 the year before. south korean officials have

postponed the first launch of their space rocket before liftoff. it is not clear when it will happen. south korea hopes to join north korea as one of the few countries to launch a satellite from its own territory. the scottish justice secretary has made his decision on the fate of the libyan man convicted of the 1998 lockerbie bombing. he will announce thursday whether he will be freed from prison on compassionate grounds. most of the victims were american, and the u.s. administration opposes any early release. >> the decision has been made. what ever is, his fate has far reaching implications. in the last few days, the scottish justice secretary has found himself at the center of international tug of war. from washington, there have been pulling hard for the lockerbie bomb or to remain -- for the lockerbie bomber to remained in

jail. a m i think it is wrong for him to be released -- >> i think it is wrong for him to be released, based on evidence of his involvement in such a horrendous crime. >> in tripoli, the anticipation is growing it will be announced tomorrow he is coming home. it would be an enormous coup for colonel gaddafi on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the revolution that brought him to power. on the front page of the triple the post is an interview with the man's aging not -- aging mother, who awaits his return. his former defense lawyer is pleased he may soon be out and says his former clients must remain quiet. >> most important to him is that it be that he is cleared from this accusation, and he cannot be cleared or considered

innocent if he is not retried. >> you are convinced that he was pressured to drop the appeal? >> sure. >> the petrodollars that followed have quickly transformed the economy. libya has a business proven oil reserves and africa, and everywhere around tripoli is evidence of the new money pouring in. since 2007, some of britain's largest companies -- bp, shell, and bg -- have been signing new exploration deals. it seems the continued imprisonment britain's the future oil deals. >> they are all here, you name them. the russians are here. make no mistake, there is competition. just imagine bp would like to concentrate on what it specializes in.

>> we were told that the possible transfer was discussed with gordon brown. for both parties, it is a lingering chapter of the old relationship, one that the british government would like to dearly) but -- one that the british government would dearly like to close. the swiss banks have agreed to hand over details to american tax authorities of over 4000 account holders and consider requests about clients of other banks suspected of tax fraud. this is likely to blow a hole in switzerland's reputation for keeping secrets close. >> it was the swiss government said a clash of jurisdictions. the united states wanted the names of 52,000 citizens believed to have committed tax evasion by hiding their money in it ubs bank accounts. this was said that would violate

their client confidentiality. after weeks of intense negotiations, a deal has instruct. not 52,000 names, just 4500 of the most blatant tax evaders. and a costly court case has been avoided. >> we were able to avoid the legal dispute between switzerland and the u.s. the general conditions were stabilized and we were able to solve the existing threat to ubs. >> the swiss government is hailing the agreement as a success. after all, ubs has to hand over less than 10% of bank account details that the u.s. had originally requested. nevertheless, the idea that a swiss bank is handing over any information would have been unthinkable a year ago. where does the agreement believe the swiss banking secrecy?

it has been steadily eroding for months. this was agreed last march to quell. in cases of tax evasion, but the details of ubs evasion on failed, other countries can safely assume that if the, looking for hidden tax revenue, switzerland will provide the information. it is a big change, but the swiss welcome it. good to have you with us. stay with us. still to come, the latest insights into how life began on earth and where else. first, taiwan's defense minister has offered to resign in the face of public anger over the slow official response to the typhoon. the vice foreign minister has already stepped down. around five of the people have died since the storm struck two weeks ago.

for now, the focus is on recovery and resettlement. >> the grim task of recovering bodies begins. soldiers get ready to dig out remains at the village, the worst hit area. around 400 villagers are believed to have been buried by a massive mudslide. under intense public pressure, the president is also at the village. he listens to victims' relatives, upset that their loved ones' bodies have yet to be recovered. nobody is happy at the touch here. even though it was dangerously located in the mountain in the narrow valley, the defense minister is the latest to take the blame, offering to resign for not sending soldiers until the third day of the typhoon.

the government says the focus now should be on helping tens of thousands of people rescued. in some places, there is nothing for them to go back to. entire villages are gone, buried in mud. reconstruction of damaged roads, bridges, and homes is expected to cost $3 billion u.s. and take as long as three years. cash donations and relief supplies are pouring in, including from thailand's former rival china. for many survivors and victims' families, traumatized and in decrease, it would take much more than money and aid to put their lives back together. >> see the news unfold. go to bbc.com/news to seek expert reporting on line. watch one minute world video summaries.

read the latest headlines. at the top stories from around the globe. watch the video reports. discover more about the subjects that interest you and the issues that the world is talking about right now. go to bbc.com/news. the latest headlines -- at least 95 people have been killed, hundreds wounded in a series of bomb blasts in central baghdad. targeting high-profile buildings. heavy security in afghanistan on the eve of palestinian -- on the eve of national elections. the man in charge of meeting the challenge, the american commander of nato forces, has told the bbc he is planning radical changes. our world affairs editor reports.

>> special forces commander and now the man in charge of the faltering campaign in afghanistan. very much the thinking man's soldier, who is planning to change things. to change things in iraq by tracking down saddam hussein and catching him, but afghanistan is a far tougher proposition. >> the situation is serious and we need to turn the momentum of the enemy. the afghan people did not like the taliban. it is not popular. we need to correct some of the ways that we operated in the past and show the resolve that it will take and imagination to operate smarter and do this right. >> he soon had a chance to show what he meant. we have come to this town east of kabul. it has been a bad trouble spot. >> one of the things, arresting

people without good information. >> they have been complaints. the way that made no arrests innocent people who then languished in jail without trial and sometimes for apparently indiscriminate bombings -- the way that made no arrests innocent people who then languish in jail -- the way that nato arrests innocent people. a demo have made tremendous efforts and progress, particularly in the use of lethal fire. >> this is french foreign legion territory. almost exactly a year ago, 10 french soldiers were killed and mutilated near here. but the general midi point of walking around town. -- but the general made it a point of looking around the town. it is surprising, really, to find the commander of the

international force can simply walk down the street here without body armor, admittedly guarded by dozens of afghan and french and american troops. to say the situation is serious, are you going to win it? >> we are. >> when? >> that is difficult to predict. i think when we connect to enough of the afghan people, where the have finally said enough. >> the general has said he will give himself two years to see if the approach works. it was a decision that picked one of the first polls in the iron curtain. 20 years ago, opposition groups in hungary organized a picnic near the border. it became known as the pan- european picnic, allowing hundreds of east germans to leave communist eastern europe.

new carlthorp reports from budapest. -- nick thorpe reports from budapest. >> happened here in these peaceful meadows. hungary had unofficially pierce the iron curtain several months earlier. what happened here was that ordinary people found a new chink in the curtain and tore a big hole. the border guards had not been given new orders. he should have tried to stop them. he decided not to. 10,000 people came here on the day of the picnic to press for reunification of europe. but but the east germans took advantage of the event to reach austria, then west germany. >> what happened here was an important part of the european revolution for freedom, democracy, coming together, and

continues to shape our part of the world and inspires so many other parts of the globe. >> after the picnic, it only took hungary three more weeks to officially opened the full border at austria. the authorities in east germany, czechoslovakia, and elsewhere were furious but powerless to interfere. once their own people could travel freely, their power collapsed. today, a single watchtower and eight few strands of barbed wire remain as reminders of tougher times -- and a few strands of barbed wire remain as reminders of tougher times. its rugged coastline makes it a favorite summer destination, but holidaymakers are being warned to stay away from certain beaches in the french region of northern britain.

tons of potentially lethal green algae has swapped certain areas. one man who inhaled fumes from the seaweed was left seriously ill. >> a single tractor in the sea of green. this mechanical beast represents the only fight against toxic seaweed it in places like this. but it is a losing battle because no sooner it that the greenery is removed. more grows. -- no sooner is it removed that more is able to grow. he explains how when the seaweed is broken, trapped gases escape which can be not just to humans and animals. -- trapped gases escape which

can be poisonous to humans and animals. it would ago, a horse died from the fumes and the rider was injured. the incident has highlighted the problem of toxic seaweed. but it is not only a new issue. and local man has been battling against this for years. environmentalists believe the unprecedented amount of seaweed has been caused by nitrates running off farmland into the sea. the local mayor says he is powerless to do anything about that. while many beaches are untainted, residents and local authorities believe the problem is getting worse and only the french government can put a stop to the toxic green sludge that is bleeding britney. the american space agency nasa discovered compelling evidence that life may indeed exist on other planets. traces of chemicals essential

for creating life have been found in a dust cloud of a comment millions of miles from earth. >> is this how life began on earth 4.5 billion years ago? back then, our solar system was a dangerous place. planets were bombarded by comets. scientists believe it brought with them complex chemicals, essential to life. to test this, nasa send a spacecraft which passed through the dusty tale of one of them and scooped up some of the material. the stardust spacecraft was sent to the very edge of the solar system 10 years ago. a collected particles from a combat -- from a comment. it returned in 2006. since then, scientists have been carefully analyzing the particles. now, after all these years, they have the results they have been waiting for.

>> what we found in pieces of the comet or extra terrestrial materials that are the building blocks -- were extra terrestrial materials that are the building blocks of life. they may have helped seed the pool of material so that life on earth was originated. >> there is lots of evidence we have been hit by comets and asteroids in the past. there is no reason to believe other planets would not have been hit as well. >> it points to the idea that life may be fairly commonly distributed through the universe. we have not found any yet, but my hunch is it is only a matter of time. the debate is all kind of life, how sophisticated, but it does suggest a simple life is widespread. >> if they did give birth to kickstart with life, there is a chance they did elsewhere in the galaxy -- if they did give eartj

h a kick start with life, there is a chance they did elsewhere in the galaxy also. these people are jumping between platforms in doing high- speed you turns as part of a month-long military drill that showcases china's military power ahead of their 60th anniversary. before we go, iraq's prime minister has ordered a review of security after 95 people were killed and a series of bomb attacks in baghdad. thank you for being with us on "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 you 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.