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funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vt., and honolulu, the newman's own foundation, and 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? >> en el "bbc world news." >> fresh thinking, the top u.s. general in afghanistan calls for a new strategy, suggesting that the current one is failing.

japan's next leader is beginning a transition to power after lent -- winning and then mark election. a new survey reveals the extent of racist attacks in the russian capital. welcome to "bbc world news" broadcast in the u.s. and around the globe. a typhoon and visits areas of taiwan. fuming, why iraqis are not happy at the proposal for responsible smoking. welcome, our top stories are ahead. u.s. and nato forces in afghanistan says that the occurrence strategy is not working. stanley mcchrystal has submitted

his assessment of the war. he says that success is achievable with a change in approach. he has not called for more troops yet. he once more focus on winning hearts and minds. >> for eight years the americans, the british, and their allies have been fighting the taliban in afghanistan. the united states commander feels like they have gotten it wrong in the past. they feel that success is achievable, but need a revised strategy and increased unity of effort. stanley mcchrystal walked so were around one trouble spot without a hard hat. he is the commander of u.s. special forces. his report says that the key is winning over afghans. he believes the 60% of those fighting in the taliban are not fighting for an ideology, up for money.

>> if we can go into an area and we can achieve stability, the average taliban fighter decides to go back home and take up farming or another trade, that is the best outcome. we do not kill anybody and we give them an opportunity to quietly rejoined society. >> the general would acknowledge that the nighttime raids have gone wrong and have alienated afghans. the tactics are too important for him to abandon. the military is still part of the solution. >> we have been very explicit that general mcchrystal should be forthright in telling us what he needs in order to accomplish the mission he has been given. >> for the president, it will be tough to come up with more money for more troops. opinion polls indicate falling support.

>> putting people at risk when the enterprise is not clear and when success is not yet defined it is really risky. >> when the vote counting ends in afghanistan, a lot of pressure will be put on the afghan government. the general makes it clear that they need to do more to inspire their people to take the lead. in the end, this is their fight. >> in the afghan presidential election, the presidential commission says that the votes are in for nearly half of the polling stations. the incumbent is still in the lead. he has just under 46% of the vote. his main rival has 33%. the main candidates in a presidential election that have all claimed victory. one of them is the favorite to win the election. his father died in june after 41

years in power. official results are expected in several days time. angela merkel said she remains confident in winning the federal election in one month's time despite suffering a setback in the regional polls. she said that the christian democrats have every possibility of winning and then forming a coalition with the smaller democrats. one election result that is not in doubt is in japan. the opposition democratic party has been swept to power. the country's next leader has begun putting his government together. she reports from tokyo on what is a landmark election result. >> a typhoon hit tokyo this morning. a brand new political order swept into power. a landslide victory, the biggest change to hit the country since the war.

piece together some of the reasons why. >> i have got high expectations for the future of my child. an aging, a shrinking population, the pledge of children's benefits attracted young families. she says that she will love another one, but even though they both work, they cannot afford it. they have their retirement to think about. he thinks that the result was right. he is a bit worried about the new government. he did not think they would win by so much, he expects a lot to change. it is now a two-party system. this is the moment in the early hours when victory was declared. no ticker tape, no crowds, no champagne. he owes his victory more to the other party's failings. today's celebrations was about as excited as they got.

the former prime minister conceded five decades of power to an experience and uncertainty. >> this is a bit of a lukewarm champagne situation for them. they knew that people were not exactly voting for them as much as voting against the other group. they are in a position to prove themselves to the electorate. that makes them nervous. >> japan's future is still unclear. unemployment and national debt are soaring. the men and women voted to turn that around. >> that has not worked that much. they are going to the opposite side. >> there has been a seismic shift in japanese politics. has it made a huge impact on the streets of tokyo yet?

it gives the new government an opportunity to try whatever they need to turn this country around. all that they can do in return is to deliver. >> there is much more background and analysis on these landmark elections on our website. you can find a profile there on the man set to become the country's next prime minister. british government sources have said that correspondence with scottish government ministers on the release of the lockerbie bomber will be released on tuesday. they released him on grounds of compassion was condemned by president barack obama, is hillary clinton, and some of the families of the american victims. the anti-corruption commission in nigeria has filed criminal charges against four former executives of the banks. they have been charged with

money laundering, insider- trading, and illegally writing loans. the party of burma's pro- democracy leader says that she hired an architect to remodel her house. she was worried about security and wanted to avoid a repeat of the incidents in which an american well-wishers' swam to her lakeside home and took refuge there. it is an alarming statistic that suggests that racism is rife in russia. a new story of african people living in moscow say that over half have been physically assaulted in racial attacks. the findings have been released by the moscow chaplin series in the capital. one african immigrant in a southern russian town is trying to break down barriers. our correspondent went to meet him. >> in a small town in southern

russia, something truly remarkable is happening. this former students is the first black man ever to stand for election in russia. >> initially, people thought it was a joke. they said, are you doing this to promote your business? once i registered as a candidate, they began to take me seriously. >> good for you. we will vote for you. >> this is the more normal. we should have a real russian to represent us. he means a white corruption. >> the russian media has been quick to dump him russia's barack obama. despite the media hype, the

chances of a black man being elected to office here is almost zero. the level of racism against africans and russia is astonishingly high. back in the days of the soviet union, hundreds of thousands of africans came to study in russia. it showed russians enthusiastic and embracing african children. today it is an american volunteer holding this african baby. the stuffy, overcrowded basement is a refuge for terrified and brutalize migrants. >> this was the stabbing here. >> this nigerian man was lucky to survive to appeal months ago. now he is too scared to show his face. >> i put this on my year.

it was an injury in my body. i had a gunshot that motivated this. >> this and not an isolated case. the doctors see similar attacks every week. in one, they even attempted to scalp of the african victims. >> the dalai lama has been visiting areas hit by the typhoon in southern taiwan on a tour that china warns will hurt relations with taipei. he was in a village where are around 500 people died because of a typhoon earlier this month. she sent this report. >> the dalai lama arrived in the village. around five entropy pull were buried by a mudslide here. dozens -- around 500 people were buried by a mudslide here.

dozens gathered. he said he is here on a humanitarian and religious mission. >> no political agenda. nothing to discuss. >> the dalai lama insists that his visit is non-political. he is simply here to comfort those people who have lost everything in this tragic disaster. not everyone is convinced. some people fear that there could be repercussions. the dalai lama said that while taiwan should have a close relationship with china, it should not come at all costs. >> most important is democracy. that you must preserve.

>> for the survivors of the village, not only did they have to grieve the loss of their family members, they have to rebuild their lives from scratch. >> it is great that he has come. it is good for our hearts. >> the tragedy that happened that led to the biggest political crisis for the president, who was strongly criticized for his administration's slow and inadequate response to the typhoon. to avoid being accused of bowling down to pressure, he is taking a big risk by approving the dalai lama's visit. >> tokyo and armenia have agreed to have six months of -- and they said that their parliaments would be asked to have this.

a road map to normalizing relations between armenia and turkey is on the table. a u.n. warning. a wildfire in the mountains around los angeles is reported to have doubled in size overnight and now is threatening at least 12,000 homes. officials in california say at least more than two dozen firefighters are battling the blaze. it could be several days before it is brought under control. two firefighters have been killed since the blaze began on wednesday. he reports from los angeles. >> a rapidly moving in for no as dawn breaks over los angeles, the full extent of the wildfire is revealed. it doubled in size overnight. huge plumes of smoke hung over the area, making it more treacherous to fight the flames from the air and the ground.

over the weekend, two firefighters died when their vehicle rolled off of the mountainside. >> we ask you for your understanding, for your patience as we move through this difficult time. please, prayer is for the family of error two brothers that we love. >> at least 6000 homes are under a mandatory evacuation order. emergency shelters have been set up in schools and community centers. >> the fire was out of control. they were worried about where it was going to go. they were going to clear everybody out of the area. >> the flames are moving dangerously close to communication towers that house transmitters for every major communications center in los angeles. there is very low humidity. fighting this fire is extremely difficult. the area has not burned for

several decades. with california suffering a long-term drought, the brush is tinder dry. it could be several days before it is brought under control. >> this is bbc world news. america's top general in afghanistan says that the current gent-strategy is not working and must be revised. japan's next leader has started building a new government after the democratic party won a historic election. the united nations opened a five-day conference in geneva to do with the consequences of climate change that have taken place. the un secretary general is already there. he is there as a guest of norway, where he is traveling to an island to witness the impact

of ice masses on the oceans. >> this is ban ki-moon's for stop. after that, he heads north to get an update on the polar icecap. scientists say that the arctic is one of the area's most at risk for global warming. the u.n. chief has made fighting climate change his top priority, citing scientific reports that it is caused by human activity but the production of greenhouse gases. >> climate change is happening. the impact is real. the time to act is now. >> he has acted before, traveling to antarctica two years ago. his message is that results of global warming could be catastrophic. urgent action is needed to reverse that. it is the poor who will suffer the most. they live in coastal areas

threatened by rising seas. in other regions affected by drought and famine brought on by rising temperatures. >> there is the global treaty to cut carbon emissions that was forged in kyoto 12 years ago. it has not had much success in changing the trend. the talks to replace it are entering their final phase. at 8 g8 summit in july, some ambitious targets were set. negotiations have snagged on disputes about responsibility of action to be taken by rich and poor countries. time is running out to meet the december deadline. hence the arctic excursion. >> ban ki-moon is hoping that this trip will build the political consensus necessary to reach an agreement. he is heading to a norwegian island near the arctic circle.

>> you or watching "bbc world news." britain's sweetheart storm's the charts at after nearly half a century. now been shrinking and the bad behavior that goes with it is most strongly associated with countries in northern europe. there are signs that the heavy drinking culture is moving further south. young people in italy seem to be hitting the bottle at an alarming rate. >> people come to italy's capital to see the beautiful buildings, the ancient sites, and to get a taste of the way of life. drinking has always been a part of the italian culture. a watered-down wine for the children. until now, that is changing among the younger generation. a new way of drinking has arrived.

new beer and spirits are quickly taking over from wind. they are moving away from the more restrained mediterranean style of drinking. >> i drink because i work all week. when it is saturday and sunday i drink. >> i think young people drink more. >> i drink whiskey, and vodka, gin. >> cities are beginning to clamp down on underage drinkers. in rome and drinking on the streets has been banned after 9:00 p.m., something that the deputy mayor wants to bring in all year round. >> it has become a meeting place for thousands of young people. they are just getting younger and younger. residents have been kept awake all night. >> figures show that under 25 year-old and italy are drinking

more than they used to. it is nowhere near the levels seen in parts of northern europe. there are still calls to discovering the traditional italian way of life. >> with violence still edit current in iraq, in maybe surprising that the government is proposing banning smoking in indoor public places. >> it has been a whole day without a cigarette. there is a ban on smoking right now in iraq as it is ramadan. with the evening call to prayer, a normal life resumes. without nicotine, many iraqis say that the country cannot function. they reacted with astonishment to a government proposal to ban smoking on all of the time in public places.

>> almost everyone is puffing away. it is hard to believe that the government has any chance of banning smoking in iraq. many say that it does not have its priorities right. fix the basics first, like security. >> to get the person who is a terrorist, not the smoking. this is a free pleasure. >> not everybody respects the daytime ramadan bar on smoking. the government workers have to light up outside. >> i hate smoking. i never put a cigarette in my mouth my whole life. i am trying to practice my authority inside of my office and ask them not to smoke. if they want to smoke, they need

to go outside. >> attitude -- attitudes are dragging behind when police are seeking a smoke inside of a hospital. with their business possibly under threat, traders in the main cigarette market see the proposed ban in apocalyptic terms. >> it would be like doomsday. it would be worse than more violence. smoking helps us relax. many doubt that the government will ever get the law passed. perhaps it has the iraqi's interest more than they think. they are finding that more are dying from smoking related illnesses and bombings and shootings. >> she is the 92-year-old singer attack the british forces spirits up during the second world war. now she is doing battle with the likes of beyonce.

she has become the oldest recording artist to enter the british top 20. >> the 92-year-old has found herself to be one of the hot new things in the album charts. if it has come as rather of a surprise. >> it is a nice feeling to be recognized. if you sell that amount of records and you get in the charts, it is something to be proud of, particularly after so long. >> she was nicknamed the force's sweetheart. she traveled thousands of miles across the world, doing concerts' for the troops. she has continued to work for magic, which a new album released to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the declaration of war. >> times have certainly changed. during the second world war she reached stardom: miller.

now she is competed with the arctic monkeys at the top of the charged. >> in my day, the songs that i sang were quite normal. now the normal material of today is considerably different. but from my type of song, to get in the hit. , i think it is a miracle to me. >> and why are her lyrics still so popular? >> the words are nice. we will meet again, do not know where, do not know when, but i am sure we will meet again some sunny day. it is a nice song. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vt., 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 with a wide range of companies from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> public broadcasting is my source for news about the world for intelligent conversation. >> for election coverage you can count on. >> for conversation beyond a sound bite. >> public broadcasting is my source for intelligent connections to my community.

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