>> "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." >> this is bbc "world news." there is fresh controversy in afghanistan. dozens are killed in an air strike. nato says they were taliban

militants. britain's prime minister is about to reaffirm his commitment to afghanistan. gordon brown will say british troops will stay until the job is done. unrest in the chinese city of urumqi. never can say goodbye was just one of the songs played as michael jackson was laid to rest in los angeles. we will look at why hollywood has farewell at the summer box office. -- has faired wel at this summer box office. >> it is 330 p m in kunduz, northern afghanistan. flames hit two hijacked fuel tankers.

a nato spokesman says they believe there were only insurgence around the vehicles. there are reports that there were civilians. the governor says 90 people were burned alive when the tankers exploded. prime minister gordon brown is about to make a speech pledging that british troops will stay in afghanistan. this is despite waning support back home. >> casualties have been arriving at the hospital as investigations get under way. nato and the taliban both agree that insurgents hijacked the tankers. what is not clear is whether civilians were among the many dead and injured. >> two vehicles were stolen by the taliban and they were identified later that night around 1:30 a.m.. an air strike occurred at 1:48

a.m. this was along the condukunduz river. insurgents were positively identified. >> a local governments as civilians may be among those killed, but most were insurgents. nato is waiting for more information. >> our commitment to protect civilians is demonstrated by the fact that civilian casualties are down over 95% from last year's levels according to isaf. as we all know, in conflicts like this, mistakes can happen. in this case, let's now see what the investigation concludes.

>> nato's supplies mainly come from pakistan. they have been coming under increasing attack. searching for alternative routes, nato signed a deal in april to bring a non-military supplies in through another route. the purpose of the nato mission in afghanistan is debated both in britain and the united states. recent nato guidelines specify that no air strikes should be carried out if there's a risk of civilian casualty. >> our correspondent joins us from kabul. even the united nations is expressing concern about this. >> yes, it is just the sort of news that the international community did not want to hear. it seems fairly clear that civilians were involved at some level. we have been speaking to a local

mp. his estimates is that perhaps 40 to 60 taliban insurgents were killed, but maybe 20 to 30 local villagers may have gathered to try to get fuel from the fuel trucks may have been killed as well. at the main hospital in kunduz, people are arriving with very bad burns. they appear to be civilians as well. a public-relations disaster for the nato forces. it is something they have sworn they will do much more to avoid in all circumstances. >> i wonder what reaction we will get from president karzai. it is a difficult time for him in dealing with the west. >> that is right. we're still waiting for the long-delayed results of the elections. there has been a lot of criticism on his campaign on the

issue of fraud. this is an issue he has spoken out against in the past about civilians getting killed in international military operations. he made, the same way. it is somewhere that he can rally all afghan opinion around him. >> this is difficult for western forces as they decide when and where to use air attacks. this took place at night. >> that is what i was going to say. nato has issued more strict orders about how and when you fire. general mcchrystal, the head of u.s. forces here, issued orders in july that aircraft are not to fire unless they can confirm that no civilians are in the area. the statement by nato today said they observed that only insurgents were in the area. the observation was a combination of aerial observation by nato planes and

local observation on the ground from afghan forces in the pitch dark. whether those orders by general mcchrystal were followed by the letter, i presume, will be part of the investigation. >> prime minister gordon brown will pledge that british troops will stay in afghanistan until the country can maintain its security. gordon brown visited british troops in afghanistan last weekend. he will try to convince the skeptical public that the mission is not just about protecting afghanistan from terrorism, but the whole international community. the defense correspondent of the london evening standard newspaper joins us in the studio. i suppose this shows how difficult a job gordon brown has. this is a controversial mission and a very tough one. >> it is a very tough mission. this is absolutely part of the

tactical problem. the taliban are well aware of mcchrystal's orders and wherever there may be civilian victims. they exploit it. that is the nature of this kind of war. the war among the people, as the british general recently called it. it calls for a completely different approach. the taliban know that they have lots of cards on their side. they mix with the civilian population, the population they know. they know the terrain. they know time is on their side. it looks like a classic guerrilla campaign. psychologically, the odds are not against the taliban at the moment. >> this is a war of attrition. time is never on the politicians side in a war of attrition. >> politicians would have to go to the polls every four years in the case of an american president. gordon brown has the real

difficulty over this, but also in america. we have been promised through president obama himself that general mcchrystal will come up with a new plan. a man with a plan, with a new concept of operations. we have heard -- we will protect the people. this is playing with words. if you're going to really bring stability and security to these areas, you have to be on the ground. you have to secure the ground. you have to be there for long time. that is the mathematics of warfare of any kind related to civilians and try to pacify an area. it has been the case in afghanistan for over 200 years. you cannot get around that. what ever gordon brown says, what ever obama says, what ever mcchrystal says, that is the fact. i'm afraid it will need a lot more troops on all sides.

>> gordon brown's message is that the british troops are doing this for the international community. this is part of protecting the world from al-qaeda. do you think that will help? >> i do not think it will convert public opinion. there is an additional reason emerging. if you say you are making the streets here safe by having troops guarding the pakistan border -- that is fair and good. we know al-qaeda is exclusively there. there is a resurgence of activity in yemen and somalia. we have security treaties in the gulf area and in the country which is very vulnerable to what is going on in somalia, kenya.

it is a major partner with whom we have a security pact. do not come out with a mantra for the mantra's sake. it is not working with the public. as you rightly said, we are beginning to see the shifting opinion polls now. >> thank you very much. in afghanistan, a french soldier has been killed and nine others have been wounded in an attack in afghanistan. that is the french news agency. more on-line at bbc.com. hundreds of protesters have faced off with armed police in the chinese city of urumqi. the demonstration was broken up by teargas. locals demand official action over a series of bizarre stabbings.

this is two months after 197 people were killed in ethnic rivalries between the uighurs and han chinese community. michael bristow is in urumqi. >> police officers are forcing people of this bridge and the busy intersection in urumqi. i'm not quite sure what is going on. a few moments ago, hundreds of police officers with the rifles over their backs came rushing down the street. they fear people will be coming back to this spot. they have come here to try to prevent anything else from happening today. >> also, california authorities believe the deadly wildfires north of los angeles were deliberately lit.

it was started by an arsonist. two firefighters were killed on sunday while fighting the fire. north korea says it has successfully carried out uranium enrichment. the process -- the russian foreign ministry says the claim was very alarming. rescuers in indonesia are searching for villagers buried in a landslide after a powerful earthquake in west java. the death toll has reached 57 and authorities do not have much hope for those still trapped. the support of the global economy will continue for the moment. that will be the pledge made on stimulus packages when finance ministers meet in london today. almost one year since lehman brothers collapsed and the global financial system faced a serious crisis. we will be looking at the

aftershock from that moment of high drama. has the global economy changed forever? here's our economics editor. >> for most people, the crisis in the global economy started one year ago with the dramatic events on wall street, which sent shock waves around the world. since then, nearly every country has gone into recession in the first truly global downturn since world war ii. to find the start of the crisis, you have to go back to the second half of 2006 when record numbers of u.s. homeowners found they could not cope with rising mortgage payments and started to default on debt. something happened which had not happened in 50 years. u.s. house prices fell nationwide, causing further defaults and a mountain of trouble for homeowners and the financial industry that depended on them. on september 7 last year, the u.s. government was forced into

the biggest bailout so far. >> the dramatic rescue a fannie mae delivered the first shock wave. fannie mae and freddie mac accounted for half of all home loans in the united states. as the subprime bubble burst and the housing market died, the unthinkable happened. these giant lenders were brought to their knees. it took government intervention to prop them up again. the poison was in the system. it meant massive losses for u.s. banks. the government let lehman brothers died. it decided to bail out the other corporations on a scale never seen before. >> after lehman brothers failed, banks around the world stopped lending almost overnight, and people stopped spending. from mexico to australia, governments stepped in. the u.s. announced a record stimulus package worth $937

billion. european governments also took action. china spend more than half a trillion dollars on the stimulus package of its own. >> the leaders of china were worried about unemployment, that the world lost its appetite for chinese-made goods. the stimulus package offered an alternative source of employment for migrant workers. massive infrastructure projects are now under way. some say it has been a success. gdp was healthy in the first six months of the year. others question whether this was money well spent, and wonder how long the positive affects of the stimulus package are going to last. >> which brings us back to this weekend and the meeting of g-20

finance ministers in london preparing for the summit in pittsburgh later this month. in april, the leaders pledged one trillion dollars to fight the crisis. there have been cautious signs of economic recovery in the past few weeks with the two currenjay announcing positive growth. who knows how long it will last. over the coming weeks, we will be asking key players in the world of economics and finance where the world goes from here and what the economic map will look like when the crisis has run its course. the moment of greatest danger may be passed, but now governments have to deal with the messy aftermath. they may find that even more challenging than the crisis itself. >> this is "world news" today.

the king of pop, michael jackson, was laid to rest. united states has announced fresh measures against honduras during talks between the president and the secretary of state. it is revoking visas for backers of the defacto government. let's get a report now. >> what began as a temporary suspension has now been made permanent. the u.s. is cutting off military aid to honduras, at least $20 million worth, and more could follow. >> the department of state announces the termination of a broad range of assistance to the government of honduras as a result of the actions on june

28. the secretary has suspended assistance shortly after the coup. >> this is the man who was ousted by that coup. under a deal brokered by costa rica, he would have been returned to power with limited authority until early elections set for november. the current president has refused to accept a deal, so triggering the cut off in american aid. protest by his supporters continue. his opponents accuse him of trying to extend presidential mandate beyond a single four- year term. the interim government appears to be hoping the dispute will be resolved by the upcoming elections. both the u.s. government and the organization of american states have warned they will not accept the results of the elections as

they will be carried out in the wake of a caoup. -- in the wake of a coup. >> this is "world news" today. nato aircraft have destroyed two oil tankers hijacked by the taliban in northern afghanistan. 90 are dead, including many civilians. police in the chinese city of urumqi have used tear gas to break up a third day of demonstrations. the gold coffin was topped by a crown placed there by his children. the pop singer michael jackson has been laid to rest in a private ceremony in the suburbs of los angeles. the funeral took place more than two months after his death from a drug overdose. >> it was the final curtain call for the world's most famous pop

star. news helicopters followed at least two dozen cars from the jackson family home to the cemetery. >> there's very little that's ordinary about this funeral. there was nothing ordinary about michael jackson. his family wants this to be a private affair. inside, hollywood celebrities were waiting, including elizabeth taylor. jackson's family took their seats. they wore black armbands. the coffin was brought in, covered with flowers. the rest of the service was private. the resting place is the forest lawn park. hollywood legends in a place of quiet reflection. there could still be a rest over

the drugs that killed him. this footage of him before he died may be released as a movie. he may be gone, but not forgotten. >> joining me doubt is the london-based correspondent for bbc news. is this the end of the jackson story? >> not a chance. there is a investigation going on into his death. there's a film coming out. the funeral itself may be part of this. several people will be having concert celebrating jackson's life. the family purchased 12 more plots in the same mausoleum. i think we will see plenty of drama from michael jackson and his family in years to come >> and the fans will turn up at the cemetery. that's despite everything that has happened in his life in

recent years. >> i covered the second molestation case in 2004. most of his fans are wonderfully well meeting. there are some that are completely nuts. they will certainly turn up to the cemetery. they will want to see where michael jackson is buried. i know that the cemetery has already put more security measures in effect for the mausoleum. it is unlikely that anyone other than family and friends will be allowed to go into the mausoleum. >> from your experience in covering the case in 2004, why do you think the fans are so focused? they really do not like anything that belittles michael jackson. >> they love michael. everybody grew up with him. it was amazing to cover the trial and see this unbelievable superstar reduced to shuffling into that little courthouse in california every day with his family in tow. the fans have a connection with him. he broke barriers in so many

ways. with his voice and his dance and his entire persona -. >> as this investigation progresses, we will learn some squalid the things about michael jackson. >> i cannot imagine it will be more than what has already been reported on. i remember covering the trial and just how much dirty laundry the investigators pulled out of neverland ranch. tons of porn magazines that were displayed for the press. >> it will all come up. thank you very much. now let's get all the sports. >> thank you very much. we're going to move away from the u.s. open and tell you about the first full day of the

champions season. the event was held on the country's eastern coast. demonstrators believe the rally will damage local flora and wildlife. the authorities were also called in to investigate reports of boulders were placed on the course and that fences were taken down. two of friday's stages were canceled. for the first time in their history, the new york nates have seven players that have hit more than 20 home runs in a season. -- the new york yankees have seven players that have hit more than 20 home runs in a season. they had a 3-0 advantage after that. the catcher had five visits to the plate, four hits, and four

rbi's. >> thank you very much. take a look at our main story this hour. a nato aircraft has attacked two fuel tankers hijacked by the taliban in northern afghanistan. the governor of kunduz said at least 90 people have been killed. local officials say 20 to 30 civilians were killed. the taliban confirmed to the bbc they had stolen the tankers. a french soldier has been killed and nine others have been wounded in a bomb attack in their patrol in afghanistan. this is "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.