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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." >> general motors sells its european operation. good news for thousands of

german car workers, a worry for more in the uk. >> clear and convincing evidence of fraud forces the afghan election watchdog to cancel results from dozens of polling stations. rivals and religion. a special report on the growing influence of rabbis in the once secular israeli army. welcome to "bbc world news." i am mike embley. coming up later 40 -- three months after the election, abandoning efforts to build a government in lebanon. what happened with a pigeon took on south africa's internet. hello to you. the german chancellor had staked

her political fortunes. it looks like good news. 20,000 car workers in germany. in europe, car workers are worrying about jobs that their plans. general motors has agreed to sell a majority stake of its european subsidiary opel to ma gna. we have more from berlin. >> angela merkel had not -- could not wait to announce the deal. this was our chance to take all the glory. >> good day, ladies and gentlemen. i inform you a short time ago the chancellor's office was informed that gm's governing board voted to sell opel to magna. i am very happy about this decision which is along the lines of what the government and

the employees of opel had hoped for. >> by the time general motors made its announcement, it was already old news. thank you to agne -- angela. >> we're confident this represents the best solution. as many of you know, under the magna proposed law, the companies will split a 55% share in opel. employees will draw a 10% stake, which i think it's a great idea. >> after months of uncertainty and difficult negotiations, general motors has voted to sell off opel and vauxhall. it is the deal angela merkel and the german government had been

pushing for 04 months. in germany, opel employees and 20,000 workers at four plants. the news was greeted with relief at the opel car plant. >> it will be fantastic if this plant is kept open. maybe they will expand it. >> this is the best thing that could happen to us. >> is a very different story though in the uk. many of these vauxhall kerr's were hoping general motors would not sell. they are hoping magna will not allow the ax to fall on british jobs. >> is not good for us? >> is bad news. we will be unemployed. where does that leave us? >> general motors tried to allay

fears. >> we are working hard to continue with magna. >> but the sale of gm is not just about cars and jobs. it is about politics, too. with germany's general election two weeks away, angela merkel has given herself a major boost by garnering a deal she wanted. bbc news, berlin. >> a report to be published 9 in uk tomorrow criticizes five executives to pay themselves and $70 million from the last british-owned volume car maker before 6000 workers lost their jobs. inspectors do not accuse the businessmen of breaking the law. more of the main news -- the first images of the self- proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks has emerged on the internet. kalid sheik mohammed has been

held in guantanamo bay. it is reported his family released these photographs taken by the red cross. at least 20 people have been killed in two separate bomb attacks in iraq. a lorry had with explosives detonated in a kurdish village in the north. a bomb killed one person and wounded five. venezuela will recognize the breakaway georgian regions of south ossetia. this will be the fourth issue to recognize their independence. >> the afghan electoral complete organization has invalidated some ballots from the presidential election because of fraud. they all were cast in favor of hamas karzai. they are investigating hundreds more complaints.

as we have the report from kabul, the arguments could take months to settle. >> the days up to the anniversary of 9/11 are always marked in afghanistan with commemoration of the leader killed by al-qaeda two days before the twin tower attacks in 2001. they gather again to remember. this year, they have a new hero -- dr abdullah, but he does know what to fight with the old afghan weapons. he wants to when an election. on the strongest attack on president karzai to date, he claimed that he control the election commission. >> it has been corrupt. this is now widespread. i think it is not for the good of the country that someone

commits massive fraud. >> do you think the election has been stolen from you? >> it has been stolen from the nation. i think it is a great disservice to the people. >> the u.s. envoy to afghanistan would not be drawn into criticism of this election yet. >> not all the people of afghanistan were able to vote. as i said, many times will for this election, very imperfect elections throughout the west as well. holding them to these conditions -- this is a great thing to do. let's see what happens before we jump to conclusions. >> president karzai has denied the claims. his spokesman derides them as the last gasp of a bad loser. but his victory is beginning to look in doubt with the third disqualification of votes ordered by the international body overseeing elections.

the soldiers who fought the russians still wait for peace. >> this is not help democracy was a poster turnout in afghanistan, but it's hard to see what the international community can do. it may leave in place a weakened president, tainted by corruption. it is harder to explain to the young soldiers fighting and dying to ensure stability in helmand. >> moving on, russia's foreign minister has refused to confirm or deny that israel's prime minister made a secret visit to moscow on monday. he also refused to comment on reports that the visit might make -- link is really concerns -- israeli concerns to the mysterious case of the arctic sea. it was allegedly hijacked by pirates. nine women have been freed from a turkish village where they spent two months locked up,

believing it were part of a reality tv show. their relatives raise the alarm when they were prevented from contacting them. cameras were producing live images for pain internet users. one suspect has been arrested. workhorses for hauling cargo to the international space station. for next year, the station will no longer be serviced by the american fleet. as international attention focuses on the expansion of jewish settlements in the west bank, much of the internal debate within israel concerns the makeup of its army -- a right wing religious groups are growing in influence in what used to be a secular and today. we have this report from jerusalem. >> israel's army is changing. one secular, the combat units are now filled with those who

believe israel's walls are god's walls. they're becoming more powerful. they train here at officer's school to become part of the military elite. during israel's invasion of gaza earlier this year, religion and religious rhetoric seemed to play a big role. >> the religious intervention was so intense inside the base -- you are going to a battle. you are looking, you know, at a painting. next u.s., -- next to us, there was a civilian rabbi. the rabbi was also an officer. it was like we were going to a holy war. >> rabbis hunt -- handed out hundreds of these pamphlets,

calling it the palestinian sons of darkness. the victims -- palestinian civilians, not just militants and the enemy. israel has distanced themselves from the leaflets. this is one of the growing number of orthodox jewish schools that encourages taking of bibles to the battlefield. this is becoming increasingly prominent in israel's army. less ideologically-driven israelis are avoiding them. this has made headline news in israel. >> award to protect the state of israel is a religious obligation. -- a war to protect the state of israel is a religious obligation. >> these are the settlers in the west bank. they are part of the right wing like a majority of military

rabbis and the new wave of israeli soldiers. what about the west bank? if president obama gets his way, israel will evacuate most settlements like this one from the west bank. they are illegal under international law. palestinians call the west bank their future state. but not forget -- the west bank is part of the holy land given to them by god. will they be willing to obey government orders to go against their religious convictions? many in the army think not. but is really likes military leaders strongly disagree. >> the moral code is very clear. we demand soldiers to behave under this code. anybody can say or create another code. not a religious one. >> all the commanders are in

charge of their soldiers. >> day today, is really going military mainly operates in civilian areas -- gaza, the west bank, in east jerusalem. the influence on israeli soldiers attitudes is key. this is likely to affect the way they use their power and their weapons. >> still to come for you on "bbc world news." the speech had urgency, passion, determination, but did it hit home with the viewers? we will be in washington with reaction to president obama's big speech to congress. first though, five girls have been killed, 24 others injured at a stampede in new delhi. a staircase that turned into a tragedy. we have this reports. at state authorities have ordered an inquiry into the

incident. >> emotional scenes outside the hospital where the victims were taken. this woman distraught. anxious to find out if their loved ones are ok. the lucky ones who got away, they relive the terrifying moments. >> we were trapped by other students. several girls were trapped badly because they cannot find any way to get out. there were not able to breathe. we had no hope we could be saved. some died and many others fainted. >> the girls were here -- in the upper floor of the school, taking exams, when they went down. this narrow staircase was the only way out. it became a virtual death trap. many are claiming the school authorities -- many are blaming the school authorities for not controlling the situation.

angry relatives vented their anger, pelting stones at us. police are called in to rein in the protesters. there are no complications. the government ordered an inquiry to determine what wrong. it will take a lot more to satisfy people here. >> one thing that this incident has done is focus attention on the governmental school in india. they are poorly equipped and are overcrowded and understaffed. in an emergency like today, the response is far from adequate. bbc news, delhi. >> the latest headlines for you on "bbc world news." general motors is selling its european operation to a canadian-russian consortium. good news for thousands of german car workers and a worry for others in europe.

the afghan election watchdog has invalidated results from dozens of polling stations because of fraud. barack obama has accepted an apology from a republican politician who heckled his speech on health care reform on wednesday. this is the moment, as the president was speaking, when joe wilson made his presence felt. >> the reforms i am proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. >> a lie. >> president obama accepted the rapid and unambiguous apology. our special correspondent has more from washington. >> that heckling, that just does not happen on these occasions. it was our real shock. here to consider the reaction and others to the speech, the senior political producer at the bet.

that was quite a shock. >> politically, it was a time bomb. it has been all over the city today. immediately, most of his republican colleagues -- representative wilson is from south carolina -- he was asked to do an apology. he issued one immediately. he spoke to the president. but he was also asked by his colleagues to go on to the house floor and apologize, and he declines to do that. >> what does this mean as well for latino voters, for african american voters when they are hearing that sort of reaction? >> this was a double whammy of an insult from the republican party, to go through large blocks of minority voters. this came when the president was addressing immigration. excuse me -- not addressing immigration but whether or not immigrants would be able to receive health care. he said they would not if they

were in the country illegally. everyone knows that was a direct reference to -- everyone knows they are going on about illegal immigrants, primarily latino immigrants who bore the brunt of that. the second thing was the total disrespect of the president'. it was an insult to the african- american community. this has never happened before on the house floor. this type of behavior was unseemly. the ticket as a slight of the commander in chief and they probably thought it was acceptable because of his race. >> is there any chance of bipartisan reform? is there any chance, do you think, that he can win over moderate republicans? >> i think there's a chance he can win some moderate republicans that were already with him. i do not know. that is probably a libya snow in the senate and susan collins, but the home are from the northeast. -- that is probably at olympia snowe in the senate.

it is going to be a battle. i think there are still stalwarts in the republican party including senator john mccain and orrin hatch. they will get together to figure out what they can comfortably offer the president. >> thank you for your insight. we will be watching this debate as it carries on, as it will until christmas and beyond. >> thank you. obama has called the british prime minister gordon brown to express his disappointment at the release of the man convicted of the lockerbie bombing. downing street said the discussion of al-megrahi featured only briefly in the discussion between the two men. writing has broken out in the ugandan capital. security forces -- the latest

reports say at least seven people are dead. the started during a protest against official efforts to stop peeking from visiting an area where it -- to stop from visiting an area where his presence was thought to cause unrest. >> stones in one direction, teargas in the other. but the violence took a turn for the worse. ugandan security forces began using teargas and live bullets, causing six fatalities. police in armored carriers confronted scores of writers in the business district where they work -- and rioters in the business district where they were throwing stones. the king wanted to visit the

northeast of the city. the government tried to stop the visit for fear of violence, leading his own supporters to take to the streets in protest. they are the largest ethnic group in uganda. the ugandan kaine is expected to travel on the -- kaine is expected to travel on saturday -- king is expected to travel on saturday. >> the leader of the collision in lebanon has given up his efforts to put together a unity government. he was given a narrow majority in parliament and was asked to form a new administration. it looks like he has failed. he blames the opposition, backed by iran and led by hezbollah. >> he gave it to in the half months of effort, but he is giving up. the two sides did reach an agreement on the overall balance

of power with the new cabinet, but not on who should have what post. he accused the opposition, led by hezbollah, as trying to impose unacceptable conditions at every turn. >> my effort to form a national unity government was faced with problems that are now well known, so i announced to the lebanese today that i had to tell the president i could not form a government. what happens now -- >> what happens now is that he will ask parliamentary leaders to form a new government. it has to be a sunni. he may be asked to try again. >> he should make another effort to form a government. if he does not, things will not work out in this country. >> he came out of the general election in early june with a small, a significant majority of hezbollah and its coalition. they accuse him of trying to

impose a fait accompli over who gets what portfolio. there is no assurance of success. the deadlock between the two sides led to violent clashes in beirut and elsewhere last year. so far, but party seem determined to avoid a repetition of that, the there are no guarantees. bbc news, a rich. >> now broadband promise to unite the world, but in south africa, the weather is no faster than the humble carrier pigeon. an information technology firm grew so frustrated with internet speed that they mounted an unusual challenge. >> the information superhighway -- fast, efficient, and an essential tool of modern business. but it may not be quite as fast as it seems. at least not in some parts of africa.

trying to prove their point, frustrated at the port service on offer from the leading internet service provider, they released their secret weapon -- winston the carrier pigeon. 11 months old and wearing to go. no cats are allowed to disrupt his progress. then, when the memory stick strapped to his tiny legs, winston took off. the same information was being emailed. thousands followed his progress on social networking site, and hours later he arrived. the data was demoted, and two hours after he left, the data was ready to be used. as for the e-mail version -- 4% of the data had reached its destination.

proof, the company says, that their idea had a serious edge to it. >> we are having a lot of fun as well doing something like this. but solutions like this -- we need to think outside the box. anything is possible. >> and what now for winston? according to the website, he is celebrating his victory by chilling with his friends. bbc news. >> winston's share price has gone up a bit, i would say. general motors has a agreed to sell a majority stake opel stake to a consortium led by magna. good news for car workers in germany, but it does leave european car workers worried about jobs that their plans. 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 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.

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