>> "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. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank offers unique insight and expertise in a range of industries. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> hillary clinton tells the israeli prime minister that he faces that the cold blood necessary choices to achieve middle east peace. president obama's historic health care bill passes in congress. but the battle is not over yet. google searches for a way around

censorship in china. coming up later, lots of water, but none to use. australia faces its worst drought in the century. and why are south african police forces being so concerned about obesity in his office? >> they are slim and fit. but as soon as they leave college, it becomes a problem. >> the relationship between israel and the u.s. is under scrutiny.

the israeli prime minister is visiting washington. hillary clinton warned israelis that they should make peace with their middle east neighbors because the tension is unsustainable for everyone and the u.s. may not always be able to protect them. >> hillary clinton came to aipac with a message of tough love. >> as israel's friend, it is our responsibility to give credit when it is due and to tell the truth when it is needed. >> the relationship with israel is rock-solid, she said, but she was unapologetic about washington's column last week when it condemned plans for additional housing for jewish settlers in occupied east jerusalem. she says -- she faced a skeptical audience.

settlement was undermining any progress in the peace talks. it seems to undermine the trust between the u.s. and israel. joe biden was in israel 10 days ago when the government announced the settlement expansion. benjamin netanyahu is now in washington. his public response to mrs. clinton's speech will be telling about the direction that israel's government will be taking. diplomacy is only one way to go. demography is not working in israel's favor. >> given the the reality, eight two-state solution is the only viable path for israel to remain both a democracy and a jewish state. >> she ran another alarm bell. >> we must recognize that the ever-evolving technology of war

is making it harder to guarantee israel's security. >> whether it is rockets like these are fired by hamas or the threat from hezbollah and iran, she insists that they make peace because america may not have the ability to protect it forever. >> the reform of american health care has divided u.s. political and public opinion for decades. it has been the biggest political battle for barack obama. the slimmest of the margin clearly indicates -- the slimness of the margin clearly indicates the division. >> after a year of trying, these new laws on health care made their way through an exhausted

and embittered congress. as the crucial votes came in, the democrats were google's. -- were duelists -- were jubilo. not one republican voted in favor. minutes after the vote, the president spoke. >> this legislation will let fix everything that ails our healthcare system. but it moves us decisively in the right direction. this is what change looks like. >> in los angeles this morning, americans were digesting that change. >> when you add 30 million more people into the health system that is already strained for resources, how were these people going to get treatment? >> is it going to be affordable or is it just another gimmick for health care companies to make money? >> the new laws should mean that, starting this year, insurance companies will have to

guarantee coverage. no more cutting people off simply because they have fallen ill. three years from now, new taxes will kick in, especially on the wealthy. by 2014, all americans will have to carry health insurance, just like you would car insurance. the new laws are being compares to franklin roosevelt accretion of social security or lyndon johnson's medical plans for the poor. but reforming health care it insurance has always been tough. clinton failed miserably in the 1990's. furious republicans today have promised that this battle is not over. >> the american people are angry and they do not like it and we are going to try to repeal this. >> but barack obama celebrated with champagne and high-fives. the president has much to do still. he must implement these new

laws. he needs to persuade americans to like them. >> the internet giant, google, says that it will give users in china uncensored access to its search engine, despite the opposition from chinese authorities. chinese users are being redirected to a google site in hong kong with full search facilities. caroline, how do you read this? >> it essentially, google is trying to get around this idea that they have to continue censoring their site in china. they are rerouting all of their visitors in china through hong kong. some wonder whether the chinese authorities will simply block access in mainland china to

google. you have to remember that google only makes 1% or 2% of its entire $24 billion of revenue from china. but the issue is that it is a huge potential market and google is having to weigh the value of keeping holding its assets and not allowing censorship and having free access to the internet with this potential money-making market. >> carolyn, i know that this is a long-running row over censorship. some suggest that the google has suffered over competition in china. >> it does have a great bit of competition from the likes of baidu, volleyball, and the number of other big names in china -- baidu, alibaba, and the

number of other big names in china. but the chief legal officer has tried to paint this as unethical issue -- as an ethical issue google has employed 7000 people in china. on their block today, when they reported this new move, they were very careful to try to shield those employees and said that all of the decisions about what good will is what to do in china is being made out of the u.s. this has been a long-running spat. it did make it as far as the secretary of state hillary clinton. >> many thank you, indeed, for that. let's look at some of the other main news. petco you are -- four main employees of rio tinto are facing trial in shanghai.

negotiations with beijing were tainted. china warns about politicizing what is largely a commercial case. karzai talks with [unintelligible] it could signal the possibility for a deal with the group of rivals to the taliban. some parts of hong kong had readings more the double at which people are advised to stay indoors. beijing was trotted in yellow haze. anyone going outside was warned to wear masks and scars. the ban on ivory trading remains. an attempt to weaken it has

been foiled. the two countries wanted to sell off stockpiles of tusks. >> the national park has lost more than 2000 elephants to poachers in the last four years. across sub-saharan africa, elephants are being slaughtered again for their tusks. elephant poaching decline after it total ban for ivory was imposed in 1989. elephants have started to be killed again for their ivory. at a conference which regulates the trade of endangered species, to african countries, tanzania and zambia, wanted to be allowed to sell ivory. but their applications were rejected. elephant conservation organizations and a group of african countries say that the elephant must be given the

highest level of protection. they warn that the illegal sale of ivory simply stimulate the market in tusks and causes an upsurge in poaching. >> you are watching bbc world news. it is due to have you with us. in kenya, not to allow the ivory sales has been welcomed. what happened after the last sale back in 2008? >> we lost 47 elephants to poachers. the following year, we lost 145 elephants. last year, that number moved to more than two hundred 30 elephants. -- 230 elephants.

when we are speaking about the african elephant, we are speaking about all of the african range species. some of them are from tanzania and some of them are from the congo and some are from beyond. it is a good decision that they have made. we hope this will give us room to control them ourselves and have a more unified position as africans and to pay necessary attention to other species that have suffered. this resting. should give a strong -- this resting period should give us more room to be unified. >> they do not honor the borders. >> they do not. they try to do it without

consulting us. but those elephants are neither there's more hours. we share them. the elephants have no idea. in tanzania, we have [unintelligible] in my samarra and serengeti, the elephant has no idea that these are two different countries. given that elephants have long migratory behavior, it would be a tragedy if tanzania were allowed to trade ivory. we are surrounded by sudan and somalia and parts of uganda where there are so many legal arms and there is a market for -- and having a market for elephants would tell people to go ahead and slaughter them.

>> still to come for you on bbc world news, will google's move to hong kong solve their censorship problems in china? we will hear from the company themselves next. >> the french president has sacked his liver minister. -- his labour minister. >> it is a day to take stock. the prime minister goes to the nbc2 talk through what went wrong. -- bruce goes to elize to talk through what went wrong many blame sarkozy himself for the poor scores.

high unemployment and the feeble economy has been met with a series of strikes and demonstrations. >> i think the french are fed up. sarkozy has accumulated many errors. >> for a minute, it was a night of triumph. >> but noting and by explaining, the french people have expressed their [unintelligible] i really believe that they have sanctioned and unfair policy of fiscal gifts for the most privileged ones to the detriment of the employment and the fight against unemployment. >> with the socialist party still battling with internal leadership, there's still a lot of work to do before the next race in 2012. the fort right -- the far right

also had a good night, gaining 90% of the overall vote. the government will need to launch a new strategy. sarkozy's to be far more cautious with his program of reforms. >> we have the latest headlines. the u.s. secretary of state has warned israelis that they need to make peace with their neighbors because the status quo is unsustainable and the u.s. may not able to protect them for much longer. the u.s. house of representatives has approved president obama's landmark health care bill. australia is being ripped by the big dry. major cities daily confront the possibility of running out of water.

at the start of the bbc world war week, we have this investigation. bridget world water week -- world water week, we have this investigation. >> this is one of the biggest desalination plants in the planet. with the population growing by 1000 people a week, the aim is to drought-proof australia's most popular city. this is the first stage of the process through which saltwater becomes drinking water. giant filters which remove the seaweed and large pieces of debris. this is reverse osmosis. because of australia's biggest drought and more than a century,

>> it is being designed and built so that its capacity can be doubled in two or three years. in australia, they are planning for a water-skiers future. but it is not planning but

panic, according to environmentalists. this is sydney's biggest dam, part of a reservoir system that they claim can meet demands for the next decade. conservation measures are in households and in the cities and are conserving more water and now than it was in the 1970's, despite the growth in population. >> desalination is at the bottom. but when water management says that i have to build this, they have failed to use the other options that are better for the environment before they go to desalinization. >> it is a much-needed addition to the urban landscape. for the expanding global cities, perhaps, this is a portent for things to come. >> the south africa police service has launched a new

health program. they had two hundred police recruits doing jumping jacks at their training ground. >> it is 7:00 a.m. and the south african police force is getting into shape. battered, bruised, and dismissed by many, this is where the comeback is supposed to start. as many as half of the country's police officers are thought to be overweight. as you can see it, the larger ones were not put in front of the cameras. they want to get the forced to slim down. leading the fight is south africa's police commissioner. >> you can see them here at the college. they are trampling by the soon as they leave the college, -- they are trim. but, as soon as they leave the college, it becomes a problem. >> they have a year to drop down

to the size of their first uniform. having struggled to curb south everett as prime rate, this campaign is part of -- to curb south africa's crime rate, this campaign is part of an effort to better themselves. >> if you are fit physically, your mind will be very fit. you will be sharper. by what to warn all criminals but they should not think [unintelligible] >> at the back of everyone's mind is the world's largest sporting tournament that is three months away. it is a time to show that security is under control. the south african police know that they have an image problem. shall all of this public sweating is -- so all of this public sweating shows that those

who are committing a crime have trouble. >> george mitchell has seen restrained. many were killed witin a clash with israeli security. [sunf gunfire] >> two young men were killed in this west bank village. the israeli army says that they used plastic bullets and tear gas. but the doctor that operated on one of the man says that there is evidence to the contrary. >> is an iron bullet, not a rubber bullet pierced can you

be very -- rubber bullet. >> can you be certain that it is not a rubber bullet? >> this is not a rubber bullet. >> be too young men's families say that they were not protesting. -- the two young men's families say that there were not protesting. they were on their way home from school. there were just a few meters from the family house when they stopped to see what was happening. over the same weekend, other young men were killed. it was at an israeli checkpoint. it has happened all in 24 hours. it is not sure yet if it is fodder for the palestinian uprising.

the palestinian prime minister visited with the families and urged people to remain calm. >> with the heightened tension throughout, [unintelligible] clearly, this is an environment that is rife for exploitation. >> today, we see across the palestinians who are angry, extreme, violent who are choosing to practice their violence through violent protest. >> to the u.s. special envoy george mitchell is urging both

sides to show restraint. more deaths would generate more anger and more protests. the longer it takes to restart negotiations, the more difficult it may become. >> after weeks of anticipation, the first cherry blossom shoots have started to bloom in japan. in tokyo, they had viewing parties. they declared the capital now officially in bloom. it marks the start of the blossom viewing season. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank offers unique insight and expertise in a range of industries. what can we do for you? >> i'm julia stiles. >> i'm kevin bacon. >> i'm kim cattrall. >> 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. by kcet, los angeles.