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, 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." >> united states, canada, and russia stake their claim.

we find out how much is up for grabs. no one wants to be left out. >> within the next 20 years, there will be no ice here, which means this could become an extremely his busy shipping lane. >> welcome to gmt. i am jonathan charles. why is a larry summers stepping down? president obama's most senior economic adviser will go weeks until the election. another blow for the american president. the ban on openly gay men and women in the u.s. military stays in place. it is midday in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and night will soon be falling in parts of the arctic. the latest battleground in the

fight to exploit the world resources. politicians are meeting in moscow to discuss this. canada, the united states, russia, and some scandinavian countries are trying to assert their rights. in a moment, we'll hear the view from canada and norway. >> a record-breaking voyage by russian ships this summer through the shrinking size of the arctic sea. shrinking -- ice of the arctic sea. a new, fast route for russian energy exports to asia. we were taken on board the nuclear-powered ice breaker, which led the way just before the final leg of the journey. the russians keen to publicize

how quickly they're exploiting the effects of climate change in the arctic. >> at the moment, this and the other ice breakers are needed to score the cargo ships safely through the northeast passage. according to many predictions, within 20 years, there will be no ice here at all. that means this could be an extremely busy shipping lane. >> new shipping lanes are just one part o russia's ambitious plan for the arctic. three years ago, and these submarines made an epic dive down to the seabed to plant the russian flag. at stake in the arctic, a vast reserves of oil and gas. russia wants to extend its current territory, claiming over 1 million square miles of

territory, although it to the north pole. >> russia does not want conflict with the other countries surrounding the arctic. naturally, no one wants to give up its territory. russia will make a huge effort to hang onto the territory which we think belongs to russia. >> in this shipyard in st. petersburg, they are preparing for the big push towards the north pole. they are building floating nuclear power stations, due to be deployed in the arctic to provide electricity and heating. >> [speaking foreign language] >> it has great potential, making it possible to extract oil and gas. we need to ensure a reliable energy supply there. >> with all this hard work, russia's goal seems clear, to control the bulk of the

resources in the arctic. >> canada wants to assert its control on the potentially lucrative shipping route. >> welcome to the hudson bay explorer, a tugboat heading north toward the arctic circle. we are about 15 miles off the western shore of canada's bay. it is an area that's very inaccessible. there are no roads, but there are people who live along that shore. take a look behind us. we are pulling an enormous barge that carries cars and construction materials. for those communities, this is the only way of getting the materials to them. this is a vital supply line. in a few weeks, this journey would not be possible. much of the hudson bay and the arctic ocean freezes over. as the polar ice melts, shipping lanes are becoming accessible for longer in the year and for

bigger vessels. that could mean the northwest passage becomes potentially navigable. it would take weeks off current shipping routes and would be extremely valuable. canada has asserted its authority over waterways in the ocean. the military recently held an exercise in arctic waters as a show of strength. the government of the country has invested more in chips to control the area. other countries' dispute what canada's is saying. they say the passage should be freely accessible to international shipping. the meeting this week is supposed to hammer that out. in remote areas like this, they're becoming under scrutiny like never before. >> norway does not want to be

left out. it has moved its military headquarters inside the arctic circle. this is highly symbolic that they have moved this military base. >> yes, it is not exactly that norway is a highly militarized country. next to russia's 142 million or so, across the border, and the norwegians could hardly seem threatening by moving their headquarters here inside the arctic circle. remember, norway and russia are big competitors in the field of gas exploration and gas supply in europe. these are two of the leading countries in the world for exploiting military resources and selling them abroad. it's not surprising that there's a huge amount of competition between them. what norway is saying by moving its base up north -- they're

saying, we are here, we are strong, and we are protecting our interests. whether or not russia sees that as threatening remains to be seen. >> norway is a very small player compared to canada, the united states, and russia. it would be more difficult for it to assert its rights in this battle for the arctic. >> it will be difficult. i did not quite hear your question. the battle of the arctic is somewhat of an overstatement if you talk to the norwegian military. they say it is not a return to cold war days. there simply protecting their sovereign interests. the russian president has said that he used to the presence of nato on the other side of the border with some concern. at one level, this is norway saying, we are strong and we will defend our interests. on the other hand, it is reassuring russia that an attack

could not possibly be launched from its soil. the irony of this situation -- the world exploits mineral resources, and global warming causes the ice melt that makes them more accessible. the whole problem exacerbates. that is something environmental experts will be looking at. >> thank you very much. you can find out more by going to the bbc news website. there's a lot on there, and an explanation of the role the u.n. has. let's take a look at some of the other headlines. president obama hopes of persuading an increasingly skeptical public that he is on top of america's economic troubles have suffered another setback. his top adviser on the economy, larry summers, has announced he will leave the white house at

the end of the year. it is all happening with the economy if the center stage in the run-up to the midterm congressional elections. >> no one ever accused larry summers of lacking confidence. i first met him in the 1990's here at the world economic forum in davos. he was part of the clinton administration. the united states troubled economy has proven resistant to his efforts. to many americans, it does not feel like the recession has ended. he was seen as one of the main architects of president obama's economic policy. now he will be returning to his academic career at harvard university. in a statement, president obama said he would grateful that he was willing to

leave the economic team. the departure of larry summers does look like a blow for the president. he is the third member of the economic team to go in a matter of months. the budget director, peter orszag, stepped down in july. christina romer went earlier this month. the highest profile remaining member of the team is treasury secretary geithner. some are asking if he will be the fall guy. >> joining me now is our economics editor. why do you think larry summers is gone? >> many people thought he would go by the end of this year. if he did not, he would have to reapply for his place as a professor at harvard. there's the much desired tenure at harvard. it seems clear that he did ask the president if he could leave

one year ago. he did originally planned to stay one year. he was persuaded to stay one more year. >> was he being listened to in the white house? there was this debate over policy. sometimes he felt left out. >> he's a man of very strong opinions. if he is up against a lot of people, sometimes he will lose arguments. i'm sure he would have expected to have lost some battles. he was a driving intellectual force. people knew they have to take him on in getting their views through to the president. he was quite a key figure. there are now quite a few shoes to fill in the white house. it is a crucial time. you will come out of the bid terms with a loss of control of one or maybe two houses of

congress. there's a lot of pressure on the economy and what to do with the deficit long term. he may end up with a funny mix where there's no stimulus to help the economy now, but the republicans also stop any intervention of tax increases for the long term. >> thank you very much. in other news, israel has been urged to extend its moratorium on west bank settlement building, which is due to expire at the end of the month. the freeze has had a positive impact on the region. the palestinian president says he will walk away with peace talks with israel if the construction resumes. nine people have died in a bomb attack in the northwest of iran. it happened during a military parade in the kurdish city of mahabad. most of the dead and injured are women and children, according to reports. the scottish team have delayed flying their athletes to delhi. the wells team has given the

organizers until this evening to confirm issues around the accommodations. a number of people have complained that the athletic village is unfit for human habitation. a lifting of the ban of openly gay men and women -- the ban will stay in place. polls suggest there's overwhelming public support for change. >> americans who put themselves in harm's way for their country enjoyed a unique position in u.s. society. widely respected and admired at home, u.s. service personnel also have the rare distinction of having legal restrictions placed on their sexual of the. under -- on their sexuality. gay or lesbian soldiers can serve, but they must keep their

sexual orientation secret. >> it is a serious form of discrimination. it is taking citizens of this country and treating them as second-class citizens. basically, it's ok to be gay, but the,die gay. >> i will end don't ask don't tell. >> president obama has called for gay people to be allowed to serve openly, but he is opposed by his former electoral rival, who says military leaders do not want to upset the status quo. >> in your written statement, i quote my personal view of the current law. thus, i do not recommend the repealed. >> yays are 56. >> on tuesday, republican

senators rejected the plan to ditch the law. for now, the old policy will soldier on. any attempt to change it will have to wait until after november's midterm elections. >> still to come on gmt, could driveoes you wheear to put you in danger on the open road? stay with us to find out. >> the former u.n. secretary general has made comments as world leaders met at the u.n. >> convoys disrupting traffic and police on every corner. the price of new yorkers pay when global leaders are in their city. all of the united nations gave him what still needs to be done to achieve the ambitious targets

for overcoming poverty. it is 10 years since these go als were set. the mood at the united nations is both a just and surprisingly positive. millions remain in poverty. many promises have not been kept. there has still been significant progress. the top millennium goal may be met. to halt poverty worldwide by 2015, and providing primary education for all children looks on track. there's been progress for cutting infection rates for malaria and hiv aids. other goals are still far off. the overall picture is still patchy, especially in africa. the record of britain has been better than most. clegg arrived with a new

funding pledge. the veteran campaigner is optimistic. >> the 2015 goals -- it is extraordinary that even one of them is. and the ones that will not, why stop at 2015? >> in the world still hurting from recession, it remains a challenge. bbc news at the united nations. >> this is gmt on "bbc world news." so far this -- our, our main stories politicians are meeting in moscow to decide how to divide the arctic. president obama's most senior economic adviser, larry summers, will leave the white house by the end of the year.

in a moment, we'll hear how a new book the sheds light in the in-fighting in the the obama administration -- in the obama administration. >> the chief executive from unicredit, alessandro profumo, has lost a boardroom battle to keep his job. alessandro profumo will be replaced in the anteroom by an austrian natural -- will be replaced in the interim by an austrian national. >> all his threats of resigning that have come and gone in the past -- his bluff has now been called on this libyan deal. there has been political pressure, as well, to move alessandro profumo. it is the biggest private bank in italy. it is the 10th biggest bank in europe. the libyan deal was simply a

deal that went too far. he is simply out of a job. >> deutsche bank has warned that profits are suffering from a downturn in trading. germany's biggest bank is raising just over 10 billion euros. third quarter net profits will be significantly below last year's. worldwide recession has had little effect on shoppers. the largest fashion retailer has declared a jump in net profits. it is benefiting largely from expansion in asia. europe's most debt-ridden nations continue to tap the markets for funds. on tuesday, they did successfully raise money on the bond markets. today, it is portugal's turn. they found that while demand was

high, it was forced to pay a high yield. have a look at the markets. they're all looking negative at the moment. there's a bit of profit-taking going on at the moment. also, there's a worry about whether the economy -- whether the global economy is recovering affectively. centex pulled back. the other markets have not moved an enormous amount. that's business. back to you. >> thank you very much. it seems to be one piece of bad news after another for president obama today. a new book claims his administration is divided over the u.s. strategy in afghanistan. the book says top advisers doubted whether the decision to sharply increase the number of troops sent to the country would work. let's go to washington now and

speak to jake sherman. you get the impression that there were a lot of the arguments. >> bob woodward tends to do this. he goes into the white house and convinces people to spill their guts to him. this shows that the top generals in iraq did not trust what president obama would say he would do. even before the book, there was some distance between the top advisers and the president. this was not welcome and news for the president. >> we tend to think obama is very calm, but he is depicted as

shouting in the book. there was lots of anger. >> the white house hopes that this will show a delivers if president, a president who takes times to make decisions. he said, i cannot lose the whole democratic party, which is a really interesting dynamic. he is taking into consideration the fact that these wars in the middle east, which were started by george w. bush, they are not popular among democrats. you can see that dynamic, which is very. . >> over the past half hour, we've heard lots of news over the obama administration. he lost the vote on repealing the ban on open gays serving in the military. he is losing larry summers from the white house, and now this. where do think that leaves them in the run-up to the elections? >> elections will be very difficult for the democratic

party, the president's party. the departure of larry summers was probably expected. don't ask don't tell -- democrats can frame that as republicans blocking it. republicans contend that this election will be about the economy, which has not fully recovered yet. >> thank you very much. >> thank you for having me. >> when we get into a car, we're used to adjust in a seat in the rearview mirror. should we think about changing our shoes? a survey suggest that one in four drivers at some point has not felt fully in control of their vehicle because of their footwear. >> millions of us get behind the wheel every day. before you step into your car, how hard do you think about what you're wearing on your feet? over 18,000 drivers were questioned about what shoes they wear to drive in, and if it

affects their confidence behind the wheel. over a quarter people said they did not feel fully in control of their car because of what they were wearing on their feet. of them, 4% of people admitted caused them problems behind the wheel. flip-flops' came out the worst with 27% saying they made them feel unsafe. >> the message to people is -- having shoes that the not liu control the car could lead to an accident --. not having shoes that allow you to be in control could lead to an accident. >> we measure the critical fraction of a second it takes to brake. trainers came out best. stilettos were a bit slower.

flip-flops were significantly worse. wellington boots were a slow 0.66 seconds. wedges came out on the bottom. it is not necessarily illegal to drive in the wrong footwear. the device is that taking a spare pair could prevent an accident -- the advice is that taking a spare pair could prevent an accident. >> there will be more on the big moscow meeting about the arctic later. we will have more from a supply ship in canada as roger travels to some remote communities in the far north. for the moment, that is it. stay with us. there's more to come.

>> "bbc world news" is presentedfunding 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, union bank, and siemens. >> somewhere in america, there's a doctor who can peer into the future. there's a nurse who can access in an instant every patient's past. and because the whole hospital is working together, there's a family who can breathe easy right now. somewhere in america we've already answered some of the nation's toughest health-care questions. and the over 60,000 people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations.

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>> ming: donuts-- i have a huge thing for donuts, as do all my customers at blue ginger. it flies out of the kitchen. do you know why? be