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. as put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> we are a nation of explorers. we seek new ways of living, of thinking, and of expressing ourselves. we take risks.

we learn from experience. and we keep moving forward. that is why we encourage and celebrate the explorer in all of us. >> and now "bbc newsnight." >> international pressure mounts on iran but would make a difference? -- will it make a difference? this week, as president obama calls for iran to demonstrate a clear and credible commitment to a peaceful nuclear program, we take a look at the internal and external pressures facing iran as tensions continue with the west. >> the united states and the international community seek a resolution to our differences with iran and the door remains open to diplomacy should they choose to walk through it.

>> the british citizens detained in bahrain claim that what they were tortured. what is wrong with pakistan? we will discuss this with out what the country has to say for themselves. >> what is that? >> you might know that some but do you know who wrote it? the director takes on a screen writer who feels undervalued. >> president obama does not have to go very far to find enemy is these days, he has plenty at home. it was with some relief that he faced mahmoud ahmadinejad at the u.n. he said that the the door still open to diplomacy should iran

choose to walk through it. >> each year in september, mahmoud ahmadinejad travels to the u.s. for the united nations general assembly in new york. he and the american president speak on the same day. the iranian leader was in fine form. >> it was said that some 3000 people were killed on september 11th for which we are all very saddened. up until now, in afghanistan and iraq, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, millions have been wounded and displaced and the conflict is still going on. >> when questioned who was behind 9/11, the diplomats walked out. they called his comments delusional. since the new sanctions in june, iran has suffered in a number of ways.

the arms embargo has been tightened as have financial regulations -- interactions that are tied it to the revolutionary guard. >> these are two major components of the nuclear program and the revolutionary guard. the shipping and arms is very effective. the revolutionary guard is reacting to that part of the resolution more harshly than any other because the iranian government has been very good in terms of putting different ships under pseudonyms and registering them in different countries. this resolution says that international forces can investigate any ship that is suspected of carrying iranian arms. >> russia announced that they will not deliver s-300 missiles

to iran because of a new sanction resume -- sanction regime. these could have been used to fight against aerial attacks. a few years ago, mahmoud ahmadinejad was actually cheered because he was seen as a powerful bull work against the policies of george bush. now, there is a more proper the president and sanctions are beginning to build up and have an effect. -- there is a more popular president. the pressures are mounting on him to cooperate. president obama maintained the pressure. >> let me be clear once more, the u.s. and the international community seek a resolution to our differences with iran and the door remains open to diplomacy should iran choose to walk through it. the iranian government must demonstrate a clear and credible

commitment and concern to the world a peaceful intent of their nuclear program. -- and confirm to the world a peaceful intent to their nuclear program. >> now they will lose a trading partner. >> europe has reduced their trade with iran and china has increased their trade. they're one of the leading trading partners and investors. the chinese did not have to support the sanctions. the sanctions will not have their intended impact because they will be swiss cheese sanctions. the only work when they are universally applied. the possibility is for the chinese government to step up and act like a world power because of the rest of the world does not want iran to become a nuclear weapons state. >> this week is called sacred defense week.

the group that was instrumental in taking down the revolutionary green movement has been showing their strength. the president has defended the start on the nuclear facilities. >> we have observed the regulations more than our commitments yet we have never submitted to the illegally imposed pressures nor would we ever do so. it is said that they seek to pressure iran into a dialogue. iran has always been ready for a dialogue. >> the president retains the backing of the spiritual leader of iran and as long as he does, he can reject the option of simple surrender either too simple inspectors are the human rights movement. it has become clear that the cost of defiance is increasing.

>> a british citizen is potentially facing the death penalty in bahrain where he is accused of trying to overthrow the government. he says he was tortured by officials. >> night after night, fires a protest burning across a tiny island at the heart of one of the most combustible regions on earth. bahrain has been home to the american fifth fleet. this is a vital ally for the west. they are also a close friend of britain. now, britain is in a difficult position. bahrain has been moving towards greater democracy but not enough for these protesters. now, scores of pro-democracy activists have been arrested and

it is alleged that some have been tortured including one who is a british citizen. >> it was clear that he was tied from both hands and hong from the ceiling -- hung from the ceiling. >> his wife says that the british authorities are not doing enough to help him. >> i feel that they don't want their to be a confrontation between themselves and the bahrain government. >> a mini cab driver has campaigned against the

government while in london. he was granted asylum. this summer, he went back to bahrain on holiday and talk of reform made him so safe but he was arrested and charged with plotting to overthrow the government. the foreign office says they are very concerned about the torture claims and they have pressured the embassy staff to meet him but they were denied access at first because he is also a british national as well as a citizen of bahrain. it was just last week, four months after the arrest, that they were able to see him. the case was raised in a phone call with the crown prince. the powerful royal family has close ties to britain. they were the colonial protector of the island until 1971. it is said they could have used

their influence more energetically. >> we have not seen much of an outcry about the human rights issues that have been raised and the crack down. this ties into the situation. it also ties in to the fact that the american push for democracy will basically way to. >> the call states are being heavily armed by america against an ever more assertive iran. a traditional sunni muslim are worried that more democracy would mean more power for shiites. bahrain has a shi'a majority. yemen, kuwait, and the eastern province of saudi arabia have substantial shiite minorities. pro-democracy protesters in bahrain are mainly shi'ite and they are angry at what they call continued discrimination. the evidence presented by the government says that there is a

network that is instructed to commit terrorist acts. they told us that all of those they have arrested have been and will be treated according to international team rights standard. there is proof of the torture. >> at the ruling to meet this not show political reform. what they want is an authoritarian dictatorship. they would want to convince the world that elections constitute democracy. >> the wife of the alleged torture victim has come back to london where their children are at school. the family knows he may face the death penalty. >> it made me very upset, very hard. my mother is now working, she

does not speak english. >> how much britain's quiet diplomacy can help them is not yet clear. >> pakistan's for of england has been the most controversial cricket tour four years. the series was played against the background of terrible floods in pakistan. that was an act of mother nature. there is an investigation into whether pakistani players were trying to fix the matches. the country is increasingly seen as a safe haven for al qaeda. we spent today among the cricket fans. >> for them, a day of celebration and triumph. the series is over, one that has

been dogged by suspicion and allegations of fixing. three players suspended, there is suspicion on all sides. cricket and pakistan are in the spotlight. the two scenes are indivisible. >> cricket is essential to the identity and culture of pakistan. the players are looked up to as heroes, like comic figures. the chairman is appointed by the president. it is fair to say culture, politics, cricket are almost inseparable. >> this is child's play compared with what they face at home. political corruption is so brazen that it would make a matchmaker blush with embarrassment. there is the outbreak of religious violence and the mother of all humanitarian crisis. water is still rising and so is the number of people affected.

there is national despair in pakistan. 12 million have been uprooted by massive floods. thousands of british pakistan is gave money to help victims of the flood. the foreign government's pledge hundreds of millions of dollars more. that giving has been tainted by a suspicion that far too much has gone not to the needy but to the greedy. >> many people said that this is not spent on the public but being squandered or put into swiss accounts. >> the people need that money. >> there's an old saying in pakistan, if you shake the president's heart, you have to look and see if your fingers are still there. >> pakistan's president was criticized for visiting britain

to help launch his son's political career during the height of the floods. there is allegations of dodgy dealings. this man played for pakistan. he thinks that the match fixing scandal has been overplayed. >> whenever there is money, you will find corruption. that does not mean we have to single out one country or another country. we don't blame south africans for this, this is individuals. they must be dealt with individually. >> we're joined from liverpool. forgive me. how do you pronounce your name? why do think your country is so

corrupt? >> i believe that this is quite a statement, that the country is correct. >> this is 139th on the index of a clean government. >> i don't know what the indicators are but this is more of a matter of perception. i have seen many people talking about corrupt politicians, corrupt people. it is not fair to call the entire nation and corrupt nation if you find a few individuals who are involved in corruption. corruption is not something that is really specific to pakistan. >> of course the allegations of corruption in cricket, how damaging is that within pakistan? >> i think that this is fairly damaging in the sense that it has brought so much

disillusionment in the nation and and people who are already besieged by these allegations. we are almost declared a borderline terrorist state. i don't agree. corruption is endemic. it starts from the high to low. it is everywhere. if you are not corrupt, you are a loser. >> there is a problem here. but has gone wrong? >> i think the good will that was invited by bbc to invite pakistan to play a home series here has done an ugly turn. you cannot just blame people and assume that today are responsible. you have to prove this. they have not been found guilty. not everyone is practiced -- corrupt and pakistan.

the government took charge in 2008 after elections, right? from there, the media, the international community, everyone is talking to -- >> this is 10%. >> this is what i'm talking about. you are working on a perception. >> the important thing for a foreign government is strategic interests. what do we do, turn a blind eye? >> i think that there is huge british expertise that i saw at the british foreign office. the diplomats struggle to put pakistan and a better direction but i think they constantly have to be aware of the limits as a former colonial power. we have a lot more influence in pakistan then say in india but we have a difficult relationship.

we were in charge of their once. understandably, those might be too direct or a push. what has happened in pakistan is that you have a country born out of division and war. this has allowed the forces of a merchant and a very rich trading class combined with feudal landlords and the army to create a grid lock at the top of pakistani society and prevent the emergence of a sort of broader middle-class and a democracy with deeper roots. this is to encourage the emergence of a civil society that comes out of the human rights hutment.

this might provide a more pluralistic, a more competitive blissful situation. >> there's an old saying in television, the reporter gets the credit, the producer gets the blame. in cinema, the actors gets the fame, the director gets the glory, what the writer gets? who knows the names of screenwriters? if there's no screenwriting, no film. the screenwriter of "mrs. brown," "the last king of scotland." >> who is that? >> that is tomorrow. >> no it isn't.

>> that is completely different. >> a sad girl. she will help me wash the car. >> at they might come on sundays. >> she spent weeks going on about her nose job. >> in the director's chair, we have stephen who has written "the queen." we also at the screenwriter for "the last screen -- the last queen of scotland.

>> what you are doing is saying that the film has been altered by the director. the film is a collective process that involves producers, directors, writers, editors. everyone who was captured by the director on the orchestra and turning around and saying, from tomorrow night, it will be an evening -- >> this is ridiculous. there are hundreds of people involved in making this. >> i am afraid that i agree with you. >> what are you doing taking the credit? >> it comes to the point where you are expected to. if you don't, they feel that they have been cheated. i am serious. >> who is they? >> the producers, the

distributors. it becomes a convenient. >> if they put your name on it, they think, selfish. >> i don't think so. >> how does the process normally works? it passes from individual to individual. >> bfi has been writing a series of screenwriters lectures. they have reawakened the interest in what screenwriters have to do. what they have to do is wrestle with infinite possibilities. that is the difference between them and everyone else. even the director of wrestles with an interpretation of the screenplay. only the writers have to wrestle with the blank screen. for that reason, it is important for us to remember who is there at the beginning of the process. >> the funny thing is, "the

queen," is very often known as a stephen morgan some. >> i know, it is shocking. >> he did not dealt the film credit? >> they are all out there but you don't know that because they are all ignored. >> this is proving the point, isn't it? >> the difficulty the writers have is not the same as the videographers. the collaborative process of the film needs to be recognized as such. more straightforward, if this is done by a director, they have to have the film "by," and to this diminishes those who are involved. it should be recognized for what it is which is a process which is captained by the director. everyone recognizes that the director is the most important.

>> you are arguing that there is some merit to what he says. >> this is entirely accurate. the british films that you would like, they are all collaborations between directors and writers. there was one case in which the collaboration between the writer and director thought it right. i am happy to take the credit. someone should. >> apart from greta find the vanity of writers and perhaps gratifying or satisfying an appetite that they generally have, what would change about the way that films are used both names were there? >> i would take issue with the

vanity writing. most riders would say that they are far from happy to say written by, produced by, directed by someone else. it is the feeling that the possessory credit diminishes the role of the writer and everyone else. >> that is all for this week. from all of this year, good night. -- from all of us here. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold. get the top stories from around the globe and click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> 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 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? >> "bbc newsnight" was presented by kcet, los angeles.

>> hi, i'm john davis, and this is motorweek! it's a posh treat times two as we slide behind the wheels of the rolls royce ghost and the bentley contin