>> 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. >> an historic meeting between former u.s. president bill clinton and north korea's kim jung il. and reports say two jailed american journalists have now

been freed. australian police believe they followed a major terror plot. four suspects are accused of links to somali islammists. protests in sudan. a woman goes on trial accused of dressing indecently in public. she wore trousers in a restaurant. very warm welcome to bbc world news. broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america, also around the globe. coming up later for you, what kind of policing do you call this? a new human rights report says too many of india's police are abuse and failing at their jobs. >> parts of india have been modernizing past. the police force is still antiquated, ill-equipped and underresourced and under real pressure to fight crime. that's why some offices are cutting corners. >> and it's the people's photo shoot. why one of britain's top celebrity snappers is turning his camera on a thousand

members of the public. >> hello to you. right now north korea's state news agency is reporting the country's leader kim jung il has issued a special pardon to two jailed american journalists, sentenced to 12 years hard labor for crossing the border from china illegally. now, this in the midst of a surprise trip to north korea by former u.s. president bill clinton and an historic meeting with the country's reclusive and its believed ailing leader. mr. clinton also met with two american journalists, laura ling and euna lee in what's being described as a very emotional meeting. these two women have been held in pyongyang since march. they had already begun serving a 12-year sentence with hard labor. let's get the latest from washington and the bbc state

department correspondent kim harp he is. as you understand it, kim, what is the latest on this story? >> well, of course, all we have at the moment is reports from the north korean media saying that the country's leader, kim jong-il, has pardoned the two women. he has issued a special pardon and ordered their release. the north korean media is also saying that this shows that north korea is a peace-loving country. what we understand is that the two women will now be able to fly home with bill clinton, the former president who has traveled to north korea on this surprise mission. but for now, the u.s. administration, the white house, and the state department are still remaining very tightlipped about this. they have maintained that this was a private mission by the former president. we also heard earlier in the day from robert gibbs, the white house spokesperson, saying that they didn't want to say anything to jeopardize any developing situation and that the safety of the two women was

their priority, was the main concern at the moment. but we expect that at some point we will be hearing from the u.s. administration. >> kim, it's coming out now as breaking news, but given the state of relations with north korea and such a high-profile visit by our former president, it seems inconceivable that something like this wasn't set up before he ever got there. >> absolutely. first of all, bill clinton is, of course, a former u.s. president. he has got great international clout and stature. he would never have flown to north korea if he wasn't confident that he would be able to pull it off. so he must have received some kind of guarantees that this was going to be a successful mission. and also because he's a former president -- and remember that he's married to the u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton -- it's difficult to imagine that he simply freelanced on this mission and went to north korea without consulting anybody, without coordinating to some extent. so our understanding is that

the white house approved the mission that it had been in the planning secretly for weeks, but it is, of course, also understandable that given the current tensions between washington and north korea, the white house was keen to maintain some distance with this mission in case it failed or in case they wanted to take things in a different direction. >> kim, in washington, many thanks for that. and as kim said, we are expected to hear more on that possibly from mr. clinton, possibly from the two journalists. we'll bring you more as soon as we have it. let's move on around the globe. iran has confirmed it's holding three americans who crossed into its territory from neighboring iraqi kurdistan on friday. officials say the two men and one woman were arrested near the border. their relatives say they strayed over the border accidentally while hiking in northern iraq. russian troops in the breakaway region of south acetia have heightened their state of battle readiness. the foreign ministry in moscow blames what it calls a series

of provocations from georgia. a five-day war between russia and georgia started a year ago this coming friday. police in the afghan capital say insurgents have fired nine rockets into the city. the missiles landed across kabul, injuring two people. one landed in the diplomatic district close to western embassies and nato headquarters. australian police are saying they foiled a terrorist plot to attack an army base in sydney. four men were arrested in dawn raids across melbourne. they are said to have links to a somali militant group and their attention is raising concern that al qaeda supporters in africa are now seeking targets elsewhere. the bbc's nick bryant reports from sydney. >> in the quiet streets of melbourne's lace curtain suburbs, one of the biggest counterterrorism operations that australia has ever seen. the race got underway in the middle of the night. it involves some 400 officers. four men were taken into

custody. suspects believed to be behind the planned suicide attack against the australian military. they are all australian nationals in their early to mid 20's. of lebanese and somali descent. >> the men were planning to carry out the suicide terrorist attack by the defense establishment within australia involving an armed assault with israeli weapons. the planning indicated the alleged offenders were prepared to inflict a sustained attack on military personnel. >> this is the army base on the outskirts of sydney which police believe was the target. after a seven-month surveillance operation, one officer said an attack was imminent. police say they have tv showing one of the suspects near the base and intercepted text messages providing information about its location. the police believe the men have links with the somali-based islammist group al-shabazz.

it's alleged at least one person traveled to somalia to legitimize an attack. appearing before a court in melbourne, one man was charged with a terrorism-related offense. australia's close relationship with america and the presence of its troops in afghanistan and iraq has made it a target in recent times. but this alleged plot could be something very different, according to the police. linked instead to the turmoil in somalia. nick bryant, bbc news, sydney. >> the trial of a sudanese woman accused of dressing indecently. she wore trousers in a restaurant, has been adjourned for a month. the journalist lubna hussein faces up to 40 lashes and an unlimited fine. the police broke up a demonstration by her supporters outside the court in khartoum. >> if convicted, lubna hussein

faces 40 lashes and an unlimbed fine. her crime -- wearing trousers in public. outside the court, supporters held signs that simply read lubn's case is that of all women. >> we have gathered here today outside the court to express our support. if we consider this case to be against all sudanese women, a case which seeks to drag us backwards, to abort all sudanese women's rights and disrupt the progress of sudanese women. >> the trial was adjourned for a month to establish whether hussein should benefit from immunity as she was working for the u.n. when she was arrested. she resigned the job last week in order to fight the case and challenge the dress code law. >> i want to change the law. the law in sudan now not be much with the institution of sudan and also be not much with human rights. >> hussein says many women have been flogged for wearing trousers over the last 20 years.

her case has attracted a lot of attention, and at one point, about 100 protesters were chased away. the police broke up the demonstration using tear gas, and they stopped us filming on the streets, but the number of women protesters here at lubna hussein's court case and the reaction of the authorities show that this is becoming a real test case for women's rights in sudan. james cotner, bbc news, khartoum. >> a third man has died of new mexico i can plag in a chinese town which has been under complete quarantine for two days. they are killing rats and fleas trying to stop the plag from spreading. the town is home to 10,000 people. in thailand, a passenger plane has crashed into a disused control tour on a resort town, kill the pilot and injuring 10 people.

the bangkok airways flight skidded on a rainy runway just after landing. most on board were tourists. a juvenile court in iraq's dialla province has sentenced a 16-year-old girl to 7 1/2 years in prison for an attempted suicide attack. ronya abraham had been described by the u.s. military as an unwilling suicide bomber in 2008. she was arrested later in bacuba. now it is the first meeting of its kind in 20 years. the main palestinian faction, fat that, is holding its congress in bethlehem, hoping to reinvent itself to appeal to voters once again. but as we report from the west bank, that may not be an easy task. >> jalal atawiel is a taxi driver in hebron. he is paying close attention to the fat that conference -- to the fatta conference, listening closely to his radio.

the group has been key in peace talks with israel and been accused of cronyism and corruption. >> life in hebron is difficult on all sides. we suffer greatly from israeli military occupation. also we have no money. fatta should do more to make things better. >> in hebron as across the palestinian territories, there is mass unemployment and poverty. frustration is widespread. people here tell us they are not much interested in dry, internal policy politics, but what they want is for their lives to improve, to have peace, prosperity, and a country of their own. here in hebron, fattah's bitter rival is popular. many say fattah has to get its policy together. >> it's high time that we inject new blood into our system. we are not here only for changing faces. we are here to discuss ways how

to progress forward. how to fight against the israeli settlement. how to pursue the human rights of palestinians. >> in his opening address at the conference, the palestinian president also head of fattah underlined palestinians' rights to resistance, although he said peace was the number one goal. >> the fact that palestinians have chosen peace does not mean they will stand by and accept israel's constant violations of the peace process, he said. armed struggle is an option and a necessity. >> jalal is far from alone in monitoring the fattah conference carefully. the international community sees fattah as the palestinian partner to negotiate an eventual end to the israeli-palestinian conflict. kathy adler, bbc news, the west bank. >> stay with us on bbc world news. this still to come.

>> up next, a traveling sin nana rather special location, here on the banks of look necessary. -- the banks of loch ness. >> first, though, we have nothing to hide. that is the british government responding to accusations that its security agents have been involved in torture overseas. many politicians, though, are demanding an independent inquiry and it claims that britain has been complicit in the mistreatment of terror suspects. >> released earlier this year from guantanamo bay, u.k. resident binon muhammad says he was tortured in pakistan and morocco and that british intelligence officials supplied questions and other material. he is one of a number of people alleging britain colluded in their mistreatment. included jailed terrorist salla hadid amin although his claims were dismissed by a judge and another man convicted of being an al qaeda mastermind and whose case was recently raised in the house of commons. >> we have a whole series of

allegations, which it is important to recognize have not been tested by an inquiry or by the courts. but if those allegations are true, that would amount to complicity. >> today's report doesn't accuse the men and women who work here at mi-5 of being directly involved in torture. but it does raise some fundamental questions about accountability. it says mi-62 should and could be more answerable to parliament, and it criticizes ministers for not giving full answers to questions and refusing to appear in person before the committee. >> they do need to answer questions about what our policy, what our guidelines have been in the past. and i think make clear what questions they have asked, what trouble they have taken as ministers over the last few years to look into this. >> ministers say they have nothing to hide, but they have to strike a balance between human rights considerations and the security of u.k. citizens. but with binon muhammad and

others taking legal action, this is an issue that may have to be resolved, not in parliament, but in the courts. bbc news. >> latest headlines for you on bbc world news. the north korean state news agency is reporting the country's leader kim jung il has issued a special pardon ordering the release of two jailed american journalists. this after an historic meeting in pyongyang with former u.s. president bill clinton. police in the australian city of melbourne have arrested four people they say were planning a suicide bombing attack. now, he is known as latroka, the truck. he is said to be the largest exporter of sympathetic drugs to the united states. but now miguel angel barrasa is under arrest in mexico. from mexico city, the bbc's steven gibbs. >> he was brought from church

straight to police custody. miguel angel barrasa here on the left was at a mass with 40 members of his family and associates when he was captured. he is accused of being a key logistics man in the hugely profitable business of the trafficking of methamphetamine to the united states. >> threats of latroka was functioning as the top operator introducing the synthetic drug known as ice or crystal meth from mexico into the united states using the routes of tijuana to san diego and then later, los angeles, el paso, texas, houston, and from there to atlanta. in one month, he sent up to half a metric ton of crystal or ice to the united states. mexican drug cartels are increasingly diversifying their operations into the production and export of methamphetamine, which has the advantage of cocaine, but it can be produced locally. its supply is believed to be a

core business of the familia cartel which is based in the western state. last month after one of its leaders was arrested, the cartel went on the offensive, targeting police stations in 10 cities. the bodies of 12 murdered police officers were dumped on a main road. 5,000 additional troops have now been deployed in the state. high-profile arrests like this are designed to demonstrate that the war on drugs in mexico was not a losing battle. there are those that see every arrest as simply creating a vacancy to be filled. steven gibbs, bbc news, mexico city. >> the indian police have been accused of a litany of abuses, including arbitrary arrest and torture and killings. the group says they believe they are above the law. it also suggests officers are being outwitted by criminals.

reporting from delhi. >> if you cross the police in india, this is what can happen. that was a doctor protesting about his home being demolished. these brutalities are open and widespread here. except it is a way of controlling this country's massive population. his brother is beaten savagely, too. the worst can happen. this woman is mourning her husband. the 18-year-old ramdashi shot dead with weapons while celebrating his weapon. the officers who killed them were given cash rewards. >> we should be allowed to kill the policemen the way they killed our kids, rojenda tells me. the government should make an example of them so this never happens again. but abuse is widespread.

here a policewoman beats a man using a belt. few officers are ever disciplined. >> there has to be a clear signal that police will be prosecuted when they commit criminal behavior. the second thing is the police have to be overhauled, the system has to be modernized. policing in this country isn't keeping pace with where india is going. india is rapidly modernizing but the police are still using old methods. >> little has changed in the police since colonial times. records are still kept by hand. and officers have nowhere to sleep but their own police stations. >> outside this police station, the officers are even living in tents pitched outside the buildings. while parts of india have been modernizing fast, the police far as is still antiquated, ill-equipped and underresourced and under real pressure to fight crime. that's why some officers are cutting corners. in this culture, there has long been a practice of gunning down suspects, often in cold blood, rather than bothering with the

slow and sometimes corrupt cause. >> our criminal justice system is not functioning. disposal of cases take a long time. the police are not shocked to admit it. in this, they are encouraged also by the political bosses. >> india's government elected in may has promised to reform the police. human rights watch says a major overhaul is needed, because the beatings, tortures, and killings are undermining india's status as the world's largest democracy. bbc news, dehli. >> trail remembers all part of the movie-going experience. the oscar-winning actress tilda swinson is helping to haul a mobile cinema around the scottish highlands. we have been with her on the banks of loch ness. >> it's a very tight schedule for tilda and her friends. they have already shown one

film today at 10:00 in the morning. they will be braving sometimes wild weather, and in a few minutes they will be towing that movie theater down this road. it's not what you would normally expect an oscar-winning actress to be doing, but tilda swinson, friends, and film fans from around the world are spending eight and a half days pulling a mobile cinema through the highlands. so in a car parked in a small village, the screen machine unfolds, bringing international films to audiences who lost their own cinemas long ago. >> it's like a dream. it's absolutely wonderful. every day is different. every day the weather is different. everyone is pulling. we actually managed to pull that thing. that's the thing that all of us are still sort of amazed by. we actually pull it. >> it's low tech, but charming. dancing and singing getting moviegoers in the mood for

films which are often difficult and challenging. >> welcome, welcome. very, very warm welcome to those from here. >> yea! >> they are not your usual blockbuster movies. these are films from japanese, british, and today an iranian director. it's packed screenings and the films have been going down well. >> did you like the film? >> yes, very much. >> it's been a wonderful experience, yes. it's lovely being part of such a ridiculous gang of people. >> these are enthusiasts who want to make everyone welcome. they adore films and their cinematic journey is bringing them to a part of the world they love. >> these are enthusiasts who want to make everyone welcome. they adore films. >> a thousand people across britain are finding out how it feels to be captured on camera by one of the world's best-known fashion

photographers. the man behind the lens is rankin who has decided to feature regular citizens alongside some of his more celebrated subjects. bbc's anna holigan has been in studio with him. >> a portrait of britain. shot by rankin, one of the country's most celebrated photographers. >> i wanted to have a recording of what i was like. it's amazing to be photographed by rankin. >> certainly a lot nicer image than any i have had taken of me before. >> he is still with him. >> it's much easier than i expected it to be. usually shy in front of the camera. >> that's good, yeah.

>> i like democratizing everybody at one level so you could put a famous person next to it and a not so famous person and there would be a democracy to that. >> the subject of today's shoots are being displayed alongside some of the most famous faces in the world. so where did the concept come from? >> in the camps, where people have been displayed from the fighting there. and we have gone across and we have taken it across to people. we put them against the white background. i wanted to make them the subject of the photographs, not the object. i don't want it to just be about making someone look good.

i want to make them feel good about themselves as well. >> being photographed by rankin won't turn you into a supermodel or a rock star. what rankin has designed to do is show that everyone has something, and therefore is someone. >> the camera. >> anna holligan, bbc news. >> just briefly, the main use for you. north korea's state news agency is saying the country's leader kim jung il has pardoned two jailed american journalists serving 12 years hard labor for crossing the border from china. this after a meeting between the north korean leader and bill clinton. >> 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?