>> "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. 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." >> hero's return.

an international controversy. add the man responsible for the lockerbie bombing is welcome back to libya. the federal reserve chairman ben bernanke says the u.s. is nearly out of recession. two candidates claimed victory in afghanistan, but the election commission urges caution. very warm welcome to bbc news, broadcast to our viewers in pbs in america. coming up later for you -- can at security services protect the country? from the soviet union to the european union. we revisit the baltic states that joined hands for freedom 20 years ago.

hello. it was outrageous. disgusting, according to a white house spoke of. highly objectionable according to president obama himself. the man convicted of the lockerbie pam am 103 bombing returned and stirs up strong emotions. abdelbaset ali al-megrahi was freed early from a scottish jail on compassionate grounds. they are denying the real reason was to smooth commercial relations with libya. we have more. >> outrage. a hero's welcome. >> the end of abdelbaset ali al- megrahi's journey, but only the beginning of the row would follow. the reception he received sparked an angry reaction in the united states. the white house said it was sending out the wrong message. >> i think the images that we

saw in libya yesterday were outrageous and disgusting. we continue to express our condolences to the families who lost loved ones as a result of this terrorist murder. >> the libyans have been warned. within an hour of the plane leaving last, a letter was delivered from gordon brown. in it, the prime minister asked libyans to act with "sensitivity." he said it must be seen as a low-key return. clearly the message was confused or ignored. libyan save the letter only concerned economic exchange and bilateral relations. so far, there has been no sense of triumph from government

ministers. in 11 days time, heads of state from around the world will descend on the country to mark the 40th anniversary of the revolution that brought colonel gaddafi to power. as for abdelbaset ali al- megrahi himself, for four consecutive days we have been promised to see the family. whenever we set out to them, we are closely chaperoned. we did manage to speak to his daughter today. she told us her father was an arresting, still not believing he was home, free, and a national hero. bbc news, tripoli. >> at last, a big smile from the head of the u.s. central bank, ben bernanke. an upbeat message suggesting the u.s. is on its way out of recession. speaking at the federal reserve's annual conference in jacksonville what -- jacksonville, wyoming, he says prospects for growth appear

good. he says the recovery may be slow at first and unemployment is likely to take some time to improve. we go once you our business correspondent. the chairman's comments are welcome news. >> the comments are always reassuring, especially in such a public setting. not coded in the ultra-greenspan speak. he repeated some of the phrases he used 10 days ago. he wanted to give everybody a little bit of confidence, to brace them for a slow, gradual recovery. it is interesting. his statement with throughout the history of the financial decline from the end of 2007 all through last year, and if it can be said that he patted himself on the back, he certainly did with some of his comments. he said that bankers had acted

aggressively and swiftly to avoid what could have been a much worse situation. he had all kinds of the nose. you could tell he was an economic historian. he talked about panic. so many other panics. >> president obama's praise about the anticipation of voters in afghanistan's election, despite the threat of violence from the taliban. >> there is that clear confluence between those who seek to control the ballot box and those who want to prevent that to happen. the taliban has shunned and so willing to murder innocent men, women come and children to advance their aims. i believe the future belongs to those who want to build, not those who want to destroy. >> the independent election commission as cause for caution but -- because of two candidates have already claimed victory in the vote count. from kabul, our world affairs

editor, johnson sent. >> in homeland province in southern afghanistan, an raf helicopter delivers ballot boxes from the outlying areas. the results are being closely scrutinized. there was all low turnout in southern afghanistan, as a result of taliban intimidation. in a mosque in kabul, early vote counts have been posted for the public tuesday. it is still too soon to enter the key questions -- will there be another round? and how high or low the turnout? here, president karzai came second. all the same, a spokesman says the president won the first round. >> we cannot be sure because the results have to be declared by the election commission, but we expect is not going to go to a second round, and we expect we

will hopefully when the election. >> but dr. abdullah abdullah insists he has won. >> the preliminary results are in my favor. yes, these are preliminary results, but these are the indications. >> there does not seem to be any doubt at all that there has been plenty of election fraud. we have come to the compound of another presidential candidate. he is not a likely winner, but he has a name which is famous throughout the country. he got his name when he fought the russians. he was the first commander to be given as standard missile by the cia. after that, he joined the taliban, but i eventually left to support the present government. >> [inaudible] >> he says that the fact that

the election and passed off without widespread violence is a big blow to his former allies, the taliban. but he is sorry there has been so much fraud. still, it is unlikely to change the outcome. privately, the british and americans are pretty pleased with how things have turned out. they know, of course, that there was all sorts of fraud involved, but they thought they had to allow president karzai to run things as he needed to run them. from now on, they can be expected to put a lot more pressure on him to do things the way they want them done. johnson's in, bbc news, kabul. >> authorities in chechnya say suicide bombers have killed 30 in the capital. at the war on bicycles. there was a bomb attack in neighboring ingushetia.

at least five people have died in the somali capital. there was an attack on government forces and african peacekeepers. imposed fines of more than $1 million -- china's biggest software piracy case. there were given a sentence of 3.5 years for pirating microsoft's xp system. new zealand has a voted to suspend legislation against smacking children. the referendum is non-binding, and it will not change the existing law which is rarely enforced. security officials in iraq have been holding emergency meetings to review security. very much on their minds after wednesday's explosion that killed more than 100 people and injured hundreds. from baghdad, our correspondent. >> it was the worst violence

baghdad had seen in months. it killed and injured hundreds. three days on, some are still believed to be trapped in the rubble of the foreign ministry. iraq and prime minister -- iraq's prime minister blamed it on al-qaeda and the former reds team of saddam hussein. there has been an apparent increase in violence as u.s. forces left iraqi cities in june. at despite that, general petraeus told the bbc he did not anticipate sending troops back into urban areas. >> the iraqi security forces are vastly more capable. very significant numbers of various types of special operations forces that can carry out the kinds of targets operations against what really are now much more terrorist elements, if you will, then large insurgent groups, given that many of the sunni era part

of the population has sided with the new in iraq. >> at the military may still have a stake in the iraqi security forces, but most iraqis do not. when these attacks took place and in some of the safest areas of baghdad, people here say whether it was recklessness, corruption, or both, it allowed lorries full of explosives to drive through multiple iraqi jet pilot -- checkpoints. it shows that the iraqis agree forces are ready. the u.s. army is still training the iraqi army. after the explosion, the general in charge of the training admitted he was not doing it fast enough. even the iraqi government now questions its own security forces. >> i have to admit that security forces have not done enough to prevent these explosions. the officials in charge of those

areas will be held accountable. >> the question now is whether there will be a fundamental change to the government's approach to security. recently, officials ordered all blast walls around baghdad to come down. the city was so safe, they said, that it no longer needed protective barriers. on friday, a senior iraqi official told the bbc that the removals will continue as scheduled, in this is white many accuse the government of trying to create an illusion of security instead of making real changes. bbc news, baghdad. >> stay with us it, if you can, on -- on bbc world news. still to come -- we take you to iraqi kurdistan. first though -- a high level delegation from north korea in

the south korean capital. we have this report. at relations do seem to be warming. >> it was are rare moment and one rich in symbolism. the six north korean official arrived at south korea's national assembly where the former president is lying in state. there tribute is a clear sign of the esteem with which kim dae- jung held on both sides of the peninsula. he organized the historic summit in june 2000, the first time leaders of the two countries had met since the korean war. but his hopes for reconciliation had been battered by months of rising tensions. north korea fired a rocket over japanese territory and conducted a second nuclear test. so could this moment of national

unity through shared grief offer an opportunity to improve relations? perhaps. some people detect the hands of the old rivalry at play. alongside the visible signs, there are other positive signs. north korea will allow across the border cargo trains to operate again and lift restrictions on traffic travelling from the south to this joint industrial zone. some have suggested that as international sanctions begin to bite, it north korea is more interested in hard cash to keep factories provide. few doubt that the gulf between north and south remains wide. there are hopes his visit may mark a turning point, but in the end, it may prove that stronger on symbolism than substance. abc news, seoul. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold. go to bbc.com/news to experience

the expert reporting of the bbc on line. click here doocy the 1-minute videos summary. you can read the latest headlines. at the top stories from around the globe. -- get the top stories from around the globe. discover more about the subjects that really interest you and find out what the world is talking about right now. go to bbc.com/news and watch the news unfold. >> the latest headlines for you on "bbc world news." the man convicted of the pam am 103 bonding is welcome to libya as a hero. the head of the american federal reserve says the country's nearly out of recession. there is growing and there in south africa about the treatment

of the country's rising young sports star. caster semenya won the 800 meters in the world championships, a huge improvement on her previous score. the international federation is insisting on tests to verify she really is a woman. her family is outraged. >> at the top here is of nothing else. -- the tall here is of nothing else. -- the talk here is of nothing else. one of the rahm became a world beater. in the process of an international storm. >> i have proof, everything. >> you have seen everything? >> everything. [laughter] >> definitely a girl?

>> definitely. >> so quick is her world champion success, the home at that she shares with her family is without running water. there is no ambiguity here. born in 1991, sex female. from talking to people here, caster semenya has lived all her life as a girl, and then a woman. but such was the stunning nature of her performance in berlin that the questions seemed certain to continue. one person who should know is her mother. >> [unintelligible] i give birth to her. that is at. from my whim. >> it is a country that knows the cost of discrimination better than any other. caster semenya many think is being targeted just because --

many think caster semenya is being targeted just because she is black and she is fast. >> with the wayne yet, latvia, estonia. back in the 1980's, all three were part of the soviet union. now they are part of the european union and nato. we had a report from the late 1980's. our correspondent return to investigate the consequences of the revolution. >> the soviet-arab jail was dark, damp, and -- this soviet- era jail was dark, damp, and crowded. prisoners from estonia were brought here for interrogation because moscow treated it nationalists as criminals. she got four years in jail. >> it never did i feel like i was alone. i knew the majority of the

estonian people were with me. >> in 1989, 1 million people were ready to join her in the cause. they formed a chain across the baltic republics. this caused the work inside the borders of the soviet union -- because they were inside the borders of the soviet union, they had a hard time asserting their independence. although moscow was ready to let them go, it refused to let the subject nations go within the soviet union. national feelings have been stirred up and are too powerful to be resisted. after two more years, the entire soviet union splintered into separate nations. russia is now a difficult neighbor. when the bronze statue of a soldier was moved from the city center to a cemetery, moscow protested angrily and there were

nights of rioting. estonia doubts whether russia has accepted this influence. >> emotionally, there are some leaders who did not still accepted. we restored our independence. they still live in yesterday. >> this afternoon, ties with the motherland are maintained, even encouraged. but estonia, respecting the rights of russian speakers, does not want moscow to see it as a weakness they can exploit to draw esthonia back under russian control. bbc news, estonia. >> the image many of us have of much of iraq is framed by extremist violence and death

toll mounting with each bomb attack. some see iraqi kurdistan as a possible model for peaceful coexistence of cards -- across the country. it has a feeling of prosperity. across the region, there is a feeling of tolerance. we have this report. >> smart cards, a brand new roads system, and the highest technology. this is the most prosperous part of iraq. this is the capital of kurdistan. some call it the other iraq. this is a dominated region, it even when compared with the rest of the middle east. it stands out in some anyways. ♪ >> i have trouble throughout the

middle east. in some places, i have gone down to israel or one of the west and countries, but here in kurdistan, it is like a western country. is there any influence from america or israel? >> it is better that the imam should not inspired hatred. our profit says we should not launch an attack on others. -- our prophet says we should not launch an attack on others. >> last month, islamic parties campaign as one. >> we all live on common ground. >> after the invasion of iraq in 2003, churches were attacked across all of iraq. ♪ many christians escape the violence and found refuge here,

in kurdistan. this church was built to accommodate those fleeing produce and in cities like baghdad and mosul. christians from all over iraq have been able to find peace and comfort here. >> i am it from baghdad. i came here. i am working in this restaurant. >> the local business is thriving. [unintelligible] >> 21,000 iraqi dinar, which equals almost $17. we cheaper than london. the majority of iraqi kurds are muslim. >> the muslim faith does not make or sell alcohol, some

christians control this lucrative trade. >> i am kurdish, and i have faith in islam, but i am also happy here because bars and mosques can coexist freely. >> come with me and see what they think about this liquor store a block away from their mosque. come with me. i asked the imam what he thinks about christian selling alcohol to muslims. >> according to the teaching of islam, every religion should be respected. if christian sell alcohol, let them do it. their fate allows them. we are and injuring people. -- their faith allows them. >> the kurdish version of islam is now a model for the rest of the country. bbc news. >> just before we leave you -- much of europe has been baking

in august's heat with. and they did not know people who were trying to find relief from the heat. it is not just humans like ice cream. keepers have found icy streets are very popular to keep animals from overheating. itemperatures have been, in many places, over 35 degrees celsius, which is 95 degrees fahrenheit. showers do seem to be the favorites for beating the heat. a reminder of our top story. britain has during the united states in strongly criticizing the reception for abdelbaset ali al-megrahi. was released from scotland that for the -- he was released from scotland on compassionate grounds. thank you for being with us on "bbc world news." much more anytime you want it on bbc.com.

>> 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? >> 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. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles. presented by kcet, los angeles.