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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." >> is the end of an era in american politics. senator edward kennedy loses his

battle with brain cancer. >> an extraordinary light on this earth has come to an end. the good he did lives on. for his family, he was a bargain. for america, and he was the defender of a dream. -- for his family, he was of guardian. >> we look at ted kennedy's legacy as the leading liberal in washington. welcome to "bbc world news." , broadcast you our viewers on pbs in america and also around the globe. >> i am mike embley in london. 70% -- 17% of the vote now counted. president karzai edges against his main rival. and one of iraq's influential leaders has died in exile in tehran.

>> hello. he was the best known as american politician ever to make it -- never to make it to the white house. senator kidney -- kidnapping -- center -- senator kennedy died after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. he fought for so many causes, and the tributes have flowed in from friend and foe alike. but his career was limited by self-inflicted wounds. adam brooks reports. >> the death of edward kennedy, known as ted, leads a chasm in american politics. hughes was one of the most effective politicians of the last century -- he was one of the most effective politicians of the last century. his father warned that he was

the sort of person that would also always be caught. at the white house, the flag was lowered to half mast. the president, who owes much to ted kennedy, it characterized as a giant. >> he is one of the most accomplished americans ever to serve our democracy. his extraordinary life on this earth has come to an end. >> he was born in boston in 1922 -- 1932. the wealthy family was up political institution in the making. their mother would post newspaper clippings on the fridge. the children would have to discuss them at dinner. but edward grew in the shadow of his glamorous brothers, jack and bobby. he was expelled from harvard for cheating. he broke his back. but so gilded was the kennedy name that he secured a seat in the senate. but his brothers would be assassinated -- first it jfk,

leader bobby. and were caught the eye of america when he spoke at bobby's a funeral. >> he was a good and decent man who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it. >> the political hopes of the kennedy clan fell to edward. but then came chappaquidick. 1969 -- edward, married now, at a late-night party with campaign workers. he drove his car off a bridge. he got out and swam away, leaving his passenger, struggling in a submerged car. she drowned. and where did not report the incident for nine hours. he had not been having an affair, he claimed. >> i regard as indefensible the fact that i did not report the accident beautifully to the police immediately.

>> but following allegations of cover-up, rumors that the family had been paid hush money. his wife had a miscarriage. they later divorced. chappaquidick damaged and work, but it did not break it. many -- chappaquidick damaged at work, but it did not break him. many argue it made him stronger. in 1988, he ran for the presidency. the man who beat him for the democratic nomination praised him. >> i do not think anyone serve in the u.s. congress now that could possibly be missed by the american people as much as ted kennedy. >> edward would never be president. he served in the senate for 47 years. his image of recklessness never let them. tales of heavy drinking followed him. and so suspicions that his irish catholic heritage led him to sympathize with the ira. >> to those who would suggest

there would be -- in heard that argument in regards to vietnam for six years. if we began that argument, i think we will have a dangerous situation in northern ireland. >> but want to later, he was credited with pushing the northern ireland peace process forward. >> he understood what was required. i think he made a valuable contribution. on monday contribution to the -- a mighty contribution to the peace process. >> and earlier this year, he became sir at work. >> we owe a great deal to the life of senator edward kennedy. >> his ability to bring about social legislation over many

years would be his true legacy. in the senate, and he was known as a strong friend, a frightening thought, and then with deep and powerful appetites -- on man with deep and powerful appetites. >> i am proud to offer my help. >> and then a moment which may have changed the american landscape forever. >> barack obama, the next president of the united states. >> is support was instrumental in propelling barack obama to the presidency. ted kennedy was politically active to the end, writing furious letters about the lockerbie bomber is a release, champion healthcare. with his death, the kennedy story, this astonishing saba, it draws closer to an end. -- this astonishing saga draws closer to an end. >> how much of an impact did ted kennedy have on american politics?

i am joined by a representative from the brookings this edition. also the director of the edward kennedy oral history project. does he book -- deserve to be called an historic figure? >> without question. if you combine the fact that he is a charter member of one of the most famous political families in america, that during his almost 40 years in public life he was the liberal line, the source of public philosophy to liberals -- that combined with the fact that he built perhaps one of the most distinguished careers in the united states senate in the history of america. >> you think there is no parallel here? >> there really is not. we can turn to 19th century figures like henry clay who labored in the senate for decades to keep the union together before the break up of

the civil war. we can look at the head of the progressives, and robert wagner who labored hard for unions. no one had the combination of durability, ideological focus, and commitment, but still pragmatism in making the institution produce as much as is humanly possible. >> james stirling yawn -- of the interviews you have done, you also have interviewed of foreign leaders. how would you assess his impact abroad? >> i think it was a very considerable and will be quite lasting. he is not known for his work abroad so very well as he is for his position and his achievements in domestic affairs

in the united states. but from the very earliest time, when he was in the senate, he concerned himself with the problem of refugees abroad, for example. refugees created by the conflict in vietnam. in bangladesh. around the world. he was always working for the betterment of the conditions for displaced people, people especially to have been displaced by conflict. one of the lesser known things that he did more recently in the senate was shortly after the united states went to war in afghanistan, he arranged, sponsored legislation to bring the exchange students, high school students from muslim countries to spend a year

learning about the united states and gone to school here. this is at the height of hostilities, with opening hostilities with muslim students -- >> let me pick up with thomas mann here . he was not ashamed to call himself a liberal. he was very proud of it. sometimes in american political culture, people are not shy of that label. >> that is right. he had a privilege background, although filled with -- he had a privileged background, although filled with tragedy. its focus was always on how we pull people up at the bottom? how do we get them health care, proper education, a genuine job opportunities with living wages? how do we help unions organized? he never thought that was politically dangerous. he thought that was plain common sense.

he was proud to call himself a liberal -- not doctrinaire and rigid. he changed the meanings. he was a liberal nonetheless. >> gentleman, thank you. you can get much more on the life and legacy of edward kennedy by looking at our website. do you think he was a great figure? you can tell us bbc.com. that is all from washington. mike is in london. >> many thanks phillippa. now the latest from afghanistan's presidential elections. the gap between the two main contenders has widened. with 17% of the vote counted, president karzai is in the lead. be a winner needs 50% to avoid a second round runoff. -- the winner needs 50% to avoid

a second round runoff. >> nearly 1 million votes counted now. we still need to be careful about extrapolating too far about what the results mean. one thing that is becoming clear is that hamid karzai and abdullah abdullah are the two front runners. the question still unanswered and still unanswered for many days to come -- will either of them managed to finish above 50%? that would allow them to avoid a second round runoff between the two leading candidates. this is all against the background of continuing claims of fraud and wrongdoing, particularly from many of the smaller candidates and a campaign of abdullah abdullah. all of them accusing the government of conspiring to add a legally to the vote count of president karzai. -- add il legally to the vote count of -- illegally to the

vote count of president karzai. there is a bit of a disappointing turnout. perhaps 5%. no one is quite sure how many votes there are in afghanistan. clearly, less people voted then in the last presidential election. the afghan authorities and the international government has said that troops here, there is quite a disappointment. >> that was it chris morris there in kabul. the crucial the controversial issue of jewish settlements in the west bank. netanyahu has been having meetings in london. israel seems ready to limit construction. but the comprehensive freeze the americans and palestinians what seems unlikely. netanyahu what no restrictions on what they do in jerusalem. iran like supreme leader says he

is not certain that the post- election on rest was not knowingly part of a campaign against them in the west. officials in south korea have begun talks with their counterparts in the north, raising hopes that families divided by the border may be allowed to meet for the first time in two years. relations between the two countries have stalled in recent weeks. one of nigeria's top banking executives has turned herself in. cecilia ibru was investigated for missing billions which brought the banking system to the verge of collapse. one of two french intelligence agents held in somalia has told the bbc how he escaped from his guards while they slept. at marc aubriere walked for five

hours across mogadishu. the french government says no ransom was paid. stay with us if you can on the "bbc world news." still to come -- a little bit of berlitz gunny bashing -- berlusconi bashing. to many, he will always be the greatest. he was at the sports personality of the century. mohammed ali came to manchester in northwest england. he was visiting the british boxer. >> once famously he claims to float like a butterfly. today, sadly waving is a painful effort. but the aura remains. one of the most famous figures on the planet. the ravages of parkinson's disease at confined mohammed ali

fort -- to a wheelchair. but he still has his pride. his trip to the gymnasium as part of a visit here to raise funds for the charitable foundations to which he devotes himself. 28 years after he quit the ring, children and whose father saw him fight where in full. the bravado, the bravery, the showmanship. >> before he knew it -- [laughter] [applause] >> but more from the moment he won the olympic gold in 1960, and he revealed himself to be a man of principle politically. >> at that time, black things were not integrated. i went downtown and i sat down

for a cup of coffee, hot dog. they said, we do not serve you. i said something is wrong. >> you can see someone like muhammed ali, and you just raise your game. >> peabody is failing, but the spirit remains. -- the body is failing, but the spirit remains. bbc news. >> the latest headlines for you on "bbc world news." president obama has led to use to senator edward kennedy. the latest election results from afghanistan suggest president karzai is widening his lead. one of iraq's's most powerful shia leaders has died in hospital. he was being treated for lung cancer. he emerged after the fall of

saddam hussein. our correspondent reports from baghdad. >> mourners at the baghdad home soon after the death was announced. some were overcome with grief. as the leader of one of the country's most powerful shiite parties, he wielded considerable power. >> he and his family worked with everything they had for the sake of iraq. >> he died in this hospital in tehran after a long battle with lung cancer. he maintained close ties, here meeting president ahmenijad. hear, he became a key american ally, too. the question now will be whether his party will keep such close

links with the americans. his party is under pressure. they did badly in provincial elections earlier this year. it has been announced a new political bloc will be aimed at winning support back. although he never held an official government position, he became one of the mess powerful political players in iraq after the u.s. invasion. but his death comes at a critical time. with nationwide elections five months ago, -- five months away, his party has a difficult position. he is due to be buried tomorrow. washington will be watching closely, anxious to maintain as many friends as it can, as his influence in iraq begins to wane. abc news, baghdad. >> now to a place in iraq teaching harmony, refinery --

refine it in of alignment setting. the academy of peace through art brings children from all backgrounds together to learn music. it also teaches what some believe many young iraqis have lost -- manners. we have this report for you. >> it is a city used to violence and chaos. but in baghdad, there is one place where they never talk about war. a place where it does not matter if you are shiite, sunni, or christian. the school brings together children of all backgrounds, based on an alternative to the harsh reality of their daily lives. the school was set up by the director of barack's natural -- national -- barack's -- iraq's

national symphony orchestra. >> you should know by now, what is more secure for your future. >> but in the country where music can be considered un- islamic, teachers and students have been threatened. some have had their instruments confiscated work threatens. >> i do not care. i do not care. it is a very big risk. i do this for me. >> [inaudible] life is really about hardship. survival. but here, it is all about art, music, and manners. politeness and teachers -- politeness is one thing many people say iraqi youth has lost

during the war. there are lessons in what is called civic interaction -- in other words, how to have a conversation without turning it into a confrontation. in this conservative society, kissing a woman's hand may seem like a useless skill. but these girls love it. [unintelligible] >> yes, very important. because not everyone knows about this kind of interacting with each other. it is very important. >> it is also a welcome break from the lights outside these walls, and students here feel it will help them to survive. bbc news, baghdad. >> the latest installment in a popular italian soap opera, the

private life of a prime minister. the biography of his estranged wife is being serialized, and the former first lady pulled no punches, saying he has become a religion -- ridiculous figure because of its alleged relationships with a number of young women. from rahm, our correspondent has this report. -- from rome. >> the first lady once the last word. the estranged wife of elite's prime minister -- italy's prime minister. in a new book, she calls her husband "a ridiculous figure before the world." this because of is ridiculous dalliances with young women. this is the actress in question -- an 18-year-old who apparently called the prime minister "pappy."

the prime minister characterized the relationship as "the latest lied." -- "lie." be devoted mother to three of his five and children, she married him in 1990. for some years, she has lived a separate life. mr. berlusconi has gone in prince himself this week, giving an interview to one of the magazine's heat -- has gone in print and sell this week, giving an interview to one of the magazines he owns. he has admitted he is no saint. the declaration recognized by the catholic church, bishops talking about his arrogance behavior. it she says her husband is a

leader in danger of leaving and shameful legacy. the statement contains a kernel of truth many italians will recognize. bbc news, rome. >> do not try this at home. this is the kind of stunt that will make your head hurt. here is a kung fu expert telling these vehicles. she managed to drag this 30 feet. do not expect any more. she has shaved off her hair so she can be officially recognized. just a reminder of our main story -- tributes from across the united states and the world for edward kennedy. he has died from brain cancer, aged 77. >> 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.

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