>> "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." >> general motors sells its european operation. it is good news for thousands of german car makers, and worrying for many more. in the u.k., spain, and belgium. clear and convincing evidence of fraud in dozens of polling stations. we have a special report of the growing influence of rabbis in

the once proudly secular israeli army. welcome to "bbc world news" broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america and on the globe. coming up later for you -- >> in washington, i will have reaction to president obama's big speech on health care reform. how much did he do to win over the skeptics? >> and a sound from more than 500 years ago. the world's oldest church bells rang again. hello to you. it is a deal the german chancellor stakes her political fortunes on two weeks before election. looks like good news for 25,000 opel car workers in germany, but leaves employees in spain

and belgium worrying about their jobs. gm has agreed to sell opel to canadian car parts manufacturer magna. >> she staked her reputation on clinching this deal, and angela merkel could not wait to announce it. this was the chancellor's chance to take all the glory. >> good day, ladies and gentlemen. i can inform you that a short time ago, the chancellor was informed that gm's governing board has decided to sell opel to magna. i am very happy about this decision, which is along the lines of what the government and the employees of opel hoped for. >> so by the time general motors made its official announcement, it was already old news, thanks to angela.

>> are confident that the magna solution represents really the best solution to provide for a sustainable future for the brand. as many of you know, under the proposal, the two companies will purchase and split 55% share in opel. >> after months of uncertainty, then, and often difficult negotiations, general motors has agreed to sell off its european brands. the buyer -- canadian car parts supplier magna, backed by the russian bank. it is the deal mrs. merkel and the german government have been pushing for four months. the chancellor believes it is the best option to safeguard german jobs. in germany, opel employs 25,000 workers at four plants.

the news was greeted with relief at the opel car plant. >> it will be fantastic of this plant is kept open. maybe they will even expand it. this is the best thing that could happen to us. >> it is a very different story at all supports in the u.k. many of these workers were hoping that general motors would decide not to sell. they are worried that when the axe falls, magma will allow it to fall on british jobs. >> not good for us, is it? i think most people would have preferred if gm would have kept it. bad >> move. -- >> bad move. magna says they are going to safeguard the german plants, so where does that leave us? >> we like to think it will continue, and we are working hard to continue it. at gm, but magma. >> but the sale of gm is not

just about cars and jobs. it is about politics, too. with germany's general election two weeks away, angela merkel has given herself a major boost by brokering a deal she wanted. >> more of the main news -- the first images of the self- proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks have emerged on the internet. he has been held in guantanamo bay since 2006. he has admitted be responsible for the attack. it is reported that his family released this photograph, taken by the international committee of the red cross. at least 20 people have been killed in two separate bomb attacks in iraq. a lorry packed with explosives detonated in a kurdish village in the north, killing at least 19. another bomb exploded next to a police patrol in central baghdad, leaving one person dead and one in five. venezuela is to recognize the breakaway georgian regions of south ossetia and abkhazia. on a visit to russia, president

chavez said his country will become the third to support their controversial independence declaration after russia and nicaragua. the afghan electoral complaints commission backed by the united nations has for the first time in validated some ballast some the presidential election because of fraud. nearly all were cast in favor of tom karzai --hamid karzai. arguments about the vote could take months to settle. >> the days up to the anniversary of 9/11 are always marked in afghanistan by commemorations of the mujahadin leader, killed by al qaeda two days before the attacks on the twin towers are in 2001. old soldiers bearing wounds from the war against the russians in the 1980's gather again to remember.

this year, they have a new hero, dr. abdullah, but he does not want to fight with the old afghan weapons. he wants to win the elections. it is his strongest attack on karzai to date, claims that the president control afghanistans independent election commission, who are counting the votes. >> it is not independent at all. the malpractice is now widespread. i think that for the good of the country, that somebody that commits massive fraud, they ought to do something, and that something is not possible under this sort of government. this latest charge is to commit massive fraud. >> you think the election has been stolen from you? >> it has been stolen from the nation. >> within a couple of days, the votes will all have been counted. the recount could take months.

>> russia's foreign minister has refused to confirm or deny that israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, made a secret visit to moscow on monday. he also refused to comment on reports the visit might link israeli concerns about controversial russell plans to send iran defense missiles. the ship was intercepted by the russian navy after being allegedly hijacked by pirates. nine women have been freed from a turkish villa where they spent two months locked up believing they're taking part in a reality tv show. women's relatives raised the alarm when they were prevented from contacting them. their captors have been selling images of the women on the internet. one suspect has been arrested. japan has launched afreighter, intended to be one of the workhorses for hauling cargo to the international space station. the budget is seen as vital to the future of the isa, for next

year, the space station will long be serviced by the american shuttle fleet. as international attention focuses on the attention of expansion of jewish settlements in the occupied west bank, much of the internal debate within israel contends the west army. right-wing religious groups are growing in influence in what used to be secular entity. >> israel's army is changing. once proudly secular, its combat units are now filled with those who believe israel's wars are god's wars. military rabbis' like these are becoming more powerful. rabbi cadets are trained here at officer schools to be part of the military elite. during israel's invasion of gaza earlier this year, religion and religious rhetoric seemed to play a big role. >> the religious intervention

was so intense inside the barracks. >> we were going to a battle all geared up, and next to us, a civilian rabbi, and our rabbi, and there was also an officer. it felt like we were going to a holy war. >> during vigo's a war, rabbis handed out hundreds of these pamphlets, calling israelis soldiers the sounds of light and palestinian soldiers the sons of darkness, depicting palestinian civilians, not just militants, as the enemy. israel's military has distanced itself from the leaflet, but they carry arms official stamp. this is one of the growing number of orthodox jewish schools that encourages taking bibles to the battlefield.

religious nationalists are becoming increasingly prominent in israel's army. all the students here will join in combat units. less ideologically driven israelis are avoiding them. this has made headline news in israel. >> the war to protect the state of israel is a religious obligation. >> that is what we were commanded to do by the >> lord> the students are satellites in the occupied west bank. they are politically right wing, and the majority of military allies. so what about the west bank? if president obama gets his way, eventually, israel will evacuate most settlements like this one from the west bank. they are illegal under international law, and palestinians want the west bank as part of their future state, but do not forget -- for orthodox jewish soldiers, the west bank as part of the holy land given to them by god.

will they be willing to obey government orders to go against their religious convictions? many in the army think not. but israel's military leaders strongly disagree. >> the moral goal is clear. we demand soldiers to behave in the light of this code, and nobody can create any other code, not a religious one. only the commanders are in charge. >> day today, israel's military mainly operates in civilian areas. any influence on israeli soldiers' attitudes is key. the way they view palestinians living here is the likely -- is likely the way they view their tower and their weapons. >> still to come for you on "bbc

world news," the speech had urgency, passing, determination, but did it hit home with the viewers? we will be in washington for reaction to president obama's big push to commerce -- congress on health care reform. first, five girls have been killed. 24 other peoples entered at a stampede in a school in the indian capital. it seems a logjam of students on a narrow staircase turned into a tragedy. state authorities have ordered an inquiry into the incident. >> emotional themes outside the hospital where the victims were taken. this woman distraught. she was anxious to find out of her loved ones were safe. the lucky ones who got away relived this terrifying moments. >> we were trapped by other students on the staircase of the school.

several girls were trapped badly because they could not find any way to get out. there were not able to breathe. we had no hope that we could be saved. some died, and many other female students fainted. >> the girls were here on the upper floor of the school taking an exam when they were asked to head down. this narrow staircase was the only way out. it became a virtual death trap. many are blaming the school authorities for not being able to control the situation. outside the school, angry relatives vented their anger. the police were called in to try to rein in the protesters. in an effort to calm things down, the government has announced compensation for victims and ordered an inquiry to discover what went wrong, but it will take a lot more to satisfy people here. >> even though everyone waits for the results of the investigation, one thing this incident has done is focused

attention on the poor state of the government in india. they operate from buildings that are unsafe and poorly equipped, and the schools themselves are overcrowded and understaffed, so when confronted with an emergency like today, the response is far from adequate. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth reporting a bbc news online. it is easy. click here to watch the one- minute world news summary. you can read the latest headlines. get the top stories from around the globe, and click to play video reports. discover more about the subjects that really interest you and find out what issues the world is talking about right now. for "bbc world news" online, go to bbc.com/news and watch the news unfold.

>> latest headlines for you on "bbc world news" -- general motors is selling its european operation to canadian russian consortium. good news for thousands of german car makers. a worry for many elsewhere in europe. united nations-backed afghan elections watchdog has for the first time canceled results from dozens of polling stations because of fraud. barack obama has accepted an apology from a republican politician who heckled his speech on health care reform on wednesday. before a rare joint session of congress, this is the moment that the president is speaking when congressman wilson made his presence felt. >> reforms are proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. >> lie! >> today, mr. obama told reporters we all make mistakes and accepted the congressman's rapid an unambiguous apology. for reaction to last night's speech, our special correspondent in washington.

>> that sort of heckling, that sort of wrap this just does not happen on these occasions. it was a real shock. here to consider that reaction and others to the speech, the senior political producer at the black entertainment network. that was quite a shock. how did it go down? >> it has been all over the city today. basically, immediately, most of the republican colleagues of rep wilson, he was asked to do an apology, and he issued one immediately. there was also a call made to the white house, and he spoke to the president, but he was also asked by his colleagues to go to the house floor and also apologize, and he declined to do that. >> what does this mean as well for latino voters, for african- american voters when they hear that sort of reaction from republicans? >> this was a double whammy of an insult for the republican party to those large voting

blocs of minority voters. number one, this building, and this comment came when the president was addressing immigration -- excuse me, not addressing immigration, but whether or not immigrants would be able to receive health care, and he said they would not if they were in the country illegally. everyone knows that was a direct reference to it a lot of the banter that has been going on about illegal immigrants and primarily, latino immigrants, who just bore the brunt of that. the second thing was the total disrespect of the president that was an insult to the african- american community because this has never happened on the house floor before. this type of behavior was unseemly, and they take it as a slight of him as commander in chief, and that they probably thought it was acceptable because of his race. >> is there any chance of bipartisan reform? is there any chance you think that he can win over moderate republicans to his cause? >> i think there is a chance he

could win some moderate republicans who were already with him. that is probably olympia snowe in the senate and susan collins, both of whom are from the northeast, but the interesting part of this, geographically, there are no moderates left in the republican party in the northeast of the country, and very few scattered anywhere else throughout, so it is going to be a battle, but some of the stalwarts of the republican party, including senator john mccain and orrin hatch -- they are going to get to get there and figure out what they can comfortably off for the president -- they're going to get together and figure out what they can comfortably offer the president. >> thanks for that. thanks to you both. why we are on the subject, barack obama has called the british prime minister to express his disappointment at the release of the man convicted for the lockerbie bombing. downing street said al-megrahi's

had featured only briefly in the call between the men. officials refused to comment on exactly what was said. now, the leader of the western- backed coalition in lebanon has given up his efforts to put together a national unity government. june's elections gave his alliance a narrow majority in parliament, and he was asked to form a new administration. looks, though, as though he has failed, and he is blaming the opposition. >> he gave it to a half months of intensive effort, but now, he is giving up. the two sides did reach an agreement on the overall balance of power within the cabinet, but not on who should have what post. the opposition was accused of trying to impose unacceptable conditions at every turn. >> my effort to form a national unity government was facing problems, which are now well known, he said. so i announced to the lebanese

today that i have had to tell the president i cannot form a government. what happens now is the president will ask parliamentary leaders to propose another prime minister. it has to be a sunni, and since mr. hariri is the leading sunni figure, he may be asked to try again. he and his western-backed allies came out of the general elections in early june with a small but significant majority over has a lot and its coalition. they accused -- over hezbollah and its coalition. it accused him of trying to impose a fait accompli. if he does try again, it will take weeks if not months of further efforts, with no assurance of success. deadlock between the two sides slowed into violent clashes in beirut and elsewhere last year. so far, though, the parties seem determined to avoid a repetition of that, though there are no

guarantees. >> now, they are the world's oldest circle of church bells. they date back to the 15th century, but they have been silent for the past 25 years. now, thanks to some ambitious restoration, they are ringing out again in its which in eastern england. -- it switch -- ipswitch. >> after quarter century of silence, echoes with a unique medieval sound. the bells of st. lawrence church -- their rings unchanged after more than 500 years. for centuries, they rang out over the rooftops, but in the 1980's, they were silenced when the church went into disrepair. almost 25 years on, and modern homecoming for a medieval quintet. all five were made in the 1400's, and they are still completely intact.

>> the church tower is all. the first challenge was restoring it. the next, getting the bells back in. >> it was no easy task, but the oldest circle of bells are once again in their original belfry. these bells have never been damaged or altered in any way. inside are the original clappers, still striking true. for the man who has coordinated the return of the bells, it is an emotional moment. >> i have always known that we had the oldest ring of five bells, and i knew that we very rarely hear them. to be able to hear them now is so exciting, very moving indeed to hear them and their lovely mellow sound in their new position. >> the hope is the world's

oldest circle of bells will attract bell ringers from on the globe and that many more generations will now be able to enjoy their distinctive sound. >> and screeching up to date, broadband promised to net the world with super fast delivery, but in south africa, it seems the web is still no faster than the humble carrier pigeon. in information technology from their says it is so frustrated by slow internet speeds that it opted for an unusual challenge. >> it is the information superhighway -- fast, efficient, and an essential tool of modern business. but it may not be quite as fast as it seems, at least not in some parts of south africa. trying to prove their point, and i t firm, frustrated at the poor service from south africa's leading internet service provider, time to release their secret weapon, winston the

carrier pigeon. 11 months old and raring to go. rules were established. no cats allowed to disrupt his progress, and no birdseed with performance in passing elements. then, with a memory sticks strapped to his leg, winston took off. while the same data was being e- mailed from the company's office to durban. thousands followed winston's progress on social networking sites, and just over an hour later, he had arrived. the data was downloaded, and just after two hours after he had left, the data was ready to use in the company's main offices. and what of the e-mail version? just 4% of the data had reached its destination, approved -- proof the company says that their idea did have a serious edge to it. >> are having a lot of fun as well doing something like this, but solutions like this, we need

to be thinking out of the box and finding solutions. anything is possible. >> and what now for winston? according to his website, he is now celebrating his victory by chilling with his friends. >> well done, winston. before we go, a reminder of our top story -- general motors is to sell a majority stake in its european parts to magna. good news for thousands of car makers in germany. many in the u.k., belgium, and spain left worrying. the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, andthe john d. and catherine t.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 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 >> 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