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wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> answered the call of the history. president obama urges nations to put aside cynicism and support the middle east peace talks. >> now is the time to build the trust so substantial progress can be made. now is the time and the opportunity. >> french rage of old age. thousands protest the new pension plan. the conditions are shocking in the indian city of delhi. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america, also around the globe. my name is mike embley. coming up later for you -- bumper harvests and profits.

speculators are reaping the rewards from food and security investment. a holiday in hell? we take a look at tourism in iraq. hello. it is of bold prediction. president obama has suggested the -- to the u.n. general assembly that when it meets next year, it may be welcoming in an independent palestinian state. he urged the world to put aside cynicism. he also told -- told iran that nuclear diplomacy is still urgent. we have this report from new york. it contains flash photography. >> a parade arrival at the united nations. president obama was late for his

speech. at the podium, the overriding concern -- the current, fragile peace negotiations and upgrade protection. >> it is time that we reached deep within ourselves. when we come back here next year, we will have an agreement that will lead to any member of the united nations. an independent, sovereign state of palestine living in peace with israel. a ripple of applause -- >> a ripple of applause. and also a concern, the danger of iran acquiring nuclear weapons. >> the door remains open to diplomacy, should iran choose to walk through it. the iranian government must demonstrate a clear commitment and confirm to the world the peaceful intent of its nuclear program. >> note that president ahmadinejad was in the hall to

hear that, grinning broadly some 30 minutes later. the target of angry protests. what worries western politicians is he will resist the offers of talks in the pressure from tightening sanctions, pushing everyone to a dangerous new confrontation. >> president obama, he has made every effort to find a way through. so, i think they should pay attention to that and realize -- we are with you. >> here at the united nations, there is definitely a renewed efforts in the huge determination from president obama to get a break through in these peace negotiations. old ambition, high stakes. making it reality believe be much more difficult.

bbc news. >> our united nations correspondent is also at the u.n. right now. barbara, this is nothing short of an event. how significant, would you say? >> on the face of it, the americans and the british, some europeans have walked out of this the same way as they have many times before. you have israel -- and in this case, a minute jog was talking about 9/11 -- ahmadinejad was talking about 9/11. at that point, he walked out. he was in the middle of along and ranting speech about why he believed capitalism and the current global world order were failing, which started, he said, by having the wrong connections you religion, and it followed

by the world being dominated by the west, and in the post- colonial period, building stronger weapons, particularly nuclear weapons. >> president obama has made this pretty bold prediction about an independent palestinian state. what do you make of it? >> i do not know if it is a bold prediction. i think it is more of the hope that in a year's time the framework will be in the process. the greater concern is there may be a collapsed within a couple of days because they got the two sides talking to each other on the basis of a partial moratorium on building in the palestinian territories. over the weekend, palestinians say they will not return to talks if they begin building. a lot of being -- a lot of work is being done about that. president obama really

emphasized the need for the talks to continue, and is calling all parties from all quarters to put pressure, the money in their mouths, and say support be history. he did not address any of the fundamental issues that have to be dealt with in order to announce a palestinian state. >> no, indeed. thank you very much. the colombian army is saying it has killed the leader of the farc military group. mono jojoy is believed to have died in an air raid. it is said he commanded several thousand in one of columbia's biggest cocoa-growing areas. aafia siddiqui has been sentenced to 86 years in jail. a court in new york convicted her of killing his -- killing

her interrogators up -- interrogators. landslides killed 54 and the 42 missing in southern china. the typhoon moved slowly to the west. officials say more than 78,000 people in low money -- low lying areas have been evacuated. closed schools and transport chaos in france. public-sector workers are protesting a plan to rage -- to raise the age of which they will retire. president sarkozy says he will press on with reform. christian fraser as this from paris. >> another grim day. half the local and national rail service was canceled this morning, with major delays on the paris metro and chaos at the international airports.

in paris, a 40% of flights were canceled as air traffic controllers walked out. 200 flights from the uk were canceled. about the only guaranteed method of travel for those who did reach paris was this service. as it stands, at retirement age in france is 60. although they are not entitled to a full pension until they are 65. if the reform bill is adopted, then the time people -- timetable will rise to 62. workers will pay social security contributions for an extra year. there is, within france, a growing sense of social injustice, felt by unions. among those demonstrating, the

french middle-class, professionals, builders, teachers. they see this series of reforms hitting not only their jobs, but now the retirements. some have threatened a rolling strike that the damage not only the economy, but the president with a record low approval rating. >> the government is forcing us to a showdown. the only thing that can make them budget is a showdown. >> that may force the government to make further concessions, but two-thirds of the country are resigned to reforms already approved by the lower house. with the senate vote looking to be a formality, president sarkozy has the upper hand. christian fraser, bbc news, paris. >> our economy has started to shrink again. it came out of recession earlier

this year. dee dee was down by 1.2% on the first quarter of the year -- gdp was down by 1.2%. youtube and its owner, googles, have one of landmark piracy case brought by a spanish tv channel. the court ruled it was the responsibility of the copyright owner to tell googol -- google that their property appeared on the youtube. the suspension of of controversial diabetes drugcontroversialavandia. -- controversial diabetes drug, avandia. it is linked to an increased risk of heart failure. it was supposed to be a showcase moment for india, showing itself to be a global power. but now it is being called a shame game.

officials have apologized for a collective failure. photos show dirt, debris, and unfinished rams. chris morris reports from delhi. >> pictures from the bbc about what some of the accommodations in the athletes' village look like over the last few days. many places are filthy. many have delayed their arrival. security around the village is certainly in place. and there is a sense that things inside are improving. but not in time for everything to go ahead on schedule. this team will not go straight to the village. athletes from scotland, wales, in northern ireland will all be heading to india in the next few days. everyone hopes for the best. >> i know things need cleaning up a little, and that is about it, i think. we will be ready to go.

i think, and a few days we will be in the village. >> elsewhere in the world, athletes are ready to converge on the indian capital. >> the officials have confirmed we will participate. we are concerned, but we are going to leave. >> still, there is a scramble to get everything ready in time. the recriminations are already beginning. this is the flat area that became a symbol of the disarray in delhi this week. over there, the main stadium. i have been inside. it looks good. most of the games' venues are ready. but it is being said be arrogant management have left too many things to the last moment. many wonder if it is all worthwhile. some are calling it "be shame game." >> it is a little shameful.

i think what is more shameful is the response. >> [unintelligible] they should have managed their resources better. >> the word that this evening from the headquarters of the organizing committee -- the show will go one. you see question marks above other sporting events before, but delhi is leaving no later than most. bbc news. >> silda come -- the world's biggest windfarm opens. -- still to come -- the world's biggest windfarm opens. first though, the u.s. state of virginia is preparing its first execution of a female prisoner in 100 years. she was sentenced to death for arranging the murder of her husband and son in 2006.

>> this is the 41-year-old grandmother who said hit men to kill her husband and stepson so she could collect insurance. now from a jail cell just hours before her execution, she has spoken by phone to a local reporter. >> i want people to know you can be a good person and make the wrong choice. if i have to go on and be with jesus, i know that is going to be the best thing. >> her husband and his son were shot dead in their trailer in rural virginia eight years ago in what was made to look like a bundle robbery. she confessed to police she had left the door open for the killers that she had met two weeks earlier in the supermarket. one of them became her lover as they hatched the murder plot. relatives of the victims are in

no doubt that the punishment fits the crime. >> does because he did not pull the trigger, that does not make you not guilty. >> but the defense say that she faces execution while the men who pulled the trigger received a life sentence. an appeal was rejected by the u.s. supreme court. she is now a deeply religious woman. they have released a recording of her singing of gospel hymn. >> ♪ i need a miracle >> to resell lewis is scheduled to die by lethal injection -- to be so lewis is scheduled to die by lethal injection this evening. -- teresa leiws. >> the latest headlines for you on "bbc world news." president obama has urged

optimism for the new peace talks. for the second time this month, hundreds of thousands of workers protest the rise in the pension age in france. it is estimated that 40 million around the world are starving due to food shortages and high prices. this has been made worse by the wildfires in russia forcing an export ban on wheat. we sent jeremy bowen to colorado where wheat is undoubtedly the new cash crop. >> it is the new land of plenty. combine's are rolling through the golden crops, bringing in the profits. as fast as the grain is taken from the fields, it is pumped down . it is being done -- it is being pumped down the line.

this colorado farmer knows that the devastating droughts and wildfires in russia have forced up the value of wheat across the world. last year, this field was not worth the price of irrigation. next year's crop is in the ground, and the raiders are growing -- going -- the irrigators are going. >> we are profitable. three months ago, we left this field fallow because it would not be profitable. now we have the opportunity to plant fall we can make a substantial profit. >> with the russian export and taking a huge amount of wheat out of the market, there is a growing demand for other countries like america to make up the shortfall. >> this goes way beyond the simple equations of supply and demand. this is an international commodity. the price is not set year, but

on the trading floors of the global exchange. it is here in chicago where fortunes are at stake and they speculate on the future price of wheat. it impacts what we all pay for food and may restore the market. the irony is it has calculated how sensitive the crop is in the storage elevators all around the world. there is an uncertainty about future supply and demand and food security that continues to attract speculators are looking for a profit. this week trader, paul meyer, -- wheat trader, paul meyer, says there are opportunities. >> we will buy this and hold it, and when there are more buyers than sellers, the price increases. absolutely.

the price will increase. >> even farmers who look to benefit from this latest spike in prices are not always comfortable with the uncertainty that's speculation in jacks. what they want is stability. >> we have to come to some means where farmers can have a more stable income, cooperation between nations and farmers to have healthy production and price. >> protecting the flow of food and the world's poor from sudden sharp price increases will be key to the u.n.'s emergency meeting in rome. this is not yet a crisis, but there are warnings that another disaster somewhere in the world could bring huge consequences to the global food supply. jeremy bowen, bbc news, colorado. >> it looks like a bit of good

cop, bad cop. in moscow, you might remember russia yesterday was planning nine extra territory and said its international interest would come first. today, prime minister prudent suggested all potential problems could be resolved through -- prime minister putin suggested all potential problems could be resolved through negotiation. it is no secret the british are obsessed with the weather. offshore's biggest when farm has opened on the east coast. it can produce enough electricity for 200,000 homes. it is the latest target for the electricity goal of production. >> it has been called one of the world's most audacious clean energy projects.

shimmering of the canseco's, this is the biggest win the farm -- kent coast, this is the thiswind farm in the world. of the next decade, the 120% of our electricity to come from the -- they want 20% of our electricity to come from the wind. the previous governments in vegetation with offshore wind power, it was very expensive. there are other venues. they should be going that route. >> it has been used in our country, around europe. it is definitely one of the best, relying on renewable production of energy. >> the technology has problems. no wind, no power.

it is always have a leak hopes digit it is also heavily subsidized. which means it costs more for everyone. bbc news, off the kent coast. >> to many, this will sound more like a hellish holiday, but iraq is looking for overseas visitors. iraq desperately needs the income foreign visitors rain, but would win a holiday there be light -- foreign visitors bring, but what would a holiday there be like? gabriel gatehouse has this. >> if this is iraq, but not the iraq we know from our television screens. this is not the iraq of daily suicide bombings. this is kurdistan.

it is mountainous rather than a red, and it is completely safe. -- rather than aird, and it is completely -- rather than arid, and it is completely safe. this is one of the things they hope will get the punters. whitewater rafting. [unintelligible] mike crane is as self confessed river rats, and until recently he was doing construction work for the u.s. state department. now he is trying to drum up to wrists to spend their holiday in northern iraq. this is -- >> this is an awesome river. would you not bring your wife

and family here? i would. >> actually, this is already a destination for families wanting to spend quality time together. here is one. these are kurds. they have brought us serious picnic. >> attracting foreign tourists is an excellent idea. >> hold on. hold on. hold on. here we go. >> the catalyst, the man would be blocked, and iraqi-american environmentalist who hopes of union long run, -- in the long run, iraq will be cleaner. >> they can think twice about throwing the bottles in or the

trash. >> it will certainly be a long time before tourists from europe and america come flocking to northern iraq. this lovely people here are ready to show the world that the country is ready to become -- the country that has become a byword for conflict has better things to offer. gabriel gatehouse, bbc news. >> briefly, a reminder of the main news this hour. president obama has addressed the u.n. general assembly in new york, urging them to put aside pessimism and support the recently relaunched the least he's talks. the u.s. delegation walked out of the assembly. the iranian president has referred to conspiracy theories circulating after the 9/11 attacks, saying the united states itself is implicated in

the attacks. officials from united states have described this as abhorrent. we are on twitter and facebook. thank you for watching. >> funding was 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. and siemens. >> somewhere in america, there's a doctor who can peer into the future. there's a nurse who can access in an instant every patient's past. and because the whole hospital is working together, there's a family who can breathe easy right now. somewhere in america we've already answered some of the nation's toughest health-care questions. and the over 60,000 people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers.

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