i am martin savidge in new york. as always, thank you very much for joining us. we'll look forward to seeing you back here on monday. until then have, a great weekend.

i'm martin savidge in new york. as always, thank you very much for joining us. we'll look for you back here again tomorrow and anytime on the web. until then, have a good night. >>> "worldfocus" was made possible, in part, by the following funders --

i'm martin savidge in new york. as always, thanks for joining us. we hope to see you back here again tomorrow. and we'll look for you anytime on the web. until then, have a good night. >>> "worldfocus" is made possible, in part, by the >>> "worldfocus" is made possible, in part, by the following funders -- -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com adobe is the ideal building material for the desert. the blocks moderate temperature extremes but that's not all. .entering here the courtyard of this adobe house. adobe buildings are attractive. they have character.

i'm martin savidge in new york. as always, thanks for joining us. we hope to see you back here again tomorrow. he web.ll look for you anytime until then, have a good night. >>> "worldfocus" is made possible, in part, by the >>> "worldfocus" is made possible, in part, by the following funders -- -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

i'm martin savidge in new york. as always, thanksor joining us. we'll look for you back here tomoow. and anytime the web. until en, have a good night. >>> "worldfocus" is de possie, in part, by the >>> "worldfocus" is de possie, in part, by the following funders -- -- captions by vitac www.vitac.co

i'm martin savidge. we begin tonight with the g-8 summit the annual gathering of the world's largest economies and while many expected the global economic crisis to dominate today's talk if italy, the big news office a different front. the leaders agreed to set a target. limiting the world's average temperature from rising more than two degrees celsius, that's about 3 1/2 degrees fahrenheit. they also set a goal for industrialized nations to reduce greenhouse gasses by 80% by the year 2050. despite the focus on climate change the global recession remains a big concern for the g-8 leaders. and today they agreed to keep pressing ahead with efforts to stimulate economies. so how are the european countries going about it? our partner, deutsche welle, has that as our "lead focus" tonight. >> reporter: fewer hours on the job for reduced pay and in germany hundreds of thousands of employees have been put on short time. putting off mass redundancies for now. germany's economy's forecast to shrink by 6% this year

i'm martin savidge. we're beginning tonight in afghanistan, where the steadily expanding war against the taliban is turning increasingly deadly. just halfway through this month of july, 46 coalition troops have died, 24 americans, 15 british, four canadians, two turks and one italian. that number equals what had been the highest full month casualty count. in our "lead focus" tonight, we begin on the newest battlefront where special teams are being deployed to dismantle bomb, those so-called improvised "the new york times" james dowd reports from southeast of kabul. >> what else do you need? ssary.l be calling that up if >> reporter: during the past week i embedded with a special counter ied team under lieutenant james brown. this team has been deployed to tackle a growing threat. combat deaths from ieds or improvised explosive devices are projected to set a record in 2009. already they have killed at least 46 american troops this year. i was with lieutenant brown's team when an emergency call came in. an

i'm martin savidge. we're going to begin tonight with some important developments in the war in afghanistan. as the united states, with about 57,000 troops in that country, engages in the biggest offensive against the taliban since the start of the war. today, the military reported the deaths of two u.s. marines, in what it called a hostile incident. for its part, britain said it was sending 140 additional troops to afghanistan. joining more than 9,000 british soldiers already there. and then for the british, the impact of the war hit home again today, as the remains of eight british troops were returned to england and large crowds came out to pay their respects. >>> in this country, president obama said today that all of us want to see an effective exit strategy where increasingly the afghan army, police and government take more responsibility for their own security. but for now, as you're about to see in tonight's "lead focus," it is a tough, sometimes frustrating battle for the americans. we take you

i am martin savidge in new york. as always, thank you ve much for joini us. we'll lookorward toeeing you back here on monday. until then hav a great weeken >>> "worldfocus" is made possible, in part, by the follow >>> "worldfocus" is made possible, in part, by the follow funders -- -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

i'm martin savidge in new york. as always, thanks for joining us. we'll look for you back here tomorrow. and anytime on the web. until then, have a good night. >>> "worldfocus" is made possible, in part, by the following funders -- -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com a thousand years ago people living in the mexican state of chihuahua created one of the most important trading centers in north america. we're certainly in mennonite country still... today, some unexpected immigrants have made

i'm martin savidge. it's a relationship that really makes news but what goes on between the united states and india, the world's second most populous country, with its 1.2 billion people is a story that bears watching. and that's why we begin tonight with secretary of state hillary clinton's visit to that important country. just today the two nations granted a new deal that will grant american companies exclusi rights to sell india civilian nuclear power reactors. a deal that could be worth $10 billion. but even as that deal was struck, india once again today resisted american efforts to limit carbon emissions. a deal india fears would slow its own economy. all of this is our "lead focus" tonight. >> secretary clinton spent her weekend trying to bring home the united states message that india's booming economy needs to put the brakes on carbon emissions. but the secretary of state heard a clear "no" from india's leaders. >> india's position is, i would like to make it clear and categorical. india's posit

i'm martin savidge. we begin tonight in iran, where a memorial for victims of the violence that followed last month's disputed elections turned into another day of protests by thousands of people, and yet more violence. they're increasingly angry, not only about the government's crackdown but the treatment of those detained and held in prison. trials for some of those people will begin this weekend. and iran is our lead focus once again tonight. today's demonstrations began at a bass cemetery in southern tehran. there thousands of people gathered to mark the end of the 40-day mourning people for nettia sultan. her death in late june has become a rallying cry for the opposition. this internet video is said to be of today's event. in it, protesters can be heard chanting, don't be scared. we'll all together. opposition candidate mir hossein mousavi tried to join the mourners but was turn add way by a force of several hundred police. iranian state television reported they used tear gas and batons to disperse

i'm martin savidge. for months now, the united states has been lobbying hard for north korea to end its nuclear program. and as she has traveled throughout asia this week, secretary of state hillary clinton has pressed the point. the topic has been front and center at the gathering of 27 countries attending the asean regional conference in thailand. but north korea hasn't much appreciated what it's been hearing. in fact, an even nastier war of words has broken out between the two countries. that war of words between north korea and the united states over the nuclear impasse is our lead focus tonight. in the latest twist in the deteriorating relationship between the u.s. and north korea, north korea has announced it's pulling out of negotiations to end its nuclear program. >> translator: until america's deep-seated anti-north korea attitude ends, all of these problems will continue, and because of that, the six-party talks are also over. >> speaking with reporters at the conclusion of this week's asian re

i'm martin savidge. all this week we've been taking you inside the war against the taliban with the help of our "worldfocus" partners. as that battle intensifies in both afghanistan and pakistan. tonight we're going to focus on pakistan, where the government, under pressure from the united states, has been conducting large-scale military operations against the extremists. the government says its offensive in one area, the swat valley was successful, but it took a big humanitarian toll, driving some 2 million people from their homes. this week, some of those displaced people began to return to the swat valley, including the capital of the area, mingora. in tonight's lead focus we want to show you what it was like as they made their way back. kamal hyder of al jazeera english was with some of them. >> reporter: more and more people are coming back and by whatever means available. some are on acres while others walk along with their livestock, like this old man who gives a helping hand to his animals. as th

i'm martin savidge.president obama ended a two-day summit russia, he and that country's top leaders seem to have got a long way toward changing the tone of their relationship for thbetter. but despite the agreement to reduce their nuclear arsenals with a new treaty the president admitted that on issues that divide the countrie there won't be a meeting of the minds anytime soon. one of those issues, the american plan to deploy a missile defense system near russia in eastern europe. russia's foreign minister warned today that such a system could jeopardize progress on arms control. the obama visit our "lead focus" once again tonight. >> reporter: speaking to graduates of master's prestigious new economic school president obama outlined his vision for a new era of russian/america cooperation. >> america wants a strong, peaceful and prosperous russian. this belief is rooted in our respect for the russian people and a shared history between our nations that goes beyond competition. >> reporter: in his speech,

i'm martin savidge. it's been the deadliest month for u.s. troops in afghanistan since the war there started nearly eight years ago. and today in the eastern part of that country in the city of gardez, taliban militantss, some firing rockets and assault rifles and suicide bombers launched a highly orchestrated late-morning attack. a shootout followed between afghan security forces and the militants. and by the time it was all over, 14 people were dead. authorities there say at least two bombers dressed in women's burqas were involved in the attack in the city's police station. the governor's compound and the intelligence department before being repelled. >> translator: none of our soldiers opened fire on him from here and hey opened fire on him from the second floor and then i jumped up on the roof and fired on him from there. then i came down and i saw his body. >> chris sanz of the national newspaper is based in the afghan capital city of kabul. >> well i think the significance of today's attack is it shows the taliban to know to get strong

i'm martin savidge. as leaders of the world's major industrialized countries and at their summit meeting in italy president obama challenged his counterparts do much more to help develop nations to deal with hunger and he succeeded getting them to commit to $20 billion to the effort. the president told a news conference how he understood hunger in very personal terms. saying that he had learned lessons from family members still living in kenya, his father, you'll recall was born there. he said, they, themselves, are not going hungry but live in villages where hunger is real. the president at the summit and beyond, that's our "lead focus" tonight. >> reporter: president obama again took the lead in pushing the nation's at the g-8 summit towards agreement. today he made a personal plea to help feed the world's poor. the major industrialized countries committed $20 billion to a new food security initiative to help the world's mo vulnerable nations. that's more than the previously discussed figure of $15 bil

i'm martin savidge. only hours after president obama arrived in moscow earlier this morning for a summit meeting with russian president dmitry medvedev the united states and russia announced a preliminary agreement on a deal to reduce the number of their nuclear weapons. the deal represents a step forward, a big one, in relations between the two countries, which had been set back by the russian invasion of georgia last summer. american/russian relations and the new arms that's our "lead focus" tonight. >>> appearing with russian president dmitry medvedev at the kremlin, president obama today announced a new era of cooperation between the two governments on nuclear arms reductions. >> as the world's two leading nuclear powers, the united states and russia must lead by example and that's what we're doing here today. >> the current start treaty is set to expire in december. the new proposed agreement would result in slashing the supply of nuclear warheads by up to a 1/3 as well as new verification measures.

i'm martin savidge. we begin tonight with the war in afghanistan, and a look apt the two main western military forces in that country. that's the united states and great britain. the toll of that war on british troops 8,000 of them in afghanistan has suddenly become a big issue at home. that's because the death toll is soaring. 15 british soldiers have been killed so far this month. eight of them in just o one 20-hour period this week. in tonight's "lead focus" we're going to draw on several of our partners to bring you the latest on that war. starting with james blake of britain's itn, who filed this report earlier today. >> reporter: this afternoon at camp bastion in the heart of helmand province, the british army's holding a memorial service for the eight soldiers who died in this space of just 24 hours last week. most were victims of improvised bombs. casualties during this new offensive against the taliban called "operation panter's claw." this morning the foreign secretary has responded to several

i'm martin savidge. we're going to begin here tonight with that meeting of world leaders in italy -- the so-called g-8. for one thing, they agreed to put more pressure on iran to compromise on its nuclear program. they also condemned iran's crackdown on dissent, which, by the way, continued today. but the g-8 found themselves in sharp disagreement with leaders of some of the major developing countries who also attended that meeting. the issue -- climate change and how far to go in fighting it. the developing countries want more nancial help from the g-8 to help them c greenhouse emissions. and they nt a plan that takes into account their need to grow, especially during this global recession. in tonight's lead focus, we go to italy, where climate change has been a top priority for president obama. president obama has been pushing hard in italy for an agreement on global warming, so much so, that today, he personally convened a meeting of 17 world leaders to tackle the problem. the countries they represent

i'm martin savidge in new york. as always, we thank you for watching and we'll look for you back here on sunday. in the meantime, have a great weekend. >>> "worldfocus" is made possible, in part, by the >>> "worldfocus" is made possible, in part, by the following funders -- -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com