>> "bbc world newsis presented by kt, los angeles. nding for this presentation made possible byhe freeman foundaon of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. the newman's own fountion. the john dand catherine t. carthur foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank has put its financial strength twork for a wide range of compies, from small sinesses to major corporations. what can we do f you? >> and nowbbc world news." >> dmystery of the arctic sea -- the missing russian cargo vessel turns ouof the west afrin coast. last attempt to o voters in afghanistan. but will tyeel fenough to st ballots? an explosio in a russian dam kills 10 works.

dozens more are missing. a very warm welcome tobbc world news,"broaast on pbs in amica. coming up ter for you -- a hidden community spes out. gay iq keyman teller retail of torture andurder. ar we seeing more info sightings or just watching more of a certain tv show? hello to you. ok -- the headlin is missing at ship down. the ivitable next questions just what were yo doing in the 18 ds the worldas looking for you? if t cargo vessel,rctic sea, tught to be seized by pirates has turned up of the west coast of africa. ssia's defee minist says

the crews alivand well. we have this report >> this tail was shrouded in confusiofrom the start. now the mystery has partially been solved. e crew is ive and well. it inot under any e's guard, aprently. the fulltory is yet to erge. >> cnfirmation that the ship had been found came with a reporto the russian president from his defen minister. >> the sp w found 300 miles off the cape verdeslands. the crew has beetransferred to one of our warsps were they are ing questioned to did- toetermine whaexactly happened >> so howdid of 4000-pound vessel carrying heavy timber disappear fromhe year? this began nearly a monthgo in finland on july 2

the next day, it was reportedly boarded and seahed by armed men. on july 28, it contacted the cot guard, going through te english chanl. was sighted off the french coast two days late it never meant it --ade it to its destination of algeria. instead,t turned out on the cape verde islandsff the west afrin coast. adng to the mystery, t ship's operator inelsinki apparely receed a ransom demand. british police were not cle if i was genuine. ere have been vaous theories about wat was really going on. hijack a piracy was only one suspicion. drug smuggling was anoer. some wondere if it was really a commercial dispute. >> the most lily explanation s that it is some sort of dispe beten a russian interests -- even thou there are reports, i cannot see why a

gang of professional crimils would tie u large amount of maower for less moy than yo can get from an average operion. >> the key alliewith the crew. if they were being held against their will, what w the ip hiding? the russian governme says it will make the full story publ. >> the finalay ofampaigning in afghanistan's presidential ection is cong to a close. r the first time, afghans are organing the elections emselves. this is seen as a test of credibility for the untry. there are dous about whetr voters will feelecure enough to come out. john simpson rerts from koppel -- kabul. >> this is e bizarre in the nter of -- bazaar in the

ceer ofabul. there is no running water here. no sanitation. just stkingiles of ruish. i havcome bk to find someone in that a couple years ao. he makes his living the best he can, selling vegetaes. since i saw him last, lf a dozen of the world'sichest tions have poured o huge amounts of ca and hundredsf soldiers lives in ghanistan. he has a huge family -- 12 childr. they all liv together in this one room. the hers are ot, either at school or te market. hasnything improved in his family'life? thing at all, he says. "our ves are just as ha as ever."

the poverty here is as difficult s anywhere on earth, yet the cost ofeeping a single soldier in afghanistan wouldompletely change theives ofveryone here. but yu know it is not going to happen because the system is too corrupt. it simply would not get thugh. it is dangeroufor afghans to pot out these home uths. we are gog to a secret cation where a woman is in ding after speaking out about corruption andomen's rock -- women's rights. >> the situation it is like "help." >> she is campaigning against a new law that permits men to rape ortarve tir wives for denying sex. >> we are far fm the society,

joblessness. >> the money simpl is not tting through. the west is ghting exemism in afghanian, but the has not been adeqte lead war on povertand ignorae here. >> john told us just now -- how old people felt abo having their say. there is an terest in the press itself. this is a great rrity to be ableor people to tink that their vo could changer concern at the political government of the untry. there is a lot of interest in at. there is also a lot ofynicism about thcandidates. theynow tt when in power, politicians tend to be rapacious and corrupt. what people te to do, therefore, is to look fothe people that ll help them in their particular intert group.

northerners, people who speak that language will suppt t front line chalnger. lots of people i the south will tend to suppo the president. at least,that is what we sume. on the other hand, a lot of people are sick of presint karzai. they may say -- they y stay ay inarge numbers. he has done a lot of deals with the waords and bosses and s forth. that mu jay -- that must - that may jusget him through. >> john since then tre. all this week wwill haveive cerage of the afghan presidential election. you can see thahere on "bbc wodews." authories in the united sates are calli it the biggest case of identity theft in the

country. he is charged with stealing 130 milln credit and debit cd numbers. he is accused of hacking io a number of supermarkets. a grouof senior american ngressmen have urged the scottish government not to release the man jailed for boings. seven senators, inclung at john rry, say he suld remain in a ottish jail to servhis sentence. there was speculation hwill be freed in a daze on coassionate grounds. the leader of a ght banned sunni group was killed, st de as he drove into a a province northeast of karachi. ateast 10 workerhave been killed. 72 are still unaccoted for.

there'an accent at russia's largest hydroelectric wer station. a transformer exploded during pair work. om moscow, our correspondent reports. >> the accent happened as worker orarrying out repairs to one of the plant's transformers the sce flooded with wat. it is unclear what caused the roof to collapse. some suggest an explosi in the tuine in itself or a sudden rge in pressur rescue wrkers have the situatn under control, t they are searcng for more than 60 people o are missing. > war has been pumped from the machine roo the supply of water has been cut off. we are on high alert. >> the sovieera sayano- shushekaya por station is theargest of its kind in russia. at 245 mers high, it is

locate in southern siber. >> is no danr to people living downstrm from the power plt. there iso danger ofhe dam being destred. >> te explosion caused an oil spill which is flowing wnstream andadding an enviroental dimension to the disaster. authoritie say it could take years, rather than month, fo the sayanoshushenskaya plan to turnto productivit much of ssia agrees infstructure is despete needof modernizion. russia has not signicantly invested in the upep of the por station. b news, in moscow. >> dmitry medvedev hazm sacked the ofresidents of in the shifted -- the attack on a

police station could he been averted, according to m. a deadly fire at a kuwait weddg is rortedly staed by the -wife of the groom. the woman has confessed to igniting the blaze which gulfed 43 women and children. after an entire year to year of economic data as bad as anything since the second world war, japan has announced it is out of cession. the rld's second-largest enomy grew by nine%. still, it was ait of a disappointment. our corresndent reports fro tokyo. >> jan's economy is cmbing of the worstrecession since the end of t second world war. gross domestic product is rising, alit modestly, after record-breaking falls. consumers are spending more

after being eouraged from cash handouts from the government and subsidies. the world is recering something of its aptite for japanese goods, too. demands for cars is being boosted by governmentrograms to replace old ones. productions up, alough the economis ruing far below capacity. jap's prime minier says this is weome news. with the general election before the end of the month, he is trailing badly in opinion pls. >> i haveeen putting all efforts into the economic recery. as aesult, we are seeing light in the future of the economy. the gdp figure show an increase. we have not reached a point where the people of japan can feel the recovery. >> the ock market showed unea, and a sustainable recoveryain be someay off

though. the signs of strength we not s good as some had hoped. there are coinued worries about th strength of the japanese yen, which unrmined competitiveness abroad >> good toave you with us on "bbc world news." stay with us if you can. the new afgn blue lake. first, north korea wantso reach out to south korea, raisg hopes thathe tension between the two countries is easing. it is unclear wheth the south will aow the trs to resume. >> tightly controll and managed, this is tourism d north kore-style. until they came to a stop st year, these fledgling trips across one of the wrld's most heavily fortified rders were both popular with curious south korean visitors and a vaable

source oforeign currency fo the isolated communt state. theews that north kea is ready to rpen the borr came ter a visit to pyongyangrom a prominent south korean businessoman. her company has invested heily in tra and tourism. last year, south korea brought home the dy of one of its tizens from e north korean special tourism zone. the 52-year-old hadeen shot dead by guards. the south has long argued that the turist trips wi remain suspended untilt gets a satisfactory explanation for her death. north korea says it also wants to resume the reunions of vided families which have al stoppedmid the worseng elations with its soutrn neighbor. it may be a sign tha the nort is softeningtstance, or it may be re calculated.

this garrison state habeen seeking to men fces with washington, d to that end, closer ties with south korea could help. a reminde of teions, the north military as wning of "and annihilating strike" if south korean mitary drills and french on s sovereignty. -- infringe on its sovereignty. >> go to bbc.com/news to experience bbc news onle. it is all here. see the one-minute video rld ws summary. you can read the latest headlines, get the top ories from around the glo. discover morebout the subjects that really ierest you and fi outwhich issues the wld is talking aboutight now. for "bbc world news"online go

to bbc.com/news. >> the test headlines for you on "bbc world news." e russians have foundhe cargo ship which disappeared in mysterious circumstance nearly three weeks ago. presidential candidat in afghistan are making their final campaign push for thursday'election. some parts of the afghanistan are stil relatively peaceful. the central highlands, for instance. the world's bigges donors are being encouraged to focus on these provinces. >> ts is the jewel in the crown, the sparkling blue lak safire and emeld pulls. -- pools. it just became afghanistan'sa

first nation park. never mind there is no proper ro to get here. afghans are coming in large mbers. th united natio special representive also came to make a point. he has bn urging donors not to overlook provinces where there is potential and peace >>we have to seehere the most tential is, and the impact of money spentere is trendous. it is dierent than the rovinces that sufferfrom confli. >> and a warning thatost foreigaidmoney follows troops. >> we have gone much too far, ch too far. the sponse has been that we ignore provinces that are stable. we see alrey that we are paying a price for it because

ose provinces are becoming unable. if we continue like that, there will simply be -- where we need trps. we do notave this. >> bodyguards are needed now, but the issome as promised re. it is mineral-rich and a tourist goldine. >> you have to take this. thiss for our fture generation >> now, afghans e still fighting. >> you came from kabul? >> fromhis side. >> jt an afghan fily coming for a day out? yesa day out. >> the afghanomen all in black traved from ira sh is here marvel at the beauty. she wi come bac for good,

when it is more peaful. mayb in year or two. for now, m with guns are not an eas fit for swan lake. but there is the very real prome of a better day. >> and n a rivalry between ighbors on the annual eurovision song ntrathat rejectsong contest. tre have been serious consequences for song fm azerijanfrom neighboring armenia. the number identified voting for armenia are now bing questioned by authorities. they are beg cused of being unpriot and a potential security threat. officials fro azerbaijan s thateople have onl beeasked to explain why they voted for

menia. gay men are being tortured in the rock with the complity military fces. that is accding t human rights watch in new york. namehave been changed in the to report to protect the identy of those terviewed. >> three of the young iqi men are now dead. earliethis year, an iraqi police station broadcasthis video of a gay party, saying havior was shamef. soon aftertheseosters appeared in the reets. ey call on people to watch out for gay men,or allegedly hosexuals. the witch hus have already resulted in the deaths of some 90 days men since janry.

>> we are being beaten. we a being trtured. we are being killed. ery time i go out, i expect to be killed. >> this man show me a photograph of his partner of eight years. he waskilled eight months ago by a militi-- shot in the street. the human righ watch says the shi'amilitia are perturd traders predict e perpetrators of t killings. there are dozens of accounts of tortures rapes milated bodies found in stbins. most of the killings found in -- happen in courtconservative area of baghdad. th latest was in this relativelyafe, relatively health -- wethy neighborhood. officialhave not responded to

an inquiry, but in e past, they have said they condemnhe killings. he does not believe them. >> rst of al i blame the government because ty listen to a shi'a clec, so they do not protect us. >> this was him last year. was aested, even though homoxuality is noillegal here. his friend ma have been passed on to the mitia. he is now missing, feed dad, along wi all the others in the country where the ngth of unmans hair termines whether he lives odies. -- a man's hair deteines whetr he lives or di. >> finally, if you have seen strange eyes ithe sky, you may have wonderedf your eyes are playing trks. the british government will be eleasing 15 yrs of files.

we have aeport. >> it was a time of strange ligh in the sy, events that defied explanation. ufo sightingsave been going on r years. in the mid-1990's, the number of ports suddenly shot u for instance, in belgium, fighters were sent to intercept hot ghts. the radar lockednto something but no one knows at. so does theeleaseof the case files give us answers? dad clark has been sifting through, and there are some colusions. such as these sightings aoss uthern engnd in 93. it transpires it was probab a russian rock. >> what ha acally been sn was part of a rocket launchedy the rsians to put a spy satellite in bit.

the movements of this thing, re- entering the earth's atmosphere, has been retracted -- recreated by nasa scientist. >> take the most famous british ufo mystery -- amerin military personnel saw bght lights, a radioactive readings. but the official report in 1995, well - >> the defense minister inhe mid 1990's, and frankly the briefing he received w the ministry of defensdid not think the s a teat to u.k. securiti into because the americanswaited two weeks to report. indeed, most o the sightings were never inveigated. so can we explain the spike in the number of em? david clark has an idea. he sys there was a pular program at e time. >> he x-files" was to blame

for this. i think it payed a role. think tha certainly ontributed to more reports being received. >> so releasi the ufoiles is meant to and claims th the state was covering up result of its ufo investigatns. but what it has really realed is that mo of the time, ihad betterhings to do. >> a much more o that, of course, all over the intern, particularly bbc.com. that is the day wait. just click through the. thanou for bei with us. >> funding was made possib by the freeman undation of new rk, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. e newman's own foundati. the john d. ancatherine t. carthur foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank has put it financial streng to work for a wi range of companies, from small businesses to jor corporations >> what cawe do for you? >> i'm julia stes. >> i'm kevin ban. >>'m kim cattrall. >> hi, i'm keburns. >> i'lili taylor. >> 'm henry louis gates,r., and publicroadcasting is m source for news out the world. >>or intelligent conversation. >> for election covera you can count on. >> for conversations bond e sound bite a commitmt to journalism. >> fodeciding who to vote for. >> i'm rry washington, an publ broadcasting is my sourc for intellent connections to my community. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kce los angeles. presented by kce los angeles.