♪ >> anoer massive melt in th arct. thice rreating sorapidly it's triggeng serious change. >> really, the arctict, and hon. the newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthufoundation. and union nk.

>>nion bank has put its financial strength to workor a wide range of companies, from small busisses to major corporations. wh can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc worldews." >> the lockerbie bomb or returns to libya on compassione ground victims of the pa am bombing and president obam express their deepisappointment. >> we have been in contactwith the scottish governmt indicating that we jectedo this, and we thght i was a mistake. >> millions of afghans ct

their votes despite taliban attempts to wreck the elections. welcom to "bbcorld ns," broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america, ad elsewhere ound the glob i am mikmbley. ba in moscow. and lightni really does strike twice. usai bolt tak another record, this time in the 200 meter hello to you. the man convicted of t lockerbi bombing has received ecstatic welcome home in libya. abdelbaset aliohmet al-megrahi is facg ath from terminal cancer and wasfor that reason leased early from il by the scottish gornment. he issued a statement again declaring his innence and his since sympat for the

unimaginable loss of the ictims' milies. 270 victims. any were american. al-megrahi served just ov 11 days for each murder. w have this rert from glasgow. >> this is the moment abdelbaset ali mohmet al-megrahi left british soil. his papers sayin he was leased due to compassionate grounds or in his has as he walked slowly up the steps to the airane. he served 10 years of a sentence. the decion to release d was made by the justicsecretary. this was pnted out just how ha the decision was to make. >> our juste syst demands that judgment be imposed but compsion be available. iis dictated that juice be servedut mercy be shown.

>> the had been years of from an angry crowd as the liby lefprison under police esco -- there had been jrs. was the man cvicted of britain's wot terrorist attack. earlier this week, al-megrahi 4 foto the opportunity to finallclear his name, but in a letter released today, he ferred to his innocence. he sd, "i have been separate from my family aa resul of what i consider to be an unju decision. iave to try to bear th with a degree equi." during it interview with a u.s. station,preside obama warned libya not to give al-megrahi a her's welcome. >> we ha been in contact with the scottish goverent, ndicating that we objected to this, and we thought it waa miske. we are now in contact with the libyan gornment, and we want

to make sure thaif, in fact, this transfer h taken place that he is not welcome to back in some way but, instead, should be under hoe arrest. >> al-megrahi was convict in 2001 of carrying out the bombin of pan am 103. the evidence ce from a suitcase which had a bomb in a radio cassette player. closing found in the same cse where atacted back to a shop inalta. the shop owner identified al- megri as the man whmade the purchase but what d not com out in the trial is tt he had seen a picture of the libn in a magazi article about t bombing. manyritish relatives are pleased al-megrahi is going home but are now worried themay never know theruth. >> areappy forim for his sa. t there is concern. we just ho that it would have

allowed to be appled to continue because heas released on compassionate grounds >> an in the united states, many relatives are angry that compassion has been shown to the mafound guty of murder on an most unimaginable scale. >>it has been hrible. i have beenery, very angry, depressed. i mean, this is skening, sickening. this manurdered. he is a mass murderer and terrorists. he kild 270 people. t on compassion > -- and terrorist. >> he w still maintaining his innocence, but he will now never be abl to clear hisame. bbc news, glasco. >> on home so, the freedman, abdelbaset ali moht al- megrahi touching down -- bbc news, class go.

he returned to a ver different couny to the one he left -- glasgo. his arriv marked thetart of a celebration for t national youth movement. his frdom marks the beginning of libya's new dawn. te only weste film ew allowed intthe country, we have been carefull marshalled throughout by governnt reminders, but we did see glimpses as thisiplomacy unfold. -- bygovernment minders, but we did see glimpses as this demiplomacy unfolded. would the primeinister finally arrive for mh-delayed pre conference, -- when the prime minister finally rived,e wentll-out to avoid questions. >> toy is about otr matters, he said. there is always timeor al- megrahi.

but tre was a statement written by muammar qaddafi's son. we have turnedhe page. but say to the victims' falies, just because al- megrahi t go of his second appeal, there is still a lot of evence in support of his evidence. so tonight, abdelbaset ali mohmet al-megrahi goes home to his 95-year-old gndmother, who he is not seen in years, and is dying oprostate cancer. he will certainly be ee to tell his own story about why he opted to drophe appeal, but he knows that ultimately he face a different judge m&a, and he go to the grave a convicted murderer. c news, tripoli -- he faces different judge. he goes t degrade a convicted murderer. afghan -- he goes to the

grave a convicted murderer. >> offials say 26people were kill in attacks by insurgents afghanian. turnout was paty in those ars whereilitants are strongest. those who made it to the polls had to choose from among 40 candidates. >>a gunbattle on thcouple rooftops. -- kabul with jobs. the afghan pole ad army camps arou a small group of taliban surgents, who they believe are getting ready to stage an atck. the big security operatn in a cool -- in kabulhas been remarkably successful. the battle endedithhe deaths of two insgents. ere was a block down in kabul itselfnd the streets were largely empty -- there was no lock down -- a lockdown.

whilall of this wasoing on, presidenkarzai was there. there been a lot of ssatisfaction with is lack o achieveme and with the growing corruption here. we drove south out ofabul, through the frequent checkpoints, in an are where the had been a lot of violenc in the past, but when we stopped, we found it entirel peaceful. the ma trouble s that the turnout was low. here, peop were shing uin a reasonly large numbers. they may not have muchime fo their politicns, and they a sick of all o the corruption but they stillave a strong belief that casting thr vte really mters. things are quiet here n because is the heat of the day, and people e staying at home, and they probly will not

turn out until later today, but the security psence is still here, and it has been quite impressive. we scarcely set up our satellite sh before forces showed up and insisted we got rid of any pictures we had taken of them. after that thou, the situation bame a lot more friendly. the local lice chief turned out to check us out. there were terrorists erywhere, he said,but here, everything was uer control. , it ses, in the relatively peaceful nthern ha of the country, but inhe troubled south, it wa a differt story. president carbide,hen he spe to the bbc, agreed. -- presidt karzai. >> we can do it, and weid it. >> some polling stations didn't open at albecause of security or because people didot show up. it went veryvery well.

>> as the slow siness of te counting starts, it is car the talibahad not been abl to derail the ection, partly the achievement of british and other foreign troops here. the truth will be judgedy the size of the turnout. bbc news,abul. >> and lat in the ogram, we will he from our correondent who was aconvoy going to the polling station as itame under attack in the south of the country. some of the other main stories foyou, more briefly in the iraqi capital, ernight the peop killed in a sies of bomb attacks. an army spokesn says people are being questioned, over possible security lapses security has been tits, and the e checkpoints anmore troops depyed. ere was a bicycle bomb in a baghdad market that killetwo people. ira's president is facin another threat to its authori.

a senior membe of authority has said that many mp;a will rect me less experienced ministers that manga ahmadinejad as proped for his new cabinet. -- saidhat many mp's would reject lesexperience ministers at mahmoud ahmadinejad has propos for his new cabinet. pakistani officials he been raiding sugar mills, and ther is a sugar shortage and the ghest pricen nearly 30 years. our bbreporter has this. >>sugar has become big news here in pakistan. over the last couple of months, the price has skyrocked, and is a basic commodity has beme increasingly scarce. the people have been waiting for over one hour to get eir

one bag per family because it is nobeing rationed, and there a the arguments anfights in these que's,and the government is blaming the sugar producers. they say they are hoarding their sugar to in officially -- to artificial inflate eir prices. thesare the highesprices for raw sugar in the last 20 years. this i just ahead of the holy month of ramadan. they are bringing their o policians of badlanning and corruption contribut to the oblem. >> still to come for you on "bbc worlnews," is this gold medal-winning alete really a man? she now faces a gender test after a victory in berli fit, reports from south korea that suggests i northern neighbor is about to easborder restrictions. the north is also indicang it

would li to have tks with the u.s. over its nuclear program. from sel, korea,we he this report. >> some say that mexicois, perhaps, an unlikely location, for one of the world's most secret states. but govern bill riardson, an experiend diplomat, who has visited p'yoyang, beeves thatorth korea is trying to send a clear signal. >> let'ticket vantage of this, and the next ep should be se kind ofialogue that iolves the unit states and north korea. >> -- let's take aantage of this. >> north korea released the repoers with the help ofill clinto and they believe ey deserve mething in return, and at is direct talks. that may prove problematic. the gornment in edsall, as well as tokyo, beijing, and moscow will not have much trt with atomso sideline them --

the govement in saleoul, wells tokyo, beijing, and moscow will not have muchrust with aempts to sideline them. there is a man who d much to build bridges with the noh, and its reonse to the news of s death is being see as another sign for optism. delegation of senior officls from p'yongyang will travertine -- will travel seoul to pay eir respects. others believe we are witnessing an all too familiar pattern. the flexing of miliry muscle. then comes the return to diplomacy on noh korea's own terms and a deman for more concessis. bbc ne, seoul. >> hello, and welcome. syd the news unfold. go t bbc.comews.

-- see the ne unfold. >> the latest on the internional stories. >> you canead theatest headline that the top stories from around the rld, and click to play video reports discov more about the subjes that really interest yound find outhat issues the world isalking about right now. the "bbc wor news" online. oo pc.comews, and wated the world unfold go to bb .com. >> eibyan convicted of blowing up an american airliner over ckerbie in over 20 ars ago now free froma scottish prisonand he haseen welcomed as a hero in tripoli. mlions ofafghans have cast their votes despite taliban attempts to wrec the elecons. well, as afghans voted for president,here was sporadic

violence acrosthe country. in helmand rovince, the governor's convoy camunder attack as he went to pollin stion in the provincial capital. our reporter was pt of that nvoy. >> it is 7:00 a.m andthe lls have just opened. we are with the governor helman provinc as he gs to te, and then, suddenly, this outside. makeshift bomb eloding as a convoy of journalists om the west drove past. later, insurgent rocketsearby. >> [speaking foreign lauage] >> [saking foreign language] >> it is the first explosn we have heard this morng just as the helmand vernor was onhis

way to t polling station. >> momentsater, another roet and the distance, and a clear warning from the liban to vots to stay home. >> that was another explosion. we were trying to get to th polling station this mning, probablyike many people. the poll opened between7:00 a.m. at:00 a.m., six explosions -- the paul opens a 7:00 a.m. between 7:00 a.m. and 8: at jm, six explosions -- the call opened at 7:00 a.m.. between 7:00 a.m. 8:00 a.m., six plosions -- the pll opened. >> reduce scared? >> no. -- were you scad? >> the taliban is threatenedo cu off the fingers of those that had indelible ink -- the

talibathreatens. -- threened. she tlls me afew rocket attas will not scare u we are here to vote for our president and our provincia counselors. turn out in the countside may well be fferent, but even in helmand, braving the bon to reacthe ballot box is perhaps a sign of ho. regrading e bombs. --raving the bombs. >> russ's defense ministry says they are threateng to blow up the ship if a ransomas notaid with the arctic sea. there are claims the ship may have bn carrying weapons or drugs. our bbc reporter has th. > returning russian custody. the first images of the alleged hijackers of the arctisea,

bound and hooded, at the center of possible espionage and piracy. there are questions aboutheir motives. >> we wanted toake shter from the srm. we boded the ship and then got away, but for me reason, the captain did not ruel us. >> but that version of events is contradicted by these men, the ew of the arctic sea. they said wt happenedo them was real ordeal. >> they came to the bridge of the ship om two sid. thcaptain was brought out. he managed to send out a message by phone, sayinthe ship was hijacked. the captain had gun to his said, what cod he say when heasasked if it was hijacked but no. the arctic sea habeen missing. >> it hasow beenrevealed that thships had never disappeared

off radar scrns and that russian vessels were shadowing her, preparing to bod. >there was no rsistance, so we d not need to use weapons. were establishing why an how they got on board the ctic sea. >> they are now going to the russn black sea ports. while in moscow, iestigators are ing to basking why and how the incident happened, but fo thealleged hijackers, a uncertain future lieshead. bbc news. >> highlighting the environmental ice of china's economic growth, more than 1300 children he suffered lead isoningecausef fumes fom a manganessmelting plant. the plant has been cled and two executives arrested. it is the second incident of lead poisong this month in a province which poisoned at least 600 children thismonth and has al been closed.

our reporter is in beijing. two pollution scandals a the lasfew days. in the latestarning, i hunan province, more than 10 children living near smelting planwhere itound to have exssive amounts of lead in their blood. the plants have en shut down d two executives arrest. the llagers a first started noting something was wrong with their children staed getting sick. they immediately suspected the smelting plant, and they got so angry that theylocked a road ading to the plant a fw days ago, and thated to a standoff with t police. the ministrytepped in and orred testing on the childre and that is what it s scovered that 1300 or mor of them had bee poisoned by lead pollution. there was another example of this in a different pvince just aew days ago where an alleged smelting plant had poisoned morethan 600 children. in this case, here were two

villes willing to prepare ta matters into their own nds, and they stormed the plant andestroyed equipment. re in china,they face a very seris environmental problem. it also sows that ordinary people are prepared push them to soe those proble now. our bbc repter in beijing. germaprosecutors are investigating a portion of executive. there are accusationsf market manipulations and insider trading. wendinieking and ather exutive are being questions, and they lef office. the coany has denie any wronoing. -- an anoth executive are being quesoned. t 2 leaders' goaat t world champiships in berli 19 plus secos.

-- the00 meter race. he becomes the first man hold the various titl at the same time for the first time, the top five all ran faster than 20 second one man of panama waseconds, and the u.s. came third at 19.85. to make came in fifth place. e south african athlete caster semenya has to face attested to find out wther or not she a woman. a woman who was virtually unown a month ago has raised dots. the government says she is a wan through and through. >> casteremenya hado wait

until today to receive r metal, but sheay have toait weeks to gn the recognition that goes witht -- had to wait until today to receive her medal. they wanto know if ther are medical reasons behind her sudd rise t promince. her time was the fastestn the world thisear. emenya will have to undergo a series of medical tests to prove that she is female, anthere may welle a biological explanation. >> woma thathas abnormally high andgen levels for a woman. they get some of the features of a male, sthey will have more in the of muscular developnt. an 18-yeaoldñr girl from a rural village from south africa as unwillingly becomthe center of inteational attention, and night's comedy team present lept 2 per dense -- and

ght, the team present came to her dense. >> on that basis now, s is isolated like sh s a leper. >> but unt the test are completed and the resul published, senya will continue to suffer speculati instead of celebrating e achievements. >> just a brief recap of te newshis hour the libyanan accused of bombing of pan am t over lockerbie now freed from stland and hailed as a herin tripoli. >> fding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new rk, stowe, vermont, and honolu. the newman's own undation. the john d. and therine t. macarthur foundati. and unn bank.

>> union ba has put its finaial strength to work for a wide range of companies from small businesses to major corporations. what can we for you? >> i'm julia stiles. >> i'm ken bacon. >> i'm kim cattra. >> hi, i'm ken burns. >> i'lili taylor. >> i'm nry louis gates, jr. anpublic broadcasting is my source f news about the world. >> for ielligent conversation. >> for ection coverage you can count . >> for conveations beyond the sound bites. >> a commitment to journalism. >> for deciding who to vo for. >> i'm kerry shington, and public broadcasting is my urce for intelligent connections to my community. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kt, los angeles. presented by kt, los angeles.