>> "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. unk s put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> after six days of travel chaos, the first planes touchdown and to let least wednesday. >> despite the ashes in the atmosphere, it is possible for safe routes through areas where there are low levels of cash to be established. >> by kenneth activity is decreasing. we will take you almost to the top -- a volcanic activity is

decreasing. we will take to almost to the top. >> we have been assured that it is stable right here. >> welcome to bbc world news, broadcast to viewers in pbs and america. also, around the globe. coming up later, and what exactly is going on in these pictures? election observers in sudan say this vote rigging. and the ups and downs @ goldman sachs. the huge bank made another profit, but faces another fraud investigation. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold. the globe and click to play the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online.

>> this is the scene at london's heathrow, normally the world's busiest international airport. a volcanic eruption in iceland shows signs of decreasing and british authorities agreed with the airlines it is possible to find safe routes through areas of lower level of cash. the rest of europe is likely to do the same -- lower-level of volcanic ash. the rest of europe is likely to do the same and for the hundreds of thousands of passengers that are stranded and businesses affected, it is not over yet. richard scott reports. >> we did not know it at the time, but this long-haul plane landed in the u.k. tonight, the first since the crisis began. if the restrictions over the vast majority of u.k. aerospace, including the biggest airport,

heathrow, was supposed to be until of these 1:00 a.m. instead, almost every airport in the country had been reopened. >> you have to be able to guarantee the public the flights will be safe. it has been shown to the public is now safe in designated areas where there may be low contamination of>> funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman >> -- where there may be at a low contamination of ash. >> they have shown that the almost complete ban of u.k. airlines is over the top and has cost them millions. now the attention turns to the aftermath. >> we have hundreds of people stranded abroad. it will take some time for those customers to get back.

and when we have done that, and when we have time, we will sit down and review this. >> the talks between the airlines and government authorities led to a decision to go out of u.k. airports to reopen. some restrictions remain, but safe pass will be given to airports. >> in pulling together data from all over the world and finding out just exactly what people have succeeded in getting away with, and they have decided to take a risk. i believe it is a very low risk. >> this is a huge step towards normal service, but we are not there yet. it will take days at the very least to recover the backlog. >> although the planes are

flying again, it does not mean that everyone who was stranded will get on one. >> thousands of passengers have been unable to travel in this unprecedented letdown of flights in the past several days. thousands of people are stranded abroad and we have been hearing their stories in the past day or two about how they have been desperately trying to get back. they might be able to take a ferry to return to britain. in some cases they traveled a very long distance and also at considerable expense. but they will be able to get back on flights after tonight. the question is, how long will it take for the backlog to be cleared? that has cut to be a major headache to the airline -- to the airlines. let's talk to the tom hall from the lonely planet guide.

this is unprecedented. this is one of the busiest airports in the world. how would you assess the way the situation has been handled. -- handled? >> this is an unprecedented situation. i have been impressed how quickly airports have been dealing with the situation initially. i think there has been confusion going on with passengers as to how they are going to give back and what they're going to do. over the weekend there was a feeling that people were making plans and not being too short. over the past few days there has been little done with regard to getting back in the u.k. and remember, there are huge numbers of people who cannot get to europe in the first place. they might be in north america or australia or elsewhere. they are just waiting for the

situation to change. they will be cautious the celebrating tonight. they may not be back for several days. >> how will they prior ties -- how will they prioritize? >> normally, people will be booked on services. this gives airlines time to get through the backlog. initially, i believe it will be done on a needs basis with urgent cases first. >> tom hall of the lonely planet guide talking to us. let's take you to wear a you might call the heart of the problem. -- but take you to what you might call the heart of the problem. here is this extraordinary report just moments away from that direction. -- from the eruption.

>> we were given the go-ahead to land on the volcano for five minutes, not a second more. we sat down on the north side, just over 200 yards from the exploding crater. >> it is hard to imagine we could be this close. the wind is going the other direction. >> this service is purer ash, the temperature below zero. >> all we can hear is the wind and the sound of the order from the helicopter. >> it is hard to breed. >> all of this is just from the last few days. -- it is hard to breathe. been >> all of this is just from the last few days. driving into the fall of zone was like entering into another world.

saturday, we saw the same area under heavy ash in broad daylight. farmers were left to dig out from a paste like layer of ash. and today there was another cloud, but something worse, too. >> you can see where i rubbed my groups -- rubbed my boots to show the mahdi soot. it is hard now. -- the muddy so isoot. it is hard now. >> that is incredible. >> the question is, what will be left of this normally a beautiful farm country when the mountain goes back to sleep?

>> lots of coverage on our website. just go to bbc.com. you can get in touch from bbc correspondents. there is a map that gives you a snapshot of which flights were affected between north america and europe. if he would like to give us your story -- if you would like to give us your story of how you have been affected, go to bbc.com. >> the bad news is that goldman sachs is under investigation, but the good news is that they have jumped in profits for the first quarter. you may remember on friday, american authorities accused of defrauding investors. goldman says the charges are unfounded. >> goldman sachs is the world's most influential investor bank.

today it announced that the average pay and bonuses reach 33,000 with just 199 pounds for the first of the year. the financial services authority said it would investigate the firm after the faa who charged them with -- after they have been charged with fraud. at the time of the alleged offense, he worked on wall street, but is now based in london and is operating year by the affected -- and is authorized to operate here by the faa. >> we have never condoned and would never condone inappropriate behavior by any of our people. >> goldman is alleged to have

ms. sold to an investment and 2007 to investors by saying -- failing to tell them that the hedge fund was expecting that it would be a colossal flop. it could be damaging to the way goldman does business. and what a business it is. in the first three years of its financial year, its revenue grew by more than one-third. 8.4 million pounds. profits rose by 91%. and the pay, including bonuses of its people, increased 17% to 3.6 billion pounds. too much? that is what many say. the question is whether the fraud charge marks the pace of goldman's formidable a reputation and its power. it will lose some of the clutter?

-- will it lose some of that glitter? >> the leader of kyrgyzstan has led to, -- fled to cause a town after an uprising. the iraqi minister has killed another leader of hokkaido. al-obeidi is reported killed in just after two other leaders of al qaeda in iraq were also reported killed --. the american space shuttle discovery has landed in the american state of florida, though slightly delayed by rain and fall. -- by rain and fog.

stay with us if you can. still to come, off and running in baghdad for a longstanding tradition of a welcome escape. a first over to british elections. there was a bbc town hall debate today. sterling is the focus of a fierce political fight. the conservatives lost in 1997 and they desperately want it back, but the british national party wanted to. -- want it, too. >> sterling has been the site of many fights. for the conservatives to win it back, they would need just the kind of quick to put david cameron in power.

>> is it time to except that we are no longer [unintelligible] >> can the next government guarantee that the two new super aircraft carriers will definitely, enter the service? >> skoglund, after all, has a minority government -- scotland, after all, has a minority government. the big concern is the cost of a university education and whether there will be any jobs when they leave school. >> what more can be done to encourage disadvantaged young people to apply to university? most people struggle to financially afford it. >> how does the panel came to restart the local economy?

>> most of the audience also said they would be watching the next debate with interest. >> the bbc has -- the u.k. has opened its airspace after the islamic -- icelandic volcano eruption. reports of fraud are coming in quick and fast. most parties boycotted the election to our reporting irregularities. now footage has emerged showing evidence of tampering. >> a shaky secret video driving home a tough point. the men in orange are wearing the uniform of election officials.

most observe that piece of footage was clear proof of the ballot box stuffing. one of the groups in the video was genuine and shows us suppose that officials stuffing votes. it led the opposition party to clean elections have been completely fraudulent. officials to reject any charges of fraud. >> there are many allegations, but nothing materialized.

[unintelligible] >> president bashir also said that the video might have been a fake. even before the count began, the prediction of many international observers was less rosy. there were deficiencies in the electoral process. former u.s. president jimmy carter said he had seen officials telling people which way to vote. now the white house has said it regrets the elections committee did not do more to counter a serious election issues. these elections matter as a stepping stone to next january's referendum. >> the debate about the credibility of these polls rumbles on and president bashir will win the presidential election in a landslide.

>> of georgia is voicing its concern over russia's plan for large military bases in the broadway area of abkhazia. it says it has now fully rias douglas its defensive coast guard. the bbc had -- but has now fully recovered its defensive coast guard. the bbc had full access. >> we have been provided exclusive access to this patrol on the black sea. the equipment is state of the art from this $60 million vote. the captain and his men -- this $16 million boat. the captain and his men are here to defend george us shores. but uncertainty lies ahead. it has been 18 months since

georgia and russia were of war. >> year to the north is the abkhazia -- here to the north is the of gaza coastline. that is the broadway area -- the ofabkhaz coastline. it is the broadway area to the north. >> it is occupied by the russian federation and we are able -- unable to control the shores of this region. >> the united states provides regular training exercises to the georgian coast guard, like this one. russia says it is not perturbed by this. they must remain sensitive to the military cooperation between the west and georgia. but all sides remaining vigilant, the russian backed

authorities in abkhazia are confident in an independent future. but georgia has named its flagship after the capital, who perhaps would rather see its flags fly over the breakaway territory. >> how about a day at the races in baghdad? you may not have realized horseracing has been a regular feature of life in the iraqi capital since the british set up a racetrack there 90 years ago. it was briefly disrupted by the invasion in 2003, but seven years later it is going strong. >> and they are off, the first race of the day at the baghdad racecourse. there are six runs a day come rain or shine, two days a week, saturdays and tuesday.

tension mounts as they round the final bend. the winner will get a first prize of two and half thousand dollars -- $2,500. it was founded by the british in 1920. it has been going ever since. in its heyday was the most important in the whole region. the american-led invasion in 2003 disrupted its fourth three months, but it managed to struggle back, but not without difficulty. >> many of the owners died. >> it has heard the regain its glory days. the infrastructure is shabby and run down. but that does not deter the people. there are not many cases --

races in baghdad where you can have a day like this. >> [unintelligible] they come in here and really, it is all about betting. and put at the start of the next race, the tension heat up. -- >> as the start of the next race nears, the tension heat up. another race over, and it is time for the lucky ones to collect their winnings. the race " has some -- the race " has everything that the past has thrown at it. it will still be around for a long time to come. >> at least one happy punter.

after five days of closure, there is relief from the ash cloud. >> they came in on the vancouver flight. i bet you are so relieved to be back here. >> yes, we are. we're just glad to get back. the remainder of our journey is to glass go. >> how are you going to do that tonight? >> we do not know. probably not tonight. we have a sister here and maybe we can give her a call soon. >> how about you? >> i never really knew when i was coming home on the flight.

the first, we were going to london and then we went back to shannon and then ran back to london and then went back to shannon. >> you can tell your teachers who have been learning lots about geography even though you have been missing school. >> yes. >> and how about mom? how are you feeling tonight? >> it has been quite an adventure and very often we've wondered how we were going to get home and get the kids in school. >> you were actually in the air when the restrictions were imposed. how long were you in the year before you -- you turned back? >> for two hours, i think. they told us they were just going to turn our flight to vancouver.

as far as these things go, it has not been too bad. >> are you excited to get back to school or are you quite glad to be missing in? >> pinecraft glad to be missing it. [laughter] -- i am quite glad to be missing it. [laughter] >> you get much more on line and bbc.com as well as twitter and facebook. thanks for being with us. >> see the news unfold, and get the top stories from around a globae at bbc.com/news to get te news online. >> 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.

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