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>> this is bbc world news america. questions for cameron. the phone-hacking camera takes t centerakesc stage. >> you live and learn and i have learned. >> fighting famine in somolia, with the worst food crisis in two decades. a call goes out for help. and yao ming leaves the court, but not before making an impression on the world of basketball. >> welcome to pbs and america. >the shockwaves from the phone-

hacking scandal continue. it was david cameron who felt the impact before parliament. cameron defended hiring the former news of the world editor andy carson. not good enough, said his critics. nick robinson has the details. >> a friend anin need is a fried until they become a political headache. cameron defended giving andy a second chance until today. >> i would not have offered him the job and he wouldn't have taken it. you don't make decisions in hindsight. you live and you learn and believe you me, i have learned.

>> he said he was sorry for what the appointment had caused. was he ready to apologize for hiring him. >> if it turns out i have been lied to, that is a moment for a profound apology. and i will not fall short. >> few expected him to go that far. but it was not far enough. >> that isn't good enough. it is not about hindsight. it is not about if he was lied to. it is about the information and warning that was ignored. >> this came before and after he came to number 10. his director tried to keep a low profile. >> it is 8:00, monday, september

6. police are looking into phone hacking by "tnenews of the world." >> a report said he knew about this. despite the claims, he was not fired and left 10 weeks later with praise ringing in his ears. >> the prime minister was caught in a conflict of loyalty. he made the wrong choice. >> there were questions about the other choice of friends. in many meetings with the international bosses. and rupert murdoch, who left after the most humble day of his life.

>> i told them the same thing. >> i never had one i nappropriate conversation. i completely took myself out of any decision-making about this bid. i had no role in it. no role in when the announcement was made. >> david cameron accused them of hiding their relationships with murdoch. >> i have set up all of the contacts in contrast to the party opposite. i have never held a slumber party. >> he has an old fashioned view that a man is innocent until proven guilty.

>> nick robinson, reporting there. the impact this continues to have. i am joined by nick watts from "the guardian." thank you for joining us. >> he did enough to satisfy the conservative party. he was meant to be in africa. he will finish -- and cut his trip short to go to the house of commons. there was a meeting this evening. they banged their desks for a long time.

he faces a difficult challenge facing the labor party. two areas highlighted -- point number one, why did he bring him into downing street when there were allegations of phone hacking. and he had david cameron -- the chief executive of the u.k. wing, do you have any discussions with her about rupert's attempts to retake control. they said, he had no inappropriate conversations. >> first of all, the murdochs, now david cameron. what is the mood on this? >> among conservatives, they

believe the labor party are making political capital about this. the labor party thinks the prime minister made a good decision. a catastrophic misjudgement in bringing him into downing street. this said to the political world -- don't talk about this. if they can talk about that, they can jump over this. the phone hacking issue is not an event that will not go away. he was arrested last week. that legal protest will continue. there is a chance he could face a court case.

david cameron faced up to what this would mean. the labor party would believe this was a-- david cameron. tens of thousands of somolians appear dead from the worst famine in a generation. there is a call for more aid to stop this from spreading. famine is declared i ntwn two as with conflict and the worst drought in half a century. >> it is official. somolia is sinking into famine. this is the second time this has been deployed in seven years. thousands continue to flee

drought and poverty. 1992, i iwas her i was here in see very resillient people. >> an aid operation is underway as supplies arrive. the u.n. is asking for 185 million pounds. the international response has been mixed. 22 million pounds have been given from great britain, with half of that from the united states. those who sent 1.6 million pounds are accused of a nut -- ignoring the alarm. >> this is overall, dangerously inadequate. we expect others to contribute.

others are beginning to put their shoulders to the wheel. this is happening rapidly and vigorously. >> money is not the only problem. there is a militant islamic group, that has made it too dangerous for foreign aid groups to operate directly. the ban has been lifted but the politics are complicated, and the aid is not getting to the right people fast enough. and so the images of hunger and helplessness, and the scramble for money and access, as the famine bites into somalia. >> in other news, the leader of ireland has launched an attack on the vatican, for encouraging the leadership not to report pedophilia by the priests.

he says this is a function of elitism and our system that is present in catholicism. libya says the removal of gadaffi from power is not on the table. in afghanistan, forces have handed over security to the afghan police and the army. the handover ceremony took place with the british officers have been since 2006. this is one area gradually placed under government control. our defense correspondent was at the ceremony and filed this report. >> a moment of national pride.

afghans taking responsibility for their own security. this ceremony showing that they are up for the job. but the british soldiers still have concerns, about corruption within the afghan police. >> some allegations of corruption, what we're trying to do is eradicate this. we are trying to push the locals away. >> even if afghanistan routes out the corruption, -- this is another province that was just handed over. there has been little fighting here, over the past 10 years. >> bombs and bullets are not the biggest killers, this is diarrhea and malnutrition.

>> after the withdrawal of the nato forces -- >> the pressure is on the government to win the trust of its own people. >> there'll be lots of questions and concerns. our hope is to change that institution. >> this is the easy face. the transition of a few parts of the country. >> this is the beginning of the end, the exit strategy that will see all british combat units leave by 2015. >> if the transition does not succeed, is there hope for the rest of afghanistan? >> tomorrow in brussels, your

pennant -- european leaders will talk to discuss the problems in the euros zone. there is a second deadline when the u.s. is going to report on the international debt. lawmakers have been trying to come up with a solution. but the public is losing patience. a majority are angry about the way that the government is working. for more on the public opinion, i am joined by the chief political correspondent of the post. there is a very interesting figure, suggesting the public blames the republicans for being unwilling to work together. what effect will this have on the negotiations? >> this remains to be seen, because the leadership is paying closer attention to their most conservative base, then they are

to even republicans at large or the population. it is clear the public is fed up. they think neither the president's or the leaders of the republican party -- are willing to compromise, but believe the republicans are more set than those in congress. >> the public wants a deal on this, but as washington listening? >> the issue is about what kind of a deal they will have. there is a new proposal that holds promise for a grand bargain that people have been talking about. but all the details are not known, and it will be tough to get through. this is a question on whether people are willing to make the compromises and concessions that will take to get a significant

agreement. >> the u.s. treasury is going to run out of money in a couple of weeks. this looks extraordinary to the outside world. >> you talk so much about the financial the fault if this is not met, but we should also talk about the political the fault in washington, where the leadership or the government is so far incapable of meeting this deadline, and some republicans say that this is a soft deadline, but most americans, about 80% think that there would be horrible consequences for the united states if the government cannot borrow after august 2. >> briefly, do you expect for their to be a deal? >> everyone expects the deal but

nobody knows exactly how they will do this. >> you are watching bbc world news. he gave basketball a global appeal. now yao ming is retiring, but leaves a tall legacy behind. the last suspected war criminal on the run after the conflict in yugoslavia has been arrested. he led the serbs in east croatia. >> goran, the last remaining fugitive, wanted by the u.n. tribunal in the haugue. it was expected that he would get away, but then he was found in a forest and was meeting someone who was helping him to

hide. announcing that he had been arrested, the serbian president said this was his country's responsibility. the president drew comparisons with another fugitive. >> i wnaant to talk about other cases, the case about osama bin laden. it is the same situation. we've been working hard, systematically. >> when croatia broke away from serb-dominated yugoslavia, he took charge of the serb- dominated region. ,e hsas counts of murder and including the slaughter of

hundreds of croats. >> this was a precondition and now the country waits for succession talks. serbia hopes that this will rehabilitate their image to the international community. >> in cuba, he is the "bin laden of the americas." but he says he was never convicted of any charges. he is an enemy of castro, and this is one of the most politically-charged issues in united states-cuba relations. >> tourism is vital to keeping

the fragile economy. but this is an industry that was almost destroyed. was a 1980's, there bombing campaign organized by radical cuban exiles. this was one of the places that was hit, and this is the person who was bombing them. he is serving a 30-year prison sentence. he was given orders by the "bin laden of the americas." >> he paid me $2000 for each device. i only planted one. he gave me the explosives and -- >> this was the mastermind, luis posada, a former cia operative. he was aquited of immigration charges. he was never prosecuted for

terrorism. >> he is public enemy number one. there is evidence he is a terrorist. he was visiting freely a few hundred kilometers away. >> he displays the honors he has recieved. recognition for fighting fidel castro's government. he is opposed to the castros but denies being a terrorist. >> we will always have enemies agaisnnst freedom. using my name, talking about cases ihavi have never seen or heard of. the libelous campaign the goverment has done for years. >> the bombing of this plane is

the most serious of his allegations. he excapescaped from a venezueln prison while awaiting trial. it is a clear case of double standards, they say. >> every day that passes, without him being prosecuted as a terrorist, he is a demonstration that the u.s. previous administration, and the current administration -- are not joining the rfight against terrorism. >> most americans were not born when the campaign began. but for both sides, this is a struggle that is not over. >> to the basketball court.

a gathering of the united nations. players from the sudan and germany are the leaders, but nobody embodies the appeal like yao ming. he introduced basketball in his home country, and announced he is retiring from the nba. >> ladies and gentlemen, welcome yao ming. >> he generated pride across china. but because of injuries, he has called an end t ohso his career. >> today, i have retired. as one door closes, another opens, and a new life is waiting. >> such was his stature. yao ming was always more than jus tt a player.

>> what we see here is china's ambassador stepping down from the world stage. >> yao ming was singled out from birth as a future star. a product of the grueling sports shangaithe boy friom who went to the nba. for almost a decade, he played for the houston rockets. but off the courts, he had the best presence. >> he was the most recognized chinese face in the world, with a burden of expectations. he did this in a way that exemplifies the power of china. he is the first individual to take that role, a bridge between the east and west. >> basketball is hugely popular

in china. yao ming played a part in the success. but his fans weren't surprised. retired buthe ham sad he has iwil i will watch for him. >> he helped china stand tall. they regret he had to retire when he met his prime. >> that brings us to the end of today's program. you can find updates on our website. make sure to check out our facebook page. for all of us at bbc world news america, see you tomorrow. thank you for watching.

>> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news america" was

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