>> this is "bbc world news america." >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, and union bank. >> add union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions.

we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide ring of industries. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news america." >> this is "bbc world news america" reporting from london. a taliban commander in pakistan writes a letter to you've you've. he doesn't apologize, but he does explain why the group tried to kill her. a school lunch proves fatal. nearly two dozen children are killed in india after eating a meal that contained pest sides. and we journalists aren't the only ones eager for the royal babe. queen elizabeth says it is time for her great grandchild to arrive.

>> welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. last year the taliban tried to kill you've you've. now they have sent her a letter. a senior commander in the pakistani taliban didn't go so far as to apologize for the shooting of the young education campaigner, but he did write that he found it shocking. she was severely wounded, but she has carried on with her cause. here is our report. >> fighting for her life last october, this was you've you've after she was shot in the head on her way home from school. now a taliban commander has written her an extraordinary letter about that brutal attack. >> you can see this around me. >> and here is the arthur, a prominent militant leader who was broken out of jail last

year. he had been sentenced to death for trying to kill the former president, mitsubishi electric . ampionship -- mutual >> it looked certain to have the taliban's approval. when you were attacked, it was shocking for me. i wish it never had happened. they didn't attack you because you were going to school. they believed you were running a smear campaign. when i was in prison, i wanted to write to you to ask you to refrain from anti-taliban activities, but i couldn't find your address. but this family friend said malala and her friend won't be taken in. >> they have seen terror attacks, propaganda and other things, so they know what they are up to. i think it is an effort on the part of terrorists to go for damage control after seeing a

very successful speech that alala had at the uniformity. -- at the u.n. >> the timing is no coincidence , after the standing ovations that greeted her address. >> the extremists were and are afraid of books and pens. the power of education frightens them. they are afraid of women. >> as they certainly seem afraid of this young woman. tonight gordon brown told us she has the upper hand. >> it has taken a 16-year-old girl with a courage that is unsurpassed to put the taliban on the defensive. and they are on the defensive now because they cannot justify a policy that is denying millions of girls the chance to go to school. >> having shot malala and left her for dead, the taliban now

say they want her back. the letter urged her to come home and enroll in a religious school for girls. >> for more on just what this correspondence means, i spoke a short time ago to those in islamabad. >> do you think it marks some sort of conciliatory gesture by the taliban. >> they would like it to look that way. few are likely to believe they have had a genuine change of heart. the letter doesn't say sorry for trying to kill you and we won't do it again. this is an organization that has killed hundreds of children, has hundreds if not thousands of bombing atags. they are trying to show a softer side, trying to dilute the appearance of malala last friday at the united nations.

they are also attempting to reach out to a certain group of pakistanis, and they do exist, who believe malala has had too much attention. it is a belated and confused attempt to try and claw back some ground. they know the attack on her was a strategic error, but i don't think it represents a change in policy, and i don't think it would be interpreted that way here in pakistan. >> but does it suggest that maybe they are on the back foot a little bit? >> i think that is very much how it will be seen. this letter has appeared hot on the heels of malala's appearance, an appearance that produced admiration around the world. in the months she was targeted by the taliban and made that miraculous recovery, she has become nothing short of a global icon, and the fawn are watching. they hear about the attention she receives every time she talks about education in

pakistan. that is a problem for them, and they are trying to reduce her impact. i don't think it is going to work. >> at least 22 children in have died and others are ill after eating a school lunch. they believe it was because of contaminated vegetable oil. our indian correspondent reports. >> rushed to the hospital in the indian state of bihar, dozens of school children sick after eating a mill provided by the school. many children are in a serious condition, and more than 20 others have died. doctors suspect that the food was poisoned with insecticide. >> when the children were clinically examined, they were

systems in the chest. these symptoms are very dangerous. a small quantityity of pest side would prove dangerous. >> the government started a program to give free lunch at school called the midday meal scheme. to tackle the problem of hunger and also to keep children in school. >> the hot lunch usually is rice and pasta. while some areas of the country have implemented the scheme properly, many have questioned the quality of the food serbed. in bihar, anger against the government spilled out on the streets. they smashed vehicles belonged to officials and the police. authorities are investigating how the food was poisoned. >> the cook said to me when she was cooking she pointed out that the oil looked zhrored and dodge -- discolored and dodgy. she drew it to the attention of

the teacher, who said the oil was memo made and safe to use. >> the government has offered compensation of more than 2,200 pounds for the families of each of the children who have died. there are children still critically ill, and there are fears that the number of dead could rise. >> a quick look at other news from around the world. a well-known supporter of the syrian government has been shot dead by gunmen in lebanon. it is a sign that the syrian civil war is spreading across the board. in turkey, one man was killed and a teenage boy injured by straight bullets fired. authorities in panama have found two more containers in a cargo of sugar. cuba has admitted sending the arms, but they were sent for

repair. they said they should release the crew of the ship detained last monday. >> officials in afghanistan say they have killed a gunmen with ties to people trying to get the president. with similar incidents occurring across the country, our defense corporate has been to kandahar province to speak to commanders on both sides of this conflict. >> kandahar province, birth place of the taliban. here talk of piece still seems like a mirage in the desert. e joined the night patrol. the fight is far from over. just two months ago, the taliban killed five of their u.s. come raid traveling in a similar vehicle with a massive

roadside bomb. >> there is always going to be some form of conflict. >> i believe it will have to happen if they want this country not to go into a full-blown civil war. >> here in this district on a daytime patrol, the taliban may be in hiding, but they haven't gone away. the u.s. describes this area as contested, meaning that the taliban are still very active here. so u.s. troops are keeping look-out for any taliban fighters, while the afghan army is clearing the village. at a nearby checkpoint, the afghan police feel vulnerable. one complains that he doesn't have enough ammunition. >> he tells me that when the americans leave in 2014, he thinks the taliban could retake the whole district within a day. >> it is perhaps no surprise then that many locals are wary

of embracing the foreigners or the afghan security forces they will leave behind. >> they are influenced because they are scared of them. they don't like the taliban, but they don't have a choice sometimes because if they don't cooperate, then they are going to get hurt or killed. >> and while the afghan forces have grown in strength, there is still a strong desire to reach a peace deal with the enemy. >> we want peace because fighting never end by fighting. we can only end this if we can sit and talk. >> there may still be hope that peace talks can take place in dohar, but here they seem remote. back at the base we found seven afghan policeman being treated, injured by another roadside bomb. it is hard to gauge the taliban's desire for peace. but we were able to talk to

someone through a trusted source. >> he says we will continue fighting until there isn't a single u.s. or foreign soldier in afghanistan so we can mplement shiria law. most foreign troops will soon be leaving, taking with them a life line for the afghans they have been helping, and with no guarantees yet that there will ever be peace. >> after this long war, as nato forces prepare to with draw from afghanistan, the people who will be left behind or under particular pressure at the moment. now to a magazine cover which has stirred up incredible controversy. rolling stone's article about the boston marathon bombing suspect dzhohkar tsarnaev hasn't even hit the stands yet, but already some retailers are

saying we won't carry the issue because it makes him look like a rock star. here is the story from new york. >> readers of rolling stone are mored used to seeing rock and film stars on the magazine's front cover, but staring out from the latest edition is the face of the boston marathon bombing suspect, dzhohkar tsarnaev. the tinted photograph looks like an image of the 70's. it has been likened to the image of jim morrison of the doors, a previous cover. it has created outrage, and nowhere more so than in boston. there the 19-year-old is facing 30 charges for the bomb blasts at the finish line of the city's famous marathon, which killed three, including an 8-year-old boy, and injured more than 260 people. >> i think it is a total disgrace, the cover of the rolling stone. it should be about the survivors and the first

responders. why are we glorifying the guy? >> there is already a campaign to boycott the magazine. some stores have said they won't sell the edition when it comes out on friday. this one is one. it said it can't support actions served to glorify the evil actions of anyone. in response, rolling stone has issued a statement. it falls within the traditions of journalism and rolling stone's long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the stories of the day. >> had this appeared on time magazine or news week, there wouldn't have been the same thing. it is the fact that it is rolling stone, a publication that has done so much over the decades to shape america's popular and celebrity culture. toe some then it is depicting an alleged bomber as a cultural

icon. "bbc news," new york. >> i'm not sure what reaction rolling stone was anticipated, but it wasn't this one. you are watching "bbc world news america." still to come, when he talks, the markets listen. one of the top investors weighs in on what he calls ben bernanke's high wire act. >> an announcement by barclays bank to close about 100 british accounts held by cash transfer businesses has cut off vital services for somali experts sending money back home. here is the story. >> this is a secondary school teaching assistant in the each end of london. she sends money every month to remember granny, who still lives in rural somalia. >> we send her money, and it is quick transfer. she gets it straight away. i don't know what would happen. she would probably die of hunger.

it wouldn't be nice. >> under british law, many transfer shots have to hold a recognized banking account. many opted for barclays. but it is closing several accounts for fear of cash reaching the wrong places. they say some don't have the proper checks in place to spot criminal activity and could unwittingly be facilitating money laundering and terrorist financing. the bank said it remains happy to serve companies who have strong anti-financial crime controls, but are asking the others to find another bank. when people think about a -- assistance to developing countries, they think about the united nations and big charities. but the fact is economists have calculated that the amount of money sent home by family and

friends living in richer countries is far more than all of that aid put together. >> this teaching assistant has now done what she sees as her duty to a granny in a distant homeland. but if the money transfer company's bank accounts close, she may find that much more difficult. "bbc news." >> when the chairman of the u.s. federal reserve talks, financial markets pay attention, and today they looked what they heard. ben bernanke was on khalil and told u.s. lawmakers that winding down stimulus program will depend on how well the economy is doing. that is welcome news to many. but to this one, they say bernanke is conducting a high wire act. >> you watched what bernanke said last month and how the

markets reacted so well to that. they seemed to like a bit of welcome news. >> absolutely. today he continued to talk back what he had hinted at earlier, which is the fed may be less supportive of the economy. they may ease their foot a little bit off the accelerator, which the market interpreted as the fed would hit the brakes. >> is the u.s. economy realistically in a state where ben bernanke could start taking some of that stimulus money away from propping it up. >> if it were just an issue of the economy, the answer would be no. growth in the second quarter came about 1%, and the u.s. ll struggle to get 2% as a whole. the reason why they are talking about tapering has to do with the costs and risks, or what we would call the collateral

damage of running an experimental policy. they are thinking it may compete the benefits. >> we are hearing there may be better growth figures in the economy, and i think you have some dispute with that? >> yes. every year since 2009, they have had to revise down their growth estimates. i think again they are going to unfortunately, and i say unfortunately because this is not good news -- they are going to have to revise it down. they are under estimating a few things. he -- one is the lack of structural reforms, and then the fiscal paralysis and the head wednesday from the outside. the rull of these three is a growth rate that would be less than what they are projecting. >> on the last two of those, the fiscal paralysis in washington, do you see any indication out of congress or out of the democratic and

republican lawmakers in america that they are moving to reconciliation. it seems the economy outside of washington is doing pretty well, but they are not getting any help, and potentially they are getting hindrance from what is happening in the american capital. >> you are absolutely right. we don't see congress as polarized as it is, being able to agree on two issues. one, a medium term program of fiscal reforms. and two, some immediate fiscal stimulus or at least less cracks because of the -- contraction because of the sequester. that is not on the agenda right now. >> to a break through in britain. scientists have developed what they call an intelligent knife that can tell surgeons if the tissue they are cutting is cancerous. here is the story. >> the i-knife in action. here on a piece of meat in a

demonstration at st. mary's hospital in london. every operating theater have electrosurgical knifes which use heat to cut tissue. the smoke that is produced is valbuena rised tissue. this is sucked along a tube into a mass spectrometer, which sniffs the smoke, analyzing molecules. they show it was 100% accurate in telling whether the tissue was cancerous, and the answer comes in a second. surgeons at imperial college, london, who helped develop the knife, say it could save lives. >> you could have a safer operation because you don't remove incorrect tissue, and you should have a better cosmetic effect because you have to remove less tissue.

that could be important in things like breast surgery. >> one in five women with a cancerous breast lump need repeat surgery because some of the tumor was missed the first time. the i-knife will be expensive, but may ultimately save hospitals money. >> i think it is one of the biggest steps forward in cancer surgery in a decade. we are generating completely new knowledge for dying particulars that simply wasn't there before. we think that in its own right makes it transformational. >> it may also be useful beyond surgery, during diagnostic investigations. for example, to do real time analysis of gut samples. the i-knife is undergoing patient trials at three london hospitals. if these go well, then it could be approved for use within five

years. "bbc news" at st. mary's hospital, london. >> the mayhem surrounding to the new royal heir. the queen suggested she was ready for the baby right now. our royal correspondent has the latest. >> make no mistake, the birth of this bean is attracting worldwide attention. indeed, if anything, news media from outside the united kingdom seemed more excited about it than their prettyish counterparts. there is just one problem at the moment. there is no baby. it is overdue. even the queen is starting to count the days. on a visit to the lake district, she was asked if she as hoping for a boy or a girl. >> in case you missed it, the queen said she didn't mind whether it was a boy or a girl, but she would very much like it

to arrive because she is going on holiday. just forward, there is more than another week before the queen will be heading off. mothers to be, though, aren't to be hurried. kate, seen here in may, is still thought to be at her parents home with women. it must be assumed she is ready to go into hospital, but apparently for the moment the baby is not. so the waiting continues. we are already past kate's due date, but that is largely irrelevant. for now the royal doctors seem content to let nature take its course. "bbc news" at st. mmp ary's hospital. >> our sympathies go out to kate. it is very, very hot here in london. that brings the show to a close, but you can find more of all the day's news on our website. if you would like to reach me and the bbc team, you can find us on twitter as well. at "bbc us here

world news america," thanks for watching. tune in again tomorrow. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide

capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> brown: lawmakers clashed with national security officials today and threatened to curtail surveillance programs revealed by former defense contractor edward snowden. good evening, i'm jeffrey brown. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the "newshour" tonight, we bring you the latest on the snowden saga and a debate about whether his actions were justified between daniel ellsberg, who leaked the "pentagon papers," and former attorney general michael mukasey. >> brown: then, we examine some good news about dementia, as two studies in europe show plummeting rates of disease, and sharper minds among the elderly. >> ifill: judy woodruff looks at the bitter standoff between walmart and washington, d.c.'s city council, part of a widening fight over paying workers a living wage. >> brown: from the asian nation