bank,we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. and can we do for you?>> now, bbc world news america. this is bbc world news america, reporting from washington. the u.s. and russia hold high- stakes talks on syria. believes anays he upcoming report will show chemical weapons were used. sentenced to death in india, four man convicted of carrying out the deathly -- deadly gang rape. the case continues to ignite calls for change. twitter says it is ready to make its stock market debut. will they be able to win over wall street?

welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. the united nations secretary- general says he believes u.n. inspectors will produce overwhelming reports that shows chemical weapons have been used in syria. his comments came as u.s. secretary of state a john kerry and his russian counterpart continue their talks. the bbc's diplomatic correspondent is in geneva. >> it has been a long days talking. are kerry and sergei lavrov said to get on well. they've even been looking ahead with the top u.s. official on syria for the possibility of reviving wider peace talks. but first, they have to resolve weapons over the chemical --

issues over the chemical weapons issue. >> we would both agree that we constructive conversation regarding that, but those conversations are continuing and both of us want to get back to them now. putin has been meeting fellow leaders, including from china and iran. the initiative to establish control over syrian chemical weapons is underway. we hope for positive results, which should create conditions for a peaceful settlement to the crisis. >> the un's secretary-general has let slip that there is confirmation that chemical weapons were used in last month's attack. unaware that tv was live as he spoke. >> i believe that the report

report an overwhelming that chemical weapons was used, even though i cannot publicly say at this time before i received this report. >> in geneva, we glimpse the russian foreign minister on the phone on a break for the search for political and practical agreement with the americans on ways to deal with president assad's chemical arsenal. the u.s. and britain are among countries which have disposed of chemical weapons. america has spent many years and billions of dollars disposing of its own stocks. stripping syria of chemical weapons will not and the civil war. the new diplomatic momentum might change things. any failure could be catastrophic. james robbins reporting there. for more on the diplomatic process underway, iceberg with frederick off, who formerly served as the u.s. state

department point man. how much faith do you have in this diplomatic process leading to the syrians giving up their chemical weapons? >> it's difficult to have a great deal of faith in the process. the central mission of secretary of state john kerry right now is to try to determine if there is anything really to this proposal. if it holds water, he has a large body of experts with them. there are both technical and political questions to answer about this. this is not a matter of faith. this is a matter of fact finding. >> the president has said whatever the syrian government does with their weapons, they have to be verifiable and enforceable. what are the practicalities of that? >> there are lots of practical difficulties.

even if the conditions were ideal, even if there were peace and quiet on the ground, this would still be a very long and complex process. do have fighting, i presume some of the fighting is in the proximity of areas where these weapons and their components are stored. beyond that, you have the practical problem of whether or not the assad regime, which was denying it had chemical weapons until two days ago, is really going to cooperate with this process in good faith. >> the turkish prime minister put it, the assad regime is going to use this process to hide behind and continue to massacre? >> this is the essence of the problem. tipchemicals are the very of a very dangerous and deadly iceberg in syria. the iceberg is an ongoing regime

program of mass terror directed against populated areas. damage -- we are talking about 100,000 people dead, several million driven from their homes, 2 million across international boundaries -- 99%, conservatively speaking, has been accomplished with conventional weapons. this chemical issue is important. it is the tip of a very ugly iceberg. on monday the u.n. inspectors will finally have their report delivered. the un's secretary-general is suggesting this will show that chemical weapons have been used. how will this change the dynamic? changes thehink it dynamic. there are not too many deniers out there any more who are saying chemical weapons were not used. the denials of some importance are those being voiced by

russian president vladimir putin , and others claiming that syrian rebels were responsible for this. putin knows the truth of the matter. >> the diplomatic process is reviving once more the idea of a peace conference. is this going anywhere? >> john kerry said that he and his russian counterpart, mr. sergei lavrov, will meet on or about the 28th of this month for a possible date for a geneva peace conference. this depends on progress on the chemical front. even though if there is progress on the chemical front, you still have the basic iceberg problem. if the program of mass terror continues, and it looks like it is resuming after a brief hiatus since the 21st of august when the chemical attack took place,

if that continues, the prospect of a geneva peace conference is zero. absolutely zero, because you cannot get the opposition to show up and negotiate while these outrages continue. their credibility would not last 30 seconds with people inside syria under these circumstances. workussians have a lot of to do with their clients beyond chemicals. >> thank you for joining us. has seen new graphic evidence of atrocities being carried out in the syrian civil war, this time by rebels. i should warn you, this contains strong images. oldthe family of the 65-year-

-- 64-year-old grieve over his body. they say he was killed by a government mortar. a typical week can see 1000 people die in syria. it was the claim that the regime used chemical weapons that rod it to the brink of intervention here. the rebel free syrian army was counting on that. they were left stunned when the west did not bend. the international community has given a green light to assad to commit more massacre. another 100,000 syrians will die by the time the weapons are handed over. >> people are turning to the jihad ease -- jihadis. a series of sickening images show what ruled by al qaeda

means. an independent photographer took these pictures, many too gruesome to show. man accused of helping the regime are about to be executed in front of a crowd. there were four. jihadis drove from village to village, and beheaded a man in the public square at each stop. jubilation as the severed heads are held aloft. parents brought their children. asy watched in shock silence the decapitated corpses were laid out in front of them. are too many an argument not to support the rebels. the free syrian army opposes jihadis, once the most powerful rebel group. the jihadis gained strength right from the beginning because of the world's failure to intervene. the syrian people welcome any .upport

>> this is how the fsa gets its bombs. the americans had promised to send weapons. the senior commander told me all he had had so far was boots and jackets. in the camps of neighboring jordan, they feel betrayed and angry. rebel commanders we have spoken said the country reports it is getting hardly any military support, just a trickle of small arms and ammunition. that is far from the game changing strike they hope for. it may not be enough to alter the battlefield at all in their favor. the only effect may be to prolong syria's civil war. coming.gees keep many have decided that even the misery of the camp is better

than the horror of what the civil war in syria has become. bbc news, jordan. >> atrocities committed by syrian rebels there. today there were cheers and applause outside a delhi court when a judge sentenced them a man to death for the gang rape and murder of a 22-year-old student. the case sparked international outrage. from delhi, the bbc reports. >> after the crime the traumatized india, celebration. traumatized india, celebration. this was the mood outside court as all four men were sentenced to be hanged. their pictures now released for the first time. the rape and murder so gruesome the judge said it had shocked india's conscience. raped oneaten and

this billy knight bus, dying two weeks later of air injuries -- delhi k night bus, dying two wes later of her injuries. they say the four men are getting what they deserve. critics. also many there are signs of change in delhi, with more women prepared to press charges than before. with 1000 reported rapes so far this year, even those who welcome today's sentence doubt much will change elsewhere. >> our system is very corrupt and very poor. arethe political leaders involved. everything is very bad.

amended.need to be >> some laws have been tightened. but india's men have to respect more. -- swomen more. a death sentence in one high- profile case will not change that. andrew law, bbc news, delhi. >> the case that shocked india there. in other news, the crew of the international space station have revealed equipment failed during their attempt earlier this week. in the capsule stopped working, which means they did not know their exact distance from earth. they describe it as flying blind. out to colorado, where at least three people have been killed and floodwaters that have inundated the state. hundreds more have been forced

to seek emergency shelter. the bbc reports. a canyons are overflowing, as record downpour in the rocky mountains has forced thousands of people to flee their homes. roads have been swept away by the force of the water, as rare dump a yearserns worth of rain in just a few hours. . for a few days now, rescuers have been trying to reach those caught by the rising floodwaters. this man was trapped for an hour. just sitting there, breathing in that pocket of air for a while. >> this man had to be lifted out of his flooded home. residents had very little warning overnight that the flash flood was on its way. >> we got a call that there was

a wall of water coming out. we went outside and climbed up above our house. we heard a roar, and that is when it came down and buried his house, filled his bedroom with mud. caughtfloodwaters motorists unaware. some try to make their way on foot. >> this water is filled with debris and sand. it is almost like liquid cement. even just a foot and a half of water can knock people over. you can be swept away. >> the weather forecasters say there is more to come. an all-time rainfall record continues to be broken. watching "bbc world news america." still to come, germans get ready to go to the polls. we hit the campaign trail with angola merkel -- angela merkel.

in russia, 37 people died in a fire at a psychiatric hospital. tragedy is this latest -- just the latest to hit the country's mental institutions. to moscow, daniel sanford has this report. >> there were around 60 people in the hospital when the fire broke out just before 3:00 this morning. more than half of them are now dead or missing. arts of the largely wooden 19thing back to the century -- parts of the largely theen building date back to 19th century. the court gave the psychiatric hospital's management until next year for improvement. now it is a smoldering reminder of russia's fire safety record

in nursing homes. it was five months ago that 38 people died in a wooden psychiatric hospital. president clinton called on all public bodies to pay attention to more -- putin called on all public bodies to pay attention to fire safety. the equivalent of the russian fbi has personally flown to the scene to oversee the investigation. because some patients were locked in, the death toll might have been much worse. i broke the lock and said the patients free. of theitnesses said some more seriously ill patients were scared and confused, and reluctant to leave the building. among the dead was a nurse who lost her life trying to rescue those in her care. daniel sanford, bbc news, moscow

. >> she is one of the most powerful women in the world, and one of europe's most successful all editions. will be up for election. her approval ratings are high. will looking likely she get another term as chancellor. what is the secret of her success? gavin hewitt went to find out. >> just hands, no words. everyone knows this is her election message, the germany is safe in her hands. the supporters defying the bavarian rain believe in their leader's instinct of caution. might give thes impression that the chancellor

is trying to pump up the electorate. she's not. europe's most powerful politician is avoiding controversy, selling herself as angie the manager who has protected germany from the worst of the eurozone crisis. >> we have been able to show that despite the international financial crisis and the euro crisis, we have had them a good years for germany. unemployment fell to its lowest in two decades. >> germany is really good during this time in europe. we are a wealthy country, and we have almost no unemployment. >> her campaign is built around herself, her personality, a rather private politician has been happy to see pictures published of herself as a child with a doll and as a teenager camping. goeslection campaign

through dresden. her main opponent is the social hecrats stein broke -- struggles to attack angela merkel. >> everything is going around in circles, but where is the direction? merkel can determine policy guidelines, but she doesn't issue any. >> it has not helped him that in the past 24 hours, this picture agoged, taken a month when he was asked how he would respond to his critics. many say the only undecided question is who angela merkel will go into coalition with. it tells you something that the sharpest criticism of her is when she is accused of putting this country to sleep. narrowing inn a the polls, but she remains a firm favorite to be returned as

chancellor. she has given few details of her vision for germany or for europe. gavin hewitt, bbc news, berlin. last night we broke the news to you that twitter is going to pursue an initial public offering of stock. 24 hours later, the news is still talk of the tech world. the short messaging service celebrated its seventh birthday and will now join the likes of facebook in seeing if his popularity with users can translate to wall street success. the bbc's technology correspondent has all the details. stars, presidents to pop from footballers to royals, they have all decided a tweet is the best way to speak to the world. publicize your latest album, announce an impending birth -- even the pope now uses twitter, sending messages to almost 3 million followers. >> it is their instant news

channel to spread the world about what they are doing. it allows them to connect to their fans, build a huge fan base, and ultimately sell stuff. >> twitter has become the way all kinds of news breaks. when a plane landed on the hudson river, the first photograph was tweeted by witness. the hunt for osama bin laden reached its conclusion, and a twitter in pakistan -- tweeter in pakistan was the first to tell the world will was happening. the question is, what makes this free service a valuable business? here is how it happened in 2006 with the first tweet by one of twitter's founders, jack dorsey. they concentrated on growing the audience for that one user. by 2008, there were a million of them. that has now reached 200 million. only recently has twitter thought about making money. this year it is on course to earn 370 million pounds in

revenue. john campbell shows companies how they can use twitter to promote their product. >> the great appeal of twitter. perhaps advertising will become more intrusive. stands, people enjoy using it because of the apparent lack of advertising. >> twitter has been under fire due to offensive behavior by some users. means thereits sale will be more pressure to act like a grown up company. >> twitter is only 7. we here at the bbc are on twitter. you can find us @bbcnewsus. have a great weekend, from all of us here at "world news america."

join us for more next week. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. presentation this 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. bank, ourn 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.

hi, neighbor! my grandpere is coming over to visit for thank you day. yay! and then we're going to have a thank you day party! thank you for coming over to play today. i'll be right back. is made possible in part by... the richard king mellon foundation. dedicated for over sixty years to south western pennsylvania's quality of life, and competitive future. and by these pittsburg foundations. working together to enhance and enrich the lives of children for more than seventy-five years. and by the arthur vining davis foundations. dedicated to strengthening america's future through education. adcasting, dedicated to strengthening america's future and contributions to your pbs station, from viewers like you.

and contributions in the neighborhood ♪ ♪ a beautiful day for a neighbor ♪ ♪ would you be mine? ♪ could you be mine? ♪ won't you be my neighbor? - ♪ it's daniel tiger's neighborhood ♪ ♪ a land of make-believe ♪ won't you ride along with me? ♪ - ♪ ride along - ♪ it's daniel tiger's neighborhood ♪ ♪ so much to do, so much to see ♪ ♪ won't you ride along with me? ♪ - ♪ ride along - ♪ i've got lots of friends for you to meet ♪ ♪ in this land of make-believe ♪ a friendly face on every street ♪ ♪ just waiting to greet you ♪ it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood ♪ ♪ a beautiful day for a neighbor ♪ ♪ in daniel tiger's neighborhood ♪ - hi, neighbor! today is thank you day! we say thank you to everyone we love! so thank you for coming over today! happy thank you dayyyyy!

thank you day! thank you day! it's thank you day! grr! (parents laughing) - thank you for that great big tiger hug! ♪ thank you for everything you do ♪ - you're welcome. hey, what are you making? - fruit salad for the thank you day party. - oooh. yummy! can i help? - yes! - i would love that! - here you go, buddy! - ok, what do i do? - you hand me the fruit i need, ok? - ok! you can help too! - first i need a strawberry. - which one is the strawberry? there it is! strawberry. check! - good. now... blueberries. - which are the blueberries? blueberries! check! - and now, grapes! - hmm. where are the grapes?