>> 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, the newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now bbc world news. >> in "this week" -- >> this week's headlines, bowing to intense pressure. the afghan president agrees to a runoff vote. pakistan launches operation, a major offensive against the taliban in south waziristan. no deal yet. iran wants more time to consider a u.n. compromise on its nuclear program. and 32 die as braziliaen police launch a crackdown on violence. >> welcome to "this week" a review of the major stories seen here on bbc news over the past seven days. this week preparations were underway in kabul for a presidential runoff. president karzai agreed to a second round of voting. the poll between him and his main rival, dr. abdullah abdullah will take place november 7. his decision follows official acceptance of massive fraud in the august election. nearly a third of the votes for him were thrown out. >> it's two months since afghans went to the polls for an election that was hoped would put the country on a new track. instead, it's plunged afghanistan into a new crisis. after uncovering massive fraud a u.n.-backed panel now says there will have to be a second round. the president, hamid karzai, a humiliating moment. standing there with us. senator john kerry and the foreign diplomats who have been pressing him to back down. he had insisted he had won the first time. b after nearly a third of his votes were declared fraudulent, he had to accept a second round. >> the afghan independent election committee announced its results, and the results say we're going for a runoff. and that will be on the 7th of november. >> but after weeks of deadlock over the afghan elections gordon brown welcomed the news from kabul. >> i believe that th decision that he has reached and called for a second round himself, the decision he's reached to accept that a second round should take place to make sure that those legitimate votes are in place is the right move. i think the international community will applaud him for making that decision as well as applaud abdullah for being part of that as well. >> as we all know, this has been a very difficult time in afghanistan to not only carry out an election under difficult circumstances where there were a whole host of security issues that had to be resolved, but also post election, a lot of uncertainty. president karzai as well as the other candidates i think have shown that they have the interests of the ahan people at heart. >> this is the man hamid karzai will be up against, the former foreign minister abdullah aullah. it's still possible the two men will do a deal and avoid a runoff. with all the challenges of holding a second round that may be just what the west wants. this is footage of books of ballot papers being filled in for one candidate two months ago, preventing a repeat of is s such blatant fraud which so undermined the first rote is one of the biggest -- vote is one of the biggest challenges. there were concerns then about the independence of afghan election officials. many accused of being too close to president karzai. this time the u.n., which has helping organize the vote, is taking a tough line ordering hundreds of staff to be fired. >> we're trying to reprise more than 400 district officials who have been implicated or who have not been following correct guidelines to make this election transparent. >> by intervening so conspicuouslily now, the u.n. and the west are taking a backward step with their strategy here. this was supposed to be an afghan-led election. but to many afghans the whole idea of democracy now seems increasingly irrelevant to their lives. take abdullah, for instance. a widowed mother of three. her husband was killed in a suicide bombing. >> i don't think that the election will make any difference to me and to my life. when my husband was alive, i had a better life. but now he is killed, i am poor. that's why i won't vote. it doesn't mean anything to me. >> turnout was only 40% two months ago. despite all the effort going into holding another vote widespread apathy could mean even fewer afghans won't bother next time. andrew north, bbc news, kabul. >> the other major event this week involved pakistan's campaign to wipe out the taliban in south waziristan. the pakistan army's operation started on saturday and both sides claimed success as fierce battles raged throughout the week. more than 100,000 people have fled the violence in the region. pakistan sent in a force of 30,000 troops with heavy artillery and air strikes to attack the taliban in their heartland. our pakistan correspondent reported throughout the week on the operation. >> the course between the army and the taliban, they flee if they can. there is a desperate exodus from south waziristan. in the nearby town, they are met with security checks. police watchful for any suspected taliban. journalists can't enter the battle dispoan but -- zone but there are reports of fierce fighting. the taliban say they're defending every inch of territory. >> this is the old territory of south waziristan. >> the army says there's less resistance than expect sod far but admits -- expected so far but admits troops are advancing slowly. >> they are moving at a slow pace because it's a mountainous terrain. there are a number of mines and i.d.'s in the area which require clearance. there are search and clearance operation also going on. and we have been able to clear six of them. >> the taliban promised to hit back after the army's offensive. the surprise target, a seat of islamic learning. two bombers struck almost simultaneously. one in this faculty building. you can see how powerful the blast was by the damage that was caused. sections of the roof have come down. and over here a massive hole has been punched right through the wall. this was the office of a professor of law. and the bomber struck just outside on the corridor. the other bomber tried to enter the women's cafeteria but was blocked by a guard. many schools and colleges countrywide were already closed for fear of attack but the doors had stayed open here. >> everybody -- we were very much surprised. i think how these people say that they are islamic. they are killing their brothers. we are their brothers. we are their children. and they are killing us? >> but others were angry with the government. chants of "shame, shame directed at interior minister malak when he came to the scene. >> they are responsible! >> protesters said the army offensive against the taliban had triggered the suicide attacks. this was their sendoff for the minister. fear is gripping the nation. the government has appealed for unity, saying the attacks are a test of nerve in a time of war. bbc news, islamabad. >> half way through the week the first pictures were released by pakistan's military showing the fighting in south waziristan. the offensive was launched to rout out the taliban but many were starting to pay a heavy humanitarian price. bbc's mark dummett reports from islamabad. >> the pakistani military filmed these pictures. if genuine, then they are the first to emerge from the war zone. they show the discovery of an abandoned cave and abandoned weapons. they show one side of a gun fight and soldiers taking control of the hill. but what they don't show is how the taliban are fighting back, nor what's happened to the thousands of civilians trapped between the two sides. pakistan's army has called for civilians to rise up against the militants. but these men, all of them refugees, are angry with the government instead. they're actually chanting slogans in support of the taliban leader, haki mehsud. the problem is, they haven't received any help. >> we've been told to come to this place to register ourselves. we're told that after registration the government will provide us with food items and everything we need. but for the last five days we've been coming every day and we're not getting anything. >> and more continue to come, 120,000 so far. as the fighting intensifies, 28,000 soldiers have been deployed to this area. they're up against about 10,000 militants, many of whom are foreign. both sides have told us that there have been many casualties. but as journalists don't have access, it's hard for us to judge how this conflict really is developing. mark dummett, bbc news, islamabad. >> now, the rest of "this week's" news, a suicide attack in iran killed 31 people including senior commanders of the revolutionary guard. they were on their way to a meeting when a suicide bomber struck. the attack took place in the province near iran's border with pakistan. >> according to iranian state tv this was the work of one or more suicide bombers. among the victims were six senior revolutionary guards, commanders who had arranged to meet tribal leaders. many more people were wounded in the bomb blast, which is one of the most serious attacks to succeed against iran's most powerful military institution. among the dead is the deputy commander of the guards' grand forces and a number of the senior tribal figures. the attacks sparked condemnation from iran's parliamentary speaker who said the bombing was aimed at disrupting security in southeastern iran. the speaker's comments were followed by chants of "death to america." iran says that the militant group admitted carrying out the attack and that britain and the united states were bind the bombing. a claim rejected by washington as completely false. the attack is the deadliest against the revolutionary guard since a bombing in 2007 killed 13 people. this is a long-running insurgency which is fueled by the lucrative drugs trade from afghanistan. >> indonesia's president was sworn in for a second time this week. he identified his main prior advertise as scraking down on -- cracking down on corruption, boosting economy and advancing reform. he was sworn in after a resounding victory in july, securing half of the popular vote. this week astronomers said they discovered 32 planets orbiting stars outside our solar system. they told a conference the planets ranged from five times the mass of earth up to five times that of the solar system's largest planet, jupiter. the finding supports theory that 40% of stars similar to the sun have planets orbiting them. the former boss of one of colombia's most powerful drug cartels was sentenced to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty in a miami court. diego montoya was accused of importing cocaine into the united states. prosecutors said at one point he was responsible for 60 betters of lombia's cocaine -- 60% of colombia's cocaine trade. it was announced that the world's richest prize for good governments in africa would not be given this year. ibrahim, who sponsors the $5 million award had this to say. >> i my insist is independent of the boards. i have decided not to award a prize this year. the board entirely respects that decision. at the beginning when we started our foundation, there may be years where no winner is chosen. and this is such a year. >> the safety of india's railways is again called into question when two trains crashed. an express train crashed into the back of another passenger train, killing 22 people. officials said the express collided with a stationary passenger train as both were making their way to dehli. rescue workers had to cut their way into a carriage to reach the bodies. the film director roman polanski lost his appeal to be freed from a swiss prison ahead of a prabl extradition to the united states. as the week came to a close, the united states made a formal extradition request. he fled the u.s. in 1978 after being convicted of unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl. a 27-year-old man from massachusetts was charged wit conspiring to carry out terror attacks against shoppers in american malls. and the u.s. military in iraq. authorities say tares muhana sought training and worked with others to plot against politicians. a crackdown on gangs in rio de janeiro was expanded after the downing of a police helicopter by suspected drug traffickers. by mid-week 32 people had died as hundreds of heavily armed police conducted search operation the violence began when rival drug gangs clashed in the north of the city on saturday. gary duffyeports. >> the intense violence between two rival drug gangs in the north of the city of rio de janeiro that began last saturday seems to have started a grim sequence of events that has yet to reach a conclusion. >> historically there have always been those mini regions in rio de janeiro where drug traffickers dominate. however, we cannot allow a handful of people, a handful of criminals, to cause this craziness. >> hundreds of heavily armed police are involved in search operations in various shantytowns as the authorities continue to hunt for those behind an attack which brought down a police helicopter. two officers were killed when the helicopter crashed, and a third died later in the hospital. the majority of the other victims so far are said to have died in confrontations with the police. although in rio the official version of events is often challenged later by local people. >> rio de janeiro! [cheers and applause] >> the authorities sear continue to insist -- here continue to insist the latest violence should bare nothing on the olympic games in 2016. gary duffy, bbc news. >> the former bosnianer isb leader said he would not appear at his trial. in a statement he said he hasn't had enough time to prepare his defense. he's accused of masterminding atrocities during the bosnian war. an estimated 100,000 people were killed. he denies the charges. our world affairs correspondent with our report. >> this is how he looked shortly before his arrest in july last year. he had established him self as an alternative healer but his 13 years on the run were finally over and he was transferred to a cell at the hague. now he says he's not ready for the trial that's due to start on monday. he says he has one million pages of legal documents to study as this will be a gigantic case. >> it is illegal. >> it will rekindle memories of the war crimes trial which began in 2002 and dragged on for four years when the former yugoslav president died of natural causes. he refused to recognize the legitimacy of the international criminal tribunal. he was a familiar face on television during years of the bosnian conflict. but in 1995, he was indicted for genocide and a range of other crimes. his colleague, the former bosnianer isb military commander, is still at large. another leading bosnianer isb is to be released from prison in sweden next week. she surrendered to the tribunal in 2001 and has served 2/3 of her 11-year sentence. the question is whether radova radovan's trial will go ahead as planned the tribunal says only the judges can decide. but for now, at least, they appear ready to proceed with or without him. >> the u.s. government pay czar confirmed that executive pay would be slashed in company that have been bailed out by the u.s. treasury. 25 top managers will have their salaries cut by anything up to 90%, including general motors and citigroup. president obama said american values were offended by financial firms paying themselves huge bonuses while relying on government help. the chinese economy showed it was bouncing back from the global financial downturn. the government said it was sure it could hit its target of 8% economic growth after latest figures showed the economy expanded by 8.9% in the third quarter of the year. nearly 100,000 italian women signed a petition expressing their anger to remarks by prime minister better less scoany -- berlusconi. he described her as more beautiful than intelligent. it prompted a huge backlarn. -- backlash. >> members of a mexican drug gang were arrested by federal agents in the united states. the operation which involved thousands of police officers and 19 -- in 19 americans states was the latest aimed at the cartel. they also seized vehicles, weapons and large amounts of drugs. as the week came to a close, a key deal between iran and western powers on its nuclear program appear to be unraveling. as the deadline looms, the iranian government asked for more time but added it was considering the deal in a favorable light. earlier reports that tehran would prefer to buy uranium for its research reactor rather than sent its own stock of low-enriched uranium abroad for further enrichment. the deal agreed by the u.s., france and russia, was prompted by concern over iran's nuclear program. here's our tehran correspondent. >> after many hours of negotiations in vienna and geneva, the deal is still in the balance. eye reason has -- iran has yet to give a formal response. but an official on tv said tehran was not willing to ship its own enriched uranium out of the country, the key element in the deal. instead iran wants to buy a fresh batch of uranium for its research reactor in tehran. some in the west will almost certainly reject. nevertheless, iran has also said it is considering the plan favorably. it was only two days ago that negotiators emerged to talk up the prospects of a deal. but it seems the idea of shipping iran's enriched uranium was too much for tehran to accept. >> i don't know what the result in vienna will be, but the signs that we've received are not positive. >> by shipping out almost all of iran's stocks of uranium, the west hopes to build confidence that iran cannot divert the material to make a nuclear bomb. for iran, the deal could be a way of fending off pressure on the program and putting off the prospect of sanctions. perhaps iran is now playing for time. perhaps the government in tehran is genuinely divided. if this deal does collapse it would mean prospects for the wider talks on the nuclear issue were not good. pressure would be bound to build new sanctions. the united states and its allies would be reluctant finally to admit that the diplomatic process had collapsed. >> the 23-year-old son of the french president sarkozy was elected to the board of the organization that runs france's most important business district. jean sarkozy, a law student, had wanted to head the organization epad. he withdrew his candidacy at the last minute amid accusations of nepotism. he was elected to the board of the semi-governmental agency by local counselors. russia's largest carmaker, the maker of cars looks for on the verge of filing for bankruptcy. a leaked memo suggests it will lose half its work force. it is virtually the only employer in the town. bbc has one of the few foreign journal ists to get inside the giant -- journalists to get inside the giant plant. >> these people want to go back to the past, to a time when the red flag flew over russia and they had a guaranteed job for life. but the days of socialist certainty are long gone. >> my fridge is empty. all i had for breakfast was a cup of tea. if i speak out, i will be fired. and that will be the end of my life. >> some would argue the life of this place should have ended long ago. this is the classic production line. they've been knocking them together here for 40 years. to be fair, they do make more modern cars. this is their latest. it's even built by robots. but the good oldhamer still has place. the cars they make in this factory have been the butt of many jokes in russia for in, many years. the surprise isn't that it's in trouble, it's that this factory still exists at all. to find out why, all you have to do is drive one of its products. the man driving this one worked for one of ru