09/08/2013 BBC World News

the north-west. In Hello, this is BBC World News. Error

America withdraws diplomats from Lahore. The US secretary of State,

John Kerry will meet his Russian counterpart later.

Oprah Winfrey says she believes she was the victim of racism during a

recent visit to Switzerland. And a 3000 kilometre solar endurance

race in the Australian outback - how will these cars get on a given they

The United States has evacuated most of its diplomatic staff from

Pakistan's second biggest city, Lahore. The state department says

it's received information of a credible threat to the US consulate

there. The Lahore threat follows the closure of American embassies across

the Middle East. And in one of those countries, Yemen, US drone attacks

have killed 14 Al-Qaeda militants. With me is our security

correspondent, Gordon Corera. Let's start with what is happening in

Pakistan and this evacuation. Is it a surprise? There have been security

threats before. They are talking about a specific and credible threat

against the office in Lahore, the consulate there, which has not been

one of the main targets in the past. But they are sufficiently worried

about it to evacuate all nonessential staff. US officials are

saying it does not look as though it is related directly to the other

threats in north Africa. More concerns about whether there could

be some coordination in terms of this. In Islamabad there were

concerns militants were preparing an attack on government buildings or

airports, although that has not materialised. The term, credible

threats, coming through especially when we think of the Middle East.

Yemen, US drone attacks have always been controversial and they are

intensifying? Yes, at an accelerating pace. We used to see

this in Pakistan, now it is in Yemen. It is a shift about the

concern of where Al-Qaeda is in its threat. Those strikes are thought to

be related to the closure of the US Embassy in Sana'a in Yemen, and the

US seems to be going after some of those Al-Qaeda operatives it might

think is involved in launching some kind of attacks. Yemeni authorities

have talked about a tax on gas and oil facilities having been foiled

where people could be kidnapped, similar to what happened in Algeria

earlier in the year. The US is using drones aggressively. It is

controversial because sometimes there are human casualties. Thanks

very much. There's been another attack in the

city of Quetta in south-west Pakistan. Unidentified gunmen opened

fire outside a mosque, killing at least nine people and injuring many

others. Police said that attackers targeted a local politician, as he

was coming out of the mosque after prayers for Eid, which marks the end

of the month of Ramadan. He escaped unhurt. On Thursday, a suicide

bombing in the city killed at least 30 people, mostly police officers.

The atmosphere may be a little frosty, but talks between the US

Secretary of State, John Kerry, and his Russian counterpart will go

ahead later despite President Obama cancelling a meeting with President

Vladimir Putin earlier this week. The conflict in Syria and human

rights in Russia will be discussed and no doubt, Moscow's granting of

asylum to the fugitive former CIA contractor, Edward Snowden, will

cast a shadow over the meeting. Katy Watson reports from Washington.

The body language at June's G8 summit said it all. Oracle Obama and

Vladimir Putin may have been on the world stage together, but they were

not comfortable. That is before this man made the relationship more

uncomfortable. After Edward Snowden leaked information on surveillance

programmes, he fled to Moscow and the decision to offer him asylum

seems to be the last straw for the White House, which has cancelled a

presidential summit next month. did not see the kind of sufficient

progress on major issues we are engaging with the Russians on, to

merit a summit. Edward Snowden was a factor, but not the only one.

Russia said it was disappointed, once seen as a public snub, it is

not severing talks altogether. Brush up's Foreign Minister is in the US

for high-level talks. Syria was top of the agenda. It is a topic

expected to continue on Friday. Russia's support for Bashar al-Assad

will also be on the table. Beyond Russia, issues such as missile

defence and human rights are also expected to be discussed. But Friday

will serve as the face-to-face meeting about Edward Snowden's

asylum. They are talks Barack Obama is staying away from. No doubt he

will have to be prepared to field questions about Edward Snowden two.

Two teenage girls who were burned in an acid attack on Zanzibar are

expected to fly back to Britain later. Katie Gee and Kirsty Trup,

both aged 18, were working as a volunteer teachers. Police in

Zanzibar have offered a $6,000 reward for any information on the

attacks. It was early evening and they were

walking through the narrow streets in Stone Town from the ocean, a

block away from the sea. They were with other tourists on a road when

two guys on mopeds, stopped and threw acid in their faces and sped

off. I spoke to one person who was on the seen and heard the girls

screaming. People ran to see what they could do and how they could

help. Some of the locals grabbed one of the girls and threw her into the

sea. It seems the salt helped her burns. They tried to get a hosepipe

but the water ran out. They try to get hold of a clinic to ask advice.

But they were on a plane within an hour and a half on the way to Dara

Asser Lamb. They were treated in hospital there. They were airlifted

on a medical evacuation aircraft to continue treatment. They said to be

in good spirits their burns. The president came to see them in

hospital. An important visit to Tanzania and Zanzibar, to show to

people this is an unusual event and tourists are welcome here. Hundreds

of thousands of people come through here every year and don't have any

problem. It is a very friendly and welcoming place. But there are these

elements who do not like the way tourists sometimes walk around,

disrespecting the Muslim religion. There is no proof it was a religious

attack. The girls were here working for a charity, they were dressed

appropriately, they knew the risks and told about safety. Police have

now put out a ransom and want to find the two men responsible. They

want to establish why and it is quite a hefty ransom and they are

putting it as a priority to make sure these men are caught.

One of the world 's richest women, Oprah Winfrey says she believes she

was the victim of racism during a recent visit to Switzerland. She was

in Zurich for the wedding of Tina Turner. She claims it was there she

was told by a shopping assistant that the bags on display were too

expensive. Oprah Winfrey spoke about the incident on American television.

I go into a store which shall remain unnamed. I said to the woman, may I

see that bag above your head? She says to me, no, it is too expensive.

I said, no, you see the black one, the one that is folded over. She

said, no, you don't want to see that one, you want to see this one. That

one will cost too much, you cannot afford that one. I said, no, I

wanted to see that one. But she refused to get it. She continued to

show me these little bags. One more time I tried, I said, I really do

want to see that one. She said, I don't want to hurt your feelings. I

said OK, thank you very much, I probably cannot afford it and I

walked out of the shop. Oprah Winfrey is quite surprised

this happened to her. Are you surprised? No, I think she has

forgot. Forgot what?I think she forgot she is a black woman in these

high end shops that you get, and I still get in Bond Street and

Knightsbridge. You get followed around. When you are asked to see a

tray of rings, the whole place gets dark. It has happened to me most of

my life. I am ready to go into a shop, I catch the eye of the

security guard, I check him out. I don't look at him too long because

he might think I am going to do something. We acknowledge each

other, and he can see and makes a judgement and then I feel free to

walk around. Do you think it is right -- do you think he is making

the judgement because of the colour of your skin? Absolutely, no doubt

about it. It is getting worse because of the immigration debate we

are having now. And in Switzerland, there is a debate about having

illegal immigrants in public spaces like swimming pools. In the United

States, people are beginning to look at people of colour, and making

judgements as to whether they are legitimate or illegitimate in a

public space. So you will have encounters like this. Oprah Winfrey

is from Chicago, like I am, so she knows what it is like back in the

day when you would go to shop. It is great she has brought it up, because

this is a reality for many women of colour. In the times you are talking

about in Chicago, would this have happened in any shop, or just

wealthy shops? I think the handbag in question here was worth something

like �35,000. We from the same space, the same place and I was back

home last week, and standing behind the counter talking to one of

sisters. A lady came up and was talking about the garments, as if we

were the sales people. It is as if they are saying, you cannot possibly

be buying this because you cannot afford it. Thanks very much.

Take a look at a vehicle. I will show you something solar power, it

is a racing car and has been the bat -- designed by a team who says on a

sunny day it can drive at least 600 kilometres. It has been entered in a

special endurance race in the Australian outback later this year.

We caught up with the designers from the Netherlands.

Is this the future of sustainable travel? Cars powered by the sun.

These science students are preparing for the world solar challenge,

designed to test their end your ends's potential. Really cool to

start this race of electric cars today and show the world are new

designed that it really drives and is ready for the race. It is a solar

positive car, which means it produces more energy than it uses.

On a sunny day they can drive for more than 400 miles, double the

capacity of its nearest electric rival. What is it made of? Less than

a millimetre of carbon layers, but still very good properties. Those

composite materials are light, stiff and that is how it was built.

is still some tinkering to do with the body to make sure it can

withstand the 3000 kilometre journey through the outback. The Dutch

drivers are optimistic. I think we will win, the car feels great and we

have a great team and I think the combination will lead to winning The

World Solar Challenge. For anyone interested in buying, this is a

prototype and it will cost $4000. But with a few minor adjustments,

the students say these energy efficient cars could soon be

wheeling up on a garage forecourt I make no apologies for this cute

story. Is Britain's female giant panda pregnant? Japan has marked

the 68th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, with silent

prayers at a special ceremony. This year's commemorations have been

marked by continuing concerns over the dangers of radiation, following

the Fukushima nuclear disaster two years ago. Grainne Harrington

reports. It is a silent tribute that marks the exact moment in 1945

that changed Japan for ever. Among those gathered, survivors and

relatives of those lost in an instant of devastation. Exactly

three days after Hiroshima, a V29 set out. The bomb exploded.

American bombing of Nagasaki was the last major act of World War Two.

Within days, the Japanese surrendered, but the cost was

immense. The first atomic bomb on Hiroshima killed over 100,000

people. 70,000 were killed in Nagasaki. Many later died from

radiation sickness and cancer and after effects continue to this day.

Many survivors oppose military and civilian use of nuclear power. The

fall-out from the Fukushima disaster makes headlines still.

Along with concerns about the safety of nuclear energy. Anti-

nuclear sentiment still runs high. While the Prime Minister spoke of

the need of a world free of nuclear weapons, the country's dependency

on nuclear energy is still controversial. As Japan debates

what place nuclear technology has in society, any decisions could

resonate for generations. A violent wind storm that ripped across La

Paz and El Alto in Bolivia has killed at least one person. Winds

reached between 70 and 80 kph, tearing down wires and tree

branches, damaging houses and leaving some neighbourhoods without

power. The storm was caused by a phenomenon called convex cloud,

formed from water vapour carried by This is BBC World News. America

withdraws non-essential diplomats from Lahore following a specific

threat. Despite the ongoing Edward Snowden affair, US Secretary of

State John Kerry will meet his Russian counterpart later. The

fourth Ashes test between England and Australia is under way in

England's north-east. England won the toss and are batting first.

They go into the test with a two- nil lead and the Ashes already

retained. We can talk to our reporter at the Durham Riverside

Ground in that Durham. They did retain the Ashes in a star that was

not spectacular. The rain came to England's rescue. England managed

to draw the Test and so retain the Ashes. They have their tails up

here because they have the chance to win the series out right. The

Ashes may be decided, but the series has yet to be decided. There

is excitement around this test in the North East, because it is the

first time it has come to this ground and the North East, and the

first time any Ashes Test has been played this far north. 20 years ago,

Durham, the county critic -- County Cricket Club, before this ground

was built, a huge amount of work has gone into developing the ground.

They became a first-class county in 1995. In 2003, they hosted the

first Indian Test, and now the first Ashes Test. Local people said

they never thought Ashes cricket would come to this part of England.

Now that dream has come true. Play is under way. Not spectacular, the

start, for England. But the crowd are excited.

I am glad the weather is holding up. Now to the row between UK and Spain

over Gibraltar, which shows no sign of subsiding. There have been

queues after border checks were stepped up. Now there is talk that

the Spanish will bring in a new charge on vehicles entering or

leaving the territory. Spain ceded the territory in 1713. How British

is Gibraltar? HE SINGS "COME FLY WITH ME". John is an all-singing,

passionate and very powers Gibraltarian taxi driver. -- very

passionate. I feel British. But Gibraltarian. We have an allegiance

to the Queen that is unparalleled. I get expatriates coming into the

car and they ask why do you not want to be Spanish? My answer is

Gibraltar is yours. It is British. The idea of being part of Spain?

never. I would rather be dead. He my to been born in Scunthorpe, but

he moved here when he was nine. Asked about the future of trouble

to, he is defiant. A Gibraltarian will always stand together. You

cannot take us over, you cannot divide us, you cannot compare us

and you cannot give us away. Gibraltar, that is my home town!

British pride is everywhere in Gibraltar. It is a town of 30,000.

In some ways, it feels more British than the Great Britain most of us

know. Several thousand Spaniards cross the border to work here every

day. Of course, temperatures have been rising. That is because of

increased checks and delays. Elizabeth's family run a fish and

chip shop. She was born here, but grew up in Britain. I am not

Gibraltarian. I am for Gibraltar. And now she crosses the border

every day from her home in Spain. When someone looks at the map and

sees Spain and Basie this tiny bit of land and say, how can that be

British, what you say? It was British because 300 years ago they

won it in the Battle of Trafalgar and it became British and it

belongs to Great Britain and the people of to Bolton want to be

British. They do not want to be Spanish. They have a right to

determine -- the people of Britain. They will always want to be British.

On the top of the rock you have a sense of the geography. Look to the

left. You can see the town of Gibraltar. Just beyond that, you

can see the airport. Further on, there is the border with Spain. And

beyond that, it is a Spanish town. If we go left, you can begin to see

the number of boats in the water. These disputed waters of the source

of the recent tension. Disputes over the waters are nothing new.

With its monkeys up top, some will always see Gibraltar as a peculiar

place. But there is a lot of history here. The majority of those

living on the Rock, from where you can see Africa, passionately tell

you that this will always be a slice of Britain in the sun. A

couple of animal stories. A rare sight off the coast of Norway. Here

a sperm whale made an unusually close visit to the shoreline near

Bergen. The lucky residents were treated to a day long display by

the fifteen metre long mammal. As news spread spectators gathered to

get a close up of the whale from dry land. They have been trying for

a baby for well over a year and now experts at Edinburgh Zoo in

Scotland say there are strong indications that the UK's only

female giant panda may finally be pregnant. Tian Tian seems to have

needed some expert medical help along the way - she was

artificially inseminated earlier this year. James Cook reports. Is

this giant panda pregnant? Tian Tian is not giving much away but

the signs are promising. For a start, she is moody. She is not so

keen on the daily trip to be weighed. She is off her food.

is restless. She is a little bit less tolerant. She is very

particular and can be quite difficult, so we have not been able

to do any obs on her. -- ultrasounds. At this German

laboratory they have seen more signs she is expecting. One test

showed a rise in hormone levels and another a promising mix of proteins.

Two giant pandas including this one were used for the artificial

insemination. This is Yang Guang, who might be the father. We would

have to wait and see. Even if he is, he will not play a role in the

rearing of the young panda. Yang Guang has proved his prowess, he is

already a father. Tian Tian has reared her own young before. Within

weeks, she could have the first British-born giant panda. 16

workers from a garage in the American state of New Jersey have

become multi-millionaires overnight after their syndicate bought one of

the winning tickets in the country's Powerball Lottery. The

staff, from from the Ocean County Vehicle Maintenance Department in

Little Egg Harbor Township, all turned up for work after winning

around $3.6 million each. Three ticket holders share the 445

million-dollar jackpot - each ticket is worth almost $60 million