global expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> at least 35 people killed, about 170 injured in three separate attacks near a muslim shrine in pakistan. police suspect suicide bombers. from a senior taliban spokesman, a message by the bbc. no talks to end the conflict in feagfeag. why should we negotiate, he says, in a war we're winning. israel's prime minister offers to free 1,000 palestinians if hamas doesn't release a soldier kidnapped. >> a war that's taken over hundreds of livers. and does japan's aging population and a mountain of debt add up to a demographic time bomb? >> hello. there have been three bomb blasts in pakistan's second largest city, lahore. reports are coming in of dozens of people killed, many more injured in a separate blast. police believe the bombs were suicide attacks. we have the bbc's correspondent in the pakistani capital, islamabad. what can you tell us? >> as you say, the first thing to say is that police are now reporting 35 people to have been killed but over 175 injured, and many of those critically injured. this all happened at a place called data darbar. it's a shrine in one of lahore's most famous lapped marks. on thursday nights in particular, it is packed with devotees and it was on this evening when, according to police, three suicide bombers, one blew himself up inside the shrine, another in the compound, and one in the basement of the building as well. and police are also saying that according to their initial investigations, they found that the explosive belts must have contained lots of ball bearings for the maximum amount of casualties. it's not just lahore. earlier in the day security chiefs have been congratulating themselves because june had been the first month in two years in which there had been no suicide bombings across pakistan. they were saying that was proof that militant networks had been destructed. that's been proved wrong, or at least they haven't been able to stop militants from carrying out attacks like these. i think pakistanies who over the last couple of years have seen the most horrific attacks at all kinds of targets -- yes, security targets and army targets have been hit. but so, too, have markets, sporting events. there were nearly 100 people killed watching a volleyball match not so long ago, and over 140 killed in a very busy marketplace in peshawar. so pakistanies won't forget those images very quickly and they didn't feel that this battle against the militants was won. >> seeing the latest pictures from lahore on our screens at the moment. many thanks for that. now, a key plan panelist is talking. if you take the message from a senior taliban spokesman at face value, it is not at all clear this policy has any future. the taliban had told the bbc they're not interested in negotiating with nato generals nor with the afghan government. jon simp son has this from the afghan-pakistan border. >> this is some of the wildest and least controlled territory on earth, the pass which lies between the northwest frontier of pakistan and afghanistan. all around this area the taliban have always been able to operate pretty much at will. now, though, it's become a lot harder for westerners to meet taliban leaders face-to-face. we found a way of getting our questions through to the them. >> through a trusted intermediary we have made contact with the authentic spokesman of the taliban in afghanistan. and he's just given us this statement. it says in part, we do not want to talk to anyone, not to president karzai, nor to any foreigners until the foreign forces withdraw from afghanistan. we are certain that we are winning. why should we talk if we have the upper hand and the foreign forces are considering withdrawal and there are differences in the ranks of our enemies? >> the taliban seemed to have the upper hand at present. last month, june, has seen the highest number of nato deaths in afghanistan, 102, an average of well over three a day. the taliban are certainly not a popular movement in afghanistan. they're ethnically and culturally different from large sections of the population. and many afghans haven't forgotten the brutal way they govern the country from 1996 to 2001 if they can convince people that they're beating the americans and british, more and more local warlords will join their cause. they have no-go areas on the border where they can recruit and hide, changing the perception that they're winning is going to be the hardest job that faces the nato forces now. jon sim son, bbc news at the -- john simp son, bbc news. >> disappointment that cyprus allowed a member of a russian spy ring to go free on bail and then disappeared. christopher metsaos had failed to report to a meeting. seven more are appeared to be due in court for bail hearings in new york and virginia. 50 years of independence, but there's been heavy fighting in mowing douche yew -- mogadishu. it's reported the president has been out on the front line with african union troops. there is some controversy over the pope's meeting with the disgraced roman catholic bishop from germany who resigned after admitting that he beat children in an orphanage. pope benedict said to take time for silent prayer and rehabilitation if he wants his job back. israel has renewed its pledge to free 1,000 palestinian prisoners in exchange for the israeli soldier gilad shalit who was abducted by militants four years ago. in a tv broadcast, prime minister benjamin netanyahu said his country is prepared to pay a heavy but not unconditional price. the sol jears family intensified the pressure on the government to negotiate their son's release. >> to mark the fourth anniversary of their son's captain tour by palestinian militants from gaza, gilad's family and supporters are walking from their home in israel to jerusalem to highlight the captivity in gaza. they say they'll remain camped outside the prime minister's residence until their son is released. and they've been very critical of the government's efforts to free him. apart from one audio recording and the videotape which appeared to show him in relatively good health, there's been little contact with shalit. militants from hamas have also refused the international red cross access to the 23-year-old sergeant. the live television address by benjamin netanyahu tried to deflect some of the criticism. >> the german mediator's office which we agreed to accept called for the release of 1,000 terrorists. this is the price i'm prepared to pay to bring gilad home. i said yes to the deal, and it is ready for immediate implementation, but there are some prices i will not pay. >> mr. netanyahu said that although all israelries wanted the soldier back safely, the nation could not pay any price because, he said, militants released in earlier prisoner swaps have gone out to carry out further attacks against israel. in this response hamas said that mr. netanyahu was deluding israeli public opinion, saying it was not a matter of numbers but of who israel was prepared to release in exchange for gilad shalit. bbc news, jerusalem. >> two days ago a world bank report condemned kenya's parliament as one of the most corrupt in the world. but it seems the country's politicians value their own work highly. they voted to increase their salaries and allowances to $126,000 a year. the prime minister could be taking home more than president obama. most people in kenya earn less than $1 a day. naomi campbell is being forced to give evidence in the war crime trial of charles taylor. a special court ordered a subpoena served on the british supermodel. prosecutors say she was given a blood diamond by mr. taylor who's accused of using diamonds to fund civil war. the british art collector is donating a large part of his collection and a gallery to the nation. he'll be giving more than 200 works in the gallery to create a muezem of contemporary art. the works are are worth more than $37 million in current market values. officials in the gulf of mexico are saying high winds and seas whipped up by tropical storm alex will make it impossible to deploy a third containment vessel above b.p.'s ruptured oil well probably until the middle of next week. alex hit texas several hundred miles west of the oil but has already forced many boats back into port. matthew price reports from louisiana. >> the rain arrived in this small fishing town. it's not what they needed. out on the water we found ships involved in the cleanup operation bobbing uselessly. and on the command barge for this area some of the fishermen now employed by b.p. just waiting for the cleanup to restart. in charge on board is adrian rutley, also a local fisherman. he checked out the weather reports. >> i think it's going to have us starting all over again. all the protection that we've put out with these high winds that we've had the last couple of days, and this wall -- the squalls, probably going to be on the banks. >> by stuff, he means oil. the waves and wind generated by the hurricane will push more oil on to land. they've also created other problems. this section of the oil boom has been ripped apart by the waves in the last couple of days it should form part of a continuous barrier across this part of the water, protecting the coast from any oil that comes this way. 10 weeks into this battle it's now clear that the hurricane season is one of the biggest threats to these defenses. back on land the small army of contractors now working for b.p. here had to sit it out as well, on full pay. it's costing b.p. plenty, but it is saving some livelyhoods. >> i'm making money off of it. it depends on how long it's going to last. >> you either make a few nickels or no nickels. if you got bills, you're going to come out here and hustle. >> indeed, up the road in the town center you might talk of a mini oil boom. that's not, of course, to say they welcome it. but for some like the exhausted mayor, b.p. is not a dirty word. >> i think b.p.'s doing all they possibly can to try to help us. >> are they helping in the same way that the federal government is helping? >> well, you know, i would think the federal government, for whatever reason, has left it up to b.p. to dot work. now they'll put the coast guard in. i think in a lot of cases the coast guard probably has been more of a problem than problem solvers. >> that's bad news because as they stand and wait they know they need all the problem solvers they can get. matthew price, bbc news, louisiana. >> still to come on bbc "world news," afghanistan missing aid money. is it in the pockets of politicians or wealthy foreign contractors? first, you couldn't say it's setting mux of an example. nearly three weeks after elections, talks on a coalition government are still grinding on from brussels, dominick hughes. >> in a brussels park, last-minute rehearsals are underway. it's hoped tens of thousands of people will join together on saturday in a dance celebrating the belgium presidency of the e.u. >> it makes sense to somehow put the focus on brussels as not only the capital of belgium but also the capital of europe. the percentage of foreigners here is really amazing. i think it really creates a sort of -- cultures and influences. >> it will be a suitbly surreal start to a presidency hosted by a country with only a caretaker government, and where e.u. meetings are run by ministers who are likely to be replaced if coalition talks eventually do form an administration. but no need to worry. the work of the e.u. is unlikely to be effected. >> belgium is used to not having a government. they're very good. caretakers have full powers. they can carry out the business. they took the precaution of getting all the political parties to agree to their program so they're hoping that actually things will be pretty smooth and most people won't notice. >> and here's one reason no one is too concerns. this time last year, the belgium prime minister, now president of the european council and has gradually been taking a much more central role in the e.u. the belgium government seems happy to support their man in the top job. organizing tens of thousands of people to take part in a mass dance this weekend could be the crowning glory for belgium's presidency of the european union. perhaps that's not surprising given there's no proper government in place. but it also reflects the fact that member states now have a lot less to do when it comes to the day-to-day running of the european union. dominick hughes, bbc news, brussels. >> the latest headlines for you at this hour on "bbc world news." police are saying suicide bombers have killed at least 35 people at a muslim shrine in the country's second city of lahore. at least 175 were injured. the taliban have told the bbc they're not interested in negotiating with nato generals or the afghan government in a war they believe they're winning. still in afghanistan, almost $4 billion of american aid is now being blocked thanks to a vote by members of the u.s. house of representatives. they are angry at reports of corruption in afghanistan and allegations that huge amounts of cash have been simply flown out of the country. did it leave bound for the foreign bank accounts of corrupt politicians or is it going into the pockets of foreign contractors? this report from kabul. >> they're partners in war, but the united states worries that the money it's sending to afghanistan isn't in karzai's hands. more than $35 billion in aid has poured into the country since fighting began, and still afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world. so congress is holding back some of its aid. the united states has pulled the plug on the money after the discovery that over the last three and a half years more than $4 billion in cash has left afghanistan via kabul airport, and it left in cash. it could have made a huge difference here. but, says the finance minister it never came near the afghan government in the first place. >> this is not a figure that's discovered by somebody else. it's a figure that was reported by myself in concern raised initially by me. this is not money that is taken out of the government's budget and thrown out. this is money that's -- my firm belief is it's going contractors, fat contracts. and they are taking it out to other means. >> rebuilding afghanistan has been slow work. corruption is widespread. the worry from international partners is that the aid isn't reaching people here and may, in fact being, being going into the pockets of insurgents. but, says the finance minister, aid money is being well spent and lives are improving. >> because of the international assistance that we received, the g.d.p. has tripled from $180 to $500 or $540 today. so that's the per capita g.d.p. how did it happen? because of the investment the international has made. access to basic health services , was 10% now over 80%. >> people here are just as tired of corruption as the country's international donors. as the war grows on, the grass only spreads. and that will make the general's job all the more difficult. bbc news, kabul. >> violence insurgency across india. the prime minister calls it the most serious internal security threat since independent. hundreds have been killed this year alone. the strongest are in six states which are being called the red corridor. at least 100 policemen have been killed in the past three months. our south asia correspondent, chris morris, reports from there. >> in the heart of india there is a hidden war. these could be the next men on the front line. the police are leading the fight against the rebels. 76 policemen were killed in a single attack. so here there's a focus on training. the jungle warfare as the government sends tens of thousands of paramilitary forces into remote territory controlled. >> the military part comes in when the other side is following a philosophy of the battle of the gun. until such time this is not silent. he is not going to come to the negotiating table. we have to twist his military arm. only then he will start talking. >> but they're training, too. this is rare footage filmed recently of maoist fighters deep in the jungle. they may look ragtag, but they know the terrain and the hit-and-run tactics of the ambushes. they have also been spreading their message in a state that has grown weak, unpopular with the people. >> that was a source of life to them and has been destroyed. >> that pushes them towards the maoists? >> maoists have a definite agenda. but at the same time, they have been trying to see that people are able to get control overland, forest, water. >> so how to win become a neglected rural population? development, says the government. but it's not always that simple. this fertile land had been promised to one of india's biggest companies for a new steel plant. but in this village at least, they don't want to sell. >> why do they ask us 10 times? what's the point in trying to force us when we have already said no? wouldn't you getting anry if someone tried to take away something you don't want to give? >> it is quiet for now. but some protests against the steel plant have been violent. the movement relies on this kind of discontent and alienation in scattered tribal communities across the region. so the challenge for the indian state is not just to clip the wings of the insurgency but to prove to people here that it has their best interests at heart. the government knows it needs to do much more. this is not just a military conflict. it will take years to resolve. but for now in this land of natural beauty far from dehli, india is at war with itself. chris morris, bbc news. >> japan's new prime minister is hitting his country with a hard message, without radical moves to reduce public debt the country could be another greece. the bbc's roland burke has been in tokyo meeting some of the pensioners who have been keeping japan afloat until now. >> they are the postwar baby boomers, now enjoying a prosperous retirement. today they ride for fun. on the train they used to take to work. it's a savings that have financed japan's vast public debt. but now they're old. they're beginning to spend their nest eggs. >> it's fun sing along with friends like this, says this woman. but just to see friends or have a meal is great. we're at the age where we're having the best time of our lives, adds her friend. we've been freed from everything we had to do up to this point. we have to enjoy every minute. but japan is facing a demographic crisis. there are not enough workers. the young are saving less. and the government's borrowing may become unsustainable. a loss of confidence could pit japan into the ebis. -- abyss. the country can't afford the fiscal deficit for some time. they are steady, stable, and quiet. however, some time in the future, very suddenly something very bad happens. so i think it's like this. it's very, very stable. boom. >> little wonder the government is looking for a new generation to invest in its debt. they've even tried magazines. this one has the enticing strap line, "women prefer men to hold japanese government bonds." answering the call is hideki sato. the 36-year-old has three millionen invested in bonds but it's not a statement of confidence in japan, worried about the future, he's saving to emigrate. >> one of the main reasons is that we cannot get -- we may not get fund when i am retired. when we are retired. so we have to be investing by ourselves. and we plan to move to other country. it's not my opinion. but one of my friends, some of my friends. >> the baby boomers built modern japan and their frugal way sustained the government's borrowing. but now that they're getting old, the worry is how the country will survive when their savings are gone. roland burke, bbc news, tokyo. >> now, plenty 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