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america." >> this is "bbc world news america." reporting from washington. a flight to justice. ratko mladic goes to the hague where he will face trial in charges of war crimes and genocide. and a scandal and charges of corruption and bribery rock the governing body and the sponsors are getting nervous. and 100 years after the titanic launched, it fully embraces its birthday. ♪ >> welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. ratko mladic was on the run for 16 years. it took a few hours for him to be delivered to the city where

he will face war crimes charges. judges rejected an appeal by the former bosnian serb military commander. he was flown to the netherlands to be held in the u.n.- detention center. it is the first alpine a long process, which many hope will lead to justice for his role in the massacre of 8000 muslim men and boys in 1995. here is more. >> the steel doors of the belgrade prison slid open, and a sign of the huge security operation. around 30 heavily armed police officers stood guard, ready to lead ratko mladic's convoy out of the serbian government wanted this to happen quickly, smoothly, and without protest. >> 16 years of the the bosnian war ended, ratko mladic is finally leaving serbia. he will be taken from here to the airport where he will be put on an airplane to the hague, ready for his trial. >> much of central belgrade was

sealed off to allow the convoy to pass. , believed to be traveling in the white than an earlier lost his appeal to stay in serbia, leaving it to the justice ministry to clear the way for his extradition. this is in five dramatic days for serbs. general mladic had been the country's most wanted man. his alleged crimes involving the worst european wartime excesse'' in 50 years. >> i believe there is kind of relief now. also, people did not want to a admitted. it is probably a relief, because now is over. the consequences are overnh no. so they can pave the future. >> i am glad everything is over. you know? it has been like five days that all this is going on. it has been at 16 years. a it was about time for everything to be over. is it the right way? it the only time will show that. >> earlier, general mladic's

wife and sister brought a suitcase to the present, likely with personal effects. his son also went in for one last visit. not long after mladic himself had been let out of prison to go to the gravestone of his daughter anna, who is believed to have shot result because of his wartime actions. the journal reported his plane, bringing serbia's roll to an end. his departure will come as a hughes -- usually. some will do it as a travesty. but mostly this, as the just conclusion to a painful national experience. bbc news, belgrade. >> chris morris is in the netherlands and joins me from outside the detention center where ratko mladic is being held. what is next for ratko mladic? >> first, the full medical examination. you'll remember his family has said that he has severed several

minor strokes in the last few years. his health will be a major concern is this process develops. you may remember when milosevic, the former yugoslav president was here, his health caused constant delays during this trial. he eventually died in custody before any verdict against him was delivered. that is a concern. he has to get a bill of health from the doctors say he is fit to stand trial. then sometime over the next couple of days, probably thursday, we will see his first appearance in court, in which the 11 charges of genocide and crimes against humanity will be put to him. >> this trial could last for years, right? >> yes, absolutely. take the political leader of the bosnian serbs, ratko mladic's political equivalent. his trial does not -- cannot begin until october 2009. the prosecution is still going on. it reckons it will get to the

end of the case next spring or summer. then the defense will begin good as i do not expect a real trial -- there will be pre-trial hearings. but ratko mladic's trial will probably not begin until sometime next year. there is one possibility to try to fall the two trials of the political leader of the bosnian serbs and the military leader together, but there will be 6q'(-dproblems simply because e other trial has already well- advanced, and ratko mladic has only just arrived. >> i wonder if the two men will face each other. thank you. football is the world's most popular sport and is at the center of trouble. corruption has been brewing for the last week. the english and scottish football associations have raised the stakes, calling for a delay in tomorrow's election to select a fifa president, an election which only had been -- and the incumbents name on the ballot. added to the pressure, sponsors have voiced their concerns

among allegations of bribery, which reached the highest level. from zurich, the bbc sports editor has this report. >> it is one of the most venerable sporting bodies in the world. but over the last few weeks, fifa has been losing its shine. and as delegates from planet football began writing for tomorrows fifa congress, there is more turmoil, is england made their move to stop sepp blatter 's reelection as president. in a statement, the chairman said recall on fifa and austin the national associations to postpone the election and give credibility to this process, so any alternative reforming candidate can have their virginity to stand for president. -- can have the opportunity to stand for president. >> they got immediate backing from the oldest football rivals. >> we feel that in the current climate, the election should not proceed, and we have called for to be postponed.

we have actually communicated that directly to the general secretary at fifa. we have suggested that it would be in the best interests of the game of football of the election was postponed for a time of three to six months. >> many people will welcome the english and scottish decision today. but with three-quarters of the electorate needed to postpone the election, is a distant and the gesture after a week when fifa has been under fire with problems? on may 25, fifa decided to investigate bribery allegations against then presidential candidate and the fifa vice president, jack warner. on may 27, fifa widened its investigation to include sepp blatter. two days later, the other two were suspended from fifa, while sepp blatter was cleared. on may 30, the fifa secretary general admitted sending an e- mail which suggested one of them bought the 2020 world cup.

according to the man about to take britain's seat on fifa's executive committee, the time has come to change. >> i still believe that the bad publicity, if that is the right way to put it, that has happened in the last few months, i still believe that that can be overcome, but it needs a lot of image work. >> but with fifa's big money sponsors like coca-cola becoming increasingly anxious about the damage being caused to their brands, fear of losing money may provide the most effective catalyst for reform. sepp blatter want four more years to transform fifa's image. the question tonight is whether the football world will join in lead in deciding his time is up. >> for more on how damaging this scandal could be to the sport as a whole, i am joined now from the sucker in the third to sportsillustrated.com. -- use the sports editor from

the website. how big a deal is this for the game as a whole, not just for fifa? >> i it is obviously a very big black eye in terms of image. i am not convinced it will have that much far-reaching implications, because i did nothing fifa has much motivation to inform itself at this present time. >> how necessary is this? >> i think there have been suspicions that there underhand dealings of corruption present in fifa. i think it was highlighted more by the recent awarding of the 2020 to world cup. especially in the pace of catarrh, where some people were very surprised if that decision. and with recent allegations, it is obvious that some of shady dealings have been going on. the issue is what can be done about this. sepp blatter yesterday was very defensive. he seems to indicate that there were no real issues to fifa. he recalled it, not a crisis,

but a mere difficulty that would be resolved inside the family. that does not strike me as a man willing to embrace change. as you said earlier, the only real pressure can become financially. but again, based on what has been going on the last couple of days, i do not know that would do that. yesterday, coca-cola and visa said there were disturbed. today, they backed fifa. i think five is that we are not involved and we're happy with the way this has been managed. coca-cola said they are happy with fifa. >> do you think is possible they might reopen the bidding process? >> i do not think so. for that to happen, i believe you would have to change what has happened. but none of the other 150-odd member associations have backed the call to delay the election. as it stands, it looks as of tomorrow sepp blatter will take the election and will be back in power again.

and then everything back to normal really. ideally, you want it to be similar to the ioc in 20021 they had scandal and a 10 members stepped down. but we are one day away. they're running an election again. i do not see anything change it. >> have to leave it there. thank you. nato aircraft resumed their crops on the capitol in libya hours after these president of south africa at little over a negotiated end for this country. it comes after an intense bombardment of a town west of the rebel-held city of misurata yesterday. our world affairs correspondent hanson does this report. -- sent us this report. >> moving forward on the misurata front line. anti-aircraft guns being used against gaddafi's are me.

-- army. behind them, revels provided covering fire to the four-wheel drive vehicles, as they withdraw from another assault. it is like this every day, firing when they see movement, then falling back to what has become a fixed front line. it is a good defensive line but not strong enough to go on the offensive very much further from here for now. the arrival of british apache helicopters and their french tigers could be enough to make the difference with the offensive punch it may carry. a soldier who defected from gaddafi's forces early in the campaign provides court in its to nato of tanks and alter larry -- artillery. >> uses the tanks are so well camouflaged, that look like removing trees. they're very few trained soldiers in this citizen army. mohammed is a truckdriver.

another mahomet is a mechanic. and there is a greengrocer in normal life who has returned a day after being injured. >> with the help of apache helicopters, gaddafi's artillery and ground rockets were scattered. then we can advance to tripoli. >> many of the fighters on one important part of the english language students, commanded by their professor. >> it is all people, regardless, there just joining here to fight for freedom. forces under attack this week by the royal air force. their arrival of apache helicopters would make this missive -- mission to protect civilians the market -- a far more offensive campaign. wycherley no more than two miles from here in the road were clear. -- with tripoli less than two miles from here. >> the syrian president has

issued a general amnesty for all crimes committed by members of political groups, including the banned muslim brotherhood. following weeks of anti- government protests and continuing oppression by security forces. they have left more than 1000 people dead. the government is expected to launch a national dialogue. afghan president karzai have warned that nato that the accidental deaths of civilians killed in bahrain is supporting his mission. he says people will start reviewing nato as an occupying force that the deaths went on. his latest remarks after about to get in the killing of up to 14 civilians in a nato airstrike on saturday. that telehealth scare, which has experts cross your hunting down the source of the deadly e. coli outbreak that claimed 15 lives. all but one of the victims has been in germany. a batch of key putters -- cucumbers from spain was initially blamed for carrying a highly contingent bacteria. german authorities are still uncertain.

our environment correspondent has the details. >> a microscopic view of the strange larry bacteria that are now claiming lives did a close- up, the shapes look harmless bit of a this is a very rare type of decollate. germany has been hit hardest with more than 1000 people infected and as several hundred falling ill. it is not just the very young or very old, as you would expect. >> at present, mostly adult people, young adults, and preferably, women, are severely affected. the reason for this is still unknown. >> is it all the force of spanish cucumbers? they are seen as a likely source, thousands are being dumped. but it may take days or even weeks to find a the bacteria got into the food chain this way. how this major outbreaks started still is not clear. farms in southern spain have come under most suspicion. may be water, many work, are

even sewage carry the bacteria. all the contamination happened during the transit to germany. certainly in hamburg, cucumbers from spain were found with the coli, but maybe not the strain causing the trouble. growers in poland and denmark are also being investigated. >> establishing the truth is not easy. the strain has been identified but not its source. so far, no food outside germany has become contaminated. >> to get infected in this outbreak of you have to eat food in germany. the outbreak has been running for nearly a month. if there had been any protests brought to britain that was infected, we would have seen cases here. >> meantime, cells of spanish produce have collapsed across europe. the spanish says there's no evidence against them and they're fighting back. a regional minister goes on camera, trying to prove to the role the spanish vegetables are safe. it is good, she says. but the damage has already been done. major dispute has flared up over

who's to blame, and we still did not know how it started. david, bbc news. >> you're watching "bbc world news america." still to come, a century after belfast's celebrated the launch of the titanic, at the city rises again for a show of remembrance. how low can they go? that is the question many are asking when they come to prices in the u.s. housing market. today,;]x9s leading indexes the prices are now the lowest level since the housing bubble burst in a 2006. >> american homes being sold off on the cheek because of strained homeowners. u.s. house prices have now dropped by 33% since housing peaked in 2006. this auctioneer says foreclosures and bankruptcies are now a mainstay at his business. >> it has been a huge engine of

growth for our company. we expect an increase of the next several years given the current economic conditions. >>i6z?çdcl when there are buye, they're only looking for a deal. buyers like rick. >> we have been looking in the area, a very high-priced area. we thought we could get a good opportunity. >> hi judy that happen today? >> absolutely. >> the latest case schiller figures show house prices in america's top 20 cities felt again in march compared to february. home prices nationwide are now at 2002 values. the housing market got a boost last year from a home buyer tax credit, but once that when, the price slide continued. >> for several miles, we have been hoping to avoid the so- called double that or we drop below the levels we had seen a little bit over two years ago. we're not going to make it. >> though the u.s. expand by 1 million new households a year, that growth is not yet helping the housing market to recover.

falling house prices across america means that households are under pressure. they may spend less to the government may take nine overtaxes. even the building industry is under pressure. overall, it is a huge drain on the u.s. economy and there's still no end in sight. abc news in new york. >> it has been two and half months since japan was struck by an earthquake which triggered a nuclear crisis. tamara, european watchdogs will begin checking the resilience of their nuclear power plants if there is a similar problem. germany and elite reacted by mothballing their nuclear plants. however, france, which has more than a third of the eu's rectors, is busy building new plants in the north of the country. >> perfect tranquillity on the north normandy coast.

punctured but a huge industrial scar. cut deep into these gloves, a new generation of nuclear power plant is under construction. the european pressurized reactor is being marketed as the most secure nuclear power plant yet. >> you can see it on this one. >> its engineer's claim the disaster at fukushima has made it safer still. >> this is our permanent priority. after finishing at, but every time, were focused on safety. after this terrible accident, we are improving our procedure. >> they're probably more safety features than any other nuclear reactor in operation. but it has still had its problems. two years ago, cracks were found in the concrete dome that covers the reactor. that left many people worried. local activists say it is time for france to down tools and

mothball the nuclear program. >> fukushima was the world's wake up call, and it is impossible that france does not realize that. it is simply stubborn stupidity to want to press ahead with any nuclear program under these circumstances. >> the figures seem a catastrophe prompted scores of anti-nuclear protests across europe. the neighbors of france, italy, germany, switzerland are all now rethinking their atomic plants. the eu has or burt -- ordered regulators to carry a safety checks, and the french government hopes that will reassure. >> every country will make the same review. and if one nuclear power plant is not able to answer to these questions, maybe it can be shut down. maybe. >> the company which makes the nuclear reactors is largely

owned by the french government. nuclear technology is one of the country's major export. france will be hoping that in a nervous postage for bush in the world, its safest year reactors will make more sales. with nuclear reactors already generating three-quarters of france's electricity at sites like this one, they're likely to be part of the french landscape for many years to come. bbc news, france. >> birthplace of the titanic. it is a title which belfast as shy away from us for decades. but today, one had years of the ill-fitted ship launched of the city has fully embraced its place in history. a series of events were held to commemorate the anniversary and a to remember those who died. our ireland correspondent has that. >> belfast used to have one of the biggest shipyards in the world. they did not just build them

here. they built them big. and 100 years ago, the titanic was the biggest of them all. she was launched in belfast the year before her ill-fitted maiden voyage to new york. they made sure she could float before they added the four finals and all the fancy furnishings. this is where the launch took place, and it is still there. a titanic visitor attraction is being built. today, at 12:13 p.m., the exacta time she was launched, a religious service was held to mark the 100th anniversary. >> the reason that we have gathered here is to celebrate the titanic. we know that what happened to it was a tragedy, but titanic herself was not. a beautiful ship, well-built by belfast craftsmen, right here on this slip away. >> the anniversary was marked on land and north carolina -- and

at sea. more than 1500 people were killed when titanic sank, including the deck engineer from belfast. his great granddaughter is proud of him and the ship he helped to build. >> belfast of quiet about its side and a connection for so long that i think it is great we're getting this year is-bill the to the sinking of the maiden voyage anniversary. because we can now start to tell and assure that story with the rest of the world. for so long, we did not know how to deal with titanic. we were a bit embarrassed about it. now we have come to a place where we can celebrate it as an achievement. >> the wreckage is still two and a half miles below the surface of the atlantic. among the memorial plaques loved by divers is one from the shipyard in belfast, where the titanic story started 100 years ago. >> that was an enduring tale of

the titanic. it is always fascinating. a quick reminder of tonight's top stories. serbia has ratko mladic ratko to the u.s. war crimes tribunal to stand trial for genocide. the extradition comes 16 years after he was first charged by a court for the killing of 8000 muslim men and boys in 1995. he arrived to the u.s. detention center near the hague. he was arrested on thursday and appealed to have the extradition delayed because of poor health. but that request was denied. of course, you can find up-to- the-minute information on this story on our website at any time. and while you are on line, you can get in touch with me and the rest of the bbc team on twitter. that brings us to the end of tonight's broadcast. for all of us here, thank you so much for watching. see you tomorrow.

>> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the globe and click-to-play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. "bbc world news ♪ >> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you?

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