[ he ♪ ack! guy ] male annou the foat 500l. ♪ ack! guy ] it ♪igger [ godzil [ male ] [ hoking ] fiat famil lot biggethan you t ch check family at fiatusa.com/godzilla. hello. you're watching "gmt" on bbc world news. i'm lucy hawkings. the top story. the desperate search for hundreds of miners trapped underground in turkey. 205 miners were killed by an explosion. grief stricken family members are waiting outside the mine, hoping for a miracle. the government says the chances of finding anyone alive are fading. prime minister erdogan is en

route to the scene as anger is growing over the mine's safety. another twist in the pistorius trial. he's ordered to undergo psychiatric tests. we'll take you live to pretoria to take a look at how this might affect the case. also on the program, a look at the business news. there's trouble in china for a big british drug company. >> there is, indeed. thanks, lucy. a bitter pill for glaxosmithkline as chinese authorities accuse an executive of bribing hospital officials. we'll have more shortly. it's midday here in london, 1:00 p.m. in pretoria, but it is 2:00 p.m. right now in soma, turkey, where hopes are really fading now of finding any survivors in that coal mine explosion. turkey's energy minister now says this is the country's deadliest accident ever. let's take you live to the pictures that we've got coming into us right now from the

scene. a massive rescue operation still under way at the moment. what we know so far is that 205 people have been confirmed dead. what authorities are saying is that leaves at least 200 more who are unaccounted for. rescuers have been pumping oxygen into the mine. they're trying to help those who might be alive breathe with that oxygen. but there are still fires burning inside the mine. let's just show you exactly where it is. 250 kilometers south of istanbul is the town of soma. what we also know is an underground power unit blew up on tuesday. it shut down electricity supplies and knocked out ventilation systems. three days of national mourning have been declared right across the country. mike wooldridge has more for us. >> reporter: a rescued worker emerging alive from the mine to the cheers and applause of onlookers. but it was as hopes were fading further for the scores still trapped in the mine on the

morning after the explosion and fire. while there were miners brought out as rescue work continued through the night, ambulances also carried away a rising number of bodies. officials said many of the dead fell victim to carbon monoxide poisoning. the accident had occurred when the miners were preparing for shift change, meaning there was a particularly large number in the mine. 787, according to the authorities. emotions were running high around the mine entrance as relatives waited in increasing desperation for news of their loved ones, while others found their worst fears were realized. turkey's president has declared three days of national mourning. >> translator: may god wish mercy upon our brothers who lost their lives. and i hope our wounded brothers will get well soon. rescue work is under way at the coal mine to rescue our brothers trapped there. >> reporter: the energy minister visited the scene as rescue workers continued to pump oxygen

into the mine in the hope of keeping trapped miners alive. the mine owner said the accident happened despite what they called the highest safety measures. but the minister also said the government would not turn a blind eye if any negligence was revealed. these cctv pictures showing rescuers moving underground. the air thick with smoke and soot. as the hours pass and the gravity of the tragedy becomes ever clearer, the distress of relatives only deepens. such scenes were echoed at the nearby hospital. paramilitary police were guarding the entrance to the mine to enable the rescue to continue unhindered. and teams of psychiatrists were being organized to counsel the families of the victims. a colleague of one of the missing miners said all the victims are our friends. mike wooldridge, bbc news.

>> let's return you to the pictures that we're getting in live from the scene. we understand the prime minister, recep tayyip erdogan is expected there. anger is growing at the scene. obviously relatives are grief stricken. mounting anger in turkey about what has happened. he'll be there to address concerns from people who are there and address the crowd. we'll be bringing you that live just as soon as we do see the prime minister. also in the program, we're going to be speaking to a senior opposition politician who is in ankara to find out his thoughts. there have been concerns raised by the opposition in the past few weeks in parliament about the safety of the mines. so it'll be interesting to talk to him about exactly what his thoughts are at the moment, given what we have seen now in soma. in fact, we can actually talk to him now.

he is in ankara via web cam. senior opposition politician and deputy chairman of the opposition party, the chp. thank you very much for joining us. what are your thoughts and your feelings as you look at what is happening outside the mine at the moment? >> i think the first thing i have to say is that we are sad. deeply saddened. this is a huge, huge tragedy. with several hundred miners already dead. and several hundred more still underground. the pain is deep. the pain is across the nation. and i think this is a time for mourning by all the people of turkey. unfortunately, we are not strangers to workplace accidents and fatalities. particularly in the mines.

but this is just unacceptable. and i'm sure that everyone, including the government, will take appropriate measures. >> we're waiting for the prime minister to obviously arrive there. tell us, has the opposition raised their concerns about the safety of the mines in parliament in the past few weeks? >> yes, we have. in fact, indeed, we specifically asked for a parliamentary investigation into this particular mine that is the scene of this huge accident. the chairman of chp is already on the scene waiting at the mine and talking now to the regulators of the miners.

members of parliament are already down there. but when we raised the issue in the parliament, unfortunately we didn't get the response we had hoped to get from the government. >> sir, can i just interrupt for a minute and ask what information you had about this particular mine that made you so concerned? >> well, i think it's just the private position of many of these mines some several years ago. we are always concerned about the safety standards. that's the first reason. the second is repetitive -- repeated accidents in the same mine. where people kept losing their lives. so it is a huge, unfortunately, bad record of this particular mine. and we said, you know, you have to do something about this. and that's been surely raised in the parliament. but it was turned down by the

government, unfortunately. >> faruk, thank you very much for joining us with your thoughts from ankara. we're waiting for prime minister erdogan to arrive at s oma. we'll bring that to you just as soon as he does arrive. we're hearing from his aides he's en route to soma. as soon as he gets there, that will be brought to us live from turkish television. we'll bring it to you. if you want to monitor the story go straight to our website. you'll find a special life page with all the latest updates on the story. that's at bbc.com/news. well, there has been another twist in the trial of oscar pistorius in south africa. the judge has ruled that the defendant should be sent for 30 days of psychiatric tests as requested by the prosecution. the judge ruled that it would be preferable for oscar pistorius to be evaluated as an

outpatient. >> an application of this nature is never taken lightly. as it is an integral part of a fair trial. having regards to the above, i am satisfied that a case has been laid out for the application or the relief as such by the state. and i shall grant that order. however, the specific order itself will be handed down on tuesday next week. >> let's take you to milton nkosi who has been following this whole trial for us and joins us from outside the court in pretoria. milton, what's going to happen now? when will oscar pistorius get this 30-day assessment? >> reporter: well, that's not entirely clear. what we know is that judge masipa will be back here in court on tuesday to give the order. and, perhaps, clarify with greater detail of what's to happen next. what we understand is that oscar

pistorius will then join the long waiting list of an constituti institution, a mental institution, where he'll be observed. and it is only until he gets in front of that queue that the 30-day observation begins. he will be observed by a group of psychiatrists, psychologists, and other medical experts. and then at the end of that, then the trial will resume back here. remember that judge masipa said that they scheduled the whole trial to last until may 16th. that would have been, of course, this friday. clearly, that deadline is now shifted. >> milton, obviously there are different potential outcomes now. but how does this play into the cases of the defense and the prosecution? >> reporter: well, what we understand from gerrie nel, who's the prosecutor, and he is the man who brought the

application for referral, is that he didn't want this to come up as a loophole once the oscar pistorius defense team goes to appeal. that is if he's found guilty in this trial, and then they appeal the judgment. and then they use this generalized anxiety disorder as a loophole to, perhaps, get out of the appeal on. that's what he was explaining to us. he's trying to make sure that everything is clear now. because he's confident that, of course, like any other prosecutor would, that they're going to find oscar pistorius guilty. on the defense side, they were opposing it. he did not see this coming. remember, the idea of the generalized anxiety disorder came from a defense witness, dr.

foster, who said she diagnosed oscar pistorius with this generalized anxiety disorder. that's what made gerrie nel to bring the application for referral. >> milton, thanks so much for updating us from pretoria outside the courthouse there. let's bring you up to date with some other news now. ukraine is due to host talks in kiev. this is all part of efforts to negotiate a settlement of the crisis in the east of the country. talks will include members of the interim government, but also regional leaders. what is significant, though, is that pro-russian separatists have refused to take part. the move is part of a road map drawn up by the organization for security and cooperation in europe. beijing has expressed serious concerns over protests in vietnam in which several factories were burned down by anti-china demonstrators. over 20,000 workers took part in the protests over china's deployment of an oil rig in disputed waters in the south china sea. authorities in southern vietnam say 500 protesters have now been

arrested. ten people have been detained for questioning in connection with the death of a french photo journalist in the central african republic. the bodies of camille la paj and four others were found in a truck in the west of the country. the u.n. security council has condemned the killing. camille's work has been published by the bbc as well as by several major newspapers. do stay with us here on bbc world news. world news. still to come, why in then u ndertobaccns, dustry's tthe us t o we ce biille s with prine exre exgons, dealio ls soe wiitneter?ave bi killer hots s dealy yo wha soere wi fitneenter? theyol. de e legit.n, ese guint nogons. yeah theycool. e dee's are lewe'r. cool y, ihat zor'lady t an she's . we'rol. m cool hey, i that prirazor' savd lady t thing.

the nigerian government has told the bbc it is prepared to negotiate with the islamist militant group boko haram for the release of more than 200 schoolgirls abducted a month ago. the fate of the girls has

focused the world's attention on boko haram and the war being waged in the north. in fact, today marks a year since parts of the country were placed under a state of emergency. in may 2013 there was a surge of troops in three states in the north. and boko haram was initially pushed back. but over the past year, 1,500 people have been killed across nigeria and the militants have struck back. yesterday, president goodluck jonathan announced that he wants to extend the state of emergency by six months. a report now on what is behind boko haram. >> reporter: more than 100 nigerian schoolgirls, seen this week for the first time since their abduction. the latest incident in a growing campaign of violence by one group. so who are boko haram? >> translator: this man took on the leadership of boko haram in 2009. steadily increasing the level of violence. he took over after a cleric was

killed by security forces. that man founded boko haram in 2002 with the aim of creating an islamic state in the north of the country. the name of the group loosely translates as "western education is forbidden." opposing outside influences in the local culture. >> boko haram has always been looked at as basically as domestic terrorist group. one whose aims were largely focused on upsetting and undermining the nigerian state. >> reporter: what are boko haram's tactics? starting off with lone gunmen assassinating officials, they've now evolved. killing thousands in recent years. >> tactics employed ee eby the government have not been very effective. and i think the group has become more emboldened, more sophisticated. >> reporter: the girls were taken from the town of chibok.

that's in the northeast of the country, a stronghold for boko haram. for the last year there's been emergency rule in three states to try and cope with their threat. who supports boko haram? it's a region where people feel alienated from the capital and the federal government. boko haram draws local support on the ground from those in poverty and lacking education. they also have ample funding. >> boko haram maintains a very good sized funding pool. they are involved in a number of criminal activity such as bank robberies and car snatching. possibly also drug trafficking and other forms of smuggling. they kidnap people for the purpose of extortion. they're possibly getting some support from some local business people. and possibly northern politicians. and they're also getting some funding. >> reporter: estimates of the number of fighters range from the hundreds to a few thousand. there may be some links to al

qaeda in north africa, but the group so far has been primarily focused on nigeria. but its threat has been growing. gordon carrera, bbc news. if you smoke american cigarettes, it's possible that the tobacco was picked by children. that's according to a new report by human rights watch. the group has been unsuccessfully campaigning for the american government to change child labor regulations, which currently allow children as young as 12 to work in agriculture. we report now from north carolina. >> reporter: they're working in the tobacco fields of america. but it's a place a third world concern is now being raised. the issue of child labor. >> i wake up at 4:00 every morning. i was in there by 6:30. and i wasn't out of there until about 8:00, 8:30 later on that night. >> reporter: last summer brandon and his younger brother fernando, now 15 and 13, worked

long days picking tobacco. >> most people kept, like, they kept, like, trash bags on them. like, to get -- keep the k chemicals off their clothing and all. on the first day when i worked, it got on my face a lot. and i didn't know that until i got home later that day and i was like, my face was burning. i told my mom. she was like, it's because the chemicals were all on my face. >> reporter: it will surprise many to know that here in the united states, in places like north carolina, children as young as 12 can work even 72 hours a week here in the fields. that is something that is perfectly legal. what human rights groups are asking, is is it right? it's not just about the chemicals used. tobacco farming, rubbing against the leaves itself can lead to nicotine poisoning. human rights watch also worries the farm work interferes with education.

workers are also susceptible to accident. >> the u.s. is not complying with international labor organization conventions that regulate hazardous work for children. countries like brazil and india, which are both major tobacco producers worldwide, prohibit kids under 18 from doing many tasks in tobacco farming. >> reporter: there are laws here to say if children work it does have to be outside school hours. tobacco farmers like joey scott say it's part of tradition that children work in the fields anyway, and that it's good for them. >> as far as being safe, i would say if my parents felt safe enough for me to be here, and i'm an eighth generation farmer. and my kids are ninth generation farmers. that's the way they learn their responsibility. >> reporter: there are no signs the american government is going to change its rules on children working and farming here. activists are hoping tobacco companies themselves will decide its role. bbc news in north carolina.

the results in india's elections due on friday. many people narendra modi will be the country's prime minister. he'll replace singh who's governed for a decade. >> singh has been in power ten years now. what kind of leader has he been for india, you think? >> i think the problem lies in the choice of word leader. he hasn't been much of a leader. he's been more of a bureaucrat manager who likes to bring consensus. if he had support from people higher up in the hierarchy, he's likely to go along. as a leader he's been a failure. >> reporter: hasn't you progressed at all in the ten years he's been in power? >> one would always tend to think so. he's almost declined. i think there have been instances, especially nuclear

where he imposed himself, he decisively took the decision we are going ahead with the deal. irrespective of the party's political stance. in other instances, he retreated. he did not exert himself. today this government has been voted out of power. >> reporter: how was he viewed, do you think, on the international stage? did international leaders have respect for him? >> today there's a statement in the newspaper, the leader opposition talks about the personal wisdom that comes across in ordinary conversation. i think international leaders respected that a lot. but that same wisdom does not translate into communication with the large mass of people. the ordinary person in this country today does not tend to think of him. >> reporter: how about those critics who said he was not really a man in his own rigts. he didn't step up to what was

needed of him. because of the stronghold of beg gandhi family. >> he has a sense of personal loyalty. this sense of being a puppet. in 2009 he had an opportunity to step away from the strings of the gandhi. >> reporter: having said all that, how will history remember him? >> i think largely as a disappointment. a man who could have achieved much more. could have gone down as one of the great prime ministers in indian history. and today that's not going to be the case. i think even when historians write, and they tend to be kinder than journalists, but i don't think what i'm saying today will change much when we look back at these two terms. >> we're going to get those election results on friday. we've got comprehensive coverage

for you. special coverage this friday here on bbc world news. so make sure you join us then. let's return you now to turkey and the pictures coming into us as hundreds of desperate relatives have gathered near the mine in soma as rescue workers are bringing up the dead and injured fromministosion on . erdogan. we'll bring that to you here on "gmt." join us again. yeah. him whateain. nt. h. ♪ do you think my sister's prettier than me? ♪ do you think my sister's do you think my sister's prettier than me? [ laughs ] ♪ you think my sister's do you think my sister's prettier than me? [ male announcer ] price, find. only cars.com helps you ama. ocars.celps y the ricar out ale dram

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[ male announcer ] at hiltonds. at hotels like hampton and embassy suites. book now tonwee welcome to "gmt" on bbc world news. i'm lucy hawkings. in this half hour, the desperate search for hundreds of miners trapped underground in turkey. 205 miners were killed in an explosion. grief stricken family members are waiting outside the mine, hoping for a miracle. could this be the wreck of the ship of christopher columbus. one man thinks he's found the santa maria, lost for over 500 years. also on the program, all the business and a look at the

wealth divide in brazil. >> the world cup is just weeks away. evidence of a widening gap between rich and poor in brazil continues to grow. we'll have a report from sao paolo on why wealth isn't trickling down to those who need it most. it's midday here in london, 1:00 p.m. in pretoria and 2:00 p.m. in soma, turkey, where hopes of finding survivors in a coal mine explosion are fading. turkey's interior minister says this is the country's deadliest accident ever. these are pictures from the scene of the massive rescue operation that's under way right now. 205 people have been confirmed dead. but that means there are about 200, we understand, who are still unaccounted for. possibly more. what rescuers have been doing is pumping oxygen into the mine to help those trapped breathe. but we know that fires are still

burning as well. and you can see security lined up there. we are waiting for the arrival of prime minister erdogan sometime in the coming minutes as well. the mine is located about 250 kilometers south of istanbul in soma. an underground power unit blew up on tuesday, shutting down electricity supplies and knocking out ventilation systems. three days of national mourning have been declared. our reporter has spent the night at the mine. she sent us this report. >> reporter: here are the families waiting desperately for news from the relatives in the coal mine. most probably, they were here all night. and they're really exhausted. and now i see workers are having a short rest as well here.

and on the other side, the rescue operation is going on. this is the place where rescue operators are coming down and coming up. and it's a rainy day in soma. it's not a good morning for turkey. death tolls -- death tolls will be rising, most of the people are expecting here. actually, they are not awaiting good news. and there are many, many ambulances in the area. and two of them is there. and this is the new tent pitched here. officials are working at the scene as well. >> our reporter who spent the night there. let's take you back live. because prime minister erdogan has just arrived there. you can see him in the middle of the screen at the moment.

just looking out towards the crowd. relatives there are waiting at the mine, desperate for some kind of news. with me here in the studio, this is quite a pivotal moment. there's huge anger in that crowd as well as grief. >> right. you saw this on social media last night. if we can just bring in the social media to this. whenever you see an event in turkey probably for the last year it virtually explodes on the social platforms. you saw the same thing happen last night as well. so the worldwide trends in turkey were all about grief. we were seeing things like god help the miners. prayers for the miners. that type of thing. now you're seeing these quotes about anger and accountability. why they were compromised on some of the safety standards in the mines and who's actually going to pay for this and if anything is going to change. of course, it's an opportunity to start to criticize the government as well. >> the government has been quite quick to respond, though, in terms of offering compensation already to the families.

>> right. the figure that i've seen floated around has been something in the order of about 1,000 turkish lira. equivalent to about how much the miners were making per month as well. it's also important to note this has been considered the worst mining disaster in temporary turkish history. >> the prime minister potentially in trouble. the opposition we were speaking to earlier on the program said just a few weeks ago they raised the safety of this particular mine in parliament and it was dismissed. surely that moment is going to come back to haunt the prime minister. >> yes. it's interesting to see how that will play out. this used to be a public mine. then it was sold to a private consortium. there's been a lot of speculation since that happened the safety standards actually went down. there is going to be accountability there. one of the things, again, you saw picking up on some of the social platforms was calls for protests to take part in front of the soma offices in the soma mining offices in istanbul as well. police have blocked that so far. you can see there's a lot of

anger within the country, not just within the mining community as well, to see who's actually accountable for this and where some of these safety measures are coming from. >> so people on social media also making the link between political parties and mining companies as well, or do those links not exist. >> right. so there's a lot of, i would say, there's partnership between government and some of these mining communities as well. and so this company that's responsible for the mine is also involved in construction. this ties into some of the corruption questions we were seeing floated around towards the end of last year where there was a big tie-in between industry community and businesses. and that those people who were closest to the government were having some of these -- this is one of the issues that might trigger smoome of those questio. also protests you're seeing in istanbul and some of the bigger cities as well following what happened last night. >> there's also huge concern in turkey that the country has modernized so quickly. in some areas, safety procedures, safety standards

have just not kept up with that modernization. >> so i don't think this is just a question for mining standards and safety standards. it ties into the mission criteria for the eu turkey has been taking on for the last five or ten years. safety is a problem in turkey. not just in mining. also one of the highest road traffic accident rates in the world. elsewhere, you saw this happen with the various earthquakes that happened in the last five years in turkey. building standards have been shoddy. again, you see this massive outrage all over the country. then what actually happens? it will be interesting to see if there is, again, accountability for this. >> let's remind people of the pictures that we're getting. and now on a very slight delay. just a few seconds, of course. the turkish government has declared three days of national mourning. we now know that more than 200 miners have been killed in an explosion and a fire as well. the fire, we understand, still ongoing inside the mine in soma.

in response to that, prime minister resepp tayyip erdogan has postponed an overseas trip. traveled to soma. he's in amongst the crowd possibly talking to some of the people involved in the rescue effort. it's a massive one at the moment. many people involved and trying to, perhaps find some miners who r still trapped. they are pumping oxygen into the mine. one comment that i've heard from the energy minister is there is hope that somewhere in that mine, there might be a pocket of air. if the miners have managed to find their way there, they have masks as well. but they only provide air for about an hour or so. so while some people, as we're saying hope is fading, there is always hope, i suppose. because you just never know, do you, what's happening inside the mine? >> i think another thing to keep in mind as well, this is not really a political issue. so, of course, you're going to see criticism from some of the opposition parties. but it is a national disaster in

turkey which has unified everybody to try to find those who are still trapped. also to see why this happened. why are safety standards so shoddy. and so make sure that this doesn't happen again, of course. >> what kind of words do you think we'll be hearing from prime minister erdogan? is he expected to address the media? >> i think people are expecting him not necessarily to address the media but to address the community. we did see him in a speech yesterday offering condolences to the families and saying those words that would be words of comfort to the nation just when they -- just when they need them. i haven't seen anything about him addressing the media. but soma, the town where this mine disaster has taken place, does have an akp mayor. akp is the party of the prime minister as well. you'd expect everybody to be coming together in this and not really looking at this as an opportunity for more political division in the country. >> we did hear the energy minister earlier, though, talk about the fact that there would now be transparency in what's happening. yet there still seems to be some confusion on some very basic

issues like just how many miners are accountable. >> numbers have been floated around between 700 and 800. again, the point to draw on is accountability. what happens one year from now? two years from now? the last mining disaster was also in the last decade. why is it this has happened with this frequency and at such scale as well. >> just to remind people, this is prime minister erdogan who has traveled to soma. he is meeting with some of the rescuers and also, of course, with those desperately worried, those grieving relatives who are waiting to find out what has happened to their loved ones. we've seen pictures today as well from outside the hospital. and they are heartbreaking pictures of absolutely grief stricken women, particularly, who are already mourning the loss of some of the miners who have died. while this happens right now, while prime minister erdogan is at the mine, the rescue efforts do continue, we understand.

one of the problems it seems that those that are going in to look for the miners have also come out suffering some kind of poisoning as well? >> right. so the biggest risk here is the carbon monoxide poisoning. we're lucky in this situation there's actually no -- involved which would be a more volatile situation. >> there's real worries for the rescuers, too, to keep them safe. >> absolutely. i don't know if the mine has collapsed. it's still intact. it's just the fire that caused the main problem down here as well. something being floated on turkish media as well are these allegations there's also a 15-year-old boy that's been trapped in the mines as well. this has just been reported last night from someone who said that he was his uncle and couldn't find him. this raises a whole other host of issues. because children of that age are not supposed to be doing work like this in turkey. it's not point against the government. and another call of outrage. >> there's so many issues.

because work related accidents in turkey in 2013, 10% happened in the mining industry. coming back to the scene here as well, do you think that there are people there, though, still holding on to hope? because i'm thinking of the earthquakes and things that we've seen in the region where they've pulled people out days later. i think there must be images in turkish people's minds of these miraculous moments. do you think some people are holding on to this. >> i think hope is the most important thing you have in a situation like this. realistically speaking we've also got the rescue efforts pumping in oxygen into the mines. i think as long as you keep that going, they won't let go of hope. again, there was a fire down there but the mine hasn't collapsed. so there is hope. again, as the energy minister said as well that there are these pockets of air down there. so it is feasible for people to be alive. >> okay. thank you so much for being with us. we are looking at pictures o f prime minister erdogan in soma

outside the mine. we're not sure whether or not he will be addressing the media in any way. we can bring to you, obviously, his talking in a very personal sense to some of the families and some of the rescuers as well. if we do see him approach a microphone and there is anything we can bring to you, we will return to soma. of course, we'll keep bringing you updates from the scene there of the mine. now, the world health organization has just announced that it doesn't consider an outbreak of the deadly mers virus an international public emergency. a meeting in geneva happening now, health officials said they'll be keeping an eye on cases of the middle east respiratory syndrome which continues to cause concern to doctors right around the globe. this is a virus that has killed already 150 people. most of them are in saudi arabia. our global health reporter has more for us. >> reporter: this potentially deadly virus is spreading at a much faster rate than ever

before. mers first emerged in saudi arabia in 2012. but in the last month, cases have more than doubled. the virus is also on the move. two u.s. health workers at this hospital in florida are being tested for mers after coming into contact with a patient from saudi arabia who was later confirmed to have the virus. scientists at public health england have been helping advise the saudi government since the virus first emerged. it was in these labs that one of the very first cases of mers was identified. a qatarry man who'd recently been to saudi arabia and who'd come to london for treatment. he later died. two years on, scientists still know very little about this virus which makes stopping its spread even more difficult. mers is a type of corona virus from the same family of viruses as the common cold and also sars, which killed hundreds of

people in east asia in 2002. >> these are the projections. >> reporter: experts aren't sure how it spreads. but they don't think it's very contagious. symptoms include fever and coughing, which can lead to organ failure and ultimately death. there's no vaccine or cure. the recent spike in cases in saudi arabia has caused international concern. >> we don't think it's related to tiny changes in the virus as far as we can see. we think this has been a change in policy and the way people are tested. and also a number of cases have all been linked to outbreaks in hospital. and we think that's probably the reflection on infection control within the hospital. >> reporter: this is how it's thought the virus was passed on to humans. scientists have linked cases to

camels. an integral part of life in the middle east used as transport and food. there have been concerns the saudi government hasn't shared enough information about the virus. the country's health minister was taxed with that explanation last month. public awareness campaigns are under way and the government has just announced new what it calls tougher infection control guidelines. it's also promised full transparency in order to review all mers cases so far to help provide a clearer picture of how this mysterious virus could develop. bbc news. let's look at a british drug company amid big problems in china. >> yes, lucy. chinese police have accused the british executive of the drug maker glaxosmithkline of ordering his staff to bribe

doctors in china. the country's economic crimes unit claims gsk's former china boss, mark reilly, and two other executives ordered staff to commit bribery that brought in illegal revenue worth billions of yuan. our correspondent, celia hatton, was at the police briefing in beijing. >> reporter: we've just been given rare access to chinese police headquarters to attend a briefing with their economic crimes unit. investigators there have just wrapped up a ten month investigation into british drug maker glaxosmithkline. police there say that they uncovered widespread bribery at glak goe smith klein's china unit. bribery that pushed up glaxo's chinese drug prices in order to cover the cost of bribes passed on to doctors, hospitals and medical associations. >> translator: in order to aclooef the high sales targets set by glaxosmithkline headquarters, they set up and expended a number of sales departments with the support of a few criminal suspects. they put the sales cost into the price of medicine. using profits from overinflated drug prices, these departments bribed hospitals, doctors and

medical institutions, earning illegal profits of billions of yuan. the more drugs they sold, the more bribes they gave. the more bribing they gave, higher the drug price was. to accomplish sales targets, they adopted many new methods to boost the sales. they encouraged their employees to bribe on a large scale. glaxosmithkline's behavior demonstrates a complete chain of bribery. >> reporter: investigators say they've now wrapped up their case. and they passed it on to the chinese courts. we'll now be watching to see who will be facing charges from glaxosmithkline. celia hatton, bbc news, beijing. >> we've had a statement from gsk. they said, we take the allegations that have been raised very seriously. we will continue to fully operate to cooperate with authorities in this matter. they also say that we want to reach a resolution that will enable the company to continue to make an important contribution to the health and

welfare of china and its citizens. so response there from gsk this wednesday. that's the round up of the business from me. lucy, back to you. >> thank you so much. let's bring you breaking news that we're getting from soma in turkey. the prime minister, recep tayyip erdogan is there at the moment. he is meeting with relatives and also with rescue workers there. but the news from him just now is he has confirmed that the death toll from the coal mine explosion and also the fire, which is still ongoing, has now increased to 232. the death toll was 204 or 205. it has just gone up, according to the prime minister, to 232. and with a few hundred miners still missing, there are many in the area who are saying they are expecting the death toll to rise even further than that. do stay with us here on bbc world news.

still to come, could this be the wreck of christopher columbus's flag ship? one man says he thinks he's found the santa maria, lost for more than 500 years. says h ts says h ts founwhate secte 0 year than the reviews said. wo this ot exa whatxpecte n: def oh ely moaptaurderyioustt creepyeir m.es n: oh e wr captaby gbviouswho y stain obheres: you lie on the internw are s who n: gea fiely st there captait's ling he intou think? hat's h i ttling. captai ptain: all the time. ex when eep. which i would not do here. mened thnger. tels.cod ould h tingvege ery l runn can the mng? yeah [ ttingld'vr vegea v8es every? i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories.

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's a lot b ♪ than yt l it looks lhe's craa. ur-door filian. [ ncer ] la choking announcerthe fou. hink. eck out the whole y la choking announcerthe fou. check out the whole fiat family at fiatusa.com/godzilla. hello. i'm lucy hawkings. our top story at this hour. the turkish prime minister has just arrived in soma where over 230 people have died after an explosion in a mine. over 200 men are still trapped underground. the oscar pistorius murder trial faces a lengthy delay after the judge ordered the athlete to undergo psychiatric tests. one of the greatest mysteries of exploration may be on the verge of being solved.

a u.s. underwater investigator has said that he believes he has found the wreck of the santa maria. the flagship of christopher columbus's famed expedition to the americas. the santa maria along with the nina and the pinta were part of the italian explorer's first cross-atlantic voyage. the flagship sank during the expedition and its whereabouts have remained a mystery for five centuries. the santa maria left spain in august 1492 sailing westwards. the expedition across the atlantic believed it would bring them to landfall in asia. instead it brought columbus and his men to the caribbean when the santa maria ran aground on a reef near haiti on christmas day 1492. let's go to christopher dobbs from the mary rose trust, a marine archaeologist and also an expert on ancient ship wrecks. thanks for being with us, christopher. what do you think, could this be it? >> it's very exciting. this was obviously a really,

really important ship for the whole of western civilization. but the key thing, is it actually the right ship? many people thought they've found this ship before. it's very difficult. not to be cynical, because if it really is that ship it's extremely exciting. >> how do you begin to verify whether or not it's that ship? >> a number of things. firstly see ing ifit ll lly seet size, date, cargo and the right ball ballast. it's probably the best candidate we've ever had for this ship. that doesn't necessarily mean that that's it. >> we're just looking at pictures now of divers looking at what we hope, i guess, is the santa maria. it's so difficult, surely, to tell, christopher, what exactly it is you're looking at. >> yes, it is. one of the problems is this ran aground in fairy shallow water. unlike the mary rose that was in deeper water, in silt. it survived very well.

because it was in shallow water it would have been buffeted by storms. if they have found that ship it's got to be excavated to the highest standards if it is excavated. it's up to the haitian government to decide how best to proceed with any work on a site like this. >> mentioning the government of haiti, truly exciting news for them. i mean, this is a country that's just had desperate times recently. and what a find this would be for the people of haiti. >> it is. it's very exciting. but, to me, it's really important that this sort of discovery, this sort of ship, this sort of heritage, this sort of treasure, except there won't be much treasure onboard, it really belongs to everybody. you know, the whole world. particularly the haitians. there has been a tendency over the years for some of the smaller, newer governments to sell their wrecks and for things to be dispersed. that would be a great shame. it's really important this is investigated with the, you know, thoughts of tourism in the future. and maybe they will decide that

they want to leave it so people can inspect it with glass bottom boats and divers and snorkelers over many years to come. >> let's hope so. christopher dobbs, thank you very much for joining us on "gmt." just to remind you of the breaking news in the past few minutes, prime minister recep tayyip erdogan is 2out rd l peo. have en kil acing nt.rate thout dard ler.st ] rfulyou are feeling exhilarated with frontel dri announcer ] our . 6-cr, d le. ore rd hwer to the 6-cylinder, 8-speed lexus gs. than any of its german competitors. this is a wake-up call. ♪ ding lawnw did ed o it so lastult. get a load of this bad boy. feeding your lawn need not be so difficult.

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