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>> as the taliban threatens to target foreign relief workers helping flood victims. we join no one of the latest aid drops. >> we find another group of people stranded in the water for help. the crew is trying to do what they can as fast as they can. >> an emergency session condemns mass rape in the democratic republic of the congo. guilty comeuppance but not jailed, a former pop star that gave hiv to a partner. welcome to "bbc world news." the fugitive returns. he comes back to the u.k. and he has avoided trial for 17 years. vital supplies, messages of

love, and anti-depressant for chile's trapped miners. four weeks since the monsoon floods began wreaking havoc in pakistan. a new threat with millions in urgent need of help. there is intelligence that suggests that the taliban is planning to attack on foreign aid workers. there is an immediate threat to more damage and danger. water levels have reached alarming heights. >> it is holding for now. this is the last line of defense for one of pakistan's main cities. home to about two million

people. as the flood waters keep moving, so does the pakistan air force. we joined them on their first relief flight. down below, the relentless waters closing in on more villages. over half a million people have been told to get out now. there is a chance of escape for this little boy. the crew signalled, offering aid or an airlift out. he refused to be taken from the waters. like so many others, he is risking his life to stay near home. every few minutes, we find another group of people stranded in the water waiting for help. the crew is trying to help as

much as they can, as fast as they can. these bags are waterproof and contain high energy biscuits that can be eaten now and do not have to be cooked. again and again, they beckon for locals to evacuate. people here are bound to their land and their livestock. they die with them. further south, a new victims of the flood. they wait in quiet desperation on the side of the road. five-day old was born here. his mother told us how she gave birth. there was no doctor, she said. he developed a fever. where could she take him? my daughter is sec. i worry for them both.

-- is sick. i worry for them both. people here have always lived hand to mouth. what little food they have is running out and the water is still rising. back up in the air, a moment's rest. the crew expects to be flying relief missions for months to come. >> taliban fighters have killed eight afghan police in the northern city. the officers were attacked before dawn as they slept in their headquarters. militants have been increasingly active in the north of afghanistan against police to route the country. he has only been japan's prime minister since june. he is being challenged for his leadership.

if he succeeds, he would automatically take over as prime minister. the health minister in nigeria is warning that the country is at risk of cholera. it has killed more than 350 people in the past three months. the un security council has banned in emergency session to consider packs of stunning brutality. members gathered to express their brutality and the rapes of 150 women and children in the democratic republic of congo. it questioned why in nearby forces did not respond. they call upon the conflict to cease immediately or sexual violence against citizens. harsh words about what is a hideous crime. what else came out of this session?

>> there was particular part rage because most people know and the council has dealt with this before, rape is an endemic weapon in the congo. the council has tried to come up with ways to protect civilians. this is a particularly brutal attack. peacekeepers did not hear about it until 10 days after it happened. there was some frustration at the attacks and a response. they did demand that all steps be made to stop the recurrence of this atrocity. it said that it should fight the kind of impunity that allows these rebels to keep doing this. there was a lively discussion about the role of the un

peacekeepers. why they had not heard about these atrocities and why they failed to respond in a way that they should have. >> was there any light shed on why it should have happened like this? >> un officials have said that the peacekeepers did have general information about rebel movements in the area. nothing that indicated that these kinds of rapes were going on or any kinds of attacks at all. the council was asking, given such a high level of security and that this was close to base, why did the peacekeepers not go out to do more? there was a question about the lack of communications. the soldiers apparently drove through this area twice. the villagers did not tell them what had happened. why was that the case? they suggested that maybe they do not talk to the locals often

enough on a regular basis. there is an acceptance that these peacekeepers do a particularly difficult task. there are only a few of them that are supposed to patrol 300 square kilometers. the logistics' are difficult. the secretary general has sent an envoy to the region to find out and report to the council. >> clearly, the story does not end there. demonstrations throughout south africa on the eighth day of industrial action by public- sector workers. they want an 8.6% pay rise. the government is offering seven%. y, but peaceful protests.

>> the commercial half of johannesburg has been brought to a standstill. tens of thousands of teachers, hospital workers, and other civil servants take to the streets. things like this across south africa has pushed the government for their 8.6% wage demands. there has been aware that the police service would be striking alongside. in the past couple of hours, a court action has banned that action from going ahead. there are teachers among them. we have seen a lot of soldiers running. they are working along signed the remaining governors. for the past few hours, the union representing those soldiers say that they do not want to use substitute labor.

the soldiers may go on strike, too. >> the german singer nadja benaissa has been given a two- year suspended sentence for causing grievous bodily harm by effecting a former lover with hiv. she had sex with three people while keeping the fact that she had the virus a secret. >> nadja benaissa admitted having unprotected sex with a number of men without warning them that she was hiv-positive. she escaped to jail. she was nervous when the verdict was read, but she was relieved. she was convicted of causing grievous bodily -- grievous bodily harm by effecting a former lover with hiv. she was given a two-year

suspended sentence and that was given community service. she had never told him about the condition. the singer broke down in tears as the court heard about her troubled past. she was a drug addict at the age of 14. she became pregnant at 16 and shortly after found that she was hiv-positive. >> to hear about your life, which has spent up and down for 11 years, being in public, the drug abuse, this is not so easy for someone that is in public and has a media profile. >> this trial has been highly controversial in germany. critics say that nadja benaissa was a victim of a witch hunt. they felt very angry and

disappointed that all of the details of her private life had been exposed. nadja benaissa shot to fame with a pop group, no angels, which became germany's most successful girl band. it is not clear when the star will be back on stage. >> stay with us. still to come, shocks on the box. we take a look at the surprising world of soap operas. it really is quite a list. glamorous not see spies, and noble prize winner, a german invasion plans, and a link to james bond. this was released today by the national archives. spies were concerned about a 1936 log that every juror man

was in service to the fatherland in time of war. he looks out the secrets revealed. >> 70 years ago, the battle of britain was raging in the skies. on the ground in france, of the troops were preparing for their assignment, the invasion of england. a german soldier told mi5 about how he had been told to be the first wave of shock troops. landing during british uniforms and preparing the way for a larger invasion force. there were details about how this man, who later joined the winnie the nobel prize for discovering dna, -- winning the nobel prize for discovering dna, he was put under surveillance by mi5.

a playwright had been spotted in cambridge during the war. he did visit the soviet union. there is no evidence that he was a spy. after surveillance ended, he went on to write a script for a james bond film. he did his best to furnish the reputation of britain's buys. this gives a flavor of how much fear there was in world war ii about how spies were lying everywhere. not all of the spies were real. >> one main headline this hour on bbc world news. bbc intelligence suggests that the taliban as protect -- planning to attack relief workers in afghanistan. a desperate situation in pakistan.

more of the southern province is in danger of flooding. embankments were put up to stop the flood waters from spreading. authorities are struggling to hold the water's back. she reports from this town. >> this is exactly what people here did not want to happen. this is a breach in one of the defense of walls around the town. it is a pretext that started pretty narrow. the water is -- a breach that started pretty narrow. the water is flooding through. this is all going towards the town in the distance. this could be a catastrophe. this is what they're trying to avoid. they are building another defense of lying. the army is trying to build this very last line of defense. this is a battle going on in the

region for days. trying to make sure that the waters cannot get through. many places are already under water. this is where the town starts. if the water gets through this mud wall, there is no place for people to hide. nearly a month after the floods began, there are still people fighting as their houses are going under water. >> to give you more of the main news briefly, kim jong il is on a rare visit to china. these pictures here show the north korean leader's motorcade. you cannot be certain. the south -- the north korean leader is being joined by his son, largely believed to be his political heir. france has kept on a supporting

roma men, women, and children from temporary camps. that is despite criticism from the european union and the vatican. they were put on flights to romania. the camp closures are part of a wider move against crime. he was facing fraud charges. he has fled to northern cyprus 17 years ago. the fugitive is back in britain and about to go to court over the collapse of his company. he is here to clear his name. >> back in britain after 17 years evading justice. the last time he used a british airport was to fly away secretly in a private jet and a state historic. the collapse of a business empire and 66 fraud charges. his wife had a car waiting for

them. for now, he has a trip home organize. he has explained why he has finally come back. he believes he will finally get a fair trial. >> i am here. i have come voluntarily. the conditions are correct. i hope that the people who ruled this country are as interested as i am that justice is practiced. everybody should be deemed innocent until proven guilty. >> are you innocent? >> absolutely. why do you think i am here voluntarily? >> he has returned, but what is the background to all of this? he built and controlled a business during the 1980's. it dealt in food, textiles, and

electronics. after a runaway success on the stock exchange, it collapsed with spiralling debt. they put 66 charges against him, alleging fraudulent accounting. before the trial, he fled to northern cyprus, which has no extradition treaty with britain. he left behind thousands of individual shareholders lamenting her losses than and remembering them again today. >> i think i lost 10,000 pounds. it was a very good company. a very established. perfectly healthy. suddenly, poof, it had gone. >> what seems to have persuaded him to return. the prearranged bail conditions

help. he has paid a quarter million bail to court. there are orangeman's for him to be fitted with an electronic -- arrangements for him to be fitted with an electronic tag. >> making this other than a dry academic legal debate will be a challenge. >> it could take months to our brains a large and complex fraud trial of two -- our range a large and complex fraud trial of two decades after its happened. >> the family of one of the 33 miners trapped underground in chile plans to sue the owners of the mine. they say they were negligent

about reopening the mine after an accident in 2008. >> this now is the miners' lifeline. water, canisters of oxygen, and food have gone down. anti-depressant are also going down there. they have also requested toothbrushes and cold beer. the stripe that they have shown has made a national hero -- that they have shown have made the national heroes. >> we have told them it could take three months. november is the end date. i am afraid it is going to be a long way. >> how they cope almost 700 meters underground will be closely monitored. the bunker they are in is underneath the collapsed mine

shaft. they are now connected to the outside world for supplies and communications. all the they have lost weight, they're being advised to start an exercise regime for their mental health. they will need to fit in an escape tunnel about the size of a bicycle wheel. they will be a winched up into the world. it is an unforgiving deal for the miners and their families. some are planning to sue. they have been living in makeshift homes called camp hope. a former international player is one of the trapped miners. >> we sent down a card saying how much we loved him. >> the letter to one of the miners was sent down there

saying, hang in there, you will be more famous than elvis. most of the letters are a declaration of love. >> ramadan is the most popular time to launch new tv dramas. syrian soap operas have been more popular. the hard-hitting story lines have been a source of controversy. >> cannon shots rang out across damascus. the streets are quiet. people having their first meal of the day. ramadan is associated with fasting. it is also a peak time for watching tv. they challenge the traditional dominance of egypt.

it has launched a special satellite channel. plans have been announced for exporting this. this year is no exception. >> these years, syria is venturing into things that have not been ventured into before. this year, we have two tv dramas that talk about people with special needs. we did not talk about that before. >> syrian soaps are popular because they reflect the lives of ordinary people. they attack the issues that are difficult to touch. corruption, poverty, and extremism. they also highlight the divide between poor and rich, religious and secular. they feel like a new soap has gone too far. it has criticized extremist

muslims and raise the issue of homosexuality. >> at this time to speak frankly about all of our problems and all of society's problems. >> this seems to be shared by the viewing public. >> they talk about the modern times. it is a nice thing. >> there had to be something new to this society and the community. even bank it is negative, it has a positive idea -- if it is negative, it has a positive idea. >> it is a key part of the you ramadan tradition. many people ask themselves, what kind of world want to live in. >> you will find more on that on and all of the international news online at bbc.com.

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insight and expertise in a range of industries. what can we do for you? >> there is one stage that is the met and carnegie hall. >> o, that this too, too solid flesh -- >> it is the kennedy center -- >> check, one, two. >> and a club in austin. [woman vocalizing] >> it is closer than any seat in the house, no matter where you call home. >> ♪ the top of the world, and i'm there, i'm home ♪ >> pbs -- the great american stage that fits in every living room. your support of pbs brings the arts home. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles. presented by kcet, los angeles.