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work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> misery of the floods with millions at risk of disease, paff calls for more -- pakistan calls for me international help. >> the u.n. secretary insists the pull out will begin next july. tony blair are giving the money. >> how passengers survived this colombian plane crash. >> hello and a warm welcome to you. "bbc news" broadcasting to our

viewers around the wormed. the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in pakistan where a fifth of the country remains under water has led to renewed called for help and a grave warning about future security. the world bank says it will lend pakistan $900 million to help longer term reconstruction after the worst floods in the country's history. >> a life-saving mission, dropping food supplies in areas imprisoned by the floods. the pakistani military is leading this fight. we flew with them over southern punjab on the look-out for more needing rescue. this time, three generations of one family. but across pakistan millions are still waiting for help. the foreign minister is warning if aid doesn't come, the taliban could exploit the

discontent. >> i am worried. i am worried because there are millions that would starve. i am worried about an epidemic spreading, cholera, and waterborne diseases are a rare challenge. if you do not give them help immediately, people who want to create miss chief will get room to step in. >> many pakistanis are turning to the army, people like amira. help me, she begs the local commander. this old man curses the government. the military saved us, he says. but can the army help the flood victims and hunt the taliban and al qaeda at the same time? >> it will obviously have us stretched in two directions. you need resources and the

attention of the leadership. we will have challenges, but we will continue to face both challenges simultaneously. >> the biggest challenge for many here now is survival. the waters here are still spreading. this is the main route to this town. well, the road has completely disappeared here. it has turned into a lake. people are making their way backward and forward. a tractor and trailer has just gone through. they have to move carefully. some are coming out, salvaging what goods they can. others are going back in bringing food supplies to family members still living in flooded communities. the floodwaters are a severe test for pakistan. the government has been badly damaged and looks weaker than ever. both here and abroad, there are new concerns about the stability of this nuclear nation.

"bbc news," southern punjab. >> the u.s. defense secretary robert gates has reiterated that american soldiers will begin to leave afghanistan next july as announced by president obama. but he stressed there was unlikely to be a sudden steep decline in troop numbers. the debate about a u.s. withdrawal was reig natured on sunday when general david petraeus said he reserved the right to advise against a draw down starting next summer. here is our report. >> his political skills are famous, his words are calculated. so what are we to make of general david petraeus apparently wandering off message? he was asked if he was advise against withdrawing troops if the conditions weren't right? >> certainly. i sat down with him in the oval

office, and what he wants from me is the best professional military advice. we have recommended the strategy and the resources that are required for that strategy. as there are changes had in any of that, i would communicate that to him. >> that independent-sounding answer was jumped on by the afghan government, who thinks president obama made a mistake by signposting next july as a withdrawal doctorate. >> we have felt that setting a date for withdrawal or start of withdrawal is going to put the mission itself in jeopardy. so we will have to make it based on conditions. >> but from headquarters in combaut, a refinement of general petraeus' responsibility. >> the responsibility for

security and other critical governance and development activities to the government of afghanistan. >> by july, the curtain may have fallen on this man's career. secretary gates has signaled he intends to leave office in 2011. he said the pull out would begin as advertised, but he cautioned the cut in numbers would be neither steep nor quick. here at the white house they are desperate to avoid the policy squabble we saw last summer. this time everyone is using the same caveat that any withdrawal must be condition-based. that gives general petraeus to call it as he sees it in a review at the end of the year. he is well aware of the political pressure on his commander in chief to disengage america from this war. >> the former british prime

minister, tony blair, is donating the entire proceeds of his forthcoming memoirs to war veterans. ed advance for the book, said to be 4.5 million pounds as well as all the royalties, but anti-war activists have accuseded him of trying to by forgiveness. >> i set out to write a book. it is a frank account of my life in politics, which illuminates what it is like to be a leader. >> most memoirs are self-serving, but tony blair wants to convince us that his autobiography will help others. it provoked protest, and caused conflict in his cabinet and cost the lives of 169 british servicemen and women.

all of the proceeds will be donated to charity. >> once they recovered of the shock of a potentially large donation, they expressed thanks , that they could support those who have been seriously injured. >> for some, iraq still touches a raw nerve. tony blair resisted pressure to apologize for the war. >> i have no regrets. responsibility, but not a regret for doing that. >> tom keys was six of military policeman brutally murdered in 2003 by an iraqi moderate. his father stood against blair and remains an opponent today. >> we don't want his blood money. there are a lot of soldiers blinded, legless, armless, lives broken. this money is not good.

it is not good money at all. >> since leaving downing street three years ago, he has made millions by advising banks, businesses and giving lectures. but he has taken an unpaid role as a middle east envoy and set up charitable foundations. the supporters have said that donating the money from his back is entirely in line with his character. others welcomed his gesture. >> i think this goes beyond politics. he has made it, and he has made a lot of money after politics, and if he is able to make this big donation to the british liege, he should be congratulated for it. >> he doesn't want his whole political journey to be defined by iraq. but this is unlikely to be his final chapterer. >> the political party that won the most seats in iraq's

parliamentary elections in march has suspended talks. they want an apology from prime minister maliki. >> officials from the united states have been allowed to visit an american who is serving hard labor in north korea. a state department spokesman said two doctors and a consular officials visited him last week in a hospital in the capital of pyongyang. he was arrested for entering the country illegally. >> a plane carrying more than 130 people has crash landed on the island of san andres. the plane had been traveling from bogota to the christianian island which off send suffers from storms when it crashed. >> this is what is left of the

boeing 737. its fuselage fractured into three pieces after crash-landing on the runway at san andres airport. one passenger who had a heart attack was did. others were seriously injured. they were surprised there was not greater loss of life. >> my sister managed to talk to my father last night, and i managed to talk to her some minutes ago, and she said that she is fine, and that she has been checked at the hospital, and her husband is at the hospital. he is being checked, and so we are waiting for news. >> the remainder of the passengers and six crew suffered minor injuries for the most part, but the accident flooded the terrorist island's limited hospital resources. an investigation into the cause of the crash has begun, but authorities have ruled out technical difficulties. >> the airline had fulfilled

all the security protocols, and initially we think that it was a sad accident. >> swift reaction by the police and fire services prevented the plane catching fire, averting what could have been a much bigger disaster. the zapped so suddenly, the pilot had no time to report an emergency to the control to your. "bbc news". >> this is "bbc news." still ahead, he was convicted of passing secrets to the west. so why is this russian man wanting to return to his homeland? >> facing accusation that -

>> in court she looked nervous and broke down in tears and admitted she had unprotected sex wit a number of men in the past without telling them she was h.i.v. positive. she said she was sorry and had never intented to infect anybody. her group sold four million reports and had four chart toppers. police stormed a nightclub in frankfurt just before she was going on stage. the singer ended up in prison 10 days. they accused her of having unprotected sex with three men without warning them she was h.i.v. positive. they argued she should have known there was a danger of passing on the virus if she

didn't take precautions. one of former lovers who is h.i.v. positive testified in court and accused her of infecting him with h.i.v. the man said they had unprotected sex on a number of occasions in 2004, five years after the singer knew about her condition. you've caused me a lot of suffering, the man told the court. she faces charges of grief us bodily harm and attempted bodily harm. if convicted. the maximum penalty is a 10-year prison sentence. "bbc news," berlin. >> this is "bbc news." our headlines. the pakistani government has renewed its call for international help in dealing with a humanitarian catastrophe caused by the worst floods in the country's history. the american defense secretary says the u.s. will definitely start reducing its soldiers in afghanistan next july. and the former british prime

minister, tony blair is to donate the profits from his memoirs to a charity that helps injured british troops. >> a court in the united states has put same-sex marriages in california on hold while it considers whether a ban is unconstitutional. two weeks ago the ban was overturned. however, opponents lodged an appeal with a court, and while it is considering the appeal, marriages should not resume. earlier i spoke to our partner in los angeles, and he told us where this might leave couples expecting to marry this week. >> this is the latest twist in the roller coaster ride of gay marriage in california. right now this means that gay couples who were preparing to get married legally in california from wednesday this week will now not be able to do

that. they will have to wait perhaps indefinitely while an appeals court decides whether the state's ban and the overturning of that ban is constitutional. this is a victory for religious and conservative groups who are opposed to gay marriage and a set--back for gay couples who thought they were going to get the chance to tie the knot this week. >> there are five states along with the drum ya, that allow that. why is this such a difficult issue in an area that is a left-leaning state. >> california is known as a liberal state, that's right. but in 2008, voters approved by a narrow majority a ban on same-sex marriage, known as proposition 8. that is what was overturneded by a judge last week, and it is that overturning that was appealed. this has been a long and bitter battle in california.

a vast amount of mope has been spent by both sides. there are a couple of reasons. one is california is the most popular state in the united states and is always seen as something of a trend-setter for other states. so what happens here, people say, tends to spread out across the u.s. other states have preempted california. there are five other states that brought in rules that allow gay marriage, but in most cases it has been the state supreme court that has allowed it. this case in california is a federal details. because of the way the appeals process goes, it is believed this will be appealed ultimately to the u.s. supreme court, the highest law in the land, and that will create the rule that binds the entire nation. but it won't unite the entire nation. most people in america are opposed to gay marriage even though five states allow it. that is why the battle in california is so as critical and something of a test case. >> thank you. there has been a surge in

violence in mexico between rival gangs fighting a bitter turf war over the drug trade. the president says his strategy is working, but since the beginning of this month alone, 165 people have died. stephanie has more. >> flowers for the dead here in southern mexico. these coffins hold the bodies of eight people, the latest victims of drug-related violence. in this country, blood is shed over the battle to control the narcotics trade almost daily. >> three shotguns were found in a pine forest about a kilometer away. we assume they were the ones used in this murder. >> in one of the most violent cities, men armed with ak-47's burst into a private par and opened fire. at least six people died. on the western outskirts of the town, the bullet-ridden bodies

of four others were found. one of them had a message from a drug cartel claiming responsibility for the death. in the latest incident, suspect the drugmen kidnapped this man, the mayor of this town. he was lead from his home by gunmen. >> there is an illegal deprivation of his liberty. we are asking for cooperation of the government in whatever way we can. i've spoken to the president of the republic. >> this spike in violence has come as the president has defended his war on drugs, a war that has claimed 28,000 lives in the last three years. those who have lost relatives in this fight will wonder how an increasing number of coffins can ever be called success. stephanie holmes. >> a general strike has paralyzed a bolivian mining city and has ended after a deal

with the government. the blockade hampered food supplies and cut off production in the country's main silver mines. more than 1,000 protestors went on a hunger strike to drive home their point. australian voters are preparing to take part in the hardest fought election for many years. the polls open in five days' time, and the prime minister has formally launched her campaign. nick bryan reports now from lisbon. >> she is the politician who has become australia's first female prime minister. this is the former labor leader she so ruthlessly depotsed. this was their joyless make-up session when they are campaign ran into trouble. and this is the opposition leader, resplendent in his

speedos. welcome to the soap opera of australia's whacky election, where nobody is sure who is going to emerge on top. >> julia gill ard expected to walk this election. after the global financial crisis, australia avoided recession. even the rhetoric of barack obama can't take away that. >> yes, we will. yes, we will move forward with confidence and optimism. yes, we will keep our economy growing stronger day by day. >> the knifing of her opponent, she has ended up wounding herself. >> as the former prime minister slipped out the back, a proud

welchman was good. >> it was a wonderful message. a message of hope to take australia, led by my daughter, into the 21st century. >> and arch conservative tony abbott was born in london. he is promising to cut immigration, to bolster border protection. >> it is time to end this soap opera and give australia back a grown-up government. >> tony abbott has made a stronger than expected run, but it still requires a leap of imagination for many australians to see him as prime minister. this has been a weird campaign with some stumbling badly. will they regain their footing in time for saturday's election. >> one of the russians who lived in -- arrived in britain

last month as part of the biggest spy exchange since the cold war, has spoken about his time in russian prison camps near the arctic circle. he was arrested in 1999 and convicted of passing secrets to the west. he was talking to our correspondent, and explained why, despite his experiences, he is still keen to return to russia. >> this is the russian scientist who ended up being brought to britain as part of a swap for a ring of russian spice based in america. the glamorous anna chapman was one of the 11 russian secret agents enjoying comfortable undercomfortable lives in suburbia. they were returned to russian last month. the largest spy swap since cold war days. but he was coming the other way from jail in russia, sentenced to 15 years allegedly for selling nuclear secrets to the c.i.a., which he has always

denied. overnight he was sprung from a russian prison camp near the arctic circle. >> not the most pleasant place to stay in. it could be very dangerous. there are many, many things which could happen to you in prison from both the administration and the criminals. it was a very dangerous place. it is very symbolic. >> during the 11 years he spent in various russian camps and prison, his spirits were bolstered by amnesty international, making clear his case had not been forgotten. >> that must have been amazing to get all of these post cards? >> yes, and that helped very much, helped a lot. that would help and will help everybody who is still there. >> last month, the plane

bringing him and three others touched down. it was bittersweet. astonishingly, given his or deal, he would rather be back in russia. >> why would you want to go back? >> my country is russia. i do not blame russia for my imprisonment. so that is why i want to come back to russia. not to the russian state. i want to come back to my own country. >> aren't awe afraid that the same thing could happen again, another arrest? >> well, you know, that could happen. that's why i really need to think over what is going on. >> he's got time to ponder, now staying with friend with a six-month work permit for britain and his passport. he is trying to adjust to his extraordinary change of circumstances. >> that's it from us for now. don't forget, you can get more from all the stories that we

have covered on our website. bye-bye for now. >> hello, and welcome. 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 expert in-depth 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, john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation and union bank. ♪

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