>> "bbc world news" is presented by kcet, los angeles. funding for this presentation is 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. >> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies.

from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> iran begins filling up its first nuclear power plant. will the west be convinced its intentions are peaceful? 100 people are dead and many more missing since an earthquake and volcano eruption hit indonesia. saddam hussein's former prime minister is sentenced to death. he appeals for clemency. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast on pbs in america and around the globe. coming up, the secrets of thailand's success despite political troubles. economy is still attracting new investors. beating the italians at their own games. chinese fashion designers moving in on a lucrative market.

>> iran has reached a milestone in its nuclear program despite the international sanctions against it. engineers have started to load nuclear fuel into the core of the reactor. electricity could be generated there next year. what does this advance leave american efforts to prevent iran acquiring nuclear weapons? >> [unintelligible] technological triumph or great white elephant? after 35 years under construction some iranians were beginning to have their doubts. but today the clearest sign yet it is approaching completion. these contain the nuclear fuel that will power the reactor. the process has begun. to the delight of the iranian

authorities. >> after 160 [unintelligible] hopefully it will be operational [unintelligible] >> i iranian officials were on hand to witness the latest developments. it has always been about more than generating electricity. sanctions on iran will not impede progress and will not keep our nation from exercising its right to the peaceful use of nuclear technology. >> it is russian engineers to our building the plant. russia is also supplying the fuel and taking away nuclear waste, making it difficult for the plant to be used to make a nuclear bomb. that has reassured the west. >> [unintelligible]

iran declares their activities and materials [unintelligible] >> other concerns about the program continues. while iran continues to declare a triumph, the confrontation remains unresolved. >> you can find at more about the nuclear program on the web site. there is a special section with satellite images showing how the reactor has been built and more analysis at bbc.com. indonesia is facing a possible double disaster. monday's earthquake killed at least 100 people and hundreds more are missing. now able kiddos seems to have erupted killing 13. it has grown hot ash into the air. it is clear that that there was

also a tsunami. >> search and rescue officials were on their way to the island off the coast of sumatra on wednesday to find any more survivors from the powerful synonymy created as a result of the earthquake late monday. the indonesian vice-president and the health minister are in the area, as is the military with supplies. it is very difficult for search and rescue teams to get to this remote part of indonesia. because bad weather has hampered any of the rescue efforts and officials have been saying to us that at the moment they can confirm that at least 10 villages have been washed away by the waves generated as a result of that powerful earthquake. meanwhile, the eruption at mt merapi on tuesday has prompted

thousands of villagers to flee from their homes. the evacuation procedure is proving to be quite challenging for officials. they had issued a red alert for mt merapi signaling an imminent eruption, but many villagers refused to heed that warning. reluctant to leave their homes unattended. now more than 13,000 people need to be evacuated from the slopes of mt merapi, and to be taken to safety nearby. >> the nepos delayed presidential election could be this sunday. -- guinea's delayed presidential election. there were street clashes between rival camps. the un secretary general is urging burma to release political prisoners ahead of next month's election.

from neighboring thailand, ban ki-moon says leaders still have time to improve the credibility on november 7. a huge storm has hit the midwest tearing roofs from houses and bringing down power cables and delaying flights from chicago. the weather stretched to the great lakes and is one of the worst in decades. it is similar to a category 3 hurricane. officials in china are planning a record for the world's fastest train, going 420 kilometers an hour. passengers will not go that speed every day, usually the more sedate 350 kilometers an hour. iraq's former deputy prime minister tariq aziz has been sentenced to death for persecuting iraqi shiites. the pope has appealed for his life to peace.

. -- for his life to be scared. -- spared. >> the sentence was death by hanging for crimes against humanity. he said recently he thought he would die in jail. that is now in question. tariq aziz was associated with the party and saddam hussein from the early days of the 1950's. a christian from the north, he rose rapidly to ministerial rank. he was a member of the top leadership parties including the revolutionary command council, but as foreign minister he established himself as the face of iraq to the outside world. he argued back that cost case in the tribunes of national power. tariq aziz was the most

recognized i iraqi official to the outside world. it was his voice that try to stop the invasion in 2003. this base was on one of the famous deck of cards dished out by the americans, but they ranked him only number 43 in the iraqi leader of power. he handed himself in to the americans. he faced a series of trials. the first two brought him prison sentences, but he could follow in paying the supreme price for his involvement in the regime. imageq, tariq aziz's seems to be not unlike the face he presented to the outside world. >> everybody knew he was a politician and had nothing to do with security. whether he should have been condemned, that is a legal

issue. >> he was a key figure and he contributed to the policies that led to the death of so many iraqis. >> they might be divided about his culpability, tariq aziz but he did not attract the kind of hatred saddam hussein did. if he does go to the gallows not many people will be celebrating in the street. >> the un is mourning the cholera epidemic in haiti could fester for years even though the number of cases is stabilizing. the outbreak has killed 259 people. >> 8000 people made homeless by the earthquake now live in what was the military airport. the latest public information

campaign is about cholera. it has not taken hold yet, but if it does the fear is it could spread rapidly under crowded conditions. this person tells the crowd how to stop the disease. >> [speaking foreign language. >> i cannot afford to pay for chlorine kills to make the water safe to drink. >> 1.3 million people are in camps like this. if there is a cholera outbreak in the capital the earthquake's survivors may be better off elsewhere in port-au-prince. >> they have good sanitation here. they have proper toilets. the great fear is [unintelligible] where people have lived for decades in abject poverty with

no sanitation. it is very difficult to work with the populations there. >> two miles away life is like this even before the earthquake. notoriousiti's most slums. if people here got cholera it would be more difficult for them to get access to clean water and medical treatments. so far there are no confirmed cases of cholera contracted here, but many are anxious. >> his wife has severe diarrhea. he fears she has cholera. >> rubbish is clear from the river running through one of the camps. haitians have endured so much and are trying to prevent their water from becoming contaminated. >> stay with us on "bbc world news."

trophies from the taliban, at the pakistani army says it has loosened the militants grip in the northwest. a new vaccine against polio virus helped reduce cases by 90%. research suggests the new vaccine is better at protecting children. >> the polio eradication will be launched in 1998. since then at mass vaccination campaigns have led to the number of polio endemic countries falling to just 4. success has been due to the effect of vaccines available that are cheap and easy to administer. two drops in the mouth and that child should be protected. this targets two sets of viruses circulating.

in a study carried out on a hundred babies in india, at the new vaccine was 30% were effective in protecting against polio and and as popular vaccine currently in use. >> basically we started to use it first in december in can stand -- in afghanistan. and other places where polio was endemic. basically it just looked like india has a 90% year reduction to date. >> mass polio immunization campaigns are under way in africa in an effort to vaccinate 72 million children. this vaccine could be key to finding achievement -- finally achieving elimination of polio.

700 million u.s. dollars is needed to fund the program. >> good to have you with us. the latest headlines, iran has begun filling up its nuclear power plant. will the west be convinced its intentions are peaceful? at least 100 people are dead in the earthquakes and the volcanic eruption that hit indonesia. the senate in france has approved the senate reform bill that triggered strikes. it brings the legislation one step closer to law. there are signs demonstrations could be losing momentum. >> another day and another protest. students and workers demonstrate outside the senate in paris, but the numbers are down.

only a few hundred turned up. other student protests were even more sparsely attended. the government is confident it has weathered the worst of the more than one- 5 refilling stations -- more than 1 in 5 filling stations -- the situation is improving. a strike by rubbish collectors has led to tons of rotting refuge, strikers are going back to work. the pension bill received its final vote on tuesday and on wednesday it will be passed in the lower house. on thursday there is another big day of demonstrations just like the previous ones plant across france.

it may draw out large numbers once again. even if it does organizers know the battle to stop the law is all but lost. their defiance has been bold but ineffective. >> attackers armed with machetes had killed six people in nigeria. sectarian violence has killed 300 people this year. areas in the middle belt where the muslim north makes the christian south. the group trying to bring the world cup to england have made a formal complaint about comments by the head of the russian bid. he said london had a high crime rate in the use alcohol problem. they seemed to contradict you -- contradict rules -- the octopus has died in his aquarium. he appeared in a video for the

world cup. at least six militants and one soldier had been killed. pakistan has cleared most militants from the tribal area, but there have been similar claims before in neighboring areas. we have been visiting the area with the pakistani army. they managed to shoot down the military hope here. they have many training camps across the area. then pakistan launched a major offensive. >> several months the army is here to tell us it has cleared much of the area it has called the town of van's central

gravity. >> we have to clear this area from them and bring stability to this area. [unintelligible] >> these are the weapons the army says it has recovered from militants, an area that is secure. it is not the first time we have seen a display like this. we have seen it many times in other areas. the bombing and insurgency could continue. the feeling is every time an operation is carried out the militants escaped elsewhere. many also think not enough is being done to stop people turning to militancy in the first place, like the lack of decent education. >> the young generation needs to be educated.

otherwise [unintelligible] it is not difficult for anybody to put some uneducated guy [unintelligible] >> even those in the army admit they deal with some of the issues that help feed recruits to the taliban, like poverty. they could be fighting days militants for many years to come. >> thailand fresh from a political crisis is growing economically at a double-digit pace. we report on what is behind it. why asia? that is somewhere -- why is thailand keeping the world economy going?

beacon is only -- tourism is down the list. it is cars that is making thailand rich. manufacturing is speeding up growth. this industrial hun is dubbed -- hub is dubbed the detroit of the east. ford is spending 500 million jobs, creating thousands of jobs and supplying a rapidly growing asian market. >> asia is where the vast majority of the vehicles growth will take place over the next few years. by our plants 73% of our company's growth worldwide will need to take place in asia over the next few years. >> the economic crisis began in the late 1990's, but lessons learned helped them ride the recession more smoothly. >> this is why asia is booming, exports. they are keeping the global

economy afloat. without them, the economic crisis would be worse. asian need to get its own consumer is buying more as well for growth to continue. >> so far we have been export- oriented, and that will be a rebalancing that will take effect as the level of wealth and income increases. we will become consumers as well. i think that must be positive. >> currencies are strong and thailand is interested in buying this company. [unintelligible] steel plants on seaside and the john west plant. all snapped up in six months. british investors are rushing to get a good return from asian growth. they are opening 25 more shops this year. >> growth is exponentially

greater. it is a market that is relatively untouched and is attractive to western companies to come into. we see long-term growth in asia. >> so does everyone else. the future of growth is here and it is power rain on word. -- powering onward. >> europeans are usually thinking of huge factories in the asian areas selling low- priced goods, but for one of italian city the chinese challenge is a lot closer to home. >> the color and they cost. it all says an italian. -- it all says an italian. they have some of the top fashion shops are trying out next year's fashions. >> nothing strange about that, until you see this man.

he is the chinese owner of this clothing company. battalions are buying their clothes from here. >> -- battalions --italians are buying their clothes from here. there should not be a problem. within the next 50 years china will be an important country. >> the chinese have descended on this town, own it to the italian clothing industry. there could be as many as 5000 chinese factories here. many imagine italian quality, all beating italian prices. this is one of the remaining of italian-owned factories. machines appear busy but clothing shops are increasingly choosing chinese. >> this man started here 50

years ago. now he is fraying at the edges. >> international laws are changing too fast. the controls are gone. that has created a problem. chinese imported textiles cost $1 a meter and hours cost $10. it has turned things upside down. as says in the past 15 years his work force has been cut by half. in some senses this story has nothing to do with textiles or clothing, it has to do with the rise of china and its influence, bringing prosperity but also creating challenges as its people seek new opportunities. this is one challenge, chinese- run criminal operations. officers think there could be up to 20,000 illegal chinese

workers living in a clandestine world of low pay and crime. >> there are many risks. the chinese mafia infiltrating this business. there is a great deal of concern about that happening. >> businessmen say they just want to compete. the product might be closing in italy but the message could apply everywhere. this century is being fashioned by china. >> a giant red stag thought to be the biggest wild animal in the u.k. has been shot dead. he fell victim to a licensed hunter. he weighed more than 135 kilograms and 2.57 meters tall. they are the biggest indigenous land animal left in the u.k. you can find that story on line at bbc.com.

get in touch with me on twitter. you can catch up on facebook, too. thanks very much for watching. >> 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 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. >> union bank has put its global financial strength to

work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> there is one stage that is the met and carnegie hall. >> o, that this too, too solid>> it is the kennedy center. >> check, one, two. >> and a club in austin. 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.