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small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> pressure mounts on wikileaks founder julian assange. has agreed to talk to british police over rape allegations in sweden. more than 100 people feared dead in colombia after heavy rains triggered a landslide. continental airlines attacks the french legal system after being blamed for the concord crashed in 2000. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast on pbs in america and around the globe. mayhem and misery to britain. thousands of drivers are stranded in scotland. a hunter becomes the hunted, investigating recent attacks --

shark attacks on holidaymakers in egypt. >> the wikileaks founder julian assange whose publications of secrets have anchor that washington is preparing to talk to british police after they received a warrant for his arrest. he is believed to be in hiding is wanted for questioning in sweden in connection with the rape allegations. >> today the battle between wikileaks and the authorities intensified. an tradition warrant for julian assange are arrived at the serious crime agency this afternoon. a wanted poster has also been placed on the interpolar web site. he could be arrested by metropolitan police at any time. >> we are in the process of making arrangements to meet with

the police. my concern in order to facilitate the taking of the question and answer is needed. >> julian assange is wanted for questioning in sweden over sexual assault charges. charges supporters say are a result of political pressure and part of a campaign against him. >> that has been [unintelligible] under these circumstances, it is normal he will keep a low profile. >> one of his bank accounts in switzerland was closed today and wikileaks came under a cyber attack. both sides may be upping the ante. >> the latest documents released detailed new plans to defend nato possible six states against possible russian

threats. the plans were kept secret to prevent increased tensions between nato and russia. >> handshakes between leaders are what the public usually sees. relations have been reset to stress cooperation, but according to recent cables the u.s. and its nato allies agreed this year to expand their defense planning against possible russian invasion. it was the site of russian tanks in georgia which really rattle those nato countries who had been part of the soviet warsaw pact until the collapse of communism. it is the piney -- tiny baltic states which feel vulnerable to russian pressure. joining nato gave them the guarantee of protection, but it is only this year they got a specific plan. one cable from hillary clinton

announces nato allies agreed to expand the nato contingency plan for poland eagle guardian. the secretary of state makes clear the military plans are secret. the public discussion was likely going to lead to an unnecessary increase in need of tensions. another cable report steep delighted reactive -- delighted reaction of one official. confirmation that nato has put in place specific plans to defend the baltic states is not a complete surprise, but it is embarrassing for the u.s. it demonstrates america's failure to protect nato secrets and points to the double policy, suspicion of russia in private and cooperation in public.

this was hillary clinton and dean coral's with russia last year. >> we want to reset our relationship. >> now it looks as though suspicion is the order of the day. >> rescuers say they recovered at least 20 bodies after a landslide in one colombian city. more than 100 may still be buried under mud after a hillside collapsed. it was prompted by the heaviest rains in decades. >> within minutes the hillside was gone. tons of earth were sent cascading into a suburb. the houses below never stood a chance. dozens were engulfed. at first light on monday rescuers began searching for survivors. >> many are now putting their faith in a rescue dogs. the hope is they will be able to

smell people buried by the earth. somewhere under here more than 100 souls are trapped. >> it is delicate. we are still looking for victims. so far we have recovered 20 bodies. the entire civil defense team is here and will be for as long as it takes. >> but as the hours pass, the chances of finding people alive get slimmer. the desperation is beginning to tell. the hillside that collapsed had been soaked by weeks of relentless rain, the heaviest columbia has seen for 40 years. the whole country has suffered. >> we are in the midst of a terrible tragedy. it has affected more than half a million people. last night nearly 50 houses were swept away.

>> these latest victims take the number of people killed by floods in colombia to 200. thousands of homes and crops have also been damaged. as the search continues, col ombia's suffering continues. >> continental airlines has expressed outrage over a botched repair calls the concord crash 10 years. the court acquitted french aviation officials. a piece of metal from the plane fell onto a runway and it damaged the concorde as it took off. >> the pictures that would spell the end for a supersonic travel. in july 2000, beat concord left the runway with blades already visible.

the ill-fated flight ended minutes later as it crashed into a hotel, killing 113. for 10 years the families have waited for someone to blame. today, they finally got their answer. the court concluded it was a piece of titanium dropped onto the runway by an airplane. as the concord took off the metal strip shredded the tires. debris shot up and ruptured the fuel tank. terracing ignited before it was off the ground and the plane was lost. 18 inches long and this is the part that started the series of catastrophic events. titanium is much harder than stainless steel and is not supposed to be used for temporary repairs. yet a mechanic belonging to the continental ground crew ignored this ban. he was handed a 15 month suspended sentence for

involuntary manslaughter. continental was fined 200,000 euros. >> it has been obvious since the beginning that continental was responsible for the accident and death of the passengers and crew. the judgment appears completely in keeping to what air france has always supported. >> was this verdict a cover-up for failings on the french operator? it is well-known fuel tanks were not properly insulated. tires had blown out on dozens of other occasions. continental says it is upsurge they should carry the blame. -- says it is absurd. >> 10 years before the accident the french government debated if it should let the concorde flights. the response should have been no.

it was a political decision. >> continental says it will appear and -- says it will appeal the verdict. when the insurance companies began seeking reimbursement this could expose the airline to tens of millions of dollars in damages. >> stones and bottles are being thrown at police in athens to mark the second anniversary of the killing of a teenager. the city center was closed to traffic. the shooting of the teenage boy happened in 2008 and sparked serious rioting. two policemen were jailed for his killing. the u.s. has called on the president of ivory coast to except he lost the recent elections and hand over to his opponent. president obama regarded him as

the legitimate winner of the election runoff. the army has been drafted into helping emergency services after a day of snow brought many of the scotland's major roads to a standstill. many motorists remain stuck on the roads. airports had to be closed again and rail service has been affected. it could cost the u.k. economy more than 1 billion pounds. >> from the more ways tonight, the rashaya work continues. -- from the motorways tonight, the rush hour continues. police have drafted in extra officers to help and say their priority is getting food and water to those who are stuck. >> we are starting to get rather hungry. we have not eaten since breakfast, so we have not a cloak if the road will be open -- we have not a clue.

>> it is liked a car park. [unintelligible] >> air travel was hit, too. another monday in a struggle in the snow. planes were going nowhere as a blizzard closed the runway. it caused chaos for 20,000 passengers, including this couple who have been trying for five days to fly to spain. >> since last thursday we have tried to get on a flight to madrid. we have a daughter who just had a baby. we have not seen our grandson yet. >> there have been the deleon efforts to keep the country running. parents spent the weekend cleaning it snow so it could reopen after a week-long

closure. >> we managed to contact as many parents as we could. a brilliant effort. >> i am happy they are back at school. it is a nightmare to get the children to the school. >> on the roads, it was the same problem on a bigger scale. this is a major roadway. even the emergency services are struggling. the army is providing vehicles and drivers to help paramedics' answer 999 calls. these in government has been holding an emergency meeting. with the freezing fall in the air there is concern about how trees in -- how drivers will cope overnight. >> this is "bbc world news." still ahead --

one artist that a coveted our prize. -- got a coveted prize. at least 50 people were killed as an anti-taliban leading pakistan. two bombs went off during a gathering of tribal elders. this report from islamabad. >> this compound was full of people meeting to discuss how to tackle the taliban. it is where two suicide bombers dressed in police uniforms blew themselves up. local tribal elders, government officials and journalists covering the media are -- covering the meeting are among the dead. the taliban say they carried out the attack. dozens of injured were rushed to the nearby hospital. this place has witnessed scenes like this time and again.

>> my brother was injured in the blast. others are also hurt and dead. they are poor people. >> the army has been carrying out offensives against the taliban across northwest pakistan. it is also trying to get locals to find ways to fight the taliban themselves. the problem with the army operations is militants flee elsewhere to regroup. the problem with trying to mobilize locals is that the taliban have no hesitation with striking back against them in brutal ways. >> the parliamentary research group accused of spying for russia said she will fight heard deportation. she was working for a member of parliament at the time of her arrest.

mr. hancock says he has seen no evidence to support the allegation against her. she is a russian national. some headlines on "bbc world news," as wikileaks releases new revelations , its new julian assange agreed to talk to -- its founder julian assange agree to talk to british police. more than 100 people are feared dead in colombia after heavy rains triggered a landslide. president obama announced an agreement with his republican opponents in congress to extend bush tax cuts which will expire at the end of the year. mr. obama has exposed -- opposed extending the cuts, but he was forced to compromise. >> sympathetic as i am to those who prefer a fight over compromise, as much as the

political wisdom may dictate fighting over solving problems, it would be the wrong thing to do. the american people did not send us here to wage symbolic battles. they would much rather have the comfort of knowing that when they open their first paycheck on january of 2011 it will not be smaller than it was before because washington decided they preferred to have a fight and failed to act. >> our correspondent in washington explains why tax cuts were introduced by president bush. >> president bush said by keeping money in the pockets of the american people you would stimulate a demand and growth in the u.s. economy. together, the tax cuts he proposed in 2001 totaled $1.7 trillion.

the critics said they disproportionately benefit the rich, which is one on the campaign trail obama said we can extend these tax cuts for the middle classes but for the top two percent of wage earners he did not think it was right to extend the tax cuts. however, this has come down to a political game of chicken between the president and the republicans on the other hand. the clock ticking to december 31 when all of the tax cuts will expire. i suppose the president has blinked first and compromised with the republicans, doing this deal that would insure everyone gets the benefit of the tax cuts. >> but it is a taste of things to come with the republicans in congress exerting more influence. >> that is right. republicans took control of the house last month. they made big gains -- big gains

in the senate as well. already republicans are emboldened and the president is having to adapt to that new reality. this is a consequence of id. it is very telling that the people who are saluting the president are the republicans. they say he is showing a bipartisan spirit. they know they are in the position of strength. the people who are not sure about this deal and saying it has yet to be approved by congress is the president postponed side, the democrats. there are people who will be very uncomfortable with this because it is a u-turn. >> egypt's tourism industry has called experts to investigate a series of shark attacks at sharm-el sheikh. a german woman was killed days after four other tourists were injured. there are fears the shark attacks could hurt the tourism trade.

>> this is the beach at sharm-el sheikh, the scene of the latest shark attack. it is in front of one of these modest -- smartest hotels. >> before i knew it, the water was full of blood. the woman was screaming. it was terrific. >> the shark just taking bites and keep on going back to attack this woman. she was right by it. it was ghastly. >> one of this species of shark is believed to be the culprit. it is so unusual for it to attack humans that experienced divers sometimes swim with it. >> divers have sometimes a small

show on my back because you never know what is going on with the sharks. >> this is believed to be a photograph of the shark involved in the attacks. it has a chunk carved out of its fin. after the earlier attacks these different sharks were caught and killed. the government gave the all clear and reopened the beaches. did they act too soon? >> underwater marine life is a society just like ours up there. >> but today the authorities may be regretting their decisions as they survey the empty beaches after a ban on swimming was reimposed. as you can see it is an almost perfect day. most people here are taking the advice and are not going for a swim. on a normal day diverse would be

exploring these magical coral reefs. on the surface this the one sharm-el sheikh is usually light this time of year. heaven on water for those who love the sea and sand. this is what it was like today. very bad news for everyone whose livelihood depends on tourism. >> a performance has been staged by greenpeace activists to draw attention to the risks faced by millions of people living in coastal areas as the threat of global warming increases. on land, the un climate talks have moved into their week with the agenda dominated by future cuts in carbon emissions. scottish artist who makes sound has made history by winning this year's prize. susan phillips creates works that use her own voice that are played in public spaces. our editor is at the ceremony in

central london. >> the winner tonight is suzanne phillips. >> the artist susan phillips becomes the fourth woman to win the prize. and the first artist of any gender to do so by making art out of noise. ♪ this is the sweet sound of her success. why did she settled on sound as a way of making her art? >> i started school sure it -- i started school shirt and then i started to think of the qualities of the sound -- sculpture and started to think of the qualities of sound. it was then i started thinking about working with that. >> >> susan phillips -- her art

in goals you. it is like those charismatic people you meet from time to time. yet they always have the sensitivity to make sure that everybody else is included as well. the jury says they chose susan phillips because of the way her work creates distinctive -- distinctive worlds. all the artists on the short list are in their 40's, a statistic that some say points to this exhibition turning stayed. >> they tend to be older and more established. that is a shame. it has a potential to be very exciting. it has made people look and kind of show not just art world people but everybody what art can be. i think that is something very

brave. >> past generations children should be seen and not heard. susan phillips once were or heard but not seen. --wants her art heard but not seen. she has given up on the idea of a quiet life. >> in manuscript believed to have been written by leonardo da vinci has been discovered in a library in france. it is one of several thousand which was given to the city in 1872 by a collector. experts believe the paper dates back to the 15th century. leonardo da vinci died in 1519.

much more on all those stories on the bbc news world web site. >> 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 expertise 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 flesh -- >> it is the kennedy center. >> check, one, two. >> and a club in austin. >> 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.