>> this is "bbc world news." 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 financial strength 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." >> mob crackdown. more than 120 mafia suspects are arrested in new york and neighboring states. china's president says his country has no interest in pursuing an arms race with the u.s. and the protests continues as the interim government institutes a series of peaceful reforms. welcome to "bbc world news." coming up later for you, and american woman who was abducted has been reunited with her biological parents 23 years later. and as britain prepares to celebrate the latest royal wedding --

more than 120 people suspected of involvement with the mafia were arrested in new york and neighboring american state. the u.s. attorney general eric holder says the suspects face charges including racketeering, extortion, murder, and drug dealing. new york's five organized crime families are among those targeted. >> just before dawn, over 100 mafia members were arrested across three states. hundreds of fbi agents swept through the five maiffia families. >> this is one of the largest single day operations against the mafia in the fbi's history, both in terms of the number of defendants arrested and charged and the amount of criminal

activity that is alleged. >> the charges read like a rap sheet from a hollywood film -- extortion, larceny, racketeering, drug trafficking, and murder. >> several people have been charged over the imposition of the legal fees, mob taxes in construction industries. the justice department claims that some defendants have shown a willingness to kill to make money and silence witnesses appeared >> the notion that today's mob families are more genteel and less violent than in the past is quick to live by the charges contained in the indictment today. even more of the myth is the notion that the mob is a thing of the past. that the cosa nostra is a shadow of its former self. >> in recent years, the fbi has seen increase in it informants. authorities insist today's arrests are not the end of new york's organized crime, just one

more step in an ongoing battle. >> the daughter of a former mafia associate said that the mafia of today is not like it used to be paired >> when my father operated, and they were the kings of the neighborhood . even though there were barbarians, there was a family culture. that is totally degraded out. starting in the early 1990's, with sammy the bull, a lot of mafiosos have turned state's witness and revealed everything about their former colleagues. a lot of the loyalty, a lot of that culture of family, it is totally deteriorated. >> what was the mafia present light ike in new york and neighboring states. >> in my father's time, in the

1950's and 1960's, every business owner of the local mafioso was. nowadays, they are relegated only to a few sectors -- that is construction, labor unions, and the businesses along the waterfront. so they are a lot less visible than they have been in many decades. in those days were immortalized in movies like "the godfather." they have been so less visible. gerris way as a result has deteriorated. >> just briefly, what do you think today's arrests will mean for today's mafia? >> today's mafia, what is funny is that they have been going after individual families. now it's the lucesi's. i think it is decimating the family. so what i think will happen is that a lot of crime will be operated or run by gangs.

families were empires with one man at the head, and many captains and associates and soldiers. now is the smaller operations -- illegal gambling. a lot of them have been involved in illegal gambling. q. are getting the people at the very bottom out. the top guys are in jail. it will be a lot uighur -- you are getting the people at the bottom now. it will be a lot weaker. you cannot build a building without the mafia cozy permission. i think a lot of that is heat -- deteriorating. >> the chinese president has said that america should not see china as a dangerous rival. hu jintao says his country has no interest in pursuing an arms race. he described it to bed and taiwan as court chinese interests. -- tibet and taiwan as core

chinese interests. >> this morning to a president's hu jintao to capitol hill, saying that no matter which political party is in charge, there are always strong views on china. >> i did express my concerns about religious liberty. i expressed my concerns about intellectual property, and the issue of north korea appeared >> other lawmakers repeated the message that mr. hu has been hearing -- your currency is artificially week, your markets are against us, and you are taking our intellectual property. all of this was in george's stoically by mr. hu. -- endured stoically by mr. hu. lunchtime and mr. hu's only

policy speech of the entire trip. more of the reassuring messages that emerged on wednesday. he had a broader message, too. >> we do not in days in an arms race. china will never seek to dominate or to institute an expansionist policy. >> it was a conciliatory tone meant to call on the concerns felt in america and southeast asia about china's presence in the china seas. while statements like this are diplomatic, they were recently overtaken by events. china's regional strategy will remain a source of uneasy in east asia. wednesday night's state dinner was being picked over in washington. was mrs. obama's dress a homoagage to the chinese flag?

>> i propose a toast. to our people, the citizens of the people's republic of china and the united states of america. >> the white house is getting good marks in washington for the way it handled this trip. mr. hu's statement that china has much to do as -- on human rights is being seen as an encouraging sign. >> while we appreciate those words, the united states will watch the actions. we will watch the actions of the chinese government. >> this visit by hu jintao seems to have brought home to americans the knowledge that it is the u.s.-to -- as the u.s.- china relationship unravels, then the global economy on rebels with it. their own future is intertwined with that of china. >> it's been reporter that

haiti's former dictator jean- claude duvalier has been barred from leaving the country. a flight ban has been issued against him. jean-claude duvalier who was ousted 25 years ago was charged with corruption he made a surprise return to the country last sunday, hoping he might become a candidate in the new presidential election. the fourth quarter profits have been overshadowed by a takeover in the board room. larry page will take over as ceo. some say it is the perfect time to make changes on the front lines appear. the opposition labour party has been left realineling by the

resignation of alan johnson. >> mr. johnson, can you tell us why he resigned? >> the former shadow chancellor famous for speaking fluent human, chose not to speak at all about his shock resignation. his leader spoke for them instead. >> he has decided to stand down for a deeply personal reasons. he has been doing a good job to hold this government to account occurred >> mr. johnson does not spell out those personal reasons, but says, i found it difficult to cope with these issues in my private life. westminster is a buzz with rumors about his marriage. a former postman who rose to be a union leader and a rock and

roll loving cabinet minister never expected to become a shadow chancellor appear. >> pick up the economics. >> that smile turned into a wince when alan johnson was targeted for getting his facts wrong. >> i know the shadow chancellor can not really do the numbers. ther eis nre is no point in asking gromit about that one. >> ed balls replaces him. >> i am sorry he is having a tough time. it is a great loss, but for me is a hugely important responsibility to take on this task. i have been involved in the economy for 25 years now. >> tonight, the shadow

cabinet has a brand new look. ed miliband flanked by ed balls. his job goes to his wife who is replaced by douglas alexander. when that team next meets the they will notice a big hole left by the departure of alan johnson. the man widely widely expected to be his parties best communicator has left live politics without uttering a word. >> the best things in life are free, but would you say a hotel made of garbage? an attack on an army base in southern thailand has killed four and injured several others.

thousands of thai soldiers are stationed in the south to tackle an insurgency by separatists. we have a report from bangkok. a warning -- some of the images may be disturbing. >> the attack began after dark. in this small military base overrun by dozens of militants. they threw grenades and set fire to buildings. some of the survivors were seriously injured. it was one of the most daring and well organized attacks as thailand's -- of thailand's islamic separatists. almost every day, there is a violence in thailand -- drive-by shootings. rarely full on assaults with so many armed men. the violence also sparks revenge

attacks. muslim villages, which are the majority in this part of thailand. it encourages diligent -- vigilante as some. -- vigilantiism. some teachers have to be escorted to school. they have no real link to global islamic extremist groups. tens of thousands of soldiers and paramilitary are based in the region, fighting a counterinsurgency campaign. but as troops cleared up after this a daring and a surprise attack, the army's insistence that things are well is in question. bbc news, bangkok. >> the headlines this hour. more than 120 people suspected

of involvement with mafia groups have been arrested in new york and three other american states. chinese president hu jintao has said his country has no interest in pursuing an arms race with the u.s. and 23-year-old american woman who was abducted from a new york hospital as a baby has been reunited with her birth parents. ms. white was raised under a different name by her abductor but became suspicious about her true identity. the woman who raised her could face charges of kidnapping. >> yes, it is a story that began in august, 1987, when ms. white was just 19 days old. she had a fever. she was taken to hospital by her parents in harlem. they had given the baby to a woman who had dressed as a nurse. when the parents returned to the hospital in harlem, the baby was

gone. there were appeals from the parents to sort out that mysterious woman that they never found. the parents had all but given up hope until now. just this past weekend, an emotional weekend after she traced her own birth mother. what happened is that ms. white was raised in the neighboring state of connecticut by a woman who is not her mother and to visit suspected of being a woman who took her from that hospital -- and who is suspected of being a woman a ticker from that hospital. she became suspicious over time that this was not real mother. ms. white lived in connecticut under a different name. she asked for birth certificates. she wanted to get her driving license. the woman who said she was her mother did not have those documents. at that point, ms. white became suspicious about her identity. >> dna tests have proved her true identity.

she is described -- has described this experience like being born again. what will happen to the woman that will be charged with kidnapping? >> what happened was that carlina white contacted the police after going on a missing child website and looking back all the way back to 1987 and new york and she found a photograph of herself as a baby. she thought, this coule bd be m. she contacted the police and they conducted dna tests. they reunited her with her biological parents. they have been in contact with the woman who allegedly abducted her 23 years ago. she will be questioned by detectives. she could face federal charges for kidnapping. it is not clear whether she has been interviewed by police at this stage. >> one week ago, the rule of ben ali suddenly ended when

protests forced him to flee his country. the dramatic turn of events has been called the jasmine revolution. we report from the capital city in tunisia. protesters are taking to the streets. >> the people lived through a revolution resumed the rituals of daily life. cafe's are front row seats for the protest that still go on, demanding all of the old guard us go. >> are you going to keep coming to this avenue until they go? >> this is my country. this is my country. we defend our country. we love this country. we ask the country's enemies to disappear. >> just around the corner, it's the home of the press. at the oldest state run it

newspaper, they kicked out there editor in chief. now journalists are free to speak what they write. you can hear the sound of protest wafting through their windows. last week, front page -- president ben ali, responsibility of citizens. this week -- power goes to the people. i went in search of the new bosses and found international editors. what is it like coming to work now? >> it is like between the black and white and between day and night. between last week and this week, things are so, they irritate -- the change is so huge that we did not realize until mel and many people are asking themselves, are we in a dream? >> but it is a nightmare if you belong to the ruling party. most of the senior officials are

on the run or resigning. we finally found a senior member of the ruling party willing to talk to us. but he says, do not fill me at party headquarters. do not show anything about my office -- do not flilm me at party headquarters. >> how can we build a democracy if we eliminate people? he tells me those that committed mistakes must be judged and pay. those who did not, should have the right to serve their country. >> these are the issues being debated now. over the past month, this is central avenue has been a place of violent clashes. now they are a place for argument. i cannot underestimate how extraordinary this is. a week ago, it would have been impossible.

you would've been arrested. now, you have become part of normal life. it feels like a speakers' corner. people make their views known. from left to right, islamist to secular. for this, a new -- from this a new tunisia will emerge. >> a free holiday in spain. 10 people can stay the night at a beach hotel in madrid for nothing. what is the catch? >> in the heart of madrid, there is a rubis hotel, made out of 12 tons of trash. there's car parts, toys, and even the odd musical instrument. it is all junk, abandoned on the beaches of europe or dump and watched in with the tide. designed by chairman artist, this garbage hotel is a symbol.

>> the political people must hear, because the world is changing so fast. and garbage is a part of where we are. and the ocenaans are the biggest garbage dump of the world. >> it is not just for show. this is the kind of junk you can sleep in. it has all been disinfected. there is no bathroom, but there are five double rooms and it is free. >> it doesn't smell, this guest says, so i felt great. not like living in rubbish at all. >> the hotel is meant to show the dark side of all of the holiday making and the mess so many o f uf us leave behind.

>> 98 days to go to the most anticipated wedding. in the 1930's wallis simpson fell in love with edward viii. ♪ >> the yerar was 1936, and britain had a new mark -- edward viii, who took the throne -- a new monarch. the king was head of the church of england which forbade divorced people from a cut remarrying -- from remarrying. finally, it was decided that edward must choose. the crown or mrs. simpson. >> i have found it impossible to

carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duty as king as i wish to do without the help and support of the woman i love. >> on december 11, 1936, after being can 32 for5 days, edward abdicated. he is the only british monarch ever to it voluntarily renounced the throne. in britain, and wallis simpson was seen as too sexy, too greedy, too mannish, too foreign. she brought out the xenophobia in british society. >> she was hated in britain. some of the walls were painted with graffiti that said, down with the american harlot. >> it was the duke and duchess pose a political leanings that were the final straw. in 1937, the couple troubled to

berlin were there were saluted by hitler. after this photograph, the pair were seen as traders. it was wallis's low point. for decades afterwards, they lived in effective exile. >> do you have any regrets at all about not having gone on being king? >> no. i would like to have had it and do it under my own conditions. >> of that former king loved his wayward wife until the very end. >> you were happy. >> the duke died shortly after giving this interview. they had been married for 35 years. wallis simpson died in 1986 after years of being ostracized. her funeral was a right roll affair. the queen led senior royals and saying goodbye to the duchess was called, "that miserable,

second-rate, american woman." >> that story and many others can be found on the bbc news website. >> 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 -- its financial strength

to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major