.. >> 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. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news."

>> below and welcome. -- hello and welcome. >> the headlines this hour. hugo chavez tells his supporters after a surprise return to venezuela. fresh allegations against dominique strauss-kahn, now a french writer accuses him of attempted rape. >> more revelations in the u.k. where messages for a murdered schoolgirl intercepted by a british newspaper. we will meet some of the people who fled japan's nuclear disaster zone. it is 11:00 a.m. here in singapore. >> it is 4:00 a.m. here in london.

president hugo chavez of venezuela has addressed a huge crowd of cheering supporters following a surprise return from medical treatment in cuba. he spent more than three weeks recuperating in have on the -- in havana. the secrecy about his initial of problems has created uncertainty and venezuela. >> a triumphant return. hugo chavez greeted thousands of supporters. he thanked them for their good wishes. >> i salute from here and my personal thanks for so much support and so many manifestations of love. love is the best medicine for

any illnesses. thanks for it. not just from venezuela but from all over the world. >> the president has been absent from venezuela for over four weeks after he took ill during an official visit to cuba. he said he was suffering from a pelvic abscess and later it was revealed he was being treated for cancer. he returned ahead of independence day celebrations. he said he will probably not be able to attend a military parade on tuesday because of the state of his health. the news of his return has been greeted with delight by thousands of his supporters to have taken to the streets to show their support for the president. he had avoided the public eye while abroad but his ministers insist that he is able to

return. >> venezuela needs a good doctor and not necessarily fidel castro. we need a government that can leave behind violence and confrontations. >> both his detractors and supporters are eagerly waiting to see if the illness will affect his ability to lead the country or will it be business as usual. >> there is more trouble for dominique strauss-kahn. >> he is still not off the hook. he is facing fresh allegations of a special assault this time in france. tristane banon says she will file against dominique strauss- kahn for attempted rape.

>> it appeared that one set of charges might be against -- might be about to collapse. days after he was granted a release from the stringent bail conditions, the former chief could be facing another trial, this one in france. a prominent french author has ordered her lawyers to file against him. >> i can confirm the instructions. we are to file a formal complaint against mr. dominique strauss-kahn. >> no sooner did he learn of the planned charges, he instructed his lawyer to file a counter action for false accusations. tristane banon alleges that mr.

strauss, attacked him win -- attacked her when she went to interview him. her mother had incurred certain not to say anything because she was a key figure in the socialist party. however, that is not the case anymore. there are concerns about the reliability of the accuser. the charges only complicate mr. strauss con's chances to returning to politics in france before the presidential alexian. >> there was drama at the war crimes tribunal in the head as the former military commander ratko blog it made a mockery of the proceedings. -- ratko mladic made a mockery of the proceedings. he was defiant and combative with the judge. our correspondent has the story.

>> ratko mladic was a fighting mood. he tipped his cap mockingly towards the relatives of some of his alleged victims in the public gallery. the judge was not having any of it. >> can he please take off his cap? >> his court appointed lawyer looked fed up with the proceedings. his client has made it clear that he doesn't know him and is not want him to represent him. instead, he would like this man brought in, the military lawyer who represented him in belgrade during the extradition process along with another loyal from russia. the court is still examining their eligibility. this allowed ratko mladic to say he would not take part until the defense team was change. >> your charge with genocide.

this is punishable by -- >> i'm not going to listen to this. without my lawyer, i'm not going to listen any more. you were talking in vain, i will not listen to anything. >> the court orders that you be removed from the court room. could security please escort him out of the court room? >> you are not a court. who are you? do not allow me to brief. >> we will adjourn for a moment. >> with that, the cameras were turned off and ratko mladic was let out. the former president slobodan

milosevic did the same throughout his trial. he eventually died in custody before it could be concluded. the tribunal will not want this to descend into farce. the 11 charges he faces are among the most serious including the massacre of bosnian muslim men and boys in 1995 and overseen the siege of sarajevo. >> the chamber enters a plea of not guilty on behalf of ratko mladic. >> if he hopes to delay the proceedings, he did not manage it. the judge entered not guilty pleas on his behalf. there will be several months of pretrial preparation. >> a british newspaper owned by -- is at the center of new allegations of illegal activity. police have told the family of the young girl who was murdered

in 2002 that they are investigating claims that her phone messages were intercepted and even deleted while officers were looking for her. the news had shocked the world with these allegations. >> the teenager who disappeared in the blink of an eye. it is little more than a week since her killer was convicted. now her family has been told that a newspaper intruded into her privacy. the guardian newspaper said that according to two sources, he was responsible. it is alleged to have happened in the desperate weeks of searching following the disappearance. police increased her mobile phone credit in case she used it.

voice-mail messages from friends and relatives accumulated. it is claimed that the reporter was accessing them. he was reported to have tapped into the system and deleted some. they had hoped that she had raised the messages. >> this is distressing to learn that the news of the world have no community and such a terrible time. the fact that they would prepared to act in such a heinous way that could have jeopardized the police investigation and gave them false hope is despicable. >> the response from news international, this particular case is clearly a development of great concern and we will be conducting our own inquiries as a result. we will obviously cooperate fully with any police request

should we be asked. >> they have been staggered. now the police have discovered all this information. you get the message and then you wipe them off of this poor girl is dead. >> at the time, rebecca brooks was the paper's editor. she is now the chief executive. no specific allegations have been made against her but she is under pressure. this is one of the very few episodes when she was in charge of the paper. she will have to answer questions about what she knew was going on. >> this is one small part of the growing police investigation. in metropolitan police were present of said only that inquiries were continuing. newsday," watching " from the bbc.

still to come, we have a special report from japan. as people try to rebuild their lives following the earthquake and tsunami. the duke and duchess of cambridge are making a splash in canada. 14 million pound appeal has been pledged for the horn of africa. 9 million people are at risk of malnutrition. this is the worst drought in 60 years which has affected somalia, kenya, and other countries. >> this is a place where life hangs in the balance every single day. july, 2011, and once again this corner of africa is cursed, teetering on the brink of disaster.

this doctor is fighting a constant battle to save life here and he does not always win. >> this is becoming very bad. you can hold a child and they will just die in your hands. you can see the life slipping through your fingers. you can console the mother, you tell the mother what has happened, you do the best. >> to escape this drought, hungry, desperate people are pouring into the refugee camp, already the biggest in the world and getting bigger all the time. 1000 new arrivals every day. the u.n. says this is not a famine yet but it could be. at the moment, there classify this as a humanitarian emergency. this has not rained properly grounded the region for two years running. these people are facing the

worst drought for decades. workers here say they have an early warning system to alert the world of impending famine. the trouble is, they say, the world has not been listening. >> the headlines this hour. president hugo chavez has addressed cheering supporters from the balcony of the presidential palace following his return to venezuela. >> a french writer alleges that she was attacked 8 years ago by the former imf chief. >> a syrian city is reportedly, after a day of skirmishes between residents there and

security forces. this was the scene of the huge demonstration against president bashir al assad. three people were killed including two brothers. at least 20 other people are believed to have been injured. we're joined by an opposition supporter on the line. we have heard there has been cash's between residents and security forces. what can you tell us? >> early morning around 5:00, we heard the people going out to the streets, screaming, calling each other. that means that there was a problem in the area.

the security forces, they come to capture people here. they came only on the edges of the city from all sides. they captured around 20 to 40 people. they don't know how many. people were all in the streets. they were shouting and they blocked all the city entrances by 8 tires and garbage boxes. the military tried to capture people there. then some people came back and supported the military and tried to stop them.

they remained in those classes for two hours. all the people on the streets are putting fire to the blocks and there was many civilian people that work on arm to. -- that were on on to -- that were unarmed. doyens are people scared of the military? will they continue to protest. -- a >> are the people scared of the military? will they continue to protest? >> yes, i think that they will. the fires are still there.

nobody can enter. again, this morning, around 4:00 and 3:00, in some cases there was a tax of people screaming in the streets. they are moving those people who tried to get in the city and there was some bombs,. >> you will have to leave it there but we are grateful for your time is speaking to us. thank you very much. let's take you to japan. you have more details regarding the aftermath of the earthquake which is still affecting thousands of people. >> definitely. the rebuilding process could be affected with a japanese minister who was in charge of the reconstruction resigning

after only a week on the job. he told them that the government would not help them financially unless they came up with good rebuilding proposals. the crisis at a plant forced thousands of people to abandon their homes on account of rising radiation levels. they traveled just outside of the exclusion zone. >> up here, the poles have been put back in after the tsunami. there is no -- built around them. they are clearing up the wreckage still. this has been piled up. there is wood and concrete. there is medal in another place. some of it could be recycled. there are still police teams going through the town because

506 people are still missing. the tsunami reached as far south as fukushima and they're even in places that were not affected, people are facing another danger, radiation. the homes and in the area was sealed off. the only vehicles allowed then are carrying emergency workers. after explosions and meltdowns, this is not under control. the plan is to stabilize them. even towns outside of the exclusion zone have been blighted by the disaster. many people have chosen to leave.

this family has been living in a hotel room since the middle of march. it is a six hour drive and all the pot with them is what they could carry on their back. the children are fitting in at the local school. their mother or set the power company and this is destroying their old life. >> i was born here. when i think about what is best for my children, i cannot go back. >> just down the road is another family who fled the nuclear crisis. as 70 years old, this person has been forced to start again after

losing everything. he has already opened a new noodle restaurant to replace the one that had been lost. >> what has happened has happened. as far as i'm concerned, this is more important than anything else. >> [singing] >> they used to run a karaoke bar and are more renowned for their performances. this song is about a yearning for home. cleanup around fukushima will take years and they have already decided that they are never going back. inside the plant itself, workers have managed to set up a system

to decontaminate the water. that is a big step towards bringing the crisis under control. the operations carried on for months to try to stop the reactors overheating. the facility is awash with water and they have 100,000 tons or more to deal with. this will take a very long time. >> thank you. the duke and duchess of cambridge are visiting prince edward island, the smallest province of canada. >> unsurprisingly, on an island named after queen victoria's father, this is a place that is keen on all things royal. unfortunately, not many royals get here. today, the island hit the jackpot when the most sought

after royals in the world did not just come through town, they rode through. they got out of the carriage for a walkabout. al stretch chance by the score. by now, the island was feeling the effects of being on the atlantic coast. a good morning for lieutenant of the raf to demonstrate his fine skills. the canadiens have a special technique for search and rescue. they land the helicopter on the water. the approach was steady and then splashdown. sighs of relief all around. at this rate, one wonders what the duke of cambridge will try next. the boat rates, perhaps. that is precisely what he did do, a dragon boat race. william paddling in one boat,

kate in another. who won was not immediately kirk -- immediately clear. for a newcomer like kate, this is proving to be quite a trip. to what is apparent is how much both of them appear to be enjoying it. >> you have been watching " newsday," from the bbc. >> let's bring you a reminder of the main news again. president hugo chavez of venezuela has been addressing thousands of supporters from the balcony of the presidential palace in practice following his return for treatment for cancer in cuba. this is his first appearance following the operation. he would be back on the road to recovery. that is it from us. thank you for watching.

>> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own 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?

>> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.