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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> hello and welcome to newsday on the bbc. i am in singapore. >> and i'm in london. in military commander in libya has been shot dead by an armed gang. the crisis is put off as politicians wrangle over the country's huge debt. >> the mother of a murdered girl is told her phone was intercepted. officials will meet again in north korea on friday. it is 11:00 a.m. in singapore. >> it is 4:00 a.m. in the london.

this is newsday. if we are broadcasting around the world and in the u.s. on pbs. hello and welcome. rebel leaders say their military commander has been shot dead. the head of the council said that general younes was killed by an armed gang. >> for many years, general younes was firmly by gaddafi's side. he was one of the highest profile figures to defect. though he became the man that led the military campaign, that he was never quite trusted by the insurgents. some suspected that his relationship with gaddafi was not completely over found his presently spearheading the efforts to topple the

government darfur. he was seen as a trader by tripoli. either way, his death has come under suspicious circumstances. the general was shot shortly before he was due to appear in front of a judicial committee. an armed gang apparently shot him, along with his aide. the head of the gang has been detained, but the in d.c. -- the ntc stopped short of linking them to gaddafi. >> this is the last warning to all armed gangs operating inside of the cities. >> what happened is hard to gauge at this point. as the rebels try to push on toward tripoli and altman to overthrow colonel gaddafi. -- ultimately to overthrow colonel gaddafi, it is unclear

the path that will take. >> the wrangling over the u.s. debt crisis has failed to resolve the issue. the vote in the house of representatives has now been put off. let's find out why from our washington correspondent steve, a massive setback. gregg's -- washington correspondent. steve, a massive setback. >> john boehner had hoped by now republicans in the house would have passed his proposal to cut the deficit and raise temporarily the debt ceiling so that america does not potentially go into default next week. the problem is, part of the day and all of the night of wrangling at the capitol, john vader did not have the votes on his own side -- john boehner did not have the votes on his own side to get it approved.

instead, they will come back and look at this again on friday and hope that they can squeeze this measure through the house. >> are they expecting on friday to have the same situation with john boehner still struggling to get the votes he needs? >> it is possible. he is under huge pressure to win over some of the conservative t party strain of -- tea party strain of republicans. the wider concern in washington will be to look to the financial markets in new york and beyond. frankly, it does look as if washington policy is in disarray over this issue. as the clock ticks down, remember, the white house has said that america will reach its borrowing limit on tuesday. we will effectively run out of

money to cover all of the government's obligations. >> thank you. let's cross over to rico. fresh allegations of phone hacking here in the uk. >> that is right. it now appears that the mother of a murdered schoolgirl may have had her mobile phone hacked by an investigator that work for the news of the world newspaper. she said she is devastated by this revelation. >> perhaps it seems this astonishing affair no longer has the capacity to shock, but the allegation this evening is that a bereaved mother who worked alongside the news of the world alongside its former editor was all a long one of its victims. she was told last night that her details were in a box of a phone hacker. in a statement she is deeply

disappointed and devastated by this news. the last addition of the news of the world, she had previously been told she was not a hacking victim. she agreed to write an article for the final issue. she described the news of the world as an old friend. >> it was a series of terrible and tragic news, starting with their pain. >> and rebecca brooks described sarah palin as her dear friend. -- sara payne as her dear friend. tonight, rebecca burk said these allegations are abhorrent -- rebecca brooks said these allegations are abhorrent. the sarah's la campaign began in

2000. glenn martarello was arrested in 2006. it is not known when he obtained her information or who might have requested it. if it was news international, this was the reaction of one mp. >> news international did not just campaign for sarah's law. they produced literature, campaign materials, took her to party conferences and introduce her to party politicians. i see this as the ultimate betrayal of trust. >> the newspaper hackers provided the mobile phone. it may be the one targeted. but sources linked to mrs. brooks said the voice mail on this loan was not activated until 18 months ago, suggesting there were no messages. today's allegations surfaced hours after lord justice levenson said his judicial inquiry could begin while the

police investigate. >> it should be possible to focus on the extent of the problem, in a way that will not prejudice an investigation without examining who did what to whom, which might. >> news international said once the facts were known, it would take action. and glenn calmly repeated his mantra. >> u.s. and north korean officials have begun talks inside a possible easing of military tensions on the korean peninsula. it is a sign that they are serious about resolving negotiations on the nuclear weapons program. i asked if there had been any progress in the bilateral talks. >> it is difficult to say because the officials have not been telling us very much. they have basically been throwing out diplomatic cliches.

i think the north koreans said they were constructive and interesting, so make what you will of that. americans publicly have been very cautious. they have had their fingers burned before, as you know. the north koreans have agreed to dismantle their weapons program in 2005, and since then, have tested two nuclear bombs, and have started a uranium enrichment program. the americans have said this is just an exploratory meeting, to see if north korea is serious about taking steps toward denuclearization. >> in china, the public is facing -- the government is facing public backlash over the way it handled a high-speed train crash that killed 39 people. there are allegations of corruption and conspiracy feeling in your. the -- fueling anger.

here's the report from the scene. >> went about is the soft, paternal face of the communist the soft top ouis internal face of the communist ruling party. at the crash site he paid his respects, but he was also battling to public pressure. >> no matter if it is a mechanical fault, in management problem, or indeed, in manufacturing issue, we will get to the bottom of this. >> authorities say the crash was caused by a signal failure.

it also created a sense of mistrust between authorities and the people. >> acy in public anger has been building over acrobat answers. it has been flayed by allegations of corruption that had been compromised by the safety of the network. this woman's husband was killed in the crash. >> officials from the railway minister -- ministry shrug off responsibility. the kevin blaming it on the lightning strike. -- they kept bringing it on the lightning strike. i am looking for a clear explanation. >> china is spending hundreds of billions of dollars on its high- speed network. critics say is going too fast, which is compromising safety.

>> you are watching newsday on the bbc. live from singapore and london. still to come, it is a year since the floods that does -- devastated pakistan, but what is life like for the hundreds of thousands still homeless? >> and we find out what life is like for america's poor more than 70 years after the -- "the grapes of wrath" was published. senior officers in norway could not confirm that all of those missing had been found. prosecutors say anders breivik will be interrogated again on friday. >> outside the cathedral, the floral carpet continues to grow. one of these attributes could

easily have been for him, he knows. he came face-to-face with the gun man and lived. >> he started shooting around me and he got several of the guys around me. and he had to reload his gun. i got my chance to get away and run into the water. and i started swimming. i got my clothing off and kicked my boots off and started swimming. >> was he still firing at you? >> he reloaded and was firing again. he went down to the water and shot many of them trying to escape. but luckily, he did not get me. i was just lucky. >> in fact, the majority of the people on the island did escape, but that does not mean they completely avoided harm. the psychiatrist treating survivors says many are suffering. >> this is an act of human destructiveness and that causes more stress than there is caused

by nature or other accidents. you have to first realize what is really going on. you get the feeling that is real. >> tomorrow, a memorial event in the city center to mark the exact time the attack took place. >> and this is newsday on the bbc. i am rico in singapore. >> and 9 kesha in london. -- i am kesha madeira in london. >> thursday's vote in the u.s. congress has been put off as republicans and democrats are wrangling over the best way to do with the country's huge debt.

at least 1600 people are believed to have been killed in the flooding, some 20 million people are also affected in pakistan. the floods followed heavy rain in the north of the country to the province in the south. we look at the impact of the floods when you're on. -- one year later. >> rivers burst their banks, causing massive destruction. such was the power of the waters. the huge bridges were smashed apart. entire villages were all but swept away. hundreds of people died. pakistani troops were deployed in the tens of thousands in a huge mission to rescue those who were trapped. but all the while, the disaster

was affecting more people. the immense body of water that started to surge south, engulfing vast swaths of pakistani is as it went. in the end, one-fifth of the country was flooded. that left millions of people desperate, with their homes -- without their homes or belongings or a means to feed their families. much has been achieved since, but for so many, the suffering continues. >> all of the pakistanis have been impacted. it will definitely require much more resources. and it will definitely require time, building the livelihood of 14 million people in an area the size of the united kingdom cannot be a achieved over a

short time frame. >> aid agencies estimate that over hundreds of thousands of families still do not have permanent shelter. many relate -- remain totally reliant on charity. there is still evidence of the immense structural damage that we have done, and the building of roads and bridges is far from complete. and the new rainy season is about to start. >> for more on the rehabilitation efforts in pakistan, we are joined by uzma tahrir, joining us on the line from islamabad. in your view, how successful have the rehabilitation efforts been in the past years? -- in the past year? >> thank you very much for

taking us on board. the magnitude is so huge. it is not possible to complete the respond to it. right now, the most pressing issues [no audio] there is nothing to go back to. they're starting from scratch. i think the most pressing issue is the coordination between the different departments and the other organizations on the ground. in needs to be more

strengthened. and the people do not have enough food. definitely not for the coming months. they cannot continue without the food support and the support of the government. >> a lot of pressing issues that are impacting pakistan, predictably when you're on after the flood -- particularly one year later after the flood. what can your group do to expedite the process? >> actually, what we are doing at the moment is to work as an organization in 14 different

places. but pakistan is struggling with the process of devolution. there are a lot of coordination issues. what they're trying to focus on is to make sure that the pressure on the government is still on. and we are trying to bring that up, too. still, people are struggling with getting their [unintelligible] the government is having to move away from the rehabilitation process because other issues are rising. the government needs to continue its support, especially eberle to rehabilitation and ensuring the livelihood of the people is

restored -- especially agricultural rehabilitation and ensuring the livelihood of the people is restored. >> it will have to leave it there. thank you for joining us from islamabad. in other news, in pakistan -- a libyan leader has been shot dead by a gang. security forces are trying to put down protests in syria in the capital of damascus. a u.s. soldier has been arrested near the fort hood military base in texas after being found with bomb making materials. officials say the arrested serviceman, jason abdo nasser was planning an attack on military personnel. and now on the state of the u.s. economy. >> lawmakers failed to reach agreement on capitol hill and

many americans are struggling under the burden of high unemployment and an uncertain financial future. it is a story reminiscent of that told by john steinbeck in his pulitzer prize-winning novel "the grapes of wrath," which was published 80 years ago. >> with unemployment rising, the great american job search goes on. albuquerque is still suffering from the bus that followed the house price boom. it posted a fall in unemployment in june due in part to a public sector job pick up. but those that do not succeed, there's the problem of where to live. george münchen is a shelter for the homeless. -- joy junction is a shelter for homeless. it is run by jeremy reynolds.

>> is it bad? rex absolutely, and i expected to get worse. >> why? >> because we will see more, and some will come back. >> normally the families that came here were coping with drugs or violence. now there is a new customer, the american no class. >> i am larry and this is my daughter, michelle. we are here because of the economic times. my spouse took off on us and that cut our income in half. we lost our place and here we are. >> they have been living like this for three months. he is a truck driver, but he cannot get work. he works for his welfare money, $300 per month. this man not long ago was the manager of a vehicle fleet. they live in a hotel, but the money ran out >> when you lose a job and you have to downgrade, sometimes those bills start

racking up. and you only get further and further behind. then you start losing stuff. -- carsrget and taking start getting took and other stuff. >> what is the toughest thing? you have been here how many nights now? >> we are going on our second week. >> the second week, and what is the hardest thing about it? >> well, does not having my kids here. >> yeah. >> that would be my number one concern. >> the low cost motels in albuquerque play hidden role in this crisis, says reynolds. many of them are housing the hidden homeless. >> what role as a place like this play in the whole housing and homelessness system?

>> huge. many of our folks are there for 7 to 10 days. they get their government check and they spend all of it on getting a room for 7 to 10 days. once the check runs out, they migrate down to joy junction. >> it is an alternating system? >> it is. >> it is a housing crisis. many americans cannot afford to put a roof over their head, and home repossessions are still rising. bbc news america, albuquerque. >> you have been watching newsday from the bbc. i am in singapore. >> and i am in london. just time to give you a quick reminder in the developing story, and that is, politicians in washington have put off an important vote on a plan for dealing with america's debt crisis. much more on that on the website. from us in london and singapore,

by by for now. -- bye-bye for now. >> makes 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.