>> "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, the 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. >> international anchor as an opposition leader is sentenced to even longer in detention. taiwan's battle to find survivors in the mud slides. we report from overseas. a 90-year-old german officer is found guilty of killing civilians in world war ii.

coming up later, the biggest jewelry heist in british history. >> ♪ the secret of nature >> the first tweet opera. hello. it is no doubt exactly the outcome the burmese generals intended. the iconic opposition leader off of the roll. she has now been sentenced to another 18 months in prison for allowing an american man and to

her home, even though he came uninvited. tougher sanctions are likely. the u.n. security council has been meeting, but little looks likely to sway the junta. >> she faced the court inside i i security room. burma is a proud and frightened country. no one dares to raise a public protest. the court sentenced her to three years of jail with hard labor. she is 64 years old and has spent of the most -- most of the past 20 years in prison. this sentence was reduced to 18 months. her crime was to allow an american visitor in your house. he had swum there uninvited.

he was sentenced to seven years of hard labor. >> if she stands in the way -- if she could not run for office, she turned out tens of thousands of supporters at every stop that she made. that would be destabilizing for them at this critical moment, as they see it coming in solidifying their rule. >> her pro-democracy movement won landslide elections. they turned her into a simple. in silencing her, they gave her a voice that echoes its powerful rebuke around the world. the european union and the united states want international action against burma. >> we are doing the right thing, but we alone will not be able to resolve this problem. it has to be the international community. we need to make it clear that

those elections in 2010 will not be accepted anywhere in this world. >> the generals know that there is no international consensus. china and russia trade with burma. aung san suu kyi's long and courageous fight is far from over. >> and as a relief operation is underway across parts of east asia to rescue people trapped by heavy rains and landslides. the number of dead is not yet clear, but there are fears that it could drive into hundreds. the typhoon dropped several inches of rain. we will have a report from taiwan in just a moment. first, to china where a number of homes have collapsed. >> a small village in china, a late-night landslide here

triggered by relentless downpours. it destroyed seven homes last night. they found six people underneath the mud and the rocks, some very badly hurt. as the clear operation got under way, two of those rescued had not survived. two women had died here. they were moved to a place of safety, but they came back when they thought the danger was over. they did not stand a chance. >> across eastern china, more than 6000 homes were wrecked by the storm. it rained harder here than it has done during any typhoon in the past 60 years. in taiwan, relief supplies are now getting through to some who have been cut off as floods and landslides. there is anger here. type one's prime minister was criticized while visiting

stricken areas. he had not done enough to protect people, they said. >> the typhoon came here on friday. now we have people who died. what are you going to do about it? >> on the south of the island, several hundred from one village are missing, feared dead. a wall of mud engulfed their home. he thinks that his father and mother have been washed away in the flood. the damage done here will take months to recover from. the taiwanese authorities warned that if rescue and relief efforts continue, the death toll is expected to rise. >> some of the area's worst affected by the time -- by the typhoon are in taiwan. we now go to roll taiwan. there is particular concern about and neighboring area where more than 700 people are

trapped, possibly buried in a mudslide. >> the rain fell harder than it had in 50 years. there was little warning and the village drowned in mud. the rescue teams have been battling bad weather and time to get to the villagers stranded by the storm and those trapped by the mudslides. so far, they have brought hundreds of people from the wreckage. >> all of the government buildings are gone. they are all gone. >> she has lived here all her life. authorities say 100 people may have been buried alive here. survivors say it could be many more. help is only now reaching other

isolated villages. >> my father has had a heart attack and they said that they would send a helicopter. we are still waiting. >> it has been exhausting work for the volunteers involved in the rescue effort. more than 250 people have come through here. food and water supplies are being delivered and at first light, they will be out again trying to get help to those who desperately needed. bbc news, southern taiwan. >> more top stories for you from around the world. authorities in kuwait say that they foiled an attack on a u.s. military base. targets are said to include an area south of kuwait city. in russia's southern region of chechnya, the head of a children's charity has been shot dead.

the bodies of her and her husband were found in the boot of a car in the capital of chechnya. bernie madoff is behind bars and now is no. 2, frank dipascali, has pleaded guilty to 10 charges of conspiracy and fraud. he worked for bernie madoff for more than three years. and 90-year-old former german army officer has been found guilty of killing a 11 italian civilians during the second world war. it is likely to be one of the last not see how war crimes trial. this report from berlin does include flash photography. >> he was convicted on 10 counts of murder. he was a 25-year-old officer in the german army at the time of the massacre in the village in

italy. he was a commander of a company of engineers who set out on a brutal reprisal operation after two german officers had been killed by italians. he claimed that he was rebuilding a nearby bridge at the time. after the second world war, he lived a quiet, unassuming life in his home outside of munich where he ran a furniture shop and sat on the town council. after a long legal battle, he went on trial in germany. the relatives of some of the victims were also in munich today and they held a protest outside the courthouse. the mayor said that they had waited 65 years for truth and justice. for many, this has come too late. he has finally been held accountable for the crimes he

committed while as a young soldier. bbc news, berlin. >> president obama has been taking on critics of his plan to reform health care. he urged people not to believe what he called scare tactics. he insisted it was vital legislation would be passed. >> the biggest political fault line in america today runs right down the street. over here, supporters of the president's health-care plan. over here, those who believe the plan is a trojan horse, that it will bring higher taxes and a socialist tinge to american life. the president arrives. his reform plans are under siege. >> history is clear. every time we come close to passing health insurance reform, special interests fight back with everything they have been

the use political allies to scare and mislead the american people. we cannot let them do it again. not this time. >> no screaming or booing from this audience, just a few respectful questions and then it was all over. the obama machine is back in action and we can expect much more of this. it is hard to say that the president really confronted his critics there. not all supporters were so lucky. in pennsylvania, senator arlen specter was up against this. >> i do not want this country turning into russia, turning into a socialize country. [applause] >> there is real confusion about the content of the health care reform plan and its implications for ordinary americans. >> i do not understand this rumor. what is this?

>> the same rough handling of senator claire mccaskill. you do not trust me? >> we have weeks more of this. can mr. obama fend off this assault and capture the initiative? >> state with us if you can. still to come, can the new generation of palestinian leaders succeed where their predecessors failed? first, while the rest of the world struggles to cope with recession, china powers ahead. its economic recovery seems to be the result of a massive stimulus package. industrial production was up 11%. china's real problem looks to be falling expeorts.

>> behind china's remarkable economic revival, cheap loans from beijing. the government has been pouring money into construction. bldg, roads, and infrastructure. successive investments rose by 1/3. china's factories are also humming once again, largely thanks to the government's help. industrial output jumped 11%. it is a tremendous relief for people flocking to the industrial heartland for work. the economy is now gathering so much steam that banks have slashed the amount of yuan they lent. >> the july number was more sustainable and more usual.

even the rest of the year, the same kind of number in july, we're still going to have more than nine trillion dollars in new lending, more than enough to sustain a growth. >> the premier has sought to ensure investors that beijing is doing all it can to drive growth. the recovery is still on track according to economic data. wheat exports suggests that stimulus will continue into the near future. >> this is "bbc world news." the international condemnation of the conviction of aung san suu kyi. the u.n. security council has been discussing the action. the use reg -- a huge rescue effort in asia -- hundreds are still missing.

for generations, it has dominated palestinian politics. more. the fatah party has faced a stiff challenge from the hamas party. from jerusalem, our bbc middle east correspondent. >> outside the conference, there was a festive atmosphere. participants called it a resounding success. >> they have been elected in a democratic process it is a significant moment in history.

the organizing and rebuilding of the movement. >> delegates know that they have a lot to prove. the party became tainted by allegations of corruption and cronyism. associated with years of failed peace talks with israel, it was a slap in the face in the last parliamentary elections. the younger generation says that it is up to the new challenges. many now have a place in the powerful decision making body. he is arguably the most popular figure. he is serving five life sentences for murder in an israeli jail. he can offer little leadership to palestinians. palestinians say that it won an end to the bitter internal rivalry between fatah and hamas.

it has already split the palestinian territory. want peace, prosperity, and palestinian political independence. fatah's is the international community's chosen peace partner. armed resistance is still an option. israeli politicians have reacted angrily. >> the u.s. secretary of state has ordered an end to the widespread sexual violence in the democratic republic of congo. earlier, she said there shouldn't be no impunity for the rape of women. over to the west of the continent, liberia also spent years in the grip of civil war. according to its president, the country could be self-sufficient within 10 years.

this is partly due to american intervention that stripped the librarian government of much of its power. some say that it has compromise liberia's sovereignty. a live report from monrovia. >> the area is a broken country. everything was destroyed in a civil war. it also has a spring. thousands of u.n. troops are keeping the peace and building roads and bridges as part of a massive intervention to stabilize the country and stop it being a failed state and a global threat. >> we are here for the groundbreaking ceremony. >> deep in the interior, government dignitaries preside over a ceremony to build a school for former child soldiers they are crucial to alegria's success if they can

move on from thoughts of war. >> the killed my mother and father. that is why they encourage me to join. >> life was very difficult for me. >> the main cause of war was corruption. to stop it, the international community took control of much of the country's 5 inches. critics said it meant that liberians could not be trusted to run their own government. the government does not disagree. >> do not forget, most of our brains left the country. most of the people who are manning our institutions -- they came from warring factions. >we are in control. >> in a boisterous countryside meeting, liberians to forge their new civil society.

we do not want politics, people say, but roads, clinics, and schools. the exchanges are fast and furious, but the final aim is to end international aid programs. we will no longer continue to depend on foreigners to do for us what we need to do for ourselves. this is what we realize. >> intrusive foreign intervention has allowed this liberian-style debate. there is wanting everything -- everyone agrees on. no more war and tell the country is rebuilt so that it is self- sufficient. bbc news, liberia. >> jewelry has been stolen from the west and. it is the biggest such raid and british history. the two men are extremely

dangerous according to authorities. amateur video captures the robbery. they bring out a female member of staff. then a shot causes panic. it happened in one of the most exclusive shopping areas in the world. once inside, the three -- the thieves threatened the workers. these are pictures released today by police. two men walk and and make no attempt to hide their faces. the robbers were inside for just a few minutes. they say that they fired two shots. although no one was injured, police say that the man they're looking for are extremely dangerous. the robbery took place last

thursday in broad daylight in the late afternoon. >> this is a busy street. there were a lot of people around. there were people from its nearby pubs. if you had seen the aftermath of the robbery, we would like to hear from you. if anybody knows who these men are, we would like to hear from you. if you know where any of the jewelry has gone. >> 43 pieces in all were taken, including diamond earrings and necklaces. the value is about 40 million pounds. a sense of the quality and price of the jewelry that the thieves were after. this is not the first time this store has been targeted. in 2003, 23 million pounds worth of jewels were taken in another robbery.

>> she taught our nation that no physical or mental barrier can constrain the power of the human spirit. eunice kennedy shriver maintained the family's tradition of public service by founding the special olympics. gave her the presidential medal of freedom. if you listen to opera, you will be aware that it does not make a whole lot of sense. they are staging a work created from the social networking site twitter. > all the great operas have been performed here. in september, a new one, written by the public. the words submitted by tweets on

twitter. to make the words make sense, you need singers. it begins one morning. there is a man and woman. she turns to him. [operatic singing] >> this is lilly and gary. they agreed to try out a few of the opening lines for us. are the operatic? >> definitely. i think they can be put to any sort of music.

nuts, i love hazelnuts? >> it is a way for the public to engage in the art form of opera. there are those with doubts, but the public can make up their minds in september. >> fantastic. much more on that and all the international news whenever you wanted on our website. funding for this presentation is made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, the newman's own foundation, the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, and union bank. >> >> union bank put its financil

strength to work for a wide range of companies from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you. >> public broadcasting is my source for news about the world for intelligent conversation. for election coverage you can count on. >> a commitment to journalism. >> public broadcasting is my source for intelligent connections with my community. >> "bbc world news" is presented by kcet, los angeles. by kcet, los angeles.