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>> 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. >> this is "world news today." i'm george alagiah. 700 survive a wall of mud and the aftermath of the tie 1 typhoon. the military needs of the search for hundreds still missing after the worst flood in 50 years. mistaken identity -- indonesia and its it did not kill its most wanted terrorist suspect in

last week's shootout -- admits it did not kill. china wants a soft approach to burmese the attention of aung san suu kyi. russia boost military spending in of koziura as vladimir putin makes his first visit there -- in abkhazia. and 60 years on, how relevant are the geneva conventions today? it is 7:00 a.m. in washington, midday in london and 7:00 p.m. in the evening in the south of taiwan. where a massive rescue operation is still under way after the worst flooding in 50 years. wednesday began with welcome news. some 700 people escaped mudslides that buried whole villages. it still leaves many more um

accounted for. finding them is proving to be a logistical challenge and the only way in and out is by helicopter. damn of apparel from typhoon -- >> the apparel from typhoon morakot. supplies can only be taken on foot to a nearby village. suddenly villagers' bought fresh danger. -- spot fresh danger. for communities now cut off by swollen rivers and the dreaded mud slide -- mudslides, the rescue mission gathers momentum. hear, the battle to set up a temporary bridge is nearly lost. it was a tidal wave of mud that struck the southern village and

two of the remote villages nearby and although authorities say several hundred have been found alive, they are also unsure how many are still missing. >> this rescue workers said there used to be a road and a temple here, but now it is all gone. this woman, a relative of the residents said the rescue team should have started on the first day and now 70 -- 72 golden hours have passed. she says, how could they do it to the families? >> tie 1, president visiting affected areas said the government will consider whether more funds are needed -- taiwan'sa president. >> the recovery is long. with the loss of industrial damage. this cannot be solved in a short time. >> a fleet of helicopters has been delivering relief supplies

and caring people to safety but this brings the bodies of three members of the crew of a helicopter that crashed. the debris in the river rally. it was about to enter the disaster zone again after successfully taking twqo people the safety. bbc news. >> our correspondent is in rural taiwan. he says the death toll is expected to grow as the search for the victims continue. >> a tough day for the rescuers. 33 of these helicopters arrived in the areas of agricultural land that has been so badly hit by the flooding, mudslides. pretty much all day, every 15 minutes, these helicopters have been coming in bringing people who have been rescued from areas where they managed to get to high ground, where they have been less surrounded by floodwaters and troops have been

out on the ground trying to find them and bring them back. there was good news hundreds have been found in the last hours -- and as high school, the man operation center, you look down here and you will see the ambulances. every time a helicopter comes in people coming to them, they call to a hospital and come straight back. every production. it just so many people being rescued, were still need to be rescued. you can see the crowds gathering as well. a lot of these people are here because they want to try to track relatives, people they left behind. over in the main school, food and water, trying to get those on to the helicopters, so at the very least they can drop the down to people who need help. we spoke to the president was here a short time ago. he said hundreds of people have been killed. although there is good news that

survivors have been found, the extent of the devastation, the number of people buried in mud -- it -- that figure is going of every day. the sense here is an awful lot of people will be rescued and awful lot will have died. >> also at this hour, one of the was wanted terror suspects and age it is thought to be still at large. leeson in geneva say dna tests carried out on the body of a man they killed in a gun -- police and indonesia say dna tests carried out on the body of a man show it is not the leader noordin mohammed top. >> a simple farmhouse in the middle of rice paddies riddled with bullets after a 17-hour shootout. it was here that indonesian police hoped they killed the region's most wanted terrorists, noordin mohammed top. in front of a packed press briefing in jakarta, they announced they didn't get their man.

>> the dna sample from the dead militants was compared to that of noordin mohammed top's family. we do not have a match for all of these people. >> the man killed was identified as eager team. police say he is seen here bringing the bomb material used in the marriott attack. >> the terror suspect was a planner and arranger of the bombing and the attended meetings with noordin mohammed top. >> the fact they did not capture noordin mohammed top in the raid is a major blow. he stands accused in the islamic attack on indonesian soil the last seven years. the most inns -- in the mess is the bali bombings in 2002. more recently the attack in july on the marriott and rich cottman that killed nine. he is believed to be a key

recruiter and finance for a terrorist group but analysts say he now formed his own smaller hard right militant group. security forces have been searching for him for seven years and analysts say the fact he evaded capture again means his legend will only grow among his disciples and on islamist website. police say it as long as he remains at large, he will continue to try to launch attacks. bbc news, jakarta. >> china finally issued a statement on the burmese court decision to sentence the pro- democracy leader aung san suu kyi 2 1/318 month detention. a foreign ministry official said the world should fully respect the country's judicial sovereignty. the approach is at odds with the kind of language coming out of london, paris, and washington, for example, but it does quite -- raised questions what method will move the junta in rangoon.

justin is a biographer of aung san suu kyi, and he joins us. no surprises and what beijing had to say and its approach. the question is, do they have a point, that it is better to take the soft approach? >> i think to call it a soft approach is not quite right. china is an authoritarian state with its own human rights abuse records, very bad one. a sort of chumminess between china and burma. >> what it is saying, i impose, and implied criticism is not explicit of the kinds of stuff we have heard in sarkozy, gordon brown in britain, where they call the monstrous, terrible, and so will -- and so on. >> the chinese have been thinking for some time now that the west should really back off

and stop being fiercely critical of the regime. the singaporean leader a few days ago said that suu kyi was part of the problem and not necessarily the solution. there is a large question of whether particularly in afghanistan -- that we need to tone down democracy jihad. you have to look at the history of the country's really. >> the mind -- sorry to interrupt. the west's approach, they are also calling for sanctions for tougher sanctions. what do you make of that? >> i cannot imagine any sanctions that would work. gordon brown called for a global arms embargo, but that will happen because he will never get china and russia to sign up in the u.s. the security council. the problem with sanctions is it

has impoverished burma, kept it as a very poor country. quite honestly, i begin to think, if you looked at the health care there, which is almost nonexistent, and education, would the picture be different had we gone in there with economic engagement, take our ads -- and it might rub off. i think sanctions are hurting the people of burma. >> just very briefly. you are a biographer of aung san suu kyi. would you think she might be making of this, what approach the thing she would favor? >> it is strange that i should be her biographer, and i greatly admire her human qualities of courage and determination. when she was at liberty at the end of the 1990's, she was very

pro-sanctions indeed. if she could rethink that -- it is not that sanctions were not worth trying but the regime has not responded, simply hardened. that is what we got to change. >> thank you very much. thank you. round up of some other stories. schools and colleges have closed for a week in india posit commercial capital mumbai to contain the spread of swine flu. officials say centimos will also shut. mumbai -- the worst affected in india where 11 of the country's 15 swine flu deaths occurred. a leading member of khmer rouge there ruled cambodia in the 1970's asked for harshest punishment at his trial for war crimes of murder. he tells the united nations- backed tribunal that he accepted responsibility for the sorrow and suffering of the 1 million cambodian people who lost husbands and wives. militants in northern

afghanistan attacked a government building, killing a district police chief and at least one of his offices. the assault happened in the province where violence has increased in recent months. reports say the attackers struck before dawn with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. starting a long gun battle. erin is here, so it is that time. we can look ahead to your business report. there are figures coming out -- a statement coming out of the fed in new york. >> the interest rate decision. but all expectations is it they will not do anything. they will be zero of the moment. >> but the context is more important. >> it is what ben bernanke, the u.s. fed chairman, it will say. it is always that accompanying statement. we are hearing they are likely to say the recovery is on track. it is long and slow, and they

always say every recession off the back of a financial crisis takes longer to get to the other end, if you will. but the recovery is on track and is it the worst recession since world war ii could be ending soon and could be growth by the end of the year but certainly no change in the interest rate. virtually near zero, and it will remain that way for some time, they think. >> on this side -- side of the atlantic there is a statement from the bank of england and >> mervyn king, the counterpart of bernanke -- let me remind you when we have the interest rate decision a weaker so ago, they did not change rates year but they surprisingly pumped 50 billion pounds into the banking system. that came as a real surprise. the reason they did that is because the bank of england said this recession was deeper than previously thought. so the inflation report saying inflation is 1.8%, it could be

below 1% temporarily by the end of this year. u.k. unemployment hitting the highest level since 1996 -- 7.8%. member thank you very much. this is "world news today." coming up, u.s. secretary of state elrich clinton continues her extended visit to africa in nigeria -- secretary of state hillary clinton. mysteries surround the whereabouts of a cargo ship that has gone missing traveling from finland to north africa. the arctic sea, 1 million pounds worth of timber on board, was last contacted by the british coastguard as it endured the streets of over two weeks ago. it was last spotted off the coast of portugal and there are fears of the vessel may have been hijacked. >> the straits of bill that is what -- dover is one of the world's busiest sea ways, but the whereabouts of one cargo ship that passes through these heavily patrolled waters is

still on known. some fear it is now under the control of pirates. coastguard of trying to find the arctic sea, a 4000-ton vessel carrying 1 million pounds worth of timber. she set off from finland on july 23. according to reports, it was boarded by 10 armed men as it sailed through the baltic sea. the intruders apparently tied of the crew and later left on a high-speed inflatable boat. the last radio contact was made to coastguard in dover, but it was not until the ship cleared the channel did dover coastguard learned into a poll issued a hijack warning. the ship was last spotted off the coast of portugal and it was due to dock in northern algeria on the fourth of august. >> it is not going through the strait of gibraltar. no debris found, so without the vessel as missing or had a catastrophic -- catastrophic failure. i would assume it is under control of somebody other than

the owner. >> russia's black sea fleet has now joined the search for the ship but its disappearance sparked new concern that piracy could become a threat in our waters. bbc news. >> a riot -- a riot in the prison in southern california shut down part of the institution and injured about 175 inmates. this shows of the aftermath of the apparently racially- motivated riot that broke out saturday evening. >> this is "world news today" from bbc world news. i'm george alagiah. the main headlines -- hundreds of people missing in taiwan are found alive but fears remain after many others. officials and indonesia say it wasn't them militant leader noordin mohammed top who was killed on the weekend.

what impact of recent terror attacks on my york had on tourist holidays -- mallorca. attacks are said to be the work of the basque separatist group eta. it claimed responsibility of an attack last month that killed t wo security guard offices. bunking kennedys began to holidaymakers about their fears in the wake. but here in mallorca, there are still coming to terms with the bombings, that left two policeman dead. also the height of the holiday season. something like 3 million people coming to the beautiful beaches, population of 1 million during the rest of the year but tripling at this time of year. obviously some people i know this. -- people are nervous. this is one picture we have found on this particular island. bear in mind, the first time mallorca has been hit and the

first time the bombing campaign was brought off the mainland. many tourists are british and many expressed their feelings to the local authorities, saying they may or may not council the holidays. but there is no sense of mass cancellations. they are from blank a share -- they are from lancashire. what is your reaction? >> we heard them last week, we worried about coming out. i was a bit worried yesterday. but it just seems to be quite a bit of police presence at the moment, so we feel quite sick. them a bit nervous at first about coming out. but did not really hear anything about the bonds yesterday -- bonds yesterday, until this morning. but there is quite a lot of police around. >> authorities have released six photographs of members of eta that they want to talk to, including two women.

but they say if it is safe enough for the king of spain to take his holiday here, then it is pretty much stayed for everybody else. that seems to be the general attitude. they will continue with their holiday on this beautiful. as island. >> duncan kennedy. russia announced it will spend almost $500 million next year to strengthen its military bases in abkhazia, the breakaway region of georgia that is not officially recognized as an independent state by moscow. following the wars between russia and georgia last year. vladimir putin is visiting the region. arrive there in the last hour. our correspondent is on the line from abkhazian capital. $500 million, and over some of money. definitely a statement of intent. >> it shows the level of commitment that russia has defend abkhan =zia and finance

it. so far the biggest amount of money from moscow to abkhazia, defenses, but of the border, to prevent any further trouble with georgia, but also pledging money to build up infrastructure, roads, railways, and also paying people's pensions. clearly a fairly significant amount of money coming from russia. >> if you say the bulk of the money is going on military expenditure, that is going to ring alarm bells all over the region as far away -- even as far away as washington, i would think. >> absolutely. they will not be pleased that all. immediately the georgians are not happy, speaking to the folks and for the government there, he says this is a clear

violation of the ceasefire agreement. russia is supposed to be drawn down the forces. but here we have been spending a vast amount of money and add to the building up their military presence in the region. and, yes, there will be concerned in nato and washington, the fact that russia is building up permanent military bases in both abkhazia and the other breakaway region, south ossetia. >> thank you ramiya. we will leave it there. it the american secretary of state is having talks in nigeria on the fifth leg of her seven- nation tour of africa. reports saying mrs. clinton is to raise the problems of corruption and insecurity in nigeria and the need for democratic reforms. i am joined on the line by our correspondent who is in the nigerian capital. it does not give bigger than nigeria when it comes to africa, caroline beard what is the central message.

is it about corruption? >> that is what we are expecting it to be about. electoral reform and lack of electoral form and corruption are huge issues that tank nigeria's economy. corruption affects virtually every institution, virtually every sector. it certainly touches the lives of every single person. nigerians are certainly wanting this is -- expecting mrs. clinton to strike a tough tone. we are looking at the difference between what she says in public and private. diplomats here feel very, very uneasy about the future of nigeria. they fear they see more signs of deterioration then signs of progress in the country, democracy, if you like. and a lot of diplomats are saying that what mrs. clinton says in some ways will set the tone for how the international community will look at nigeria. >> thank you very much for that update.

selena with the latest sports news. >> thank you very much. a lot coming up the jake first, one of the best players and one of the most decorated best of all teams, chicago bulls. he truly is an international star. he was born in sudan but as british nationality. the growing popularity of a nba means basketball is played more and more across the world and he has been speaking to matt slater. >> i don't think it is an issue. i think it is good for the nba. i think the game is growing. basketball is a global game and the more people get to see you -- if i go to poland and i play in a dormant, guys will follow up and check on the chicago bulls. definitely the teams will want their players to play less, so that that is the other side.

but it is really good for the league before expanding. >> i have read some stuff to do some stuff written about you in the states in terms of your injury and a contract. to clear up last season -- because i was looking at the first couple of seasons in chicago, improvement every year, really becoming the leader in the courts. did the deal distract you of all, did you find pressure with the big money or your body failed your last season? and i just think i had injuries. i cannot really point a finger to one thing and i can really make excuses. i think at the end of the day that did not have the season i had years before, that is all it is. i gotta get back to the player that i am, whether it is injuries, getting more rest, being more involved in the system, whatever it is, you've got to figure it out. it really no time for excuses.

i am motivated enough to have a good year and i look forward to it. i don't cheat myself. i work very hard and try to make it happen on the floor. >> that is all for now. much more in the next hour. an interesting stuff. the summary of the top story -- hundreds of people feared buried in mud slides after a typhoon three days ago were found alive. a large-scale rescue operation is on the south of the island but a bbc correspondent says there is confusion about how many people what been rescued them from where. more on our website, bbc.com /news. >> funding was made possible by --

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