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a new cabinet confirmed by iran's parliament, including eight defense minister accused of the bombing of a jewish cultural center. what does it mean for britain and america's special relationship? and, down under. at a time for one of the world's most iconic buildings to get if 21st century facelift. it is 7:00 a.m. in washington, midday in london, and 6:00 p.m. in the indonesian island of java. that is where rescuers are in a different search of -- for survivors following wednesday's earth. 46 people confirmed dead there are fears that that number could rise. in western java, that is where most of the damage has occurred. we will be live in a moment with our correspondent, but first

here is her report. >> the morning after a powerful earthquake struck the island of java, and survivors are picking up what is left of their damaged homes. most people had to spend the night outdoors. they were worried about the possibility of further aftershocks. villagers say they are still waiting for help from their government. >> we have no food, no aid, but we have to accept this. this is the fasting month. i hope we will get food and aid soon. >> it has been over a day since the powerful earthquake struck the island of java. behind me, a landslide has been created by that earthquake. dozens of people are still stuck beneath it. one of the worst affected areas is the district of cianjur where dozens of villages are trapped beneath a landslide. >> the landslide happened at the

same time as the earthquake. there were tremors and loud noises. immediately after the quake, the landslide came. >> indonesia's's rescue teams are working around the clock, but their efforts are being hampered by poor road conditions, and many officials have said that equipment needed to pull victims out of the landslide still have not reached the area. indonesia is no stranger to disasters of this scale. many in the country are often poorly equipped. >> we go live to java now and enjoy her -- and join her. nighttime is approaching. rescue efforts are continuing? >> rescue efforts are likely to continue throughout the evening. it is the end of the day here

now. it had been raining. rescue efforts have been hampered by the poor weather conditions, and people are telling us that rescue officials trying to get to people trapped under the landslide -- they had to dig them out by hand. it is very difficult conditions here in scienter in western java. >> -- in cianjur in western java. there are still areas that cannot be reached, but the indonesian president has been speaking to us. in fact, in the last hour, he visited this area of cianjur, and he told me that international assistance was not needed, that the indonesian government was able to provide full medical and full rescue services that the country needs right now in these areas. so, yes, still some remote parts of the country that have not been reached, but indonesia says they can handle this on its own.

>> as you travel around, how serious and how bad is the damage? >> well, the damage, from what we have heard and what we have seen, has been quite widespread . the landslide has been because of the most destruction, shaking so powerfully during that earthquake. villagers have told us that what they are most concerned about is that when this earthquake actually took place, all of the women and children were probably at the -- were probably in their homes preparing for the end of the day, to break their fast. it is the holy month of ramadan in indonesia, but the concern is that all the people trapped inside may have been trapped inside at that particular time when the earthquake struck. >> thank you for updating us from share ensure -- from cianjur.

time is running for a new climate deal. the new inspector general has urged leaders to make rapid progress to cut emissions and tackle global warming. the chief minister at india, and dropped red-, was killed in a helicopter crash. the french filmmaker who made an acclaimed documentary about the violent street gangs of health salvador has been shot dead outside san salvador. christian poveda was killed outside the capital. iran's parliament has largely approved the 21 member cabinet of president ahmadinejad. three menominees commit to of whom were women, were rejected by lawmakers. however, the parliament overwhelmingly approved as defense mr. minister and then it

wanted with -- a man wanted in connection with the bombing in 1994. but there have been five days of stormy debate. despite criticism that the nominees were inexperienced, president ahmadinejad won the support of hard-liners in parliament. three were rejected, but two of them women. the pettitte and's choice for defense minister, ahmad vahidi, won strong backing. he is accused by argentina of involvement in the bombing of a jewish center in but osiris in 1994. -- in buenos aires in 1994. the current foreign minister has been nominated for a second term in office. the proposed oil minister was also approved, despite questions

over his experience. iran will also have its first female minister in 30 years, marzieh vahidi dastjerdi is involved in -- is the minister of health. the president had been facing serious opposition from among his own conservative supporters and from reporters. the outcome may give some way to bolster its credibility. >> we go to our central london studio and joint bbc persian television. 18 out of 21 were selected after a stormy debate. this is surely seen as a success for pettitte and ahmadinejad. >> -- as a success for president ahmadinejad docca. >> a letter or a message from iran possible leader, a message to the effect that he wanted parliament to support president

ahmadinejad's nominees at this particular time, these critical times in iran. basically everyone fell into line, including even the hard- liners who were doubtful. about president ahmadinejad. >> what about some of the appointments, hugely controversial, of our ahmad vahidi, who has already said that his election is a decisive slap to israel? >> he won the highest number of votes in today's boating, and it was basically a slap in the face for israel, members of parliament shaun and death to israel as a way of supporting the shocking death to israel as a way of supporting. he is a controversial figure. the most important thing about this cabinet is the sheer and

staggering lack of experience or qualifications on the part of many of these nominees. like, for example, you have the oil minister, the new oil minister, with zero experience in the oil sector. his nominee for higher education is somebody who was in charge of counting the controversial votes some two months ago. he will have trouble at the universities there on that front. on the whole, a very staggering lack of experience of qualifications on the part of many of these ministers. >> thank you. relations between iraq and syria seemed to have sunk to a new low. harsh words have been exchange. iraq has accused syria of posting terrorist training camps and sheltering alleged masterminds of recent attacks.

our correspondent has been following this. >> recent bombings in central baghdad which you may remember happened just a day after the iraqi prime minister, nouri al maliki, met with the president of syria there. then the bombings happened, and the iraqis accused syria of sheltering people at believes were involved in those bombings. the syrians have reacted very angrily, saying that they are still holding more than 1 million -- still hosting more than 1 million iraqi refugees, calling these allegations in moral. with no sign of this crisis getting any better, i have been talking to the iraqi foreign minister sabah r.e. >> syria is now under scrutiny as to how far it will go for

iraqi demand. two days ago the british foreign minister was there and the syrians have always asked for evidence. we gave him an abundance of evidence. of camps, training camps, lists of people, statements of those who have been detained by iraqi security forces. all confirmed that there has been some collusion here. it is not direct involvement, but definitely we have to be very careful. to say what we say. we are not accusing the syrians directly of coordinating, organizing, conducting this. >> iraq house foreign minister talking to andhra north in baghdad.

we have financial analysis coming up in 25 minutes. in major u.s. technology -- >> europe is at the central of all this. they are talking about oracle. there was a takeover plan of sun microsystems that has now been investigated by european watchdogs. the deal was approved by shareholders and the u.s. department of justice, but as a result of this latest development, it has been put on hold. a decision from europe issued on january, 2010. it is comforting can obtain a billion euros in aid. we are looking there at the equivalent of $1.42 billion, that money coming from britain, poland, and spain, the idea being to restructure gm's european units, that report

coming through from "the wall street journal," which also says that gm is prepared to pour more than 1 billion euros of its own money to keep opel from being sold to the european maker. you can get more on the world business report coming to an -- coming to you in about 25 minutes time. >> this is "world news today." as controversy continues over the release of the lockerbie bomber, what will it mean for britain and america's special relationship? and hitler's right-hand man. we speak to the bodyguard who witnessed the dying days of the third reich. it seems like it has been a long time coming up, but finally michael jackson will be buried on friday, laid to rest in california two months after he died. the private ceremony will be attended by the pop singer's close friends and family.

his death has been declared a homicide, criminal charges yet to be filed. >> the hilltop cemetery that will become the final resting place of michael jackson, forest lawn sits on 55 lush acres o. the singer will be incurred in the high-security mausoleum. a quiet affair in sharp contrast to the public memorial service that took place in july. a discrete set off for a man who spent his life in the spotlight. >> his family has lost a son, a brother, a father. anyone who has lost someone needs to have a place of privacy. >> this sprawling cemetery, to the north of downtown los angeles, has been described as a disneyland for the dead come a final resting place for some of hollywood's biggest stars.

john wing, jimmy stewart, walt disney were all laid to rest here. for the federal, the cemetery will be closed to the public. >> do not come. you will not be able to get in, you will not be able to see anything. >> with the police investigation continuing into the singer's death, the funeral is unlikely to mark the final chapter in the story of michael jackson. >> the funeral of michael jackson starts at 2:00 gmt. if you like to join us, do join us here on bbc world news. we will be covering that event live. this is "world news today," and here are the main halides. heavy rescue equipment being moved into west java after

an earthquake. and a plymouth has been approved in iran of a controversial defense minister accused of terrorism in argentina. the release of the lockerbie bomber on compassionate grounds continues to provoke reaction. the u.s. ambassador to the un has been virtually every american -- has said virtually every american was offended by his release. it has been claimed britain wrote a promise that he would stay behind bars. where does all of this lead? i am joined by the american general, charlie wolf, director of republican abroad uk. >> one correction, i was communications director for a time of republicans abroad, but

not anymore. i think actually representing not just a partisan view, i think this was a widely held view. yes, americans felt very much letdown. to hear susan rice from the obama administration, which of course is trying to be friendly to everybody, that is pretty heavy-duty stuff to hear such strong words from someone like that. >> is this just about justice, or do americans feel that a bond of trust has been broken? >> i think there are two angles. the average american will not remember the finer details from 20 years ago, from the trial, etc., but it clashes britain against the french and germans in the lead up to iraq. they see the bridge being the country that is really just money grubbing, only interested in they see the britain's -- they see britain as being the country that is really just

money grubbing, only interested in -- agreement aside, there was international import to this whole situation, so it should have been up to gordon brown. but now we hear statements from gordon brown and david miller and the other day saying that we did not want to see him dying in prison. i was talking to someone at the embassy yesterday, and the response was the same as mine -- why would they be sitting around talking about that when there were agreements in place. but why wouldn't it just come up? >> so they americans -- so the americans feel that the promise that he would die behind bars has been broken. >> i would not say it is quite dire, but it really has put a tarnished -- and it is not 8 promise but an agreement. that to me is stronger than a promise. these are letters that were sent

to the u.n. security council, so this was a hard and fast agreement, and somehow gordon brown has put this in the lap of the justice minister and said it has had nothing to do with it, using can in the castle as a fall guy. not that i think that macca skill's decision was not ludicrous. he is listening to this minister of a local province talking about the need for compassion when he forgets the compassion is for the families and the compassion that has already been shown to him by due process of law. we are going to look at this in the future and say do we really want to share information, and how can we trust these people who have broken an agreement? >> 70 years ago today, britain and france declared war on not to germany, marking the start of

world war ii. 50 million lives were claimed over six years. in april 1945, adolf hitler committed suicide in his bunker. a week later, germany surrendered. of the people who were with him in the bunker, only one man survived. steve rosenberg has more. >> for five years he was part of hitler topos inner circle, -- hinler's inner circle. a telephone operator to the fervor. now 92, he is still living in berlin, surrounded by members of the man. >> my first meeting with hitler was rather strange. hiller's chief was asking questions about my grandmother and my childhood. he got up and walk toward the door. being an obedience holger, i went forward to open it, and

there was hitler standing right behind the door. this i will never forget. i felt cold and then i felt hot. i felt every emotion. -- at a of hiller's alpine retreat. here is a photo of him with his dog. with the allies advancing into germany on the brink of defeat, hinler retreated to his broker -- hitler retreated to his bunker. he was the final witness of hitler's downfall. what can you remember about the day adolf hitler committed suicide? >> suddenly somebody shouted out it has happened.

they had heard a gunshot. i had not heard it. when the door to his room was open, i could see hitler with his head on the table. eva braun was lying on the sofa next to him. she was wearing a dark blue dress with white frills. i watched as they wrapped hitler up. his legs were stepping up -- were sticking up as they carried it out. someone shouted, hurried upstairs, they are burning the boss. i decided not to go. it was clear that i would be killed by the gestapo for being one of the last witnesses. >> these are rare images outside his bunker. here is the interest and the villain -- the ventilation shaft. later the bunker was blown up to stop it from becoming a nazi shrine.

he was captured by the army and spent nine years -- did you really know nothing about the horrors hitler was unleashing -- the holocaust and the concentration camps? >> it was clear that concentration camps existed. i only knew about dachau. i did not know anything more, i did not know the scale. the nuremberg trial dealt with crimes committed by the germans, but you must remember there has never been a war without crimes. and there never will be. >> this is not a complete picture of the hitler years. these are the memories of one soldier, but he was there when the nazi machine fell apart. he witnessed the end of the third reich. steve rosenberg, bbc news, berlin. >> time to hear more.

>> the top-ranked woman player, no. 70. they are u.s. women's tennis. sapna, the no. 1 -- venus williams defeated sara williams , dustin reid at williams. -- sabrerena, publicly accused f cheating at the french open. the nets beat sands, and in the men's singles, federer's second round winner against simon grow well. the german did have a set point in the second. he did not take it. federer won that 17-five. he also took that one in the

third seven-five. third seven-five.