>> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> this is "bbc world news." four weeks out from the he the earthquake, the death toll is edging towards one quarter of a million. one the biggest humanitarian challenges in a generation, thousands still wait for shelter. the rest of the war hero turned opposition leader in sri lanka

brought conflict to the streets. the bbc crime -- the 1,000 kilometer journey just to get on the internet. china's security clampdown is driving business to the wall. hello, welcome to "gmt." the official death toll in haiti has reached 230,000. if private burials are included, they are fast approaching the number of deaths in the 2004 asian tsunami. the arrival of hollywood superstar angelina jolie you may keep the disaster in the headline, but the effect it will have on the aid efforts is a

moot point. tens of thousands are waiting for shelters. >> one month on in the full scale of the haitian catastrophe is still not known. the official death toll has climbed once again and the needs of one of the world's poorest countries are colossal. >> one month after words -- after words, there are still people in the street. there is no clear vision on certain problems. >> shelter is now the priority. there are not nearly enough tents to go around. the haitian prime minister says that it could take up to a decade to rebuild the quarter million homes destroyed by the earthquake. after a slow start to the aid effort the international community is keen to show it is listening. in the role of good will ambassador, angelina jolie

helped to put the problems back in the public eye. with the rainy season approaching, there are fears about the spread of disease. health workers say that diarrhea and malnutrition are killing. the injured are still being treated. u.s. navy hospital ships are full. the treatment they are getting here is not available on the land. this little girl lost a leg and has seve burns. >> there is an endless, infinite need and a finite supply of resources in the cnt. >> the patients of haitians have been brought to the limit. the injured have taken to the streets to voice their demands. >> will lead a more detailed look at the aid effort in a few

moments. >> talk of a rescue plan for greece has given the euro something of a boost, which is trading at $1.38 to the dollar. it comes as public-sector workers are on strike after a measures were announced to tackle the country's huge budget deficit. hospitals are able -- operating in emergency only services. teachers have stayed away from school. the bombings of the ritz, carlton, a hotels last year left nine dead and scores injured. the men on trial is in jakarta.

>> this was the moment that twin bombs exploded in two luxury hotels in the heart of the prestigious business district last year. indonesias image as a country that had managed to get a grip on terror was shattered. that is why was so important for them to find the man they believe to be responsible for the attacks. he was caught and killed in a raid last year after the blast. the man on trial today is believed to be one of his accomplices. als the room in the hotel where one of the bombs went off. >> arriving in court was another suspect. he and his accomplices are being charged with violating anti- terror laws in indonesia. they could face the death

penalty if found guilty. this trial could provide vital clues on where the funding came from. and in -- information that could help the authorities continue with their fight against terror. >> tensions are escalating in tree long cut -- sri lanka. supporters of the general clashed with pro-government activists. more than 160 bodies have been recovered from a mountain path in afghanistan after a series of major avalanches. officials said they expect more bodies to be pulled out. it came after many days of heavy snow.

some of the victims froze to death in their vehicles or were overcome by exhaustion inside of the tunnel. the lebanese prime minister has told the bbc that he is very concerned over another war with israel after much aggressive rhetoric involving israel, lebanon, and syria. >> there are threats every day. my only threats, but we have seen what happens on the ground, in the aerospace, all of the time over the past few months, every day they are entering israeli airspace. this is something that is really dangerous. >> there has been a legal blow to the british government in

their attempts to hang onto documents pertaining to a terrorist and guantanamo bay. they say that they knew he was being tortured while he was held in a secret prison for seven years. china says that members of creatine tow are on trial for robbery and stealing secrets, including three chinese nationals and an australian citizen. this arrest has caused political friction between china and australia. the harlem globetrotters have been showing off their usual combination of athleticism and comedy, but this time it is on ice. they have played a game on the central path from the proper

competitive team, over the years developing the routine, more entertainment than sports, some would say. former nba members have been part of their repertoire. back to you, george. >> you are watching "gmt." let's return to our main story this hour. one month after the earthquake in haiti, the government believes that two under and 50,000 people have died in the disaster. i am joined from rome. what is your assessment, now, of the challenge facing the humanitarian aid agencies? >> the first wave is finished,

the lasting, they are literally dropping down in the moment where they will reconstruct, from metal -- from medical point of view so that they can really bring help to all these people who have lost limbs in many cases. of course, there is much more to do in terms of distribution for the people. >> what i find amazing, and i was in port-au-prince just a few days afterwards, i find it difficult to believe that there are still people waiting for tense for weeks on. talk about reconstruction, they have got nothingn -- over their head. >> this is not the most effective relief so far, but the

distinction of the crisis and the number of people that they werlooking for, especially for the fact that the very first day of the effort was concentrated on saving lives. this was one of the very first priorities. >> you are clearly concentrating on the medical need, but do you have an opinion on the wider operation? of a wider aid operation? the you think that the model of allowing the military to coordinated, does it work, the think? >> difficult to know, but personally i think it is important to keep the separation between the institution and the action. the action is made of people that normally have the objective to save lives and bring relief and support.

i do not want to exclude the possibility of the military doing humanitarian work, but it can generate some confusion. we have some very important the latest in reaching the materials to continue working on the first day after the crisis. this was probably because the management of the airport was not perfectly done by the haitian authorities and the american u.s. army. thank you so much. as we have heard, there have been violent clashes outside of the supreme court in sri lanka when they came face-to-face with opposition groups following the arrest of the war hero that had turned into an opposition group leader. the architect over the victory over the tamil tigers last year said that he feared for his life

while in detention. charles, before we get on to these clashes, there is news coming in saying that the general's wife has filed a petition of fundament rights. tell us what that means. >> it means that she has brought, or her lawyers have sent a petition to the supreme court, saying that the detention or husband was illegal. the authorities said that he was being detained under military law. the supreme court is going to hear it on friday, just about 48 hours time. the opposition has said that they would not some kind of legal protest, and i think that her petition is whathe protest is. >> none of this bodes very well for the elections that have to take place.

we have seen these kind of cop -- violent clashes before and the campaign has barely started. makes the mind boggle at what we might have. >> elections are known to be times of increased tension in tree long cut, and this one have been just a couple of weeks ago when there was an extremely violent presidential campaign. the incumbent president and the general, his former ally threw down the gauntlet, coming from the same ideological position, ethnic minorities that were instrumental in defeating the tigers, making many of the minorities feel quite bruised. these two people from the same ideological wellspring, their supporters viciously lashed out at each other. with the attention being raised by the government, particularly since the election, i think that

the coming weeks leading up to the parliamentary elections could, indeed, seem more violent. that does not mean the demonstrators like the ones we have seen today -- those are not particularly common, but there is anger at the opposition and the fact that the general was dragged, almost kicking and screaming, against his will from his office the other day. the government has adamantly insisted that they have evidence to prove a string of allegations against them. >> coming up, why are internet restrictions forcing chinese people to drive hundreds of kilometers to get online? hospitals in the uk that are

treating wounded troops from afghanistan are coming under increasing pressure because of mounting numbers of injuries. caroline reports. >> medical care at camp bastion has been praised as excellent, but is operating close to its limits because of the sheer number of patients. at home they take care of injured service people but are under greater pressure to develop better plans to develop -- deal with the military casualties. 500 personnel were seriously wounded in afghanistan over the past couple of years. even more have received serious juries. compensation the they have received has been criticized in the past. darren's stevens was wounded in 2007, and he still has shrapnel

from the severed nerve in his arm. others have to fight for recognition of their problems, and clothing -- including posttraumatic stress. >> i am frustrated, you have to go talk to these people to help you, you cannot help yourself. >> we hope that out of the work that has been carried out for us that that balance is going to be at rest -- addressed in the those who are serving will have greater confidence. >> confidence is essential as british soldiers prepared to risk their lives, the government warning that more casualties may be unavoidable.

>> this is "gmt." the main headlines -- four weeks after the earthquake in haiti, the death toll edges towards a quarter of a million. like a battlefield, eyewitnesses say that thousands of supporters of the arrested presidential candidate have been attacked by supporters of the current president in sri lanka. how far would you be prepared to travel to send an e-mail? thousands of kilometers? since last year that is what some people in western china have had to do to get around strict internet curves. following violent clashes last summer, here is our chinese correspondents. >> -20 degrees in the far west of china, they feel frozen and

cut off. another security patrol passes. for months the people have been isolated, communication with the outside world has been restricted. china says it is fighting terrorism and separatism year and that they must be vigilant. last year in southern china, this was a factory brawl, to people beaten to death. mobs rioted and others retaliated. china says that 200 mostly chinese were killed and internet phones were reduced to broadcast images. they have kept a severe restriction on the flow of information in and out of this province. text messages have been

suspended. the millions that live here have only had access to information that chinese communist party members want them to see. affecting over 20 million citizens, including many here. this couple makes their living trading fruit and nuts that the province is famous for. internet access is still severely disrupted. there are a couple of dozen web site like state news that are acceptable. no instant messaging, no way to reply to the orders that they get online. >> it is ok for the government to control things, but when they control everything, even the search engine, it has an effect. >> this is how they have got around the internet block. at 1,000 kilometer journey.

this is the only way they have had to send e-mails to keep their business going. others have followed the same route. after 20 hours they reach the first working on internet connection. when they check online, there's a cost of being cut off. angry customers that have not received what they have asked for. order after order cancelled. >> it is not just the money, we have lost their trust. >> out in the desert is the very end of the chinese great wall. keeping order in the kingdom has long been a chinese priority. critics say that chinese risks cutting itself off from the flow of ideas and progress. >> 20 years since nelson mandela

walked free fom jail as the man that steered his divided country away from its racist past. tomorrow the people from south africa will celebrate the momentous day. our correspondent there reported his release in 1990 has been back to south africa, where the man that freed nelson mandela asked if this was one of the biggest days of his life. >> one of them. i realized that after the announcement that i made, south africa would be changed forever. >> not to diminish what you decided in did, but to suggest that south africa was under intense pressure, internationally. there was a run on the

financials from outside and inside. >> absolutely. we were caught up in a downward spiral of growing isolation. and of growing violence and terrorist methods. >> how much were you influenced by what had happened in europe? >> the collapse of the berlin wall played an important role in what i could do. if that did not happen, it would have been very difficult to unveil the south african communist party. and its military wing, which were financed and supplied with arms, etc., by the u.s.s.r.. >> be clear, too many white people at the time, you were a

trader, you sold them out. >> so many. even today, 20 years on. their very negative about what has happened. they continue to accuse me. then i believe i was doing the right thing. with the advantage of hindsight, i very much believe that we did the right thing. it had to be done to avert catastrophe. although there are issues in the new south africa, whatever problems we still have is a much better place. >> after the toy yoder recall of its best-selling hybrids, -- after the toyota car recall of its best-selling hybrids, honda is also pulling some cars back in because of airbag problems.

>> a third wave of recalls on cars with defective air bags. the problems for the honda go back to 2001. the air bag and over inflate and burst. there have only been 12 reported cases but they have had serious and fatal results. honda said that they cannot be clearly certain that it will perform as designed. caution from the manufacturer is expected, but the trouble for toyota led to renewed focus. perhaps honda has already recalled more than 600,000 cars this year to no great global alarm. with toyota posting its first

losses since 1950, it cannot affo to lose its reputation. the quality makes it the biggest car maker in the world. similarly, honda must be seen to exercise caution. meanwhile, the owners will be sent a letter, offerings with replacement and added reassurance from other japanese brand. >> you have been watching "gmt" on "bbc world news." >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of 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 global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> i'm julia stiles. >> i'm kevin bacon. >> i'm kim cattrall. >> hi, i'm ken burns. >> i'm lili taylor. >> i'm henry louis gates, jr., and public broadcasting is my source for news about the world. >> for intelligent conversation. >> for election coverage you can count on. >> for conversations beyond the sound bites. >> a commitment to journalism. >> for deciding who to vote for. >> i'm kerry washington, and public broadcasting is my source for intelligent connections to my community. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.