we are working with the searing red crescent. we deliver food and health and a lot of things, and that is for them, it is not for us. and we expect that all the armed groups, all authorities respect independence, neutrality, and give us a safe passage. the international team of chemical weapons experts meanwhile have set out for another day of verifying and destroying the equipment and munitions used to deliver the deadly weapons. so far, they have not gone into any province on the ground. virtually all the chemical sites are in government held areas. but they do have to cross lines from time to time. they are taking nothing for granted and -- in a constantly changing situation. the violence and abductions were unneeded reminders that the war rages on. with that in mind, the u.s. secretary of state john kerry is meeting the special toernational envoy in london discuss a possible peace conference in geneva next month.

the regime says it is ready to go. but the opposition was in disarray, both politically and on the ground. assembling a unified credible delegation is not going to be easy. bbc news, beirut. is the latest situation on the ground. as i said earlier, speaking in an exclusive interview with the bbc, the director general of the has expressed concerns about fighting hampering access to some of the site is team needs to visit. let's just have a listen. we often have access problems because there are roads that change hands from one day or another. that is why we continue to appeal to all sides in syria to support this mission, to be cooperative. and refrain from rendering this mission more difficult. it is already challenging. , we understand which

was already abandoned, is in a rebel held area. so, we will see whether we can have access to the site eventually. >> you had asked for a cease- fire earlier. are you finding the regime are cooperating and the rebels and opposition or not? >> i ask for a temporary cease- fire is because in the previous visions, you and led missions to investigate allegations of abuse, there were temporary cease-fires of four or five hours which helped in fact this mission to be carried out. i thought that when our team moves from one site to another, from damascus to the sites, i think it would be helpful to have the temporary cease-fire. that is what i asked for. >> but your initial discussions and negotiations with opposition, have you found them to be as cooperative as the regime? nations, in fact, is dealing with the security

measures and logistical support and they have been in contact, and i assume they are in continuous contact with the opposition. i think they have been cooperative so far. and we hope they will continue to be. as a very high boost of more out to them. as you know, they are working in a very challenged circumstance in the field. >> do you recognize lot about the potential of what they could do? >> when the committee announced was inhey said that it recognition of achievements over aboutst years, but also the challenging tasks which await this organization ahead, particularly in syria. >> that was mr. ahmet uzumcu talking to the bbc. with me is security correspondent frank gardner. areasked about some changing hands in syria by the day. this is uncharted territory

for his organization, the organization for prevention of chemical weapons. in the 16 years since it was created, it never had to do it in a war zone. that is a difficult thing. we have seen in the past people basically dismantling libya and iraqi's chemical weapons capabilities but in syria there is a full-scale civil war raging. that is why it is a real dilemma . in order to get this whole job done by the very tight deadlines -- in other words, getting all the production facilities destroyed or disposed of or neutralized by the end of this month, only two weeks away, and all the chemical weapons disposed of by the middle of next year, you sort of need some kind of authority in charge to make that happen. something the rebel don't want. what they want to see is the collapse of the assad regime, which most of the western world considers was responsible for the atrocity august 21.

but if that regime collapses, it will make the job of the inspectors almost impossible. it is difficult enough as it is to do it in contested areas. >> he is more or less saying at the moment the real problem is not with the assad government in terms of corporation -- cooperation with getting the temporary cease-fires in areas where the opposition is in charge. >> that is exactly the problem. the rebels, they view this whole deal as a bit of a disaster for them. they were poised for game changing missile strikes by u.s. missiles coming in from offshore. that they thought would knockout syria's command-and-control system as a punishment for the view that the u.s. and british held view that the government that did the attack august 21. that is not happening. so this is a double blow for them. because it is in the interest of the international community for the conflict to end, but also to

-- defend this dangerous chemical weapons arsenal that could easily go across borders. >> syria has today officially joined the convention on chemical weapons. how significant is that? >> hugely significant. almost the only bit of good news -- and i tweeted it --in this awful conflict. of course, it does not change the fact that thousands of -- have died and are dying by conventional weapons. a lot of people saying why are you so about, gluttons when people died from bullets and shells? that has not changed. but the removal of chemical weapons from such a dangerous conflict has got to be a good thing. it still leaves egypt, a country that is not eyed war but has major problems internally, egypt has got a pretty significant chemical arsenal and so does north korea. with korea has enough artillery

warheads to actually soak south korea's border and even week -- and reached some parts of seoul if there were a conflict. >> thank you very much. in some other news, the hundreds of thousands of muslims gathering at mount arafat near the holy city of mecca for the annual haj pilgrimage. officials expect around 1.5 million pilgrims to descend on this site are prayers. numbers are down sharply this year due to health fears over the mers virus. there is growing public anger in india after at least 150 people were killed in a stampede at a hindu festival. elise say it was triggered by rumors that a bridge pilgrims were crossing was about to collapse. authorities have been criticized for failing to take the necessary security measures. hundreds of thousands of people who were evacuated before cyclone phailin hit eastern india have started returning from their homes. but thousands remain in

temporary accommodations after their homes were destroyed in one of the region's powerful cyclone in 14 years. budget two people died when the storm struck on saturday. when the stormed struck saturday. italy plans to increase patrols of mediterranean waters to try and stop a repeat of the shipwrecks which of claims the lives of hundreds of migrants this month alone. details of the new air and naval package as it is being called is being discussed by the cabinet later monday, but it is thought the number of patrol personnel with triple and the navy with deployed warships to waters south of sicily. meanwhile, more than 100 coffins have arrived in sicily from the shipwreck which saw more than 300 eritrean drowned off the coast of lampedusa. a very bright light for a very somber task. someing silence, then

mourners are overcome with emotion as the coffin, that of a child, the only white one, is coming out of the ship. the town was among hundreds of mourners, including everett trahan to live in italy who came to pay their respect -- to live in italy came out to be the respect. >> we urgently need to find a way to be able to regulate this flow, to put an end to this type of tragedy. it is inconceivable. it is not in any way understandable, and it is certainly not acceptable. migrants often say they are ready to face the perilous journey in hope of a better life. this woman managed to reach italy four years ago from eritrea. >> i came by ship as well.

but on my journey, i saw terrible things along the way. i was arrested in libya for one year. i saw lots of bad things. but god has led me through all of this, so i am here now. >> and many migrants here hold her view. that hope of a better future make many risk it with whatever they can. boats continue to come onto mainland europe, and the big question many are asking, how do you deal with this increasing problem? the italian government dedicated 190 million euros solely to the problem of migration. the european union has come up with 20 million, making it 200 the10 million to deal with establishment of centers to be used to process them. it has just been announced that the nobel prize for economics has been awarded to eugene -- peter hanson and

robert shiller for their imperial cult analysis of asset prices to make in the fine predictions. the three american scientists won the 2013 economics nobel prize for, and i'm quoting here, the empirical analysis of asset prices, as i was just saying, that is what the award giving body said. we will bring you some more on that, the nobel prize for economics, later on in the program. when we can work out exactly what it is for. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come. it was infamously toxic but thousands of unborn babies -- new research can create a safe version of the little mind. -- pahlidimide. mining's worst ever disaster is remembered today, a century after 440 lost their lives at an explosion in south wales. a monument will be unveiled to

remember more than 5000 killed in accidents across wales. see the flame in my lamp getting dimmer, i could hear a boy shouting for my father. where's my father. i want my father. >> one of just 18 survivors remembers the first moment of the disaster. an electrical spark ignited methane gas, causing a game -- wave of explosions underground. newsreels captured the outpouring of grief that followed. for three weeks, rescue teams have tried to recover all the bodies. some could only be identified by their boots. a century on, coal mining has long left this valley. but memories have been kept alive. >> you can see down in the valley, the terrace houses and -- and -- and some co

some houses, there were 3, 4, 5 killed. absolutely horrific. >> not the first time the places suffered. 12 years early, 81 were killed at the same mind. but what happened october 14, 19 13, was the moment he changed the life of every family here. even now, it is difficult to take in the scale of the disaster. i've hundred children were left without their fathers. left0 children were without their fathers. in a street of 80 houses, 40 men killed. their lives will be among the thousands honor today in the unveiling of a memorial. for some, it has a forgotten history, overshadowed by the horrors of the first world war. now, malaysia's court of appeal has ruled that christians cannot use the word allah to refer to their god, upholding a

government ban. 60% of the population is muslim in malaysia. the judging panel says the term i love must be exclusive to islam or typical cause public disorder -- the term allah must be exclusive to islam. christians argue that they use the allah word which predates islam for centuries and said they will appeal the ruling. our reporter joins me from: alum for. -- kuala lumpur. this ruling, does refer simply to the newspaper which use used the word, catholic herald, are we talking about print or conversations generally? >> well, the case was brought forward by the catholic newspaper "the harold." herald." -- "the

usage in daily life, it is quite tough to regulate and enforce. at the moment, the ruling is unprecedented. it will cover mainly printed publications. it is not clear whether the government is looking to confiscate existing copies out there, but certainly it will be problematic if any non-muslim groups want to publish anything with the word allah on iat -- allah on it from this time forward. >> this has caused tension in the past, hasn't it? >> indeed, in the past there have been bibles that were confiscated because it involved the word. they were muslim groups pushing for it. but the government in the last five years decided to put a blanket ban on all non-muslim publications on the usage of the word allah, and that is why christians are now fighting back. they have been using the word without problem for centuries, in fact, without issue. they believe this is a political move by the malay muslim

dominated government to boost its islamic credentials among the conservative reporters and also show -- to also push for malay super messy. the government denied it, saying in effect the continued use of this word by christians and non- muslim groups could cause chaos, public disorder. we did see some of this in 2010 when the court ruled in favor of the church, and there were churches firebombed as well as muslim prayer halls that were attacked. this case is still ongoing, and it really drives up the tension between the two shot -- size and shattered this illusion that this country is a multi phase country living in harmony. -- multi- faith country. >> they just very -- very much. this drug has a checkered past. first marketed as a sedative and prescribed to help when the women overcome morning sickness but then it was proven to cause

birth defects. earlier this year, bbc news revealed it is still causing birth effects in brazil where expectant mothers are taking it by mistake. now scientists are trying to develop a safer version of the drug which will not harm unborn children. agnes crawford reports. -- angus crawford reports. >> the drug is so toxic to unborn children, no women are allowed to work on the production line. millions of the bills come out of this factory in brazil every year, mainly to treat the painful complications of leprosy. in the late 1950s, it was given to expectant mothers to help with morning sickness. it caused thousands of birth defects around the world before being banned. it was only allowed to be used again under tight supervision. but as bbc news revealed earlier this year, those safeguards don't always work. is eight. his mother took the drug by mistake when she was pregnant.

she did not know the damage it could cause. thousands of miles away in scotland, one scientist in the horrified by what is happening in brazil, has been working on a solution. research on fish embryos reveals it may be possible to make a safer version. >> you can clearly see in almost every case, some sort of limb problems. the version of the drugs we hope to be safer, the limbs look great. you cannot tell there was a problem. obviously we need to be careful and do further testing and to make sure there are no species differences, but it is quite exciting at the moment. >> what is happening inside these eggs may change the way the world views for little my -- the drug. the experiment raises the possibility of a successor to fallow the mind --thalidimide. a safer medicine is still years

.way from being available the scientist, a foremost expert on those birth defects say the research in scotland is vital. hopes are on research, to find a safe molecule. it would be like heaven. to find a safe molecule that is affected to treat this serious diseases but also be safer unborn babies. hisoo late for allen and mother, but offering a hope no other family would have to suffer as they have. angus crawford, bbc news. >> i am joined from brussels by toby is arndt, chief operating officer of an organization set up to bring together groups and other organizations dealing with limb loss and efficiency across europe. thank you very much for being with us. what is your reaction to this latest research going on in scotland? perhapsel that this is

as suggested.g amino thaliminide has been around a long time and it is off -- has also been tested. there are warnings there are effects and rabbits and rats. we find they are now being tested in zebrafish -- which are not mammals, as opposed to iraqi and rat. if you want to make a statement on the effect in humans, you have to experiment with animals which are closer to humans and closer to humans than fish. it lacks some kind of credibility. be fair to the scientist,

he did say and what we heard that any sort of treatment would be years away. me is if we are so far away from getting any sort of successor to the drug, the emphasis needs to be still on regulation, which is what went wrong in a place like brazil. >> then the question is, do we really need the drug? when you look at alternative -- the drug is not used for leprosy treatment, it is used for the secondary leprosy, actually we call it enl. and there are various other therapies available. who warned against the use of the drug. there is a paper saying no -- for the drug and leprosy. on aer recently published workshop with brazilian physicians and scientists clearly say there is a better

drug, that it seems to be effective. >> all right -- i am really sorry to interrupt you. we are going to have to leave it there. thank you for your time. coming up in the next half-hour sketch," police release -- released sketches of a man they want to talk to in connection to the disappearance of madeleine mccann who went missing six years ago and portugal. we will be talking to our correspondent outside of scotland yard, leading another investigation into the case. stay with us. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years,

and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.

hello and welcome back to nhk world "newsline." i'm raja pradhan with the news from tokyo. the global watchdog dedicated to the elimination of chemical weapons is the winner of this year's nobel peace prize. the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons is based in the hague. opcw experts are currently in syria dismantling the country's stockpiles of these arms.

>> the nobel peace prize for 2013 is to be awarded to the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons, opcw, for its extensive work for eliminating chemical weapons. >> the chairman of the norwegian nobel committee says the opcw has sought ways to destroy chemical weapons since it was set up in 1997. he notes that the recent use of these arms in syria underscores the importance of the opcw's work. the organization's mission is to implement the chemical weapons convention. 189 states have signed the convention. it bans the development and possession of chemical weapons and sets out rules for getting rid of them. opcw experts inspect chemical arms stockpiles and related equipment and facilities for their eventual destruction. they carried out more than 5,100 inspections in 86 countries as of the end of july.

the inspections in syria are based on a declaration made by the government of president bashar al assad. about 1,000 tons of chemical agents are believed to be stored at more than 20 locations in the country. experts from the opcw and the u.n. started their work following a resolution by the u.n. security council. they face the challenge of doing their job as syria's civil war continues. opcw director general ahmet uzumcu said the peace prize win will motivate the organization to work even harder. >> the condition that the peace prize brings will spur us to untiring effort, even stronger commitment, and greater dedication. now, people around the world have been reacting to this announcement. we spoke to a japanese specialist in chemical weapons who was involved in the establishment of the opcw.

masaaki iwaki is a former commander in japan's self-defense forces. >> it is very good news, not only for opcw, but also for all the parties of the chemical weapons convention. in addition, as you noticed, opcw had a very tough mission in syria in order to eliminate all of syrian chemical weapons and its capability within a year under dangerous conditions of civil war. when i was a member of the japanese delegation for chemical weapons convention, before the establishment of opcw, nobody -- and no country expect such a very big prize, because its main mission and objective was the elimination of large stockpile of chemical weapons in the united states and russia, at that moment, during the cold war era.

anyway, i'd like to express highest appreciation for the opcw and its staff. and wish it further success in syria. >> but some people in syria aren't happy about the announcement. a spokesperson for a rebel coalition says the nobel committee does not understand the situation on the ground. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> the spokesperson went on to express concern that awarding the prize to the opcw will focus global attention solely on chemical weapons.