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funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, the newman's own foundation, and 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. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> international anger as the leader in burma is sentence even longer to detention. a battle to find survivors in the mudslides in taiwan. reports from the scene. >> communications have been cut

off. their only hope of finding loved ones are the helicopters, which are supposed to be landing here soon. >> an army officer is found guilty of killing civilians during world war ii. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast on pbs in america and elsewhere around the world beyond mr. obama hits back in the battle over american healthcare -- and elsewhere around the world. mr. obama hits back in the battle over american healthcare. >> ♪ >> the world's first tweet opera. hello to you. well, it is no doubt the outcome of the ruling generals of burma

intended. the iconic leader is off the stage for next year's election. aung san suu kyi has been sentenced for another 18 months for allowing an american man into her home even though he came uninvited. tougher sanctions are likely. the u.n. security council is meeting, but little is likely to be persuade. we have this report. >> she faced the core inside a high-security rangoon prison. burdett is a frightened country -- she faced the courts. no one dared to raise a frightened protest -- burma is a friend country. three years jail with hard labour. she is 64 and has spent most of the last 20 years in detention. within minutes, the burmese government intervenes, and the sentence was reduced them 18

months. even the regime does not want to provoke another outbreak of public am correct. crime was to allow an american visitor called john yettaw into her house. he swam there. -- curb crime was that. >> free to wander the country -- her crime was that. tens of thousands of supporters at every stop she makes, and that would be highly destabilizing for them at this critical moment as they see it in solidifying their role. >> aung san suu kyi had a landslide victory in the 1990's, but the government refused to give up power. in jailing her, they wanted to silencer, but they gave her a voice. >> -- they wanted to silence

her. >> we are doing the right thing. but we alone, britain, will not be able to resolve this. it has to be the international community. it has to be sanctions, and it has to be clear that those elections in 2010 will not be accepted anywhere in this world. >> but the generals know there is no international consensus. china and russia trade with burma and have shown no interest in challenging their rule. aung san suu kyi's fight is far from over. >> a massive relief operation is underway across parts of east asia and to rescue people trapped by heavy rains and mudslides. there are fears those dead could run into the hundreds. typhoon morakot caused the damage. we will have a report from just

-- in just a moment. some buildings have collapsed. we have this report. >> a small village in china, a late-night landslide year triggered by relentless downpours bearing seven homes last night. -- burying seven homes. they found six people underneath the rocks, some very badly hurt. as the clear run operation got under way, it emerged that two of those rescued had not survived. -- as the clear up operation got under way. they came back when they thought the danger was over. when it fell on top of their house, they did not stand a chance. across eastern china, more than 6000 homes were wrecked by the storm. it rained harder here than it did during any typhoon during the last 60 years.

in taiwan, relief supplies are not getting through to some who have been cut off -- are now getting through, but there is anger here, too. the prime minister of taiwan was criticized while visiting stricken areas. he had not done enough to protect people, they said. >> the typhoon came here on friday, and they did not shut the bridge on saturday. now, we have people have died. what are you going to do about it? >> several hundred from one village are missing, feared dead. mud in gulf to their homes. this man says he thinks his father and mother have been washed away -- mud engulfed their homes. the taiwanese authorities warned that the death toll is likely to rise. -- warn that.

>> some of those worst affected are in taiwan. there is the heart of rescue operations, and there is particular concern about a neighboring city where more than 700 people are trapped, possibly buried, in the mudslide. >> devastation for as far as the eyes can see. they came back to find out what happened to their loved ones, but in this avalanche of mud, there is little hope. for a generation, residents of this village have coped with typhoons, but this one came as a shot. nicknamed the devil typhoon by some, it washed away roads and bridges, causing massive mudslides and trapping people. in this village, hundreds are unaccounted for and feared dead. this is where the survivors are brought. anxious family members have been waiting here, fearing the worst.

, of communications have been cut off. their only hope of finding their loved ones are the helicopters, which are supposed to be landing said. they can only help a fortunate few. an all-out effort to dig out the village has been hampered by cut off roads. the only way in is by air. the typhoon wrecked havoc throughout taiwan. record rainfall damaged dozens of roads and bridges. here in central taiwan, the only school in the town. there are further dangers of mudslides as the rains have loosened up the soil. rescuers across taiwan arnot racing against time. but as the days pass, i hope fades. -- rescue is a cost one want -- rescuers across taiwan are racing against time. but as days pass, hope fades.

>> 60 bowa been arrested. -- six people have been arrested. in the southern region of chechnya, the head of a children's charity group has been shot dead along with her husband. they were abducted on monday. their bodies were found in a suburb of the chechen capital. pakistan police have filed the case against perez musharraf for alleged to detaining top judges in a bid to maintain power in 2007. around 60 judges were sacked when the supreme court looked on the verge of barring musharraf from protesting the election. bernard madoff is behind bars, but his number two is due in court, charged with 10 crimes. he worked with bernie madoff,

and he is to plead guilty under a deal with the government. a 19-year-old former german officer has been found guilty of killing 10 civilians in italy during the war in what is likely to be one of the last nazi war crimes trials. he got life in prison. 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 a village in italy. he was a commander of the company of engineers who set out on the brutal uprise operation after two german soldiers had been killed. he had always denied the allegation that he ordered the killings, claiming that he was rebuilding in nearby bridge at the time.

after the second world war, he lived a quiet, unassuming life at his home outside munich, where he sat on the town council and ran a furniture shop, but last september after a long legal battle, he went on trial in germany. the relatives of some of the victims or also in munich today, and they held a protest outside the courthouse. the mayor said they had waited 65 years for truth and justice. for many, this judgment has come too late, but he has finally been called to account for the crimes he committed while he was a young soldier. bbc news, berlin. >> president obama is taking on critics about the health care in new hampshire. he has urged people not to believe would he called his opponents' "scare tactics."

>> it is a story of hard-working americans who have had their coverage drop or have been charged fees they cannot afford for care that they desperately needed. i believe it is wrong. it is bankrupting families and businesses, and this is why we are going to pass health insurance reform in 2009. >> mr. obama there, of course. let's go to washington where our correspondent adam brooks is. how is in looking for president obama? >> well, it is something that america has been trying to do for a very long time, give its health insurance system a big overall. now, the obama administration is very confident earlier this summer that it could do it and do it quite quickly. they could come into the quite big piece of legislation, get it through congress a very far, and

that would be an enormous achievement. however, there was an enormous amount of trouble, and things got slowdown, and this is perhaps a way we have not seen him before. >> is dead and example of how much he is on the defensive to -- is it an example of how much he is on the defensive that he is out here? >> he is really trying to get his message out to try to recapture the political initiative. in the last few days, we have seen some withering criticism leveled at the legislation, leveled at him. we have seen it them really whipping up a position, really savage attacks on president obama and his advisers. it has all gotten very difficult, and the atmosphere has got and sour, and now, mr. obama, this very eloquent, persuasive speaker -- has gotten sour, and now, mr. obama will

have to try to get this turned around. it is a very big important test for him, very important, indeed. >> we will keep you posted. thank you very much, adam. you are watching "bbc world news." there is still more to come. stay with us. reason to celebrate. first, while the rest of the world struggles to cope with recession, china powers ahead. its economic recovery seems largely down to the impact of a massive stimulus package. industrial production for july was up nearly 11%, but even that was not as big a leap as expected. china's problem seems to be falling exports because of reduced demand around the world. our correspondent as more details. >> behind china's remarkable economic revival, cheap loans

from beijing. the government has been pouring money into construction, building, roads, and infrastructure to prop up growth. investment rose by one-third in the first seven months of the year. china's factories are also humming once again, largely thanks to government help. last month, industrial output jumped 11%. it is a huge relief to the millions of people will flock to the industrial heartland looking for work. -- who flock to the industrial heartland. in fact, the economy is now gathering so much steam that banks have cut the numbeamount n they loan. >> we believe even the rest of the year have the same kind of number as in july, we will still have nine trillion of new lending. certainly more than enough to

supply, to sustain 8.5%. >> premier wen jiabao has sought to assure investors that beijing is doing all it can to drive growth. it shows that the recovery is still on track. the weak exports suggest stimulus measures will continue for the facility will future. bbc news. -- for the foreseeable future. bbc news. >> hello, and welcome. >> go to bbc.com/news. >> to experience the reporting of bbc news online. it is easy. click here to watch the news summary. you can read the latest headlines, get the top stories from around the globe, and cli ck to play video reports. the subjects that really interest you, and find out what

subjects the world is talking about right now. the bbc.com/news, and watch the news unfold. -- go to bbc.com/news. >> there has been international condemnation of the burmese democracy leader aung san suu kyi. they have just adjourned. and there is a huge effort for rescuing the victims of typhoon morakot. hundreds are still missing. more recently, the five top party has faced a challenge from the more radical party hamas -- the fatah party has faced a challenge. what does it mean for the hopes of a peace agreement with the israelis? our correspondent. >> outside the conference, there

was a festive atmosphere. participants hailed a resounding success. >> he has been elected in a democratic process. the whole palestinian issue, and, therefore, i think this drastic change was a necessity. for the movement. the movement will be the priority. >> fatah delegates know they have a lot to prove. at the ears of dominque palestinian affairs, there were allegations of corruption and cronyism -- after years of dominating palestinian affairs, there were allegations of corruption and cronyism.

fatah's younger generations as they are up to new challenges, even a parliamentary vote. many now have a place in the powerful decision making bodies of fatah. one is most prominently the most popular figure, but he is serving several months sentences for murder in jail, and he can offer little leadership to palestinians. palestinians say they want an end to the bitter internal rivalry between hamas and fatah, and they say they want peace, prosperity, and palestinian political independence. fatah was the chosen party for peace talks. they say talking to israel remains the priority, but armed resistance is still an option. is really politicians have reacted angrily. bbc news, jerusalem -- israeli politicians have reacted angrily. >> violence in the democratic

republic of congo. in a camp for displaced people in the east of the country. they said there should be no impunity for the rape of women, and many have been raped this year in the central african country. well, over to the west of the continent, liberia also spent years in the grip of civil war. now though, according to its president, the country could be self-sufficient within 10 years, and this is partly due to american intervention that stripped the light. government to much of its power and handed it to foreign technocrats. some believe that as compromise the sovereignty of liberia. we have this report -- some believe that has compromised the sovereignty of liberia. >> everything was destroyed amid civil war, but it also has a spring in its debt. building roads and bridges as part of a massive intervention

to stop being a failed state and a global threat -- but it also has a spring in its step. >> we are here for the groundbreaking ceremony. >> deep in the interior, the u.n. and other dignitaries preside over a ceremony to build a school for former child soldiers. they are now young man, crucial to the success of liberia that they can move on from thoughts of war. >> but they killed my mother. they killed my father. that is why they encouraged me to join. >> it was very difficult for me, but now, life is very enjoyable. >> the main cause of war was corruption. to stop it, the international community took control of much of the country's finances. critics said it meant that liberians cannot be trusted to run their own government. the government does not disagree. >> our capacity was so low.

do not forget that most of our brains left the country during our many years of conflict. most of the people in the institutions did not have the capacity. they came from warring factions. we are in control. >> in a boisterous countryside meeting, liberians forged their new civil society. we do not want politics, people say, but better roads, clinics, and schools. the exchanges are fast and furious, but the final aim is to an international aid programs. >> images is to end international aid programs. -- to end international aid programs. interest of foreign intervention unpopular with some has allowed the leg.

-style debate. it may not look like it. -- has allowed the liberian- style debate. bbc news, liberia. >> she taught our nation that no physical or mental barrier can restrain the power of the human spirit. that is up president obama paid tribute to the sister of john f. kennedy, who maintain the family tradition of public service by founding special olympics in 1968. she was given the presidential medal of freedom years ago. beautiful as the music may be, the lyrics does not make a lot of sense, and in london, they are taking that to a whole new level, staging a work based on the website twitter. we have this explanation. >> ♪la donna e mobile

>> all the great operas have been performed here, and in september, a new one, written by the public, words written by tweets, messages. there is, act 1 of "twitter," the opera -- there it is. a man and woman, and she turns to him. >> ♪ strange to me the fruits of nature that i see ♪ >> this is lilly and gary from tehe opera.

>> ♪ i love hazelnuts >> the words you have just sing, are the operatic? >> i am sure. -- the words you have just song. >> asking the public -- the words you have just soung. >> the public can make up their minds in september. bbc news. >> ♪ it's tiny wings were frozen, were frozen ♪ >> a 3-year-old elephant became

stuck in a drain as he was working with his handlers. heavy machinery helped to get him out. he was pulled to safety. he was not injured in the ordeal, you'll be glad to hear. apparently, elephant and handler went back to work. just briefly for you, the main news at this hour. the burmese opposition leader aung san suu kyi has been sentenced to more years in detention after allowing a man into her home. the u.s. security council has been meeting, but it has just adjourned. thanks for being with us on bbc world news. >> funding for this presentation was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, the newman's own foundation, and 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. what can we do for you? >> i am julia stiles. >> i am kevin bacon. >> hi, i am ken burns. >> public broadcasting is my source for news about the world. >> for intelligent conversation. >> for election news you can count on. >> , for deciding who to vote for. >> public broadcasting is my source for intelligent connection to my community. >>