>> bbc world news is presented by kcet, los angeles. funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honulu. the newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. 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. >> a double disaster, hundreds are killed or trapped by a massive earthquake in indonesia. a tsunami does the damage in the south pacific. the wind dumps its american deputy envoy to afghanistan. -- the u.n. dumps its american deputy envoy. china marks years since the revolution. new discoveries about rom's nastiest emperor. -- rome's nastiest emperor.

hello. the asia-pacific region has been hit by tsunami and earthquake. there has been a series of natural disasters in no more than 24 hours. 100 were dead after a tsunami. then, an earthquake hit the island of sinatra. it is not that thousands are trapped under the rubble. -- is nthought that thousands are trapped. >> thousands run out of their homes in panic after a devastating earthquake. the powerful tremors caused buildings to collapse. many homes, schools, hospitals have been effected.

thousands of people could be trapped under these structures. the indonesian vicepresident warned that the death toll in this tragedy is likely to rise. the closest and largest town near the epicenter is the capital of sumatra. it is home to at least 900,000 people. rescue teams have been sent to the city but there are concerns that will not get there in time. indonesia is no stranger to tragedy on this scale but it's an emergency teams are often ill-equipped to deal with them. >> people on the pacific islands of samoa were counting the cost of the tsunami that hit them just hours before. the prime minister said that the tsunami killed 77 people. at least 24 people died on

american samoa. we have more from the island. >> one great wave had, already, another is fast approaching. this is america samoa. the dj at the radio station is plan for those in danger. -- is plraying for those in danger. >> the tsunami hit faster than anyone expected. >> we realize that we cannot get out and we were hoping that the building was highnough and the water was about 16 or 20 feet high. >> this was wiped out by the waves. >> the damage is massive, thousands of homes destroyed and a death toll that keeps rising.

>> we can imagine the sheer force. this is most distressing to me. i am trying to come to terms with the events. >> some people heard the warnings to reach higher ground. there are many stories of those who did not. >> we went to the mountain on the side of the island. the oldest, they lost their live >> scientists say that the earthquake that caused the tsunami jolted the seabed not far off shore. >> the energy of the deep water is moving.

in the deep ocean, the height of the wave is pretty small but when you get near the shore, you are compacting that energy into much less water. >> even now, the losses are not fully known. this comes as an earthquake also struck indonesia's, part of the same system fault line. another reminder how volatile this region can be. >> rescue workers are still grappling with the aftermath of 8-. the capital of the philippines was hit and now the storms moving on to vietnam. -- rescue workers are still grappling with the aftermath of the typhoon. israel says that they police

some women that were captured. this is seen as a confidence- building measure towards the release of one of their own. there are high level talks in havana with the cuban government. they have gone further than the planned links. georgia and russia are claiming to have been vindicated by a report of their war last year. the european investigation found georgia triggered e conflict by launching an assault on the rebel region. the russians were also cited for inappropriately responding. >> georgian tanks swept into the breakaway region of south of santiago -- south ossetia.

a day later, they were driven out by russian nks. within days the georgian army had been crushed. huge pieces of its territory will under russian occupation. ever since, there has been a debate over who fired the first shot. now, there's an answer. it was georgia. the eu says that they were not unprovoked. russia had been goading georgia, effectively provoking it into launching an attack. georgia and russia have been quick to use the report to try to grab the moral high ground. >> this provides an unequivocal confirmation of the question of who started the war. it says squarely that it was the

georgian shelling and artillery attack. >> the georgian government shot back accusing the russian eu ambassador of the -- of distorting the attack. >> the report is not about who started the war. the war did not start onthe seventh or the eighth. it proves that russia was all the time preparing this war and it was a combination. >> whoever is blamed for starting the war, one thing is clear, russia one, georgia lost. -- russia won, georgia lost.

the report will do nothing to change that. >> sharp differences in the international approach to afghanistan have burst into the open with the sacking of the deputy in for a pen that has been removed after he made -- have burst into the open after the sacking of a deputy envoy after his criticism of the afghanistan election. what have you heard about th? >> the secretary general said that peter galbraith was being recalled in the best interest of the mission. there has been a public fight between mr. galbraith and his boss, kai eide. peter galbraith wanted the

election commission to investigate and to take a much tougher line and kai eide wanted to leave the commission to do their work and to avoid the appearance of interference. what we have been told is that it is believed that kai eide took sides with hamid karzai and accused him of takingeses. >> does this have implications for u.s. policy? >> the u.n. says that this is a personality clash and will not affect the election. they will get on with the government. whatever the case, it will certainly highlight questions and criticisms about the credibility of the election process and the credibility of the government that has been put into power.

hamid karzai has been criticized and if he is declared the winner, there is already the talk of corruption. >> thank you very much. that split at the u.n. is something that president obama could have done without as he reviews policy on afghanistan. on the question of what should define military success, we has been with u.s. marines where commanders believe they have the answer. >> it does not look like the most dangerous place on earth. something unusual is happening pentium while the insurgency rages all round -- somet unusual is happening while the insurgency rages all around.

the biggest danger for these troops is being mobbed by children, desperate for free gifts. this was the market three years ago, shot up and abandoned. today, u.k. and u.s. troops have driven the taliban away. this is a success story. they say life is better. with the taliban nearby, security remains a problem. these are the men running this war, implementing the american strategy. the colonel talks about securing the population and giving them hope. what he calls on social work. >> -- what he calls armed

social work. >> this is not just police work but delivery of governance. this is how we truly when the fight. in many cases, we will have to kill the taliban. in many cases, they can contribute to society. >> the colonel purchases i spring for a group of visiting general spen sos. -- visiting generals. marine success is in part due to size. the commander of the nato mission says he needs more troops within a year or the mission could fail. the obama administration has already had one review of afghanistan policy and they are looking at it again. when these troops are trying to convince afghans that they are here to stay, it raises doubts

about the commitment to the mission. they also run the real risk of raising the hopes and expectations of the people they're trying to fight, the taliban. the union flag still flies in the marine base, a reminder of the sacrifice who were here before. the u.s. has also lost troops here but unless america and the rest of nato is willing to expend more blood and treasure, then the sacrifice would have been in vain. >> stay with us. still to come, from communism to consumerism,0 years since the revolution in china. the world's lender of last resort, the international monetary fund, says the global financial crisis is stabilizing. the government cannot get complacent about recovery. the imf is highly influential in

shaping economic policies. >> extreme risk has abated but too much complacency. that is the opinion of the imf which is generally -- the opinion of the imf on the recovery. there are challenges still being faced in the system. we risk systemic risk and even derailing economic recovery. >> as you know, this is something we cannot afford. >> the imf has already appealed with governments to coordinate their actions as they try to wean the lenders offer of taxpayer support. it is strained credit channels that has worried the imf. >> there is the global meltdown for banks and for non banks,

financial institutions. this amounts for roughly $3 or 4 trillion dollars. >> the u.s. is further down the track, halfway towards their recovery. by contrast, european banks have been slower to get their houses in order. banks are backing the transaction with more capital. . >> the latest headlines for you on bbc world news but officials are saying up to 200 people might have been killed in a massive earthquake.

-- the latest headlines for you on bbc world news. officials are stepping up to to wonder people might have been killed in a massive earthquake on indonesia. 60 years ago,hairman mao looked on the square and declared the condemn the people's republic. the repression of his era has given way to a very different economic policy. the celebration is likely to match last year's olympics ceremony. >> few countries have grown in stature as quickly as china. there is a lot of pridein their newfound prosperity. each year, the flag raising ceremony seems to get more and more grand.

it was on the spot 60 years ago that the people's republic was born. the moment was captured in the ototographs. >> our country was born that day, we stood up and we took our place inhe international arena. we were no longer oppressed. >> invaded by japan and torn apart by civil war, china has put up with decades of suffering. a new epic film has been released as part of the anniversary celebration. the film is showing on practically every cinema in

china and over 100 of the biggest movie stars are in it. this is to get people excited about the birth of the republic. the appearance by sh people as a jet li ensures that the film will be a hit. >> this inspires many people. >> a final run through for the parade. for all of its imperfections, 60 years of communist rule will be celebrated here. this is when china stood up and a new country was born. >> many in the west see china as a repressive country with global ambitions. how do those born there see the relationship between east and west? we have been meeting students at georgetown university. >> the students come from across

china and they are studying across disciplines year at georgetown university. there is good reason to celebrate. >> yes, i believe that china has had some tremendous changes in the past 60 years. we have become a world power and a better reputation. >> how can people be prepared once the economy is doing as well? every year, we have 8% or 9% growth in gdp. we know that this cannot go on forever. >> if you could tell me one

thing about china that i should now, what would you say? maybe something that the outside world does not understand about your country. >> this [unintelligible] more and more coexistence. we have more chances to go abroad. >> there is a long way to go in terms of transparency. to you feel that compared to your mom and dad, you have more political freedom? >> yes. when my parents were long, they were taught to obey the elder

people, the existing authority like their teachers, the headmaster's, the leaders. but now, they were taught to challenge our thoughts. that is a big difference. >> looking ahead, do you think that china will overtake the u.s. as a global power? >> i don't think so. i don't even think that is is a question that we should think about. these days, we are more focused on corporations and collaborations'. they cannot live without each other. >> i really appreciate your time. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> and canadian circus tycoon

has blasted off from the launch pad on his trip to the international space station. he is the first clown in space. he has paid $35 million for a nine-day stay. he is pretty used to risky situations. employeone of the things you rer from history lessons is that the emperor nero had issues. however, there has been in the discovery of a building that he had built that coincides with the movement of the earth. >> the heart of ancient rome giving up new secrets. this has even seasoned archaeologist amazed. this is believed to be nero's

rotating dunham. this is a structure that rotated to day and night. -- this is believed to be nero's rotating dining room. the machinery was probably moved by constantly running water. >> we went to look at to the ancient [inaudible] who wrote about the rotunda bill to buy -- wrote about the rotunda built by nero. >> nero was known for his extravagant sexual lost but it seems that the that extended to his dining. -- was known for his extravagant

sexual lust. there were panels that opened up and it shall the guests with flowers and perfume. -- and showered the guests with flowers and perfume. >> this is amazing. we have not come across the list of this dimension before. this structure is probably the longest. we are very very excited, this is a gat joy. >> a historian from this time described him as one of the most maniacal rulers. it seems he did not get a chance to spend much time. he was killed during an uprising in the city. >> the asia-pacific region has

been battered by tsunami, by the earthquake, a series of natural disasters. more on bbc.com any time you wanted. -- want it. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new 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 financial streth to work for a wide range of companies from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?

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