people in islamabad questioning the validity -- our people in islamabad questioning the validity of the bad weather being because of this crash? >> in terms of the specifics, we do not know at this stage. yes, the weather was extremely bad. a stormy evening. there was lightning and thunder. some have even claimed they saw the plane being hit by lightning. aircraft maintenance standards. an international carrier flying extremely elderly, a second hand, fourth hand aircraft from the original -- released from the original owner's. -- owners. i spoke to a senior aviation official in pakistan a few minutes ago, and he told me they were discovering in another incident that they had taken a car tire to an era shot. these are the be -- these are the problems the aviation industry faces. >> john, thank you very much. european union officials say they will impose more sanctions on syria next week if the u.n. peacekeeping mission is prevented from entering at the country. the cease-fire went into effect last week, but in the absence of observers, it appears to be falling apart. this footage shows

hideki yui, nhk world, islamabad. >>> all right. well, earlier, hideki yui gave us some insights on pakistan/china relation. >> the military has been strengthening ties with china as a source for weapons. in fact, china has become pakistan's number one supplier in recent years. the two countries' growing ties goend the energy sector. china is expected to build new nuclear power plants in pakistan. last year, a pakistani cabinet member made remarks suggesting the country's -- to china. he said china's enemy is pakistan's enemy. uighurs in pakistan view this with a sense of unease. after the september 11th attacks in the united states, pakistan drew huge military and financial support from the u.s. in its fight against terrorism. but relations deteriorating and it can't expect further u.s. help. this is one reason why china is increasingly important to pakistan. unless it improves ties with the u.s., pakistan's dependence on china looks set to grow. >> nhk world's hideki yui from islamabad. >>> heavy rain and strong winds hit japan ye

it was making its approach to islamabad, coming into land, when disaster struck. in the words of one local man, the sky turned red. >> some local residents told us the plane was on fire before it hit the ground, but that is unconfirmed. investigations are continuing. relatives will have many questions. muhammed was robbed of his sister. >> the rescue team found my sister's mobile phone and some jewelry near her dead body and they contacted us. >> tonight, it is a time of grief. instead of happy reunions at the airport, the agony of bereavement. some families have lost more than one member. bbc news, on the outskirts of islamabad. >> in norway today, some of the most detailed and harrowing testimony yet was delivered at the trial of andrus behring breivik. he shot the courtroom when he described how, disguised as a policeman, he went on a rampage. some details are too distressing to report but our correspondent is following the trial from the court and brings us the latest. >> the atmosphere court changed today as the country braced itself, though few could imagine

we caught up with him at this rally near islamabad in january. what would you say to those who city plant in the attacks? >> the highest courts in pakistan have cleared me. it is regrettable but people listen to the media, not the courts. >> do you have support from inside the military establishment in pakistan? >> the pakistan military is part of pakistan. we're always in contact with each other. >> many believe he remains a free man here because along links with the pakistan spy agency. it helped to found the group but denies protecting it now. while the group was originally formed to fight indian forces in kashmir, senior american officials worry that it now has ambitions will beyond this region. counter-terrorism experts warn that the group could attempt mumbai-style attacks in the u.s. or europe. islamabad, bbc news. >> for more on the large bounty being offered, i am joined now by a professor at american university and also of "storming the world stage." thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> we have known about

hideki yui, nhk world, islamabad. >> hideki yui joins us from islamabad. hideki, how strong are pakistan/china relations today? >> right. pakistan's military donates to the country's politics. they have been strengthening ties with china as a source for weapons. in fact, china has become pakistan's number one supplier in recent years. the two countries growing ties extend to the energy sector. china is expected to build new nuclear power plants in pakistan. last year a pakistani cabinet member made remarks suggesting the country's attitude toward china. he said china's enemy is pakistan's enemy. uygurs in pakistan view this with a sense of unease. >> going forward, do you think pakistan will deepen ties with china even further? >> i definitely think so. after the september 11 attacks in the united states, pakistan drew huge military and financial support from the u.s. in its fight against terrorism. but relations are deteriorating and it can't expect further u.s. help. this is one reason why china is increasingly important to pakistan. unless it improves t

it was making its approach to islamabad, coming in to land, when disaster struck. in the words of one local man, the sky turned red. some local residents said the plane was on fire before it hit the ground, but that is unconfirmed. investigations are continuing. relatives have many questions. mohammed was robbed of his sister. >> the rescue team found my sister's mobile phone and some jewelry near her dead body and they contacted us. >> it is a time of grief. instead of happy reunions at the airport, the agony of bereavement. some families have lost more than one member. >> beivik went on set -- on trial. survivors and families of those who he killed a hug each other during the testimony. you may find some of this report upsetting. >> the atmosphere at court changed today as the country braced itself, though few could imagine what was to come. throughout his detachment, his cold, and emotional responses have been most disturbing. today, he taught us through the killing spree as if he were describing a day at work. under normal circumstances, i am a night person, he

this was a flight from karachi to the capital, islamabad. let's go to islamabad now. reza sayah is standing by. this only happened a short time ago. any more details coming out? >> reporter: yeah, earlier aviation officials had said 131 people were killed. now depending on who you talk to, they're saying 121 or 122 people were on board. the crash happened about two hours ago. pakistani television stations are showing images of the aftermath of the crash. those images are showing twisted and mangled debris and what appear to be personal belongings of the passengers, including luggage, blankets, and parts of the plane. the crash happened in the garrison city of -- next to islamabad. there is concern that this plane may have crashed into a residential area. at this point there are no reports of fatalities on the ground. hopefully, it will stay that way. we are learning some remarkable new details about this aircraft and this airline. this was a boja airlines ashth, a boeing 737. a private low cast airline thos apparently shut down operations at some point and recently re

pakistan has become mourning the victims of a plane crash in a residential area near islamabad international airport rescuers say there is no hope of finding survivors among the one hundred twenty seven aboard air jet the boeing three seven three seven a route from karachi to islamabad was making its final approach to the airport and stormy weather before it crashed a second passenger plane crash near islamabad in less than two hours two years. iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki has cold turkey a hostile state with janet accused of trying to establish germany and the region that's in response to turkish prime minister tayyip erdogan saying that is fanning tangents between iraq shia community to terror and raw emerged in iraq eating out of last year on the shia led government sacked and number of top officials. well it's time now for the latest edition of russia close up series and they were heading off to the country's. northern russia is known for its vast still and dry and harsh climate a tiny population and lives in this area is completely cut off from the rest of the country artiest own

and has begun mourning the victims of a plane crash in a residential area near islamabad international airport rescuers say there is no hope of finding survivors among one hundred twenty seven aboard that hard air jet the boeing seven hundred seventy three seven a route from karachi to islamabad was making his final approach to the airport in stormy weather before it crashed and its second passenger plane crash near islamabad in less than two years. iraqi prime minister nouri al maliki has cold turkey a hostile state of terror in tandem accuse it of trying to establish hegemony in the region that's a response to turkish prime minister erdogan saying he is fanning tensions between iraq shia community terry and raul emerged in iraq in the end of last year when the shia led government sacked and number of top city officials. and it's time now for the latest edition of our russia close of series and they were heading off to the country's remote north. northern russia is known for its vast and harsh climate a tiny population that lives in this area is completely cut off from the rest of the

we caught up with him near islamabad in january. what would you say to those who say you plant the attacks? >> the highest goats are in pakistan. it is regrettable people listen to the media. >> do you have contacts inside the pakastani military establishment? >> pakastani military as part of pakistan. we all have contacts. >> many believed that he remains a free man because of his links to the pakastani spy agency isi. it denies protecting lashker-e- taiba now. senior american officials worry that they now have ambitions well beyond this region. counter-terrorism experts warn lashker-e-taiba that could attempts attacks in united states or europe. or lebaron -- orla guerin, bbc news. >> i 8 spoke with the author of the lashker-e-taiba. book on thank you for joining me. we have known about this for a long time. why now? >> particularly because we know where he lives. if i had known about this county this summer, i would have turned him in. there are several explanations. this is part of a naming and shaming campaign. when the bbc rep

ispakistan's prime minister due to appear before the supreme court in islamabad shortly. two years verdict on contempt charges laid against them. -- to hear his verdict on contempt charges laid against them. he is accused of refusing to obey a court order. for more on this, we are joined from islamabad. this is the case with huge implications. remind us what he is accused of. >> there has been historic judgment if he is convicted at the supreme court. we have that a few false starts, but it appears that a final verdict will come in the coming hours. a ruling that the court made about two years ago. they called on him to reopen corruption cases against the president's. he did not do that, he did not did that because he said the president enjoys immunity under the constitution. that is why he could not reopen the cases. the court said, we will try to you for content. if he is convicted and found guilty comment -- found guilty, he can get a jail term of up to six months. >> he is appearing himself. >> yes, he will be appearing. there are suggestions that he will be with a lo

hideki yui, nhk world, islamabad. >>> now to that debate on japan's energy policy. government leaders are expected to work out a new strategy by summer. the accident at fukushima daiichi raised countless concerns about atomic energy. experts are scheduled to submit a proposal in may. but they have yet to agree on what role if any nuclear energy will play. chi yamagushi joins us in the studio. how is the government tackling this issue? >> the debate over this country's energy policy started soon after last year's disaster. in last october, the government set up the committee on energy policy. committee members focused their attention on the role nuclear power should play in japan's portfolio. they staked out different positions on the issue. an engineer used to work in the nuclear power industry. now he's an opponent of atomic energy. >> translator: nuclear plants generate radioactive waste, something we can't deal with. and it is impossible to reduce the risk of an accident to zero. i believe nuclear energy is unacceptable from an ethical point of view. >> now liste

he was finally settled in islamabad in 2005 in the compound. he was killed last may. with the help of two people referred to in the documents, those are believed to have been the courier and the courier's brother that the cia tracked to the compound. the questions screen out at you in the final disposition of the case of the three widows. who in pakistan new -- knew? it is inconceivable a tall arab moves five times in places that are heavily garrisoned without anybody asking questions of who is that person, where does he come from. the questions are pakistan are just beginning. -- the questions for pakistan are just beginning. >> gives wives. his wives were taking dictation from him. they were pretty to information. pr --ivvy to information. when they leave pakistan, will they be freer to talk? >> u.s. officials who have reviewed all the documents say in those thousands of pages there is not a smoking gun that links pakistani authorities to osama bin laden. it just is not there. that said, the fact he continued from 2005 until the day he died to try to communicate wit

nhk world, islamabad. >>> and next to the philippines. marines from the united states and the philippines have conducted a mock landing operation on the beach of the edge of the south china sea. >> reporter: while this boat exercise is not needed for the philippine and u.s. marines, this is the first time it is conducted in the philippine part to defend the naval forces west. the philippines and the united states have been conducting their largest joint military exercises starting monday last week. the joint attracted particular attention on wednesday as they conducted a landing exercise on the island. the island is located near an area disputed by several country countries including china. the operation on a military. personnel from both sides took part. >> there are a lot of primary critical government facilities where the possibility is likely. we are preparing. >> reporter: meanwhile they started with armed forces. it included relief operations following a natural disaster. the landing exercise by the marines seems designed to put pre

nhk world, islamabad. >>> and next to the philippines. marines from the united states and the philippines have conducted a mock landing operation on the beach of the edge of the south china sea. >> reporter: while this boat exercise is not needed for the philippine and u.s. marines, this is the first time it is conducted in the philippine part to defend the naval forces west. the philippines and the united states have been conducting their largest joint military exercises starting monday last week. the joint attracted particular attention on wednesday as they conducted a landing exercise on the island. the island is located near an area disputed by several coun y countries including china. the operation on a military. personnel from both sides took part. >> there are a lot of primary critical government facilities where the possibility is likely. we are preparing. >> reporter: meanwhile they started with armed forces. it included relief operations following a natural disaster. the landing exercise by the marines seems designed to put pres

joining me from islamabad is our correspondent.ç that's a hefty bill to be put on his head. tell me about him.ç >> mr. saeed founded lashkar-e-taiba, aç militant group accused of several high-profile attacks. he also founded a new group and has been leadifg it in pakista. he denies he has anything to do with lashkar-e-taiba.ç he says he runs a welfare group in pakistan. >> why do you think the u.s. have come up with this now?ç >> i think it is to do with the recent joining of jamaat-ud-dawa with a largerç religious groupn pakistan which has sprung up recently and is campaigning against the resumption of nato supplies to afghanistan.ç they have also been campaigning against u.s. drone attacks in the tribal region of pakistan. this is the reason the group it's sesm thinks. it has come out with a statement that says because of these campaigning against the united states that they might have imposed this new reward on theiç leader. >> what is the government in pakistan making of this? >> we haven't seen any official statement from the government sç far. the only r

nhk world, islamabad. >>> turning to another front in the war against terrorism, the u.s. ambassador to afghanistan says he believes there are divisions among the taliban. ryan crocker spoke exclusively to nhk about the strategy united states is following as it looks to exit the long war in afghanistan. nhk world's hideki yui reports. >> reporter: anti-u.s. sentiment in afghanistan has been growing following a series of scandals include i including a burning of the koran by american troops. that led the taliban to state publicly they are suspending with the united states. ambassador ryan crocker told nhk that some members of the taliban have began negotiations with the afghan government. he said they're exploring the possibility of reconciliation. >> the reality is that some of them are talking to the afghan government. this creates division, confusion and dissension among the taliban themselves and among the leadership of the taliban. >> reporter: crocker says taliban hard-liners were responsible for recent violent attacks against foreign missions in kabul, including the

one of the widows told police that she had lived with bin laden near islamabad for eight years, until his death. they had four children together. little is known about bin laden's life in hiding. >>> the u.s. economy grew by an annualized 2.2% in the first quarter of 2012. some 0.3% below market expectations. the u.s. department of commerce released on friday preliminary gdp figures for the january to march period. stronger consumer spending was offset by cutbacks in government expenditures and private sector investments. the u.s. economy grew by an annualized 3% during the last quarter of 2011. >>> leading japanese electronicsmaker sharp has booked a record loss in the fiscal year that ended in march. the company says the net loss came to a little more than $4.6 billion. sales totalled about $30 billion, down nearly 19% from the previous year. sharp attributes its poor performance to flagging sales of liquid crystal display televisions. >> translator: i regret that our efforts to come up quickly with one unique product after another weren't enough. >> the company plans to relocate 2,

pakistan's frosty relationship with india, as islamabad confirms president zardari will visit later this month. welcome to "bbc world news." i'm geeta guru-murthy. also in this program -- 30 years of mistrust, britain and argentina both mark the anniversary of the outbreak of the pharmaceuticallands war. and reaching for the heights of happiness, the kingdom of bhutan hosts a summit. >> aung san suu kyi says she has won a parliamentary seat in historic elections. official results are still to be released, but her supporters are already celebrating. the vote is being seen as a crucial test of the burmese government's commitment to political reform, which could eventually convince western governments to end sanctions against the country. speaking outside the headquarters in rangoon, aung san suu kyi gave this public response to the elections. >> we hope that this will be the beginning of a new era when there will be emphasis on the role of the people in the everyday politics of our country. we also hope that we will be able to go further along the road towards national reconciliation. we w

pakistan has begun mourning the victims of a plane crash and residential area near islamabad international airport rescuers say there is no hope of finding survivors among the one hundred twenty seven aboard air jet boeing seven three seven en route from karachi to islamabad was making its final approach to the airport in stormy weather before it crashed the second passenger plane crash in less than cheers. iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki has called turkey a hostile state with a sectarian agenda and accuse it of trying to establish germany in the region and that's in response to turkish prime minister tayyip erdogan saying that he is battling tensions between iraq shia community as a carrion emerged in iraq at the end of last year when the shia led government sacked and number of top so many officials. moscow is reiterating calls for nato to stay on the afghan drugs for a before the u.s. led alliance to leave the country russia is the main target for opium aspart which has boomed since the occupation of ghana stand again and artie's military contributor says washington should look to t

on the one hundred twenty seven on board the ship going seven three seven our route from karachi to islamabad was making its final approach to the airport and friday in stormy weather before it crashed it's the country's second major air disaster in less than two years. fighting continues in east africa south sudan's troops continue to occupy the sudanese oil town of conflict have been expected to and on friday when the government of south sudan and now says troops will withdraw from the disputed territory within three days so the dam broke away from the north last year following a long running civil war that claimed the lives of more than one and a half million people. now it's time for the latest edition of our russia closer series and today we're heading off to the country's remote north. northern russia is known for its vast dry and harsh climate a tiny population that lives in this area is completely cut off from the rest of the country r.t.s. tom gardner explores like this distant land offers its residents. an icon of the north the nets and other native north and peoples follow grazing

a week ago we saw an earlier tit for tat when the chairman -- when the head of sentcomwas in islamabad, and that very day the defense department releases a statement saying that the americans were not responsible for the deaths of 24 pakistani soldiers on the border five months ago. you know, both sides are -- instead of coming together and really healing the rift, i fear they're going further apart. >> you wrote in a piece that it really is time to start a serious conversations with the taliban and find some way to create some political stability. you know, this is something weave all talked about for two or three years, and somehow is it doesn't seem to -- nothing seems to move. is there any sense that there is movement on the u.s. side, the taliban side, karzai side? >> you know, i mean, talks have started. there have been direct meetings between american officials and the taliban in qatar. they have been sometimied for the moment because of all the terrible incidents in afghanistan, but it's very clear that the taliban do want to talk. we should remember, fareed, that it was the ta

. >>> a pakistani plane carrying more than 120 people crashed into a residential area near islamabad today. there are no reports of survivors. it happened during stormy weather as nbc's jim maceda reports the airline had problems before today's crash. >> reporter: eyewitnesses reported graphic scenes of bodies, personal belongings, and burning wreckage strewn across fields today after a boeing 737 belonging to boja air, a private pakistani airline, and carrying 127 passengers and crew crashed in heavy rain and hail and gusty winds short of islamabad's international airport on a flight from karachi. the plane was seen to burst into flames. people say they saw the passenger jet break up in the air after hitting high tension cables. now, boja air already had a dark history. the company went bankrupt ten years ago with a reputation for poorly maintaining their old russian fleet of planes but reopened the airlines only six weeks ago with u.s. made aircraft. today's flight once again in brutal weather was in fact the maiden voyage of its new karachi islamabad service. emergency teams say t

recently restarted operations, its website says its inaugural flight from karachi to islamabad would be april 20th. of course, today is april 20th. erin? >> all right. >>> well, a judge's decision to let 28-year-old george zimmerman out of jail until his second-degree murder trial was welcome news to his friends and family, including frank taaffe, who told us before the show what it was like to see zimmerman for the first time since his arrest. he was there at the bond hearing. >> george looked pretty tired. he looked like he'd been through a hell of an ordeal. but he looked like he's going to persevere and forge ahead with a positive attitude. to know that he's innocent just like i know he's innocent. and everything is coming to fruition now. we're having a lot of neighbors come forward with photos and sharing their stories with me as to the proclamation of his innocence. i sat behind the martin family today. >> yes. >> i was two rows behind them. and i was observing them when george was delivering his sympathy or his condolences to the family. and i felt that george was being very

recently restarted operations, its website says its inaugural flight from karachi to islamabad would be april 20th. of course, today is april 20th. erin? >> all right. >>> well, a judge's decision to let 28-year-old george zimmerman out of jail until his second-degree murder trial was welcome news to his friends and family, including his friend who told us before the show what it was like to see zimmerman for the first time since his arrest. he was there at the bond hearing. >> jormg george looked pretty tired. he looked like he'd been through a hell of an ordeal. but he looked like he's going to persevere and forge ahead with a positive attitude. to know that he's innocent just like i know he's innocent. and everything is coming to fruition now. we're having a lot of neighbors come forward with photos and sharing their stories with me as to to the proclamation of his innocence. i sat behind the martin family today. i was two rows behind them. i was observing them when george was delivering his sympathy or his condolences to the family. i felt that george was being very sympathetic a

fracasos hasta que el aÑo pasado un grupo Élite de la marina ak wra a corralÓ a laden a las afueras de islamabad en pakistÁn ahÍ el hombre mÁs buscado del mundo fue ultimado de un balazo en la cabeza el presidente obama daba el anuncio en radio y televisiÓn su cuerpo fue luego arrojado al mar. y en instantes, le diremos cÓmo seesarrollÓ una marcha en milwuaukee en favor de leyes que favorezcan a los inmigrantes. y haremos nuestro recorrido por los campos deportivos con lo mejor de la jornada al volverle co movimiento crece por todo el paÍs miles marcharon por las calles de milwuaukee. viviana Ávila viajÓ hasta alÍ con imÁgenes y reacciones de lo que ocurriÓ esta jornada. >>> por secciÓn sexto la comunidad inmigrante en wisconsin dijo presente a una manifestaciÓn para pedir que el gobierno federal y estatal sau vi se leyes migratoria. >>> tuve acuden t por no tener papeles no me quieren ayudar, no tenemos licencia, ni id ni nada. >>> sÍ, cuando fuimos a mishigan nos deportaron por una porque nosotros. >>> y es que las peticiones iban desdeetener redadas y deportaciones, ma tru q la

fracasos hasta que el aÑo pasado un grupo Élite de la marina ak wra a corralÓ a laden a las afueras de islamabad en pakistÁn ahÍ el hombre mÁs buscado del mundo fue ultimado de un balazo en la cabeza el presidente obama daba el anuncio en radio y televisiÓn su cuerpo fue luego arrojado al mar. y en instantes, le diremos cÓmo se desarrollÓ una marcha en milwuaukee en favor de leyes que favorezcan a los inmigrantes. y haremos nuestro recorrido por los campos deportivos con lo mejor de la jornada al volverle contamos todo. movimiento crece por todo el paÍsiles marcharon por las calles de milwuaukee. viviana Ávila viajÓ hasta allÍ con imÁgenes y reacciones de lo que ocurriÓ esta jornada. >>> por secciÓn sexto la comunidad inmigrante en wisconsin dijo presente a una manifestaciÓn para pedir que el gobierno federal y estatal sau vi se leyes migratoria. >>> tuve acuden t por no tener papeles no me quierenayudar, no tenemos licencia, ni id ni nada. >>> sÍ, cuando fuimos a mishigan nos deportaron por una porque nosotros. >>> y es que las peticiones iban desde detener redadas y deportacione

-- this individual continues to operate freely today inside pakistan certainly is an indictment of islamabad as a counterterrorism partner. unfortunately, there are many other such individuals that are loose and maybe did not commit that particular rampage but are planning the next one that are operating freely in pakistan as well. we look forward to discussing these and other issues with ambassador benjamin and i'll now turn to ranking member sherman for an opening statement. >> thank you chairman royce for holding this hearing. july 4th, 2012, the new bureau was announced. the administration has requested $228 million to fund various anti-terrorism with the bureau. in fiscal year $286 million and fiscal year 2012 will be 238 and they are seeking a significant decrease in funds available for anti-terrorism programs. i'd like to thank ambassador benjamin for his service. and i look forward to his continuing service in this continuing difficult global environment. i am less skeptical of the chairman of the bureau of counterterrorism being in fact a bureau and not an office and even if the adm

this plane crash happened at the border of islamabad at 7:00 p.m. local time. a lot of residential areas of this neighborhood. it looks like the plane crashed into some buildings, but the good news no reports of fatalities on the ground and hopefully it will stay that way. a twist to the story that adds to the tragedy, wolf, is that this airline belongs to an aviation company that went out of business, its website says its maiden flight from karachi to islamabad is april 20th. this could have been the first, or one of the first flights of this aviation company as it restarted operations. can't imagine a worst way to start back up, wolf. >> are pakistani authorities suggesting weather could have played a role, as you point out? >> they say it could have. there were severe thunderstorms when this plane went down, but it's important to remember this time in a year, in this region there's a lot of thunderstorms and planes regularly take off and land in the islamabad airport, so officials say it's too early to reach any conclusions and also a lot of speculations abo

they were making their approach coming into islamabad. the skies turned red. some local residents were told that the plane was on fire before it hit the ground, but that is unconfirmed. investigations are continuing. there will be many questions. this man was robbed of his sister. >> the rescue team found my sisters mobile phone and some jewelry near her dead body and they contacted us. >> tonight, it is a time of grief. instead of happy reunions at the airport. the agony of the refund. some families have lost more than 1 member. -- the agony of loss. >> nicolas sarkozy has held his final rally before the presidential election. his rival, francois hollande is looking to solve the country's financial troubles. at least 43 people including four children have died in a bus crash in mexico. several others were injured when the bus collapsed -- collided with a trailer that had come loose from a lorry. an estimated 24,000 people die on mexico's roads every year. there is a possible explosion at this volcano. there is ash for more than 60 openings in the crack. to th

i spoke to the bbc's reports are in islamabad a short time ago. you were at the hospital. what can you tell us from their? >> no good news. we have seen ambulances coming from the site. there are a lot of distress relatives waiting at the hospital for some kind of news. those ambulances are only bringing the remains of those who have been killed, 118 passengers and nine crew were on board. this plan was just -- airplane was just minutes from landing. it came down in bad weather. it was a violent storm just after nightfall in this area. there are some suggestion that it -- suggestions that it exploded on impact. some feel it was struck by lightning. they saw it catch fire in mid flight. it did come down in an area that was sparsely populated. there is some damage to residential buildings. no word of casualties on the ground. as i say, no good news for the relatives waiting here. >> there is some concern about pakistan's airline safety record. has there been a formal response from the authorities yet? >> not as of yet. they say they have to launch an investigation and wait f

from islamabad, orla guerin has this update. >> they are hoping for a miracle, and that is probably what it will take to find anyone alive now under the wall of ice and snow that came crashing down on sunday morning. someone could survive for two days to five days if they had oxygen supplies and rations, but that must now be an outside chance. an american team has been flown in. they are trained in alpine search and rescue. they could not fly today because there was bad weather. there is a large-scale operation going on their. almost 300 people involved. there are earth movers, bulldozers, rescue dogs and paramedics. we understand they have not yet managed to reach any of the body's. -- bodies. this avalanche was on a massive scale. and covered about a square kilometer and is 80 feet deep. the rescue operation is taking place in some of the toughest terrain on earth. the base is located 6,000 feet above sea level at the edge of a glacier. all of this is making the search and rescue operation far more difficult. >> orla guerin there from pakistan. and in peru, nine miners have been trappe

an rah rashed is the author of a new book "pakistan on the brink" and in islamabad, we are joined by cnn's terror expert, peter bergen. emmitt you it was a mistake to have put that bounty on half fess sayed? what do you think was the thinking behind it? >> i fear now that both countries have been in this very dense relationship the last six months. i think we are seeing now a tat for tat, a kind of proxy war going on now. because pakistan did not open the road when the americans expected. that is the road that is transporting goods from karachi up to the afghan order for the u.s. forces in afghanistan. that road has been shut now for nearly five months. pakistan was supposed to open that road after a parliamentary debate, it hasn't done so. i think this is an american response to that a week ago, we saw an earlier tat for tat when the head of sent come, general mathis was in islamabad and very day the defense department releases a statement say ing that the americans were not responsible for the death of 24 pakistani soldiers on the border five months ago that sparked this present pr