Snowmail: life after China's quake

Last Modified: 14 May 2008
By: Jon Snow

Tonight is dominated by the truly appalling scenes that are continuing to come out of China.

China has been here before - 30 years ago more than half a million people died in an earthquake. But in those days there was little satellite communication, and the Chinese authorities let very few outsiders anywhere near what was happening.

Today foreign crews and domestic Chinese television are scattered all over the worst afflicted areas, and so we are seeing the consequences of earthquake suffering perhaps more vividly than ever before.

Lindsey Hilsum is close to the epicentre and has a series of intimate accounts of the continuing battle for life. But it's becoming clear that deaths will run into the many tens of thousands. Indeed, we may never know how many actually died.

Watch the lunchtime report

INFLATION GLOOM
Here, the governor of the Bank of England has been making one of his quarterly inflation reports. Faisal Islam was there. Professor King is expecting inflation to top 3.7 per cent before it begins to come down at the beginning of next year. Faisal's report, at seven.

Business and money reports

QUIS CUSTODIET...
Group4 Security, who have a chequered past history in their management of prisons and custodial services, are in the news again, this time over their running of a youth secure training centre called Oakhill. They've been given just days to tighten up their act, otherwise the private finance initiative (PFI) status of the institution will be withdrawn. Simon Israel has an exclusive report, at seven.

So Hillary did it in the one state where she was predicted to do it, the relatively impoverished, predominantly white working-class West Virginia - not many delegates at stake. She won it two to one. Sarah Smith looks at the consequences.

US elections 2008

DAY AFTER THE NIGHT BEFORE
In terms of British politics it's very much the day after the night before. Mr Brown, eternally fond of his laundry lists of achievement, produced another today, looking forward to the Queen's speech, which used to be delivered by the Queen, and still will be, except that it will already have been delivered by Mr Brown six months earlier. But I'm sure we'll have forgotten about it by the time she delivers it. Gary Gibbon is on the case.

Jonathan Miller has yet another wounding report garnered from inside Burma. 1.5 million people still languishing, but British planes landing.

MANCHESTER CARNIVAL
Here, by contrast, Rangers play Putin's team, St Petersburg. Nick Martin is in Manchester, scene of the match, where there is a positively carnival atmosphere.

Watch the lunchtime report

ON THE CROISETTE
Finally, Nicholas Glass is with the luvvies in Cannes as the film festival opens. He has what's new, what's old, what's good and what is untransmittable. We shall be transmittable, at seven. See you then.

61st Cannes film festival opens

Jon Snow

AND ON MORE4 NEWS WITH KYLIE MORRIS
More on China - we've been talking to members of the Chinese diasporas here about the pain of watching from afar the intimate detail of their devastated community.

Also, on what should have been a great day for UFO devotees, a less than spectacular result. The ministry of defence has today released thousands of files, detailing reported sightings of UFOs in the 70s and 80s - so it seems the truth may no longer be out there. We should know it all - or at least, Girish Juneja should. He'll deliver the sum of all knowledge on all things outer-space-like at eight.

Kylie Morris