presented by kcet, los angeles. funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. 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." >> fans of the web site wikileaks launch attacks. more than 80 inmates are killed after a fire sweeps through a prison in chile. in custody. a british man accused of paying for his wife's murder in south africa. welcome to "bbc news". later for you, private enterprise. a u.s. company successfully blanches a commercial spacecraft into orbit for the first time. underneath the border. the secret tunnel used to transport millions of dollars of drugs between mexico and the u.s. in lin

hackers supporting wikileaks are taking cyber revenge on financial institutions seen as colluding with the american government. they claim their operation playbacpayback crashed web site. our technology correspondent reports. >> the legal and diplomatic battle swirling around the wikileaks founder gets more intense by the day. the similar contest is being fought in saocyberspace. paypal, visa, and mastercard have ended their relationship with the wikileaks. hackers from a group calling themselves operation paybacks a broad down -- say they

brought down mastercard. others reported that the web payment service was not available for some hours. another on-line payment service explained why it has stopped dealing with wikileaks. >> the u.s. government wrote a letter saying that the wikileaks activity was deemed illegal in the u.s. and as a result, our policy group had to make the decision of suspending the account. >> it was the wikileaks site which was under attack last week from unknown hackers bombarding it with so much traffic, its owners had to move it elsewhere. the same tactic is being used against the companies which have decided to stop working with the site. another phase in what some are calling the world's first info war. >> the latest batch of u.s.

diplomatic cables disclosed focuses on u.s. news of china's involvement in africa. our world affairs correspondent told me how significant they are. >> it is an caps' leading what america thinks about china's involvement in africa, which has been growing hugely. it describes china as a pernicious and aggressive enemy economically. it says it is not yet military threat, but it does throughout the trip wires of how far china has to go before america considers it to be a military threat. when it starts trading armies and when it signed leases on military bases. america will have to worry at that stage. >> some strong words when it comes to president -- the president. >> there is a nugget about in

2007, a group of businessmen tried to drop a plan to take power away. to put in a government that would start solving problems. they wanted to use the un secretary ban ki-moon and the former malaysian president to persuade mugabe to step aside. it did not come to anything. what the cable says is we're not going to comment on this plan or plot. when not going to comment but it is encouraging that people are thinking about doing this sort of thing. >> has there been any comment on president obama's standing? >> because or since obama came to power, america's standing in africa is higher than in any place in the world. the controversy in the middle east, in africa, the popularity

is high and solid. >> 81 inmates have died in a fire in an overcrowded prison in chile. the blaze broke out after a fight between rival gangs. the country's president has admitted that conditions are inhumane. >> the tragedy at the san miguel prison starts to unfold. frantic shouts from inmates and relatives. for several tense hours, these people who waited at the prison gates foreign is. >> we do not mail -- know anything about my brother. >> their worst fears were confirmed. there were survivors but many of them were badly burned. doctors say 14 people remain i critically ill.

some vented their anger and frustration on the police. the fire was started deliberately by the inmates themselves. many limit on overcrowding in the prison. the san miguel jail was built to house fewer than 900 inmates. when the fire broke out, it was home to twice that number. an investigation is under way. firefighters say they had to cut their way through steel padlocks to free some of the inmates. after facing this emergency, we're worried about the helping the injured. the situation cannot continue any longer. >> the head of the prison service said he had known the situation was precarious and had been working to improve it. that will be little consolation to those who have lost their loved ones in the deadliest fire in half a century. >> thousands have taken to the

streets of port-au-prince, angry at the results of haiti's presidential election. the ruling party has -- the president has appealed for calm. >> anger that has been simmering spilled over into violence after the election results were announced. there had been widespread allegations of fraud after the voting at the end of last month. much of the anger was directed at the candidate supported by the outgoing president. h>> the americans have elected him. >> the headquarters were set ablaze and protesters also attacked the building housing the election council. many protesters carried posters

of the musician who came third in the election. he failed to qualify for the runoff by less than 1% of the boats. the u.s. expressed its concern over the results. >> we are determined to help pay the achieve is a credible election and the results, not one that the u.s. will impose, but one that the people of haiti can participate in fully. and the government that emerges reflects the will of the haitian people and will have the legitimacy and support necessary to move the country forward. >> the rebellious to barricade the streets is a reminder of the difficult year. the earthquake that left much of port-au-prince in ruins. the outbreak of cholera that is still spreading. the people's the stress and

frustration is being expressed by violence. >> after days of deliberation, the un security council has endorsed the opposition candidate in ivory coast, alassane ouattara. the council's decision which was held up by russian misgivings. he said leslieignored calls to . many members of the council had wanted to declare alassane ouattara the winners fo for days. >> russia was saying to back one candidate would not be the mandate. finally, those misgivings were overcome and the security council has backed alassane ouattara and called on players

to respect the outcome and has condemned -- repeated its warnings that it is ready to consider sanctions against anyone who obstructs the work there or who threatens the peace process. >> there seems to be a stalemate between alassane ouattara and laurent gbagbo. what happens next? >> no one knows what will happen next. the security council has suggested that it is willing to consider sanctions, that would be one form of trying to get laurent gbagbo to step down. at the moment, the plan is to build a diplomatic pressure is much as possible. as the security council statement is important -- you did have many countries such as the u.s. and france saying the opposition candidate has won.

the security council has backed all the international calls. laurent gbagbo has almost no friends outside the country. the security council thought it should be adding its voice to the oppressiopressure. >> the family of murder bride anni dewani -- murdered bride anni dewani is urging [unintelligible] he is not being charged and continues to protest his innocence. anni's uncle spoke to our correspondent. >> we [unintelligible] none of us have been good.

it is getting worse. >> how prepared were you for the revelations made in court? >> we were briefed. a little bit, not in detail. >> shrien dewani is in custody. innocent until proven guilty. do you have a message that might help? >> our message would be every day, this case is now or evenott is torture. just come down here and let the courts decide. every day is a torture. >> you have been here for a few days and obscene newspaper reports.

is he able to have a free trial here? >> according to my opinion, these people are very professional. this could be in the european court or any court in the country. i do believe in a fair trial. >> you are watching "bbc news". >> here we go. it is half a mile long and 90 feet deep. >> into the depths. the secret tunnel under the u.s.-mexico border. one of the first firefighters to arrive at london's king's cross underground station during the july 7 bombing in 2005 has said he was told to wait almost half an hour before he was allowed in. the corridor at the inquest into the deaths of the victims was told that fire crews were sent to the wrong location.

>> andrew was part of the fire crew. he describes how the initial backup crew that was requested were is sent to the wrong station. these inquests have heard this call from london underground to fire service control. >> hello. >king's cross underground, please. >> that was the right location. it then changed to houston square. the station half a mile away. >> king's cross. >> a barrister representing some of the families described this as disasters. he spoke of the failure that morning. this diagram depicts the number of people inside the carriage. of all the scenes of carnage,

king's cross was the worst. 26 murdered. hundreds injured. these inquests have heard about ambulances being sent to the wrong address. this evidence of delay as victims lay dying. >> tony blair has been recalled to give more evidence to the official inquiry into the country's role in the iraq war. the chairman of the inquiry said there are areas that need more clarification. you are watching "bbc news". the headlines this hour. supporters of the wikileaks web site have been launching a series of cyber attacks on companies they say are colluding with the u.s. government. a fire has killed more than 80 inmates at a prison in chile.

the british deputy prime minister nick clegg has denied that his party is facing a crisis over the coalition's proposals to raise university tuition fees. some members have said they will oppose the plan when they vote on the issue on thursday. our political correspondent reports. >> 24 hours left for all sides to make their case before the vote on tuition fees. this man has been struggling to hold the liberal democrats together. the prime minister stepped in to make the case in back of his coalition partner. students way to find out how much university education will cost and the labor leader accuses ministers of betraying young people. at the center of the storm, the lib dem leader, offering concessions. >> under the new system,

everyone will pay back less than what they pay under the current system. they will pay back every month. that is the case. the poorest will pay less, the riches will pay more. >> only the prime minister could triple tuition fees and claim it is a better deal for students. no one is convinced. quex by 3:00, the party leaders were preparing for interviews. mr. cameron told an audience the changes were fair. >> we have seen the marches and protests. we have seen how passionate many of our students are about this issue. let me tell you this, i am just as passionate. just as passionate the young people should have the chance to go to university, whatever their background. >> at the same time, nick clegg was telling the bbc he regretted breaking his promise on tuition fees. the compromise was part of the coalition. >> to govern is to choose and i

have chosen and i will not apologize for this trend we have chosen to provide extra money for child care and preschool support for 2 year olds and three roads. we have chosen, something close to my heart. providing extra money in the school system. >> the leader favors a graduate tax. he persuaded his chancellors of the merits and met students to press his case. >> my appeal is not to abstain and let the proposal goes through. but to vote and make sure the government thinks again. >> tomorrow's vote is a combination of months of pressure on liberal democrat mp is pretty well be a big test. students are planning a march through london, one final attempt. >> bill makers have legislation

that would block the transfer of prisoners from guantanamo island. the bill must be approved by the senate to become law. the boat runs counter to president obama who insisted that detainees should be transferred out of guantanamo bay to face trial in civilian courts. a crash involvinhas killed 10 pe and injured 50 others. the accident happened 30 kilometers from the capital. the accident might have been caused by a signal error. a 21-year-old man has appeared in court in america charged with plotting to blow the military recruitment center in maryland. the justice department says antonio martinez was given a fake bomb and had been monitored for several months.

another court hearing on monday. one of the heaviest snowfalls in paris in decades have forced the closure of the city airport. and the cancellation of numerous fights. the snow brought wide spread travel chaos. with the closure of the eiffel tower. the airport's open letter although some flights were redirected. the panama canal has been temporarily shut down because of intense rain. the canal authorities say the rains had pushed water levels to historic highs, potentially endangering shipping. it is the first time the canal has had to close to traffic since the u.s. invasion of panama in 1989. it could be hauling cargo and even astronauts to the international space station. a private company has successfully launched a capsule into orbit from florida and

returned it to earth. >> liftoff for groundbreaking test flight. the dragon ship launched sky word on a rocket from cape canaveral in florida. the mission, to try out the new system to deliver cargo and possibly crew one day to the international space station after the space shuttle fleet is retired next year. the capsule separated 10 minutes after being launched, reaching its 300 kilometer high orbit shortly after. after completing maneuvers above earth, it was brought back down through the atmosphere and into a controlled splashdown in the pacific. the company takes its success from the main chutes deployed successfully. >> reliegreat relief.

when they came out, it was a done deal. >> they are products of the company's space x. they have a contract with nasa worth more than $1.50 billion. the mission is to resupply the international space station through 2016. >> we're looking forward to our next demonstration flight and taking the next step closer to the international space station. thank you for the early christmas present. >> this was the first of three tests. the dragon will not be allowed near the international space station until everyone is confident about its safety. >> it is one of the most sophisticated legalillegal tunns

discovered. it has ventilation and tracks were trolleys used for transporting drugs. nearly 1 million worth of drugs. >> we descended through a passageway had done by criminal hands. deeper and deeper we went. until we were 90 feet under the years. u.s. federal agents led the way. in recent years, they found dozens of drugs tunnels. this one represents a new level of sophistication. in this room, you can see the scale of this operation. there were real tracks -- rail tracks. whoever pelt the spin $1 million and took a year to do so. for half a mile it runs, underneath the u.s.-mexico border. authorities say they are winning the war on drugs. >> we're making the border a more secure environment.

the drug cartels are not going to lose their bottom-line dollar and so they're having to go to these lengths to insure their profit margin. >> here is the bottom line. tens of millions of pounds worth of marijuana, seized when the tunnel was discovered in an empty warehouse in san diego. who knows how much had already come through undetected? minutes away is the border. closely watched and heavily guarded. the u.s. has beefed up security on its southern frontier, but it cannot stop all the traffickers. we crossed the legitimate way to the city of tijuana. it does not look like a front line. it is becoming one. mexico's war against the cartel. in this house, seven people were arrested. there were living in squalor. two rooms filled with bags of rubble. the tunnel begins.

6 meters below the floor, it is lined with cinder block. it is pretty sturdy. if you look here, this is the entrance. on this side, hear that, it is lined with wooden planks. these are the rail cars. half a mile underground transporting to the united states. we do not think it is a losing battle. you must face the innovation of the program criminals. there is no other way to do it. >> authorities will slip this tunnel for good. how many more remain hidden? >> an american cruise ship biz lip-synch to safety after losing an engine -- is limping to safety after losing an engine. it 160 passengers and crew and

declared an emergency on tuesday. you are watching "bbc news". >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the globe and click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank has put itsglobala wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> there is one stage that is the met and carnegie hall. >> o, that this too, too solid flesh -- >> it is the kennedy center. >> check, one, two. >> and a club in austin. >> it is closer than any seat in the house, no matter where you call home. >> the top of the world, and i'm there, i'm home. >> pbs -- the great american stage that fits in every living room. your support of pbs brings the arts home. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles. presented by kcet, los angeles.