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>> welcome to "news day." >> no apology. the british prime minister said that with hindsight, he would not have employed the former editor of the "news of the world." ireland's prime minister says it puts the -- says that the church puts its safety ahead of the welfare of children. >> famine in somalia, the u.s. says it will allow its 8 into areas -- rebels say they will allow aid workers into the area.

>> of the british prime minister, david cameron, has defended his integrity in parliament as ministers defended the phone hacking scandal. the british establishment has been really. mr. cameron defended hiring andy coulson but he said that in hindsight he would not have made the same choice. this report contains flash photography. >> a french in need -- a friend in need is a friend. they become a massive headache. david cameron has always defended his decision to give andy coulson a second chance. >> with 20/20 hindsight, i would not have offered him the job and

i expect he would not have taken it. you don't make decisions in hindsight, you make them in the present. you live and you learn, believe you me, i have led. >> the prime minister said he was extremely sorry. what he -- was he ready to say sorry for hiring him? >> if it turns out that i had been lied to, that would be a moment for a profound apology. >> few expected him to go that far. >> that is not good enough. this is not about hindsight, mr. speaker, it is not about whether mr. colson lied to him, it is about all the information that the prime minister ignored. >> there was questions about the prime minister's other choice of friends.

there was many meetings with news international bosses with rebekah brooks and with rupert murdoch. he left london today on the morning after the most humble day of his life. >> did he ever discuss the question of the bid with news international? >> i never had one inappropriate conversation. >> it was the third time of asking and labor did not like the answer. >> i completely took myself out of any decision making about this. i had no role in it. i had no role in when the announcements would be made. >> what david cameron did was to rhetorically unhire andy card -- andy coulson. it was a day when more police

officers were hired to address more allegations of hacking guaranteeing that there will be more days in which the prime minister's judgment will be questioned. >> the irish prime minister has launched an unprecedented attack on the roman catholic hierarchy. he accused the vatican of protecting the power and reputation of the church ahead of the child rape victims. the clerical abuse exposed an institution that was defeatist. >> the church and state in ireland have been linked for generations. that close relationship appears to have changed with the publication of the report into child sex abuse. the report found that the vatican had systematically blocked and frustrated an inquiry into the issue as recently as three years ago.

>> at the report estivates, the dysfunction, the disconnection, the elitism, that dominated the culture of the vatican. the rape and torture of children was downplayed and they managed to uphold instead the primacy of the institution, its power, its standing, its reputation. >> other jeopardies voiced similar criticisms. later, the hierarchy of the catholic church expressed deep remorse. >> i find myself incredibly proud of the church. i have to be ashamed of these things. >> after some anticlerical sex abuse scandals in ireland, many had thought that the worst regulations had been exposed. the report singled dealt a

former vatican 823 pope's for dangerous failings in child molestation. father mcgee resigned and has since confessed that he could have done more to protect victims of abuse. the alleged cover-up seems to have been the final straw for the irish government. >> you are watching "bbc news day," you have news as a warning to european leaders of the debt crisis. >> that's right. a stark warning. on the eve of an emergency summit, the president of the european commission has warned of negative consequences beyond europe possible orders if the leaders failed to take decisive action. -- beyond europe's orders if the leaders failed to take decisive

action. top of the agenda is to stabilize greece. there was a discussion between the french president and the germantown -- chancellor which might have resulted in a new plan. >> greece and its debts are hanging over the eurozone. a country without growth. even president obama has been piling on the pressure to find a lasting solution. the summit as regarded as crunch time. >> and no one should be under any illusions, the situation is usually very serious. it requires a response, otherwise the negative consequences will be felt in all corners of europe and beyond. >> tonight, president sarkozy met in berlin to meet with angela merkel. they are the two big beasts of the eurozone but they have struggled to agree.

they are wrestling with a key challenges, are arranging a second bailout for greece and bringing down its debt. greece needs in new funding of well over 110 billion euros. the first rescue only increased their debt to 350 billion euros. that is 170% of gdp. the two leaders are likely to agree to make the debt more bearable perhaps by laurie the interest rates. -- lowering the interest rates. >> a great amount of the german money goes to say the countries that can be saved. that is contrary to what germany wants. >> many german taxpayers are irritated. this time around, the german chancellor has insisted that the

private sector contribute to a new bailout and take some losses and reduce creases debt. -- reduce greece's debt. >> the issue is whether this will be achieved now or at a later point and time. now, we're still muddling through and we will not have a decision. >> in any event, if the banks except losses, a default might be declared and settle in the markets further. -- and on saddle -- unsettle the markets further. italy is too big to be rescued. >> the u.s. says they will allow its 8 to be sent to areas of somalia controlled by of an

islamist militia. famine has been declared in two areas of southern somalia which have been ravaged by conflict and the worst drought in more than half a century. >> now it is official, somalia is sinking into famine. it is the first time that word has been deployed in almost 20 years. united nations is hoping that it will jolt the world into action. drought and conflict have driven tens of thousands of somalis into camps like this one. mary robinson, the former irish president, was here during the last famine. she is wondering why the world could not prevent this from happening again. >> since i was here in 1992, i look around and i see that these are very resulted people and

they want to as food and water initially for their families. >> a substantial aid operation is underway. supplies are not arriving in kenya. the u.n. is asking for 185 million pounds immediately. the international response has been mixed. britain has given 23 million pounds to somalia this year. the u.s. barely half of that. germany and france are among those accused of ignoring the alarm bells. >> the job has been dangerously inadequate. britain is setting a good lead. we expect others to contribute. there are signs that people are putting their shoulders into it. we need that to happen rapidly. >> money is not the only problem. the famine has taken hold in

areas controlled or influenced by a militant islamist group. they have made it too dangerous for foreign aid groups to operate. now, they said that the ban has been lifted but the politics are complicated and help is not getting to the right people fast enough. the familiar images of hunger and helplessness and the predictable scramble for money and access as the famine bites into somalia. >> at least one person is reported to have been killed in malawi during protests against the government of the president. demonstrations have been held in cities across the country despite an earlier court ruling banning the protests. police sealed off the center of the city. kenyan authorities have burned 5 tons of confiscated ivory to

highlight the problems of elephant poaching. conservation groups say that african elegance -- elephants remain vulnerable to hunting. still to come in the program, coming home, the survivors of the civil war trying to rebuild their lives. from the streets of india to the clubs of the u.k., the illicit trade in the drug -- we have a special report. fighters in misrata say they have made further advances against forces loyal to the libyan leader, colonel muammar gaddafi. >> we are a few kilometers behind the front line here. periodically we can hear the sound of rockets falling in the

distance. the rebels said they started pushing back colonel gaddafi's forces from this position which they have held for the past two months. i have been talking to the man in charge of coordinating the rebels operations with nato. i asked what happens during the morning offense. >> the gaddafi forces are running so quickly and they have left their weapons and their ammunition. >> we have heard some complaints about a lack of action from nato from your side. how have they been acting over the past 24 hours? >> we need their support it.

we are coordinating and we have planned a very well our offensive this time. >> thank you very much. >> we can hear those airplanes overhead which must be nato jets because of the no-fly zone. it is pretty much trench warfare that has been going on here in these fields. progress is very slow. we have heard and seen the rebels' advance in the past only to be forced back to their original positions. it will be crucial to see whether they managed to hold this advance they're making in the weeks and days to come. >> this is "newsday," on the bbc. >> the headlines for you. david cameron has defended his integrity during a special session of parliament.

>> the irish prime minister has accused the roman catholic hierarchy of putting the power and reputation of the church ahead of child rape victims. in tokyo, the verdict is expected on thursday and the trial of a man accused of murdering a british woman who had been teaching english in japan. he confessed to raping and killing her but said that the death was accidental. this case has been very high profile. people are watching the verdict? >> yes, they are. there was dozens of photographers and power crews waiting to see the family of the accused. they were expecting to get the verdict that they hoped for. during the verdict, the suspect

confessed that he raped the woman. he said he was responsible for her death but the defense said that he suffocated her accidently while trying to stop her crying out and he tried to revive her. the prosecution is pushing for a murder victim of -- murder verdict. >> and more than two year gap between the discovery of her body and the capture of the suspect. what happened in the interim? >> her body was found by the police in a bathtub of the suspect's flat. he was there when the police arrived but he managed to escape by running away barefoot. he disappeared for two and a half years. during that time, he used scissors to cut his lip and to cut off moles on his face. he went through plastic surgery.

he was only, when the staff became suspicious about one of their patience and they handed the police a photograph of his new appearance. he was spotted a few days later had a ferry port and arrested. >> do you think he is likely to get the death penalty which tends to be reserved for serial killers in japan? >> the death penalty is on the statute. this is reserve usually for people convicted of multiple murders. in this case, if he is convicted, the prosecution is pushing for a sentence of life in prison. as for the family, they have said that if he is convicted of murdering their daughter, they would like to receive the maximum punishment under japanese law. >> thank you for that. two years after the end of the

civil war, hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians are returning to their homes in the north of sri lanka. access to the region from outsiders has been heavily protected. the rules have just been relaxed. our correspondent is the first journalist to travel there and meets those trying to rebuild their lives. >> outsiders have come to these northern jungles. war had driven out every person, animal. every building was flattened. now, people are returning and trying to start fresh. this child is helping his parents build a home. they were forced from their village and displaced time and time again before suffering bombardment in the final war zone. they got a small grant when they came out of the refugee camp but they had to pawn their

possessions to get by. >> we are glad that we have come from the village but i lost my mother, my brother, and my older sister and brother in the war. >> there is community spirit here. they are lucky to be alive. all of the other men perished. most of the civilians who were confined in government-run camps have returned to the villages like this one. all of them have had a difficult homecoming, haunted by their trauma and their losses. this widow lost her brother in the war. she and her mother are sick, too ill to work, nor can they afford transport to the nearest hospital. the government insists they are doing all they can to help people like her. she disagrees.

>> we have been here almost three months. since then, we have got nothing. we get less than a dollar a month each in aid money. the government is not helping us. i have sent a lot of letters but there is no reply. >> a few miles away, soldiers attend a government war victory monument. they are here 24 hours a day. this represents the army's triumph over the tamil tiger. the flour is for peace. just a year ago, not a single house in this town had a roof. now, they are achieving a kind of normality. like those in the countryside, people here have come back to start again, for the foreseeable future, it is under the watch full i of the military.

>> now over to -- in, you have a story of a brewing drug epidemic. >> this is a substance called ketamine and it is usually used to tranquilize horses. this has become the fourth most popular recreational drug in the u.k. the scientific community is asking the government to do more to makable aware of the danger of the drought. most of it is coming into the country from india. >> in delhi, everyone is -- ketamine is manufactured in india but you will not find it in the pharmaceuticals market. the government has taken it. it is illegal to openly sell ketamine in this country. there is a black market trade

and that makes india one of the main sources of the drug. ketamine is found in countries around the world. >> the uk, europe, canada, australia. >> at a meeting that night, -- i am trying to get a brief sample of ketamine. >> anyone can go and get a gram. >> the drug has become increasingly popular in the u.k. the consequences are difficult. >> very sharp. i have pains in my stomach. they had me screaming out in

agony. >> on some nights, this woman would take goran hadzic . -- this woman would take ketamine. >> i was actually almost speechless because they loved her. they saw that she died. all i can say is please, please, please think carefully before you go on a path of destruction. >> india might say they are cracking down on ketamine but the former head of an organization tackling drug crime is more concerned with terrorism, narcotics. >> the drug problem is important but this is not a party. >> we traveled across the alley for a final meeting with a man offering to sell us ketamine. it was the end of the damage

done by -- do you know the damage done by ketamine? do you care? >> no. >> and other countries, there is concern about the long-term use. >> you are watching "newsday." >> we have time for a quick reminder of our main story. the british prime minister, david cameron, has defended his integrity before a special session of congress. mr. cameron said that with hindsight, he would not have appointed a former newspaper editor, andy coulson, as his spokesmen. he was arrested over the hacking allegations earlier this month. that is all for us in london and in singapore. there is much more on our website, please have a look.

>> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.