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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> hello and welcome. >> the headlines. berlusconi vows to step down at itsly's prime minister but only if -- as italy's prime minister but only if austerity measures are approved. more misery for the murdock. the private investigator says the news of the world paid him to track more than 100 people including prince william. >> herman cain denies harassment allegations saying they won't derail his bid for the white house. it's 10:00 in the morning here in sing more -- singapore. >> it's 2:00 in the morning here in london. broadcasting to viewers in london and america. welcome to "newsday."

>> hello. silvio berlusconi is to step down as italy's prime minister. he says he'll resign once parliament adopts reforms aimed at sorting out the country's finances. his announcement follows the vote on the parliament of the budget which he won but lost his majority. our europe editor has the details. after the vote in parliament, berlusconi went to see the italian president. they had a long discussion and then it was the president's office who declares that silvio berlusconi would step down after key economic reforms had been passed. earlier in the day the italian prime minister had left home knowing that some former allies and his enemies were closing in on him. determined to end his hold on power. in parliament he won the crucial

vote but it was clear he no longer could depend on his own coalition to give him a majority. the result confirmed what the prime minister had feared, a significant number of m.p.'s within his own party had deserted him. and opposition leader addressing him directly said, hand in your resignation. >> tonight he said he was asking for fast track approval of key economic reforms. i will then resign, he said, to allow the head of state to open consultations. >> silvio berlusconi is now back here at his official residence. he said he took the decision for the good of the country and also to settle a financial market. but questions remain about his departure and in particular the timing. and almost immediately there were doubts as to how soon he would leave office and whether elections would follow.

>> he has said it and he should keep his own word. but the time this will happen, well, it could take from two weeks to one month depending both from the political mood of parliament and the technicalities of the law. >> during the day his allies had remained fighting for him while accepting his time was running out. >> and how would you describe his state of mind at the moment? he is under great pressure both from outside italy and inside italy. >> yes. this pressure is really hard. in my opinion it's not justified. just too much. of course he feels it and he's trying to do his best. i mean, this i can tell you, he's trying to do his best, he knows that there's not much time. >> but this was the moment that silvio berlusconi suffered his beggest blow. here his key coalition ally said simply, we ask the prime minister to stand down.

so perhaps as early as this month the man who has dominated italian politics for almost two decades could be gone. he had become famous for scandal and his battles with the courts. at a crucial moment for itsly, he was regarded as having lost the credibility to implement tough reforms. >> the bbc's european reporter reporting from rome. an italian journalist shared his views with me regarding italy's immediate political future. >> now italy will have at least the votes to be held on the 15 of november and the stability will present a number of possible solutions to the crisis that berlusconi promised during the g-20. then the president of italy will create a new government, a possibly technical government, waiting for the election that at this time will be generally -- january next year. the risk in my opinion is that

the new government will be held by one of the berlusconi's men like the former minister of justice and now secretary of berlusconi's party. in this case nothing will change really in the short period. but only time will tell. >> talks are aimed at forming a unity government in greece will resume on wednesday after politicians failed to break the deadlock in talks. they have yet to name a new leader following pop drow's resignation. a former police officer has told the bbc that the news of the world newspaper paid him secretly to follow prince william. in all 90 high profile people including the actress, angelina jolie, and footballer david beckham were put under surveillance. the news of the world, the paper, at the heart of the phone hacking scandal, employed the investigator for eight years.

>> prince william and prince harry, their staffs' voice mails were hacked by news of the world. now it seems the newspaper had them tailed as well. prince william was followed by the paper in 2006. his police bodyguards apparently failed to notice. the surveillance was carried out by this man, derek web, a private investigator and former policeman who worked for the newspaper right up until its closure in july. in all, he was paid to follow more than 100 public figures. >> i would write down what they were wearing at the time, what car they were in, who they met, the location they met, the times, the times were very important. >> derek webb says what he did wasn't illegal, unlike phone hacking, and he says he's not ashamed of it. the newspaper was delighted. >> because i kept getting results for them they employed my services more and more. and so i was getting work from

them and they were very satisfied with the work. >> among those he tailed were footballer david beckham and sports presenter gary, television personality simon cowell and the parents of harry potter star, daniel radcliffe, and politicses like charles clark when he was home secretary, london mayor and tom watson m.p. tom watson's a member of the common sense culture media and sport committee and he's been one of the news of the world's fiercest critics, asking pointed questions of executives from the paper and its parent company. he was tailed at the 2009 labor party conference. >> it's an extraordinary story and i think that what the bbc has appeared to uncover is the most serious development which will need to be examined by those with an interest in this issue including my committee and

the sport committee. >> lord justice's inquiry into the ethics of the press begins public hearings next week but before that james murdoch, the boss of the news of the world parent company, is due to face more questions from the common select committee on thursday. it's likely to be a difficult meeting. >> there are new concerns that iran may have worked on designing a nuclear weapon and some worrying developments there. >> that's right. the white house has set new sanctions against iran if it fails to deal with the latest concerns about its atomic program. the warning came in response to a new report by the u.n.'s ccu iran of carrying out activities which could lead to the development of a new -- a nuclear device, a charge that iran flatly denies. our middle east editor reports. >> the problem the report says is not iran's declared nuclear

facilities. like this power plant that was built by the russians. it's what the intelligence services of a number of countries who fed information to the iaea claim has been going on in secret. >> this report is -- i think it's devastating in that it establishes beyond a shadow of a doubt that iran was engaged in r&d work. there's no smoking gun here that says that iran is continuing today to develop a nuclear weapon, but certainly it was engaged in activity. >> the report makes three key points about iran's nuclear program. it says iran has tried sometimes successfully to procure what it needs for a weapon. it's also acquired the know-how to make a bomb from a clandestine nuclear supply network and the report says iran has tried to design a nuclear weapon and test some of its components. those countries, especially israel, who have said for years that iran wants a bomb are saying, we told you so.

the big and potentially dangerous question is what happens next? the winter's arriving in tehran tanned could feel even colder there if new sanctions are imposed which the u.s. and britain would like. but president ahmadinejad hasn't been deterred by four previous rounds of u.n. sanctions. and he dismissed the report as the work of american puppets. >> we won't attack them, he said. we'll defeat them through our thinking and our software. >> iran is proud of its ballistic missile program but it's always denied it wants nuclear weapons. israeli politicians want international action. >> after the report clear, iran tries to achieve a flirke weapon, it's not -- a nuclear weapon, it's the problem of the entire world and the free world

must unite in order to stop nuclear iran and time for action is now. >> israel has been testing coincidentally a new missile of its own. it's been practicing civil defense and is talking again about attacking iran's nuclear facilities. the report has put military action back onto the international agenda. and with the middle east already highly unstable, that makes a lot of people very nervous. >> now to syria where the number of people killed during antigovernment protests has risen to more than 3,500, according to the united nations which calls the figures conservative. the uprising against the assad regime began in march and since then there's been a brutal crackdown by security forces centered on the city. votes are being counted in the second round of the liberian presidential election, a round that is boycotted by the opposition candidate.

he claims the election was not free or fair. in the first round the incumbent, ellen johnson sirleaf, led with about 44%. turnout was supported below. 5,000 victims in hatey are seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation from the united nations. several studies have blamed the outbreak last year on u.n. peacekeepers from in a pal. the u.s. says the secretary general is studying the petition. you're watching newsday" on the bbc. still to come on the program, not so diplomatic. the secrets of the g-20 summit. they didn't want you to hear. >> and russia goes on the hunt. >> a pilot has died in an accident at the r.e.f. base. it's thought he died when he was ejected from his plane when it was still on the ground.

it's the second death suffered by the red arrows in three months. >> it was just before 11:30 this morning when a red arrows pilot was fatally jarod here at r.e.f. the hawk jet involved has been left with a shattered cockpit canopy, an indication of what went wrong. >> it is with great regret that i can confirm that there has been a ground incident that has resulted in the death of the pilot. the pilot was ejected from the aircraft while the the aircraft was under the ground. >> this is the view from inside a red arrows hawk, all of them are fitted with ejecter seats. they're used as a last resort in the air, but the inquiry will now focus on why today's ejection happened on the airfield apron. >> there are lots and lots of safety mechanisms built into the seat and whatever else pilot does, they are very dangerous

pieces of equipment. >> the red arrows thrill crowds across britain every summer, flying just a few feet apart from each other. but today's incident comes just weeks after the death of flight lieutenant. he was killed following a display. his fellow team members flew over lincoln cathedral for his memorial service nine days ago. late this afternoon the aircraft involved in today's incident was covered up, awaiting a detailed inspection. but once again the planes flown by the red arrows are grounded while an inquiry takes place. but the ministry of defense says other hawks flown by the r.e.f. will continue to operate. danny savage, bbc news. >> this is news day d on the bbc.

>> the headlines for you this hour. silvio berlusconi has vowed to step down as italy's prime minister but only if austerity measures are approved. >> a private investigator says the news of the world newspaper paid him to track more than 100 people including prince william. >> the u.s. republican presidential hopeful herman cain has denounced sexual harassment allegations made against him by four different women. during a news conference in arizona mr. cain said the accusations would not push him out of the race for the white house next year. he said he'd be willing to undergo a lie detector test to prove his innocence. steve kingston is in washington. he says it's not a surprise that herman cain is denying these allegations. >> it's interesting that he chose to come out in publicly address these claims having previously said he wanted to move forward. but what's changed over the past 48 hours or so is that now two of his accusers have gone

public. one of them called a dramatic news conference in new york on monday, said mr. cain had tried to grope her in a car after a dinner together, after she'd approached him for help in finding a job. a claim he denies. and not only was it a general denial or a suggestion that perhaps she could somehow misconstrue his actions, mr. cain actually gave an outright denial of even remembering the woman. he said he'd never met the woman as far as he knew. he didn't recognize her name. answered gave her a more general defiant denial of all four accusations. >> the charges and the accusations are absolutely -- i absolutely reject. they simply didn't happen. they simply did not happen. >> he went on to say that he doesn't believe this will effect his republican presidential bid

but it has caused him a huge amount of damage, has it not? >> yes, it does. this scandal has been rambling on for about 10 days. it began the weekend before last. and through most of last week the polls were showing that his numbers were holding, people still were keeping faith with him. he was, remember, the surprise frontrunner in the republican race. a complete outsider. somebody from the restaurant business with no experience of washington politics. people seem to like that. the problem he has had in the last 36, 48 hours, names and faces are appearing, the stories are becoming more graphic, particularly this latest woman's and the people within the republican electoral community are saying, look, whether it's true or not and that of course is still to be proved where the truth lies, we just don't fansy the risk that this involves. it's tiresome, it's distasteful and i suspect that this maybe the beginning -- may be the beginning of the end of his campaign, unless he can prove his accusers to be lying. >> and what about this talk of a

lie detector test that he said he would happily take? >> yes, he did. he said he would happily take a lie detector test but then he caveated that by saying, if he thought it would be useful. so not entirely clear whether he's going to go through with that. but interesting that he should kind of say yes to that. it shows what a sort of interesting and colorful character he is, compared to some rather more dull, conventional washington politicses. that's why people liked him -- politicians. that's why people liked him. it may also be his downfall as well. >> steve kingston there in washington. now concern is building up about protests that are taking place in tibet. >> that's right. the compile tibetan spiritual leader, the dalai lama, has accused china of cultural genocide against people living in ethnically tibetan regions, speaking in tokyo on monday, the dalai lama said desperate conditions and china's repression had lead to a recent

wave of self-emulations in the province. at least eight former monks and a nun have set themselves on fire and some of them have died -- and seven of them have died. joining me now is the prime minister of the several tibetan administration. glad could you join us on this. please tell us, why are these monks and nuns harming themselves? >> as from their cries when they were on fire, they say, freedom indy pet and long live -- in tibet and long live his holiness, the dalai lama. they are desperate demands of the tibetan people who have committed self-emulation so far is the desperate act of people who are suffering under terrible conditions. >> and china says that these self-emulations are a form of terrorism in disguise and blames

the dalai lama for fueling this unrest. what is your view on this? >> the dalai lama has always advocated nonviolence solely because of him we tibetans still pursue unviolence and of course we believe in his message and he is nowhere near, you know, say anything other than that. he has also called for people not to resort to desperate acts. way back for many decades now. and particularly so in 2007 to the hunger strikers. but rather it's the occupation of tibet and repressive policies of the chinese government in tibet is forcing tibetans to resort to such desperate acts there. their motivation is clear for tibet and tibetan people. the intention is not to harm anyone and the act obviously is very painful. >> as you say, a policy of

nonviolence as the tibetan compile leader, what can be done and what are you doing to calm the situation? >> well, tibetan administration does not encourage protests inside tibet because we know the consequences. they will be arrested, often tortured, sometimes, you know, killed. so why should anyone encourage protests inside tibet? far from encouraging self-emulation, tibet administration has always, you know, called for nonviolence and always encouraged people to focus on education. so i've just returned from america, appealing to the u.s. government and the international community, u.n.-related, to send diplomats and fact-finding delegation tosti bet, to assess the real condition -- to tibet, to assess the real condition. to go to the area so the chinese government can have an objective analysis of the situation and address the issue peacefully and

we believe in dialogue. we want to reach out to the chinese government to resolve this peacefully. >> right. great speaking to you, the prime minister of the central tibetan administration in delly. russia has launched an unmanned probe on a three-year mission to reach a moon of mars. the aim is to scoop up rock and dust samples and bridge them -- bring them back to earth for study. the craft blasted off from the area. the return vehicle is expected to carry up to 200 grams of soil back to earth in august of 2014. daniel griffiths reports. >> heading towards mars, the russian mission blasts off in kazakhstan. the staff of one of the most daring journalies in space exploration. it's traveling to one of the moons of mars to gather rock and dust samples. so far only one other country,

japan, has ever managed to retrieve a sample from a planetary body beyond the moon. but this is a high-risk operation. the spacecraft has to land successfully on the uneven surface, then a robotic arm will pick up some of the rock and dust, placing the samples in a sealed canister. but that may be the easy part. the canister then has to be blasted back to earth on a precise trajectory. if one step in the mission fails, the whole project could be doomed. russian scientists have been preparing for this mission for years. for all its successes in space, russia's launched 16 probes to the red planet but every one of them has failed. they're hoping this one will be different but they won't know until 2014 when the canister and its precious cargo are scheduled to return to earth. >> in previously unpublished remarks, the french president sarkozy has called the israeli

prime minister, netanyahu, a liar. he was speaking during a private conversation with president obama during the recent g-20 summit. >> in public and for the cameras there's often a smile. a pat on the back, perhaps even an endorsement of the other's hard work. in private we know international politics to be different. and just occasionally the mask of diplomacy slips. on thursday journalists awaiting a press briefing from the french and american presidents were plugging into their translation boxes. those already wearing ear phones were suddenly privy to the most extraordinary exchange taking place in private. >> i can't stand him anymore, said mr. sarkozy, of the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu. he's a liar. in response and with some exasperation, mr. obama said, you may be sick of him but me, i have to deal with him every day. the french journalists, stunned by what they heard, agreed not

no to print the quotes. though inevitably they were leaked and today appeared chapter and verse in the israeli media. >> this gossip between the leaders in the united states and europe doesn't effect -- affect the policy of the government when the critical moment is coming. >> in practical terms, there's so much at stake in the middle east peace process, personal spats between leaders are unlikely to have any major or lasting effect. and certainly it's not the fist time an american president has found it difficult dealing with an israeli prime minister. but perhaps it does confirm what we already knew. that after months of difficult negotiations, personal relationships have been strained. the next round of talks should prove interesting. if only for the diplomatic tap dancing that is sure to follow. >> that's all from us in london and singapore. thanks for watching. don't go anywhere.

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