>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is 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 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." >> the duke of edinburgh has undergone a successful procedure to relieve a blocked coronary artery. twinned bomb blast kill more than 40 people in damascus. final tributes are paid to vaclav havel. welcome to bbc news. held george michael plans to say thank-you to the austrian doctors can save his life as he battled pneumonia. this is no pipe dream, the traditional church organ under threats as tastes change.

hello and welcome once again. prince philip has undergone heart surgery for an obstructed coronary artery. the treatment is said to a been successful. earlier, buckingham palace announced the queen's husband had been taken to a hospital from the royal estate. he had been suffering from chest pains. our correspondent is that the hospital in cambridge. >> all the information is coming from buckingham palace. the duke is suffering from chest pains. he was brought straight year to the specialist. tests were carried out. there was a blocked coronary artery, the artery that supplies

blood to the heart. as my colleague reports. >> he is 90 years old and he has had surgery on his heart. a procedure to open up a blocked artery carried out under local anesthetic. he will remain in hospital for a short time, the paulus says. the duke has been continuing with an active program of the engagements. two months ago, he was in australia supporting the monarchs. the person closest to her, but always in public a step or two behind her. content to take second place, as he always has. his health has generally been good for a man of his age. there was a scare three years ago when he was last admitted to

hospital. he emerged and continued with his normal program of the engagements. earlier this year, he did admit that it might be time to slow down. >> with less responsibility, less frantic rush it about. less preparation, less trying to think of something to say. the memory is going, i cannot remember names. >> despite what he said in that interview, the duke has shown little inclination to alter his program in any radical way. some modifications will now be necessary. >> the hospital treats more than 20,000 people every year.

it is the u.k.'s main center for carrying out heart surgery. it is considered to be a very routine procedure, many thousands are fitted. two patients every year. nonetheless, there will be two primary concerns. the first is to ensure that the stand -- stint has opened correctly and the blood supply to the heart is as it should be. the other concern would be the possibility of tissue rejection. that is always a risk in any operation. it is something the doctors will be monitoring. speak to a consultant cardio surgeon at the university college london hospital. thank you during much for your time. tell us how serious a blocked coronary artery is. does it require immediate

surgery? >> definitely. if you do not deal with it, you could get a massive heart attack and die. >> how common is it to insert one? >> i think it is very common now for the last 20 years. it is getting better and better. when an artillery is narrowed, at it causes a structure. -- stricture. if you just leave it, it can collapse again. to prevent the collapse, you put the stint. it is made out of metal, and it stays open and keep the tube open and blood flows through it. >> how worried would you be if you were carrying out such a procedure on a 90-year-old?

>> not every 90-year-old is very strong and healthy. at that age, your archery's -- your arteries -- it becomes quite difficult. it needs to go all the way up to the opening of these arteries. it is very close to the heart. sometimes this can be quite difficult. the arteries are calcified. these are the risks. it is one of the best treatments. >> do you think that as he recovers, he might have to change his lifestyle? it would be presumably be advised to travel less and

undertake if you were public engagements? >> with this operation, he is out of danger. i do not think he should reduce his engagement. he could carry on doing it for a long time. >> thank you very much for that analysis. the political uprising in syria, of which has seen nine months of carnage, has taken a deadly turn would to car bombs exploding in damascus. more than 40 people were killed. state media suggested that the blast had been carried out by al qaeda. observers from the arab league are beginning to observe a peace plan in the country. >> this was a devastating escalation of syria's violence. here in damascus, scenes that evoke the terror of neighboring iraq. according to the government, to

suicide bombs drove cars packed with explosives into state intelligence buildings on the west side of the city. a vehicle mangled by the blast. all this happened in an area that should be one of the most secure in the country. the dead and wounded were said to include security personnel and civilians. television broadcast images of the survivors as they recovered in hospital. >> i saw a black car, then an explosion. hospital. >> the attached struck at the heart of president bashar al- assad security establishment. within 20 minutes of the blast, al qaeda was being blamed by the government. they attempted to implicate the opposition. this was not the way to achieve democracy, the regime said. opposition activist said the bombings had been fabricated by

the government to discredit the opposition in the eyes of the arab league observers. the government denies the accusation. >> this is immoral. to accuse syria of this. we would never sacrifice the lives of more civilians. >> with the independent media severely restricted by the regime, it is not possible to investigate the claims and counterclaims. the arab league observers were taken to witnessed the aftermath. they were warned by american not to allow what has happened to nt their investigations of human rights abuses. -- impede their investigations of human rights abuses. this woman was crying to god and she is from a village in the north, where the opposition accuses the army of massacring over 100 civilians. the bloody crackdown of the

opposition continues on. in homs, men brave government snipers to try to retrieve a body. elsewhere, a rebel fighters shoot down a government flag. it is a signal the -- it is a symbol of the country spiraling into further violence. >> thousands of egyptians have attended a rally in the capital of cairo. they have been demonstrating against violence used by the military against protesters. at least 17 people have been killed in the past week during clashes between troops and demonstrators. images of women being stripped and beaten have provoked particular anger. the cuban authorities say they will release over 3000 prisoners in the next few days. the move was a goodwill gesture following numerous request by

relatives and institutions. most of them released are -- most of those released are women or elderly. world leaders and the people of the tax republic have been bidding farewell to the former president, vaclav havel. after the funeral, a church bells rang out across the city. our correspondent was with the thousands that followed the procedure. >> they draped his coffin and the flag of the country he led at a dictatorship. he was the reluctant politician. now the limelight falls on his widow. the eyes of the world intrude on her private grief. vaclav havel's immense moral stature brought leaders of the democratic world today. two british prime ministers, the french head of state, and to u.s. secretaries of state, and a

former president. at noon, they sounded the sirens and the church bells across the country. the nation stood in quiet reflection. >> the former u.s. secretary of state, madeleine albright, said he was a unique man who confronted his jailers with the truth. he had begun -- he had become one of the most respected men on the planet, she said. vaclav havel was a playwright that emerged as a leader of a group of young dissidents determined to confront the communist authorities. he led hundreds of thousands in protest until the communist regime collapsed. he made the journey from prison cells to the presidency in a matter of weeks. vaclav havel's kiting belief was

that the truth would always triumph over a lot -- belief was that the trip would always triumph over a lie. the people of this country have stopped to remember and paid tribute to the transforming effect that principle has had on their lives. what is his legacy? 22 years ago, this was a country that what poets and playwrights and priests in prison. the presiding archbishop was himself jailed along side vaclav havel. he embodied the values of the democratic european mainstream. today, a free and democratic people paid their homage. >> this is "bbc world news." still ahead, preserving the

pipes. the push is on it to find these giant instruments a new home. a series of powerful earthquakes have sick -- have hit the city of christchurch in new zealand. this time, there were no fatalities, but the city's mayor said the latest tremors have shattered people's nerves. our correspondent reports. >> the power of the quake rattled the entire city of christchurch, including the supermarket. it sent christmas shoppers into a chaotic scramble for the exit. these people have lived to the last earthquake 10 months ago and knew what it was capable of. >> there were people running to try to get out. it was pretty chaotic. >> it was violent.

>> at a local television station, staff cat or dog under their desks, fearful of collapsing ceilings. -- staff power under their desks, fearful of collapsing ceilings. building shook for several seconds, forcing people to race until the relative safety of open streets. both major shocks registered well over magnitude 5. >> we are devastated that this has happened at this time of the year, right before christmas. >> in the aftermath, the city and surrounding areas were subject to landslides and flooding. >> i have had enough.

>> this latest set of agreed >> will prove deeply disturbing to the people of the city will come to believe their worst fortunately behind them. -- fortunes lay behind them. >> this is "bbc world news." the duke of edinburgh has undergone heart surgery for a blocked coronary artery. more than 40 people have been killed in a car bomb attacks in syria. the government claims al qaeda is behind the attacks. tens of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets in moscow on saturday to protest against alleged cheating in recent parliamentary elections. at the last rally, 50,000 to apart. organizers are hoping this demonstration will be even bigger. on thursday, president medvedev promised comprehensive political

reform. >> protesters have been preparing for today's demonstrations for a fortnight. this group volunteered to produce 45,000 symbols of their new cause. everybody knows to keep the movement going and to keep the pressure on the government, they need to generate another big protest. two weeks ago, an estimated 50,000 people took to the streets to protest against cheating at the parliamentary elections. it is further from the kremlin, to the disappointment of the organizers. nobody knows how many people are going to turn out today. it is going to be very cold. if there is a poor turnout, that could kill off the elections

movement. if tens of thousands of people turned out, that could give them movement real momentum and could give of vladimir putin a real headache headed into the elections in march. crime's best known novelist are among those civil address the crowd. >> people want dignity, respect. they want to have a say in what is going on. the problem is that the authorities have not understood that society has changed. >> the tainted elections have generated the biggest street protest in russia since the early 1990's. they are a gentle, but determined uprising against the government corruption and cheating. >> turkey has accused france of standing hatred against turks

and moslems. the turkish prime minister also said france had committed genocide during its colonial rule in algeria. the comments candidate after the french lower house backed a bill. the american president has said the u.s. economy is improving, but that much more has to be done. he was speaking after signing into law a two-month extension to tax cuts. >> this is some good news just in the nick of time. i do want to be clear, though, we have a lot more work to do. this continues to be a make or break moment for the middle class in this country. we will have to roll up our sleeves together, democrats and republicans, to make sure the economy is growing and to make sure more jobs are created. we have an economy that is showing some positive signs.

we have seen many consecutive months of private sector job growth, but it is not happening as fast as it needs to. that means we have to redouble our efforts. we have to make sure we are rebuilding an economy where if you work hard, that work will be rewarded. >> george michael says he is incredibly fortunate to be alive after spending a month in a vienna hospital because of pneumonia. the singer thanked the doctor, he said, saved his life. this report contains some flash photography. older ♪uess i'm >> a new departure for the singer, but last month, the tour was cut short. he was admitted to hospital in

austria, and the diagnosis was pneumonia. >> i have a couple of minutes. i am not supposed to speak for long. >> balcombe, looking frail, and he told reporters he was lucky to be alive. >> it was by far the worst month of my life. i am incredibly fortunate to be here. >> he was recovering from a tracheotomy. >> i spent the last 10 days literally changing people for saving my life. i really, really, really from the bottom of my heart, thank everybody who has sent messages. everybody in that ic unit.

>> the singer may come into play to everyone you had a ticket for the council toward dates and to perform an extra show for the doctors to save his life. -- who saved his life. >> a spacecraft during a russian, an american, and a dutchman has docked at the international space station. they're back to a six-member crew. a sound that is synonymous with christmas. churches reverberate to the mighty but some of the organ at this time of year. in the united states, the traditional pipe organ may be under threat. the financial crisis has slowed new production. many churches cannot afford to maintain the instruments they already have.

>> ♪ >> for centuries, the church has chosen the pipe organ as the instrument of worship. but now, a more earthly forces are threatening its supremacy. this is one of hundreds of organs destined for the scrap heap. although this church in new york is installing a new instrument, many others cannot afford a replacement for the cost of maintenance. john bishop has made its life mission to save them. >> part of what we are doing is salvaging some of the original organs, knowing that we will be able to reduce them in other instruments. these are a couple of the wooden base pipes of this organ.

they're close to 100 years old. they do still work. we just have to put air into them. >> organs can take years to build and the level of craftsmanship = got of shipbuilders and clockmakers. each one represent a union -- a unique piece of america's religious history. >> there is a movement and the american church, which is generally called contemporary worship. instead of using a pipe organ and the traditional music, rock or jazz bands are used for worship. >> dwindling congregations are another threat. john and his company had hoped to rescue around 200 organs and found new homes for them all

over the world. one was taken by the president of madagascar and another went to china. ♪ when the church needed a new instrument, and john bishop was able to find a 100-year-old replacement from a basement chapel. >> in my home church, the music i make is only going to be as good as the instrument i have. it is the difference of a chef who has been cooking with plastic food and finally gets real food again. hundreds of other organ still need homes. here, at least, it is a match made in heaven. ♪ >> if you are watching bbc news.

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