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bbc. >> our headlines this hour -- rupert murdoch appears before the u.k.'s media ethics inquiry denying he has any great influence on british politics. >> i want to put it to bed once and for all that, that is a complete myth that i used the influence, supposed political power to get favorable treatment. >> calling today newt gingrich is expected toned his bid to be president of the united states. >> the verdict during the trial of one of japan's most influential politicians acooze -- accused of breaking fund-raising laws. and labor pains, why mainland china's opinions women may not be welcome if they want to give birth in hong kong. it's 9:00 in the morning in singapore. >> 2:00 in the morning in london. broadcasting to viewers in pbs in america and around the world, this is "newsday."

>> hello, and welcome. the media tie kuehne rupert murdoch has told of british inquiry into british ethics he wanted to end what he called the myth he used the power or influence of one of his newspapers "the sun" to gain favorable treatment. he told the inquiry in london that never asked a prime minister for anything. >> in the long-running inquiry into press standards, this was the most keenly awaited witness so far. the chairman and chief executive of news corporation. >> i swear by almighty god the evidence i shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. >> but mr. murdoch, known for his strong views, appeared surprisingly reticent about his

decades as a powerful newspaper proprietor. >> i in ten years have never asked mr. blair for anything, nor indeed did i receive any favors. >> this afternoon when he was asked about his switch to support the conservatives, mr. murdoch said there were many key media matters he had not discussed with the new government. but the inquiry's q.c. robert jay pressed the point about his influence. >> there was always a political freestyle around your bids, mergers and acquisitions, in relation to bids -- >> i welcome that question, mr. jay, because i want to put it to bed once and for all, that that is a complete myth. >> so what's the myth, mr. murdoch? >> that i used the influence of "the sun" or supposed political power to get favorable treatment.

>> and meanwhile, the man who was the go between has gone. government special adviser adam smith described as point of contact between minister and murdoch bidding of control of the u.k. satellite broadcaster be sky b. material when james murdoch gave evidence yesterday had included damning picks and e-mails indicating a government bias towards newscorp. >> mr. secretary -- >> facing the house of commons, the secretary jeremy hunt paid tribute to his special adviser but insists he had acted with scrupluss fairness in his quasi judicial role overseeing the bid. >> our transcripts of conversation and texts published yesterday between my special adviser adam smith and a news corporation representative have been alleged to indicate there was a back channel through which news corporation were able to influence my decisions.

this is categorically not the case. >> but if mr. hunt needed any reminder that he remains under pressure, he had to endure this taunt -- >> doesn't it prove the theory that when boys are in trouble, they sack the servant! >> words which echoed the scene sounded by the leader of the opposition just minutes before at a highly charged session of prime minister's questions. >> while his culture secretary remains in place, while he refuses to come clean on his and chancellor's meetings with rupert murdoch, the shadow of sleaze will hang over this government chfment is he going to realize it's time to stop putting his cronies before the interests of the country? he called for an independent judicial inquiry. that was the inquiry i have set up. whether it is the proper regulation of the press, whether it is cleaning up our financial system, whether it's dealing with our debt, i don't duck my responsibilities! what a pity he can't live up to

his! >> it's ironic that britain's political leaders have spent years trying to get close to rupert murdoch and his newspaper titles. now that very closeness is proving a major political problem. there will be more at the inquiry from mr. murdoch on thursday. filippa thomas, bbc news. >> one of japan's most influential politicians has been found not guilty of breaking the country's political fund-raising laws. the former leader of the governing democratic party had been accused of overseeing false accounting by his staff in a 2004 tokyo land deal. let's get the late freft our correspondent rhone roland burke in tokyo. a not guilty verdict? >> yes, that's right. the last few minutes the tokyo district court has acquitted ozaoua. he had been accused of conspiring with his former aide and making false reports about

political fund-raising in connection with a land purchase in 2004. this is potentially extremely significant for japan's politics and japan's economy as well. mr. azoua could now -- the questionable term, will he be reinstated, the suspending governorship be reinstated? if so, that could potentially take into challenge the prime minister, yashy in september when a political election party is scheduled. it's significant because of japan's economy because of this, the prime minister is very keen to double the consumption task to 10%. he said it's vital to get control of japan's enormous public debt. but in the long term could threaten the economy but mr. ozawa oppose that's very strongly and i now with this acquittal, he has been strengthened again. >> and ichiro ozawa has failed

to unseat last year so there's a strong chance he could try again with the current prime minister. >> he could potentially try again. even if he fails, he remains a significant figure. japanese politics is more about factions, about groups within parties, then the ideology of the parties themselves and mr. ozawa is believed to hold under his sway, in his faction, about 10 members of the governing party. it gives him immense clout. it's the reason why he's been called offer the years the destroyer because he's been able to bring down leaders and break up parties. he's been called the shadow showgun as well because of his power behind the throne, his back room deal making and now he could be in a position to unleash that power again. >> roland burke in tokyo with the latest there. thank you very much. david cameron has said figures showing the u.k. is back in recession a very, very disappointing. in the first three months of the

year, the economy shrank by .2%. fall in construction outfits and stagnant services are some of the main factors behind britain entering its first double-dip resgs since the mid-1970's. the british chancellor said coalition and policies have plunged the u.k. back in recession and chancellor blames the figure on the previous labor government and problems in the euro zone. >> it's very disappointing news, and it's a very tough economic situation when you're recovering froms they enormous debts that britain built up in the good years. that's not made easier by the fact much of europe is in recession or heading into recession. and we've got to go on dealing with those debts, making our businesses more competitive so that they can create jobs, helping young people get into work and making sure that we don't deliberately add to borrowing, deliberately spend more and make a difficult situation even worse. >> the british chancellor,

another republic candidate, has dropped out of the race for the u.s. presidency. >> that's right. newt gingrich has indicated that he will formally withdraw from the contest next week. the former house of representatives speaker said mitt romney is now certain to win the party's nomination to challenge barack obama for the white house in november. mr. gingrich is expected to throw his support behind his rival. our washington correspondent jonathan blake told me where he thought things had gone wrong for gingrich. >> he was the front-runner for a time and it looked in florida there would be a two-horserace between newt gingrich and mitt romney but he really suffered at the hands of highly organized campaign and highly effective targeted, negative advertising campaign. by his opponent mitt romney, when it came down to it, he couldn't compete with that. he didn't have anything like the campaign resource that's mitt romney had and he also suffered

from allegations by his ex-wife in a tv interview that he asked her for an open marriage during the time he was having an affair. so it was an up-and-down campaign for newt gingrich but for some time now, it's been very clear he was never going to win the level of support needed to take the nomination. he's only won two primary votes. >> washington correspondent jonathan blake. in other news, libya's leader appeals to hand over islam qaddafi for trial at the hague has been rejected by the international communal court. the son of the desupposed libyan leader was arrested in november. we asked our competent in tripoli whether this news was expected. >> yes, it was expected. i spoke to a member of the security commission at the national transitional council. he said that libya as far as he was concerned is ready to put

qaddafi on trial. the interior ministry here is in charge of prisons. of course, this is an answer to concerns raised by human rights groups as well as i.t.c., who argued libya's justice system is perhaps neither ready nor capable of dealing with such a high-profile case. i also spoke earlier to ahmad ra janney, libyan representative to the i.c.c. here and he said, again, this was expected and that they had simply asked for more time to decide whether to try islam in libya or hand him over to the i.c.c. courts. he said also that libya has another new challenge to the i.c.c. in which it will be filing, it's called the admissibility challenge and that will be done at the end of this month and that's basically to say libya's justice system has the jurisdiction and competence to try islam in the country. >> the norwegian man who's

admitted to killing 77 people and attacks last july has gone to trial with a psychiatric report claiming he's insane is full of lies and he's of sound mind. a panel of judges decide whether he's criminally insane. and the court heard testimony describing the injury to the victims of the bombing. egypt's commission has reinstated the former prime minister as a candidate in next month's presidential race. the day after he had been disqualified. the commission said it had accepted its appeal but no reason has yet been given. the french foreign minister has said the united nations -- the french foreign minister has said the united nations security council might have to consider action backed up by military force in syria if peace time fails. violence continues in the country despite the evidence of 11 international observers who are trying to monitor the cease-fire.

translator: either this mediation is working or it isn't. if it doesn't work, we can't continue being defied by the regime in power, which doesn't respect any of the six commitments it took within the frame of the kofi annan plan. in that case, we will have to move to another step that we have already started to talk about with our partners. under chapter 7 of the united nations charter to move forward to the end of this tragedy, which continues in syria. >> and you're watching bbc live from sing singapore. still to come -- as he awaits his fate of the international court in the hague, we have a special he report from sierra leon. >> and it's lonely at the top. why only fellow presidents really understand the pressure of life in the oval office.

now let's look at the stories making headlines around the world. the inquiry into media ethics in britain is making headlines across the papers as news corporation chief rupert murdoch gives evidence. the financial times reports rupert murdoch was back to his old form, delivering a commanding performance. the independence is leaving with the u.k. slipping back into recession in the first quarter of this year. it reports the government strategy for recovery is coming under fire. the telegraph business section is headlining the european commission plan to relax physical targets as revolt spreads across the euro zone. but it could face opposition from germany. french politics makes a front page of the irish times with the report fresh candidate wants the fiscal treaty reopened if he's elected. the china morning post headlines u.s. regulators are investigating big-name hollywood studios over potentially inappropriate payments.

>> our headlines this hour -- the head of news corporation, rupert murdoch told a british media inquiry he never used his influence to seek favors from successive prime ministers. >> one of japan's most influential politiciansu

anyone born in hong kong will get local citizenship but explosion in birth tourism has caused tension. joining me on the line is legislative council member of the hong kong government. thank you so much for joining us. first of all, do you support the move to block mainland mothers from giving birth in hong kong? >> well, it has caused some problems and so is with planning but how to do it is a problem because the policy does not have a root at the moment tofment cause the basic problem is our law set up, chinese citizen in residency, if the item was not attempted in the future there

would be some mainland friends come to hong kong. >> so, doctor, is this decision final or can the band still be overturned before the implementation in 2013. >> i'm not sure what is the legal basis of the policy so i'm uncertain how it will be demanded. >> the legislative council member of the hong kong government, thank you so much for joining us. the international court in the hague will deliver its verdict in the trial of liberia's former president charles taylor later this thursday. he stands accused of fueling war in the neighboring state of sierra leon in exchange for die madonnas. charges against him include terrorizing the civilian population and crimes against

humanitarianty. a decade after the war ended, our competent allen little has been back to sierra leon to see how the country has recovered from mr. taylor's rule. >> a decade of war reduced sierra leone to the poverty it has not yet escaped. in the heart of free town, children scavenge in a rubbish dump for bits of plastic they might sell for pennies. this patch of land is still known as amputee camp, though the camp itself is long gone. in the 1990's it was home to a tent settlement of men, women and children who had their limbs severed by machete or ax. this was the signature atrocity of the rebel army known as revolutionary united front or i.u.f. >> chopped off my foot with an ax. not one blow. about five, six times.

>> he said he had heard charles taylor on the radio threatening to make sierra leone taste the bitterness of war. >> this is my conviction that everything was his doing. >> charles tail -- taylor was president of the neighboring state of liberia. he's been on trial for the last four years accused of arming, funding and directing the i.u.f. he's charged with terrorizing civilians, sexual violence, abductions and use of child soldiers. a three-hour delimb from free town, the memory of war is raw. rebels swept through here in a frenzy of burning and looting. there's no economy to speak of. one woman makes parm oil for a process unchanged for hundreds of years. it is essentially iron age technology.

they are at last rebuilding the town's water supply. when it's finished, it will bring them back to where it was in the 1970's, a measure of how the war retarded progress here. but change is coming at last and it's the chinese ever hungry for natural resources who will bring it. chinese money is about to put a rubber plantation here, avast pineapple grove and rice fields. back in free town, there's more evidence still of chinese-led change. we run into a camera shy technician supervised of a road-building project. it is chanching lives here. >> i'm so glad it's for them because it trimmed me up and i'm so glad to walk with them. >> what do they train you at? >> a soldier. >> slowly, the wheels of economic activity are turning again. there are vast, untapped

resources here. the red dust indicates high concentrations of iron ore. the london mining company reactivated this mind. it's been dormant and derelict since the 1960's. >> this land aastonishing rich in mineral wealth and used the potential to transform and lives of millions who live here. but this has been a curse as well as a blessing. this is what brought war to sierra leon in the first place and this is what paid for the war to go on for so long. >> it was the diamond mines, not iron ore, it's alleged brought charles taylor into sierra leone's war. the court's verdict will be eagerly awaited in these streets. for sierra leonens it's another mild stone on their journey back from the horrors this lived through. alan little, bbc news, free town. >> being president of the united states is a job like no other and perhaps the only people who understand the pressure of those

who actually held the post are the democrats are republicans, these men seem to share a special bond explored in a new book "the presidents club." its co-author, mike duffy, spoke to the bbc's kathy kay. >> a firsthand report on u.s. relations with europe is made to president kennedy by former president eisenhower. >> the president are are bound together by having simply done the job. only four exist now. at the moment in the history there have only been five. secret clubhouse across the street. they have special rules. they also have black sheep. they're bound together because they have done this most difficult job. they all come out with scars and they all know what that's like. >> you uncover lots of stories about conversations presidents had with former presidents. what's the one that surprised you most, relationship that surprised you the most? >> there are two. richard nixon becoming a late-night telephone buddy of bill clinton is something no one

would have predicted. they bonded over foreign policy, china, russia, over how to organize their day. that was really surprising to me. i think the second one most people wouldn't guess is that here's bill clinton having been president, having beat george herbert walker bush, after they're both out of office, they become not just sort of friends but allies, partners in all kinds of projects across generation, across party. that's the kind of power having done this job and sharing that with just a few people actual glivs to men who otherwise have the rest of their lives to look forward to not quite as interesting as being president. >> one of my favorite parts of the president ezz club is the presidential clubhouse. hardly anyone knows it exists. even people in the white house didn't know it was here. this is a 19th century town house that since 1969 has been the overnight retreat and office of everyone who's ever been a former president. this is a very exclusive club of the only three people right now can get reservations.

>> still being used. just been renovated. looks like a four seasons inside. it's one of the ways the u.s. government and united states of american people say, you guys are different from the rest of us. we're going to give you a special after-job privilege. you will notice there's no sign on the door saying what it is. >> it doesn't say ex-presidents welcome. >> only ex-presidents welcome. >> is the interest of the presidents' club to protect the office of the president more than it is to protect your own legacy? >> one of the things you get out of being in the presidents' club is you have a little bit of room to rewrite history. they all do it when they leave office. it's a common thing they all do because they're all trying to brandish their reputation. they compare themselves to each other but they also share a belief that if the office of the presidency is not preserved and strengthened and maintained, the country really is in danger. they believe that is one of the great sort of vital equities of the american democracy, the power of the presidency and they

are all advocates for that. another shared value. >> michael duffy speaking to the bbc's kathy kay. let's get some football. german slide by munich and are through to the time of the european champions league after they beat real madrid in a tense penalty shootout at the burnaball and will face chelsea next month. more on the game and sport today in 15 minutes here on bbc news. >> that will be an exciting matchup munich versus chelsea. have you been watching "newsday" from the bbc. >> a quick reminder of our main news. head of news corporation rupert murdoch told a british media inquiry that he never used his influence to seek favors from prime ministers. bye-bye.

>> 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. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.