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>> and now, "bbc world news." a spy operation in russia, and now a confession as britain's hidden secret is revealed. intelligence revealing in moscow. >> clearly they have known about it for some time and have been saving it up for a political purpose. >> welcome to "gmc." the search for passengers aboard the wrecked cruise ship. >> not a pretty picture as kodak files for bankruptcy protection. it is 7:00 a.m. in new york, and

midday here in london. we start with an old spy story. one of the first rules of spying is never admit you have done anything wrong, even when you get caught. now british officials made an extraordinary admission, that the u.k. planted equipment designed to look like a rock to spy on russians. this is the devie vice -- this is the device. this picture taken four years ago. the bbc documentary "the russian" caught them red-handed. >> they had us bang to rights. clearly they have known about it for some time and have been saving it up for a political purpose. >> we have gordon here in the studio with me.

let's go first to steve rosenberg in moscow. a sweet smile of satisfaction emanating from moscow, steve. >> yes, definitely. there has been no official reaction from russia or no official reaction from the security officials here. although, interfax news agency said this is nothing new to us. we told the world about this back in 2006. i remember watching the russian documentary that broke the story back then. it was incredible. it was like watching a novel or a cold war drama. it was being used to hide high-tech transmitters to gather information from russian contacts. >> more incredible at the time because what the authorities didn't do was expell -- expel those involved which suggested to those of us on this side of the water that was a lot of

fancy. >> that's right. i remember asking that of putin at the press conference that year quh the british -- when the british diplomats would be expelled, and he said oh, just let them stay. i think that's why many western-leaning russians at the time thought this was all made up, but it wasn't. >> it all falls very neatly for mr. putin, doesn't it? >> it is all very good for putin. in recent weeks he has been accusing the west, particularly the united states of meddling in russian affairs and encouraging the street protests, and he could, if he wishes, point to this admission by the u.k. of evidence of meddling in russia. >> i will turn now to gordon. it is a laugh in one respect,

gordon, just by the nature of it. is this sort of thing going on all the time, do we presume? >> it comes as no surprise that aspying is still going on since the cold war. this is the kind of thing in the cold war that often you get these kinds of things. trading information or putting it behind the toilet with the kinds of things that would happen. i mean, here in britain you have the head of counterintelligence. there are complaints about the number of russian intelligence officers in u.k. taking up their time. the fact is we know they are doing it, but it is unusual to get caught doing it in a very open way and then to admit that you were doing it. that is unusual. >> this is not an admission by the authorities anymore. this is jonathan powell who has no role to play today.

nonetheless, what does it tell us about perhaps tensions between moscow and london today that this can come out relatively harmlessly, we presume? >> this -- there was a period particularly after the killing of the russian u.k. officer where tensions were running high and these accusations were leading to a lot of problems. so there are serious consequences, if you like, to these spy games. particularly when things get out of hand. i think this case reminded us there can be a dark side to it with this war. i think there is also a political edge in russia to the extent that the authorities occasionly imply that british intelligence is funding nongovernmental organizations in human rights groups and using that to discredit them by claiming they are taking foreign intelligence money. that's what we saw in 2006 when

the accusations first came out. so there is a political edge to this at times that can be used by authorities when they choose to. >> gordon, thank you very much. steve, thank you. >> a look now at stories making headlines around the world today . reports in italy, say the captain has admitted to misjudge he is on house arrest. he's charged with reckless drying and abandoning -- driving and abandoning ship. crew members returning home have rejected criticism in their role in the passenger evacuation. >> there is a window of opportunity for the search and rescue teams. they are hoping the sea remains calm today, but the weather is set to worsen later.

fuel needs to be pumped from the wreck to ensure that none of it leaks out. more than 20 people are still missing. the costa concordia had been carrying more than 3,000 passengers and a thousand crew members. among the crew were colombians. some of whom had just gotten backen to bowing thank you -- just gotten back to bogata to explain how they helped people into life boats. >> it is not as the coast guard says. it was only when they got there that they started to save the passengers. >> ilis montana, a waitress, said she is not going back to work at sea. i'm staying in colombia at home with my family. >> around 100 crew members from

the philippines have returned home. this cabin stewardess carried her life vest with her. >> that life vest saved me. that was what i was wearing when they told me to abandon ship. it became my companion. that's why i took it home as a souvenir. >> this disaster has touched people around the world. this was a vigil for a 24-year-old peruvian who had been on board. as each day passes, any hope of finding more survivors is all but gone. >> the prime minister is in court. mr. galani said he -- mr. gilani said he believes he is correct.

the court investigates pakistanis prime minister gilani. >> a pipeline from canada to texas. it was to be built by a canadian company. canadian environmentalists welcomed mr. obama's position. >> the russian prime minister, putin, has criticized the editor of a little radical radio station. he accused the opposition station of serving the interests of other countries as, as he put it, pouring diarrhea all over him from morning until night. >> one of the biggest names in the 20th century i guess on the rocks. >> a bit of a sad day. we are talking about the iconic

133-year-old company kodak. i guess you can't live on your name alone. early this morning, kodak filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. we're talking about a company that last made a profit back in 2007. the reason why, when is the last time you saw film? digital photography kind of swallowed up kodak. they never really ran with the technology. it means creditors will try to reorganize. i guess that's the key question now. what now for kodak? >> they are not going back into photography. that is not an option for them. look at polaroid for example. polaroid has failed and gone. kodak has the printing and the

inks. it has the paper. it has camera phone. but that's about it, really. as cameras go, it's done. >> what do you do with a kodak camera? very iconic, indeed. >> for the history books as well. >> the irish economy in the spotlight today. representatives from the e.u., the irish central bank in dublin to assess how ireland has been handling its recovery. reminding everyone that back in november ireland was forced to receive a bail-out of 85 billion euros. receiving that meant they had to take tough measures. they cut public sector pay. they had to increase taxes. the result, ireland is likely to

get an "a" on the report card. the e.u. saying ireland had done more than anyone else to cut their debt. the likes of portugal and greece -- the irish economy was very sound. it really was. it was only the property bubble that got it into trouble. >> ireland was a celtic tiger, not because of its property boon but because it has a highly-educated work force, they are english speaking, they have connections to the u.k. they had a successful targeted foreign-directed investment program focusing on i.t. and pharmaceuticals. all of that still remains. the problem for ireland, for all of its competitiveness, it is still hostage to the broader environmental -- economic environment. >> the government is so optimistic because they think

next year they can pay back that 85 billion euros and return to the money markets to raise their own funds. >> thank you, david, very much indeed for that. >> thank you for being with us here on "gmt." >> still to come, the mission in serbia draws to a close and pre the violence goes on. >> critics saying if investors allow this paycut, the country would be saved from default. time is running out, and a deal has to be struck before greece gives billions to bond holders in a few weeks time. our athens reporter has this report. >> they arrive for talks to

determine hor how long the greek economy might stay afloat. members of the greek government meeting for another round of tense negotiations. discussions broke down last week and the pressure is now on to reach a deal. it is all part of greece's international bail out package which called for a reduction in the country's private debt. a deal would unlock the next installment of greece's loan by march. that's when the country must pay over -- over $e 14 billion euros to bond holders. money it does not have. without the money, greece would default on its debt, potentially sending the clow global economy back into crisis. >> let's have a default.

>> it is a lot nature and the society and the english -- if european leaders are worried how this will affect banks, they might as well capitalize on them. >> so greece will see if a last-minute deal can be struck to save it from default. the future of this debt-stricken country remains in the balance. >> this is "gmt." the headlines. british secret agents caught spying on russians using technology inside a rock. >> the homecoming for hundreds from the costa concordia cruise ship where the search for survivors is still not over.

>> u.s.-iran relations at a low point. but the academy of motion pictures art and sciences may be there to award an iranian film with an oscar nomination. it is called "a separation." it is a film some say is a political critique of modern day iran. >> the film in which a married couple wants to work out a separation. the wife wants to leave the country with her daughter. the husband wants to stay behind to help his ailing father. it talks about the clash between society and religious as well as non-religious. some see the film as a political critique. the director maintains it is not as simple as that.

>> if what you mean by "political film" is a film that works as a political manifesto or defends a certain group, then, no, this is not that kind of film. if what you mean by "political film" is a film that has social groups and includes society and its issues, then yes, it could be a political film. >> at a time when u.s.-iran relations are at a low point some american critics are impressed how it countered the perception of iran as a dark land. >> it is not some kind of evil empire. i think "a separation" reminds us that the iranians are very much like us. they are an educated society with the same kind of divisions. it is a crucial point of why that film works.

>> the question is, will "a separation" get nominated for an oscar next week? film industry insiders think the picture deserves to win this top hollywood accolade. >> iranian film makers think an oscar victory would give the director at home a much needed boost. >> i hope "a separation" gets an oscar. wole -- we will have hope and ambition again to work and make a movie. >> if "the separation" does get nominated, it will be competing in the "best picture" category. that is hard to predict. but the chances of it getting nominated and actually winning are quite good. bbc news, new york.

>> we'll watch that, certainly. >> a collapse in the cuban capital city of havana. the central havana building was home to several families. our report. >> they tried to make the rest of this building safe for the residents here in this neighborhood. you can see this three-story building partially collapse. students were in the building at the time for an exam. three people did die when this building collapsed. this building was declared unfit for habation some time ago. you can see the balconies are

crumbling and a tree is growing out of the roots at that building. you can see there is a real lack of housing. the main reason for that, of course, is the lack of funds to build and maintain the housing. the government is trying to improve the situation by providesing subsidies for the needy here request construction materials. it is an immense task in havana alone. this building was declared dangerous, and it seems whoever was inside there had nowhere else to go. you can see signs on the top floor where there are belongings still hanging up on the line. >> as athletes gear up for the

olympics, so is a key part of the olympics working 4 hours -- 24 hours a day for the olympics and para-olympics. our report. >> i will cut the sample and record that on the system as well. >> what information can you get from something as simple as the color? >> it is an indication that what's in the sample is actually urine. >> my name is richard. i am an analyst. after the samples are taken from the athletes, a seal is attached to the bottles, and my job is to be sure no tampering has taken

place. >> this is an important part of the process. >> the samples are taken with this syrin dwfment ge. from there they go to where the components are separated. after the separation, you have the suck shun. you can see a side of the screen. >> it is quite obvious when you get something that should not be there. you know pretty much straight away? >> of course we also need to confirm the presence of the substance. >> is it possible for someone to take a pribtive -- prohibitive drug and it not to be picked up here? >> we can detect over 240 prohibitive substances.

this lab is staste of the art. >> the swiss government has apologized for taking children and snding them away to work on farms. >> peter vaber is remembering his childhood. this is the only picture of himself that he has. behind it lies a story of exploitation and abuse. >> one morning, when i was 4, my mother took me on a train out in the country to a farm. then she said, you have to stay here now. i think that was the moment i lost my faith in people. hi to work from the -- i had to work from the start. they hit me immediately.

>> he was called a verdingkind. children were taken away from parents the authorities deemed unfit and sent to work on farms. today switzerland is a wealthy country. until 1950's was poor and rural. children were taken away and sent on farms. some were beaten and abused. until now, it is not something the swiss were ready to talk about. >> mama! >> after decades of silence, a feature film about the contractual children has become a box office hit. >> they got letters from their real parents, but they were confiscated. >> a detailed account from the

verdingkinder is forcing switzerland to face up to the past. >> it is time to talk about it. since we are working on this exhibition we are tell our friends. i say about every third or fourth person reacts, yes my mother or my father was a verdingkind. >> peter had very little education and now can't work. >> my childhood was stolen from me. sometimes when i see little children i feel like saying to their mothers, imagine if tomorrow someone took your child away and sent him off to strangers. she can't imagine that. i can scarcely imagine it now. >> there are painful wreck -- recollections there for switzerland. >> that's all for the moment.

>> make sense of international news. at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and union bank. >> at union bank we offer specialized solutions in capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses to major

corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los presented by kcet los angeles.