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70 years of broadcasting. >> in a couple minutes' time. hello and welcome to gmt i'm george with the world of news and opinion. also in the program, extra british troops drafted in to protect the olympic games. fears over whether the private contractor is up to the job. a clash between courts and religion in germany. jewish and muslim groups join forces to condemn a ruling on circumcision. >> it's 7:00 a.m. in washington. early evening in beijing and 12:00 noon here in london where bbc world service radio is set to broadcast from its iconic bush headquarters for the last time. from there it's fulfilled its historic mission. highlighted nations shall speak

unto nations. let's cross now live to bush radio studio. >> i can confirm to the house that there remains no specific security threat to the games and the threat level remains unchanged. and let me resure there is no compromise. >> planners are also looking at alternative planners into london after the airport was closed for emergency repairs. officials say saudi arabia will send two female athletes to the london games. the first saudi women to take part in olympics competing in judo and track and field events. >> neither of the two athletes have staffed main qualifying criteria, but the i.o.c. was so determined to have them participate, special permission was granted. previously it was resisted because they are effectively banned from playing sports in public, but that violated rules

in the charter. with females from qatar and brunei also set to take part, this will be the first olympics in which every nation is represented by women. >> in pakistan they have shot dead nine trainee policemen. 10 gunmen attacked a building where the policemen were staying. >> they describe the assault. >> as i opened the door i saw two motorcycles parked here and one over there. i saw five or six men firing their guns as they entered the house. one man stayed outside for a while then started firing and they fired for 12 or 13 minutes. >> the taliban said it was revenge for what they said was inhumane treatment of taliban detainees. >> and an call to protect the right to circumcise young boys. it was ruled the circumcision

on religious grounds alone equaled to bodly harm. >> the genocide trial of mladic has been adjourned after he complained of feeling unwell. he was taken to the hospital for medical checks. mladic denies his crimes. >> picking up on one or two of those stories ourselves later on gmt but for now i'm joined by our correspondent who himself first started at bush house some 40 years ago. isn't it interesting in this sage of here today and gone tomorrow and people screaming their information online. the word history or historic applies and applies aptly? >> it does entirely. the service of the bbc have been going for several years before the service moved into

bush house. we had king george 5r broadcasting to the empire back in the 1930's. but absolutely historic moments in those early days of bbc moving into bush house. so often mentioned our broadcasting to the french after front fell to nazi germany. because there were so many moments over the decades, it reminds us that bush house was expanding its services with the new kinds of radios that became available to people. and of course at such a dramatic time in history through second world war and cold war and decolonizeization. it meant bush house had its own broadcasters drawn from so many countries involved in those dramas. >> and people talk about it as a beacon of hope. there was nelson mandela talked

about what the world service meant and recently another was over here and went to world service. let's have a listen to what she said. >> the bbc has been with me throughout these years. you don't know what the bbc and the broadcasting stations, but particularly the bbc world service meant to me, because it kept me in touch with the rest of the world and allowed me to keep up with developments in the outside world although i was not able to contact anybody. it was a one-way service. and for that i'm very grateful. i had nothing to give in return, but all the time the bbc was giving me something every day. >> i think it's really interesting referring to the bbc so often now as her lifeline as so many other people have. and that was literally the case with people, particularly with people dictatorial and

totalitarian eras. today we should not forget. i remember every time you're broadcasting, there are people for whom it could be a great cost to their own liberty even to be listening to it. and some find it difficult to afford to do so. >> i remember interviewing a president in africa who interrupted the interview because he said he needed to go listen to the bbc to catch up. i said in the beginning that you started of course at the -- at bush house. what are your personal recollections? >> well, on the very day i walked into the building and saw bush house over the door. i had just begun in uganda listening to it, now to actually start working for it was an extraordinary moment for me. also one of trepidation. just a couple of years after i started in bush house, i found myself reporting the whole of

the united nations general assembly principlely for world service for those three months and struck me immediately then as it has many others that the united nations is in a sense bush house at large. there we were with so many speaking and broadcasting in so many languages reflecting the very events of the discussion of the united nations itself. it's easy of course to be almost overwhelmed way in thought, and i think watching, listening to it as we did, that last broadcast just now, it was a reminder the essence of it has not changed, i think. the clarity that i hope we always put at the heart of it. >> the impash y'allty, the independence. so i've always got in my mind the ugandan farmer potentially listening to every one of those broadcasts and i think in

getting across, making sense to the world. if you liken it to the world service listener, and it obviously will continue. >> thank you very much. >> joining me now from bush house is rob. rob broomby. what's the reaction from staff been like having made this last broadcast? >> well, i can tell you a few moments ago, the news reader emerged quietly because we were on air in this gallery then went out into the wider newsroom and there was an enormous round of applause there. there are many here today to celebrate and mark this moment. the end of 70 years of broadcasting from this building. it is a very emotional time for many here. they have given their lives to an organization here in bush house. they feel a little bit could be lost in that, but broadcasting is continuing in normal in new

broadcasting house in central london, so no damage to programs at all. >> i was just going to say mike woolridge just talked to me about impartialty and the quality of the broadcast. all that continues. all that's happened really in one respect is that we're going to a more modern building. >> absolutely. i don't think very many people here will bemoan the loss of the dirty carpets and facilities that never quite worked. what some will miss is the feeling of camaraderie and the culture which colored bush house broadcasting in those early days particularly after the second world war. but ever absolutely right. the same teams have moved across to new broadcasting house a spanking new facility where everything works and everything is as it should be and domestic and international broadcasters are under one roof, and it's hoped that bush

house can bring some of that international broadcasting to the new place working side-by-side with all the other correspondents and broadcasters the bbc has. but the building was always something special. so it is a sad time, too, for many. >> thank you rob brromby from bush house. >> well, let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines around the world today. >> the syrian ambassador to iraq defected describing president assad's baath party as a tomb to oppress the people and their dreaps of freedom. he is the most significant diplomat to defect so far. syria says he has been discharged from his duties in baghdad. french police said at least six people have been killed and eight injured by an avalanche. the alert was sounded early on

thursday morning after the avalanche hit a group of climbers who were roped together on the slopes. the mountain is a popular route for summer tourists heading that way. an operation has begown help the injured. aid agencies working in eastern kenya in a refugee camp are warning tens of thousands of lives are at risk. $25 million is you are intelligently needed to provide new shellters and supplies and sanitation. its population remains close to half a million people making it the biggest refugee camp in the world. >> in pakistan nine police officers and prison staff have been killed and nine others wounded after the building was stormed where they were sleeping. arrived on moter bikes in the city of la hor.

>> it may have been that the policemen who have been living in this building inadvertently opened the door for their chillers. it happened in the early hours of the morning in a densely-populated area of la hor. >> they opened the doors says this man. i saw five or six men firing their guns as they entered the house. one stood outside for a while then also started firing. i heard shouts of "god is great" coming from inside. they kept firing for 12 or 13 minutes. as well as the officers that died, more were injured and one -- the taliban gave thanks to the attacks and casualties they caused and also said they were responsible for an attack earlier this week after seven died when attacked by gunmen on motor bikes attacked an

encampment. the taliban say they carried out this latest one because of the treatment of taliban prisoners by pakistan authorities. but it does add to the heightened stress because of the allowing of opening the route to aid. "bbc news," islamabad. >> and still to come on gmt -- we'll be discussing the ruling by the courts in germany outlawing the practice of circumcising young boys. >> a british businessman has been charged with multiple counts of charge as he sold bomb detectors to countries including iraq. >> this is how the so-called

bomb detector was sold with extraordinary claims about how it can detect explosives powered only with static electricity. the device didn't come cheap. iraq, one of his biggest customers spent $85 million on them at a cost of around $40,000 each and are still being used at check points today. a security company run based in the west of england. filmed by the bbc in 2009, he claimed these are the key to how the device works and that they can detect anything from explosives to dollar bills and ivory. >> ideal conditions you can be up to a kilometer away. >> a kilometer? >> a kilometer. >> after a string of deadly bombs in baghdad, we began investigating the device which

he said he sold to some 20 countries around the world. early 2010, we managed to obtain a set of his special carts and brought them to the laboratory to analyze them. >> nothing to program in these cards. there's no memory or micro control. these are shop scheft prevention cards. >> it cannot detect tnt? >> absolutely not. >> they immediately banned the export of similar devices to iraq and afghanistan. now after a long and complex international investigation, jim mccormick has been charged. jim mccormick is due to appear in a court in london thursday. >> this is gmt from "bbc world news." i'm george al guya. the headlines.

>> "bbc news" -- >> a "bbc news" bulletin has been broadcast from bush house for the last time after more than 70 years. thousands of british troops are on standby for the olympics amid worries not enough private military staff will be trained on time. staying with that story, the british government is calling up 3 1/2 thousand pill taxpayer personnel because they have failed to provide enough security staff for olympic venues. speaking in parliament, the secretary explained how the problem with the g4s private contractor had arisen. >> concerns had arisen about the ability of g4s to deliver the required number of guards to all olympic venues and within the time scale needed.

we have been constantly monitoring the situation for many months and in consultation with g4s we agree it would be pruden't to provide additional military support. therefore requesting additional m.o.d. support and authorized has been 3,500 military personnel bringing the total number who are supporting the safety and security of the games to 17,000 including the military deployed on wider functions than venue securities. >> the british home secretary there. joining me is our political correspondent naomi grimley. naomi, if nothing else, this is politically incredibly embarrassing, isn't it? >> yes, it is embarrassing, and i think the government has pretty much acknowledged that, themselves, the prime minister said it's unimportant to which

is a euphemism for embarrassing. one m.p. said it was a shambles and another said it was an international embarrassment. and the home secretary's opponent in the labour party accused her of letting the side down. so there's a bit of a blame game going on as to whether it's the private security contractor who just promised too much or whether the government didn't do enough to monitor what was happening. either way it's going to mean 3,500 troops are going to have to cancel their plans and leave, some of them having just come back from afghanistan. so it's a little -- it's not really surprising. but may has promised extra olympic tickets for some of those military who are going to be inconvenienced. >> and rileding you programs like this have been watched from people around the world.

aren't they going to be worried that something as key as security is being tampered with this late? we've only got two weeks to go. >> well, teresa may was presenting this as a logistical problem rather than a security flaw. she remained the security plan would remain the same and absolutely saying that it would be safe. but for months officials have been going over and over these plans. why did they not pick up on this problem a bit earlier so they are not literally sending in the troops 15 days before the opening ceremony? >> all right, thank you very much. now organizations across europe have joined together in a backlash against a ruling by a court in germany outlawing the practice of circumcising young boys.

it was ruled circumcision of infants due to religion equaled egregious bodly harm but the american jewish committee's office disagreed. thank you for joining us. am i right, this is not actually a ban but the issue is whether young children can give their contestant? >> -- give their consent? >> well, while the doctor against whom the court case was wasn't at fault, that there is serious concerns about the rights of children if parents undertake such an operation. and it's thrown the whole practice of circumcision for jews and muslims in germany into question, and now people are afraid to exercise

circumcision. >> is it right having that practical effect on parents having that worry in not circumcising their boys? >> yes. the jewish hospital in berlin feels that the time they cannot recommend circumcision. and it's not a clear court judgment, and there needs to be some legal certainty. that's why the central council in germany and american-jewish committee and others hope the german parliament will draft a law to ensure circumcision is legal in germany. >> and what reaction are you getting from the politicians? is that route like lie, do you think? >> well, particularly members of the green party have been very active, and there's a summer break in parliament but they have promised when they return they will initiate such a law. we don't know if there will be

broad cross party support, but we certainly hope so. >> thank you very much for being with us. we have to leave it there. all right. let's catch up with the business news now. jamie robinson is here. let's start with the french carmaker peugeot. it's closing down a factory. >> sometimes when you talk about these international companies and others one doesn't really think about the importance of it. but i think this one is very important. the first time in 20 or so years france has closed down a major car company factory. the peugeot is a private company or not a state company. it's closing down aulnay plant. 3,000 jobs and another 4,000 jobs to be lost elsewhere. it's mainly because of their inability or failure to get into a foreign market outside of europe and talents southern

european market has collapsed. but the world car of the year one of the people who -- looks all these cars around. the big car makers comes up with the award for the world car of the year, he had other reasons for why. >> the other problem is it's sort of stuck in a slight hole in that it's filling that middle ground, that lower to mid market and you mentioned volkswagen are clever, at the bottom of the market but up a the top end as well. that's where i think peugeot is suffering. they are stuck in the middle, everyday bread and butter cars, and they are not the profitable ones to make as their financials prove. >> peugeot said itself the european markets shh rank and it's the southern european markets which are really being hit hard. >> now let's talk about yahoo.

they have had three c.e.o.'s in the past year. >> yes. over three in one year or four in five -- four in four years. but they have not managed to get a grip on what the problem is. they think their brand value is disappearing through a hole in the floor or been etching away. its got 7 million users around the world so one feels there is an opportunity to do something with this brand but they are failing each time and they have not got a handle on what it is they want to do with it. some people feel they are a tech company and some feel it's an entertainment company. one who works for -- this is what he said about it. the way he described their opportunities and failings were. >> don't expect yahoo to be one of the leading internet companies in terms of revenues or growth going forward. but it does have valuable

assets, and it should be able to extract more from them than they are right now. >> it seems as though we are going to have probably this guy, ross levin stone who is going to be confirmed as the chief executive today and then we're going to have financial results next week. although his position isn't totally confirmed yet. >> all right. thank you very much, jamie. thank you. >> a reminder of our top story >> a reminder of our top story on gmt.