>> 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. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, bbc world news.

>> a former official admits british secret agents spied on russia using equipment hidden inside a rock. pakistan's prime minister appears in court to defend his stance against corruption. and the search resumes for toe people still missing in the wreck of the costa concordia. welcome to "bbc world news." i'm peter dobbie. also in this program -- could it be the end of the line for one of the world's best-known camera makers? kodak files for bankruptcy. and will the tiny adjust ams which keep our clocks synchronized with the earth's rotation be abolished? >> one of the first rules to spying is never admit you've

done anything wrong, even when you get caught. but now a former british official has gone against that by finally admitting the u.k. was using a fake rock to gather information in russia four years ago. this is the device in question. four british agents were caught on camera using the transmitter hidden inside it in a moscow park. jonathan powell, the prime minister tony blair's chief of staff at the time, has told the bbc documentary that russians had caught them red-handed. >> you can't really call up and say, terribly sorry about that, won't happen again. and they had us bang to right. clearly they had known about it for some time and had been saving it up for a political purpose. >> now to moscow, and our correspondent, steve rosenberg. steve, what does this do to relations? >> well, there hasn't been any official reaction to the news here in moscow. when and if there is reaction, i expect that will be, we told you so.

vladimir pickup tibia is often saying the west is hoss tig, the west is trying to destabilize the situation here in russia, to influence the political situation here, and the fact that britain has admitted that it was spying on russia, i think that plays into vladimir putin's hands. >> steve, at the time the then-russian president, vladimir putin, reacted to those revelations about this rock to justify that new law. let's hear what he said then. [speaking russian] >> strong words from vladimir

putin in his former job. does that mean the russians were spying on the brits? >> oh, i don't think spying finished with the end of the cold war. it's no secret that countries around the world spy on each other. thinking back to 2006, though, when that story broke, it was an incredible story. it was broken in a documentary on russian state television. it seemed at the time something out of a novel, the fact these high-tech transmitters could have been hidden in fake rocks. many people didn't believe it, but now it appears there is confirmation that it was true. >> steve, many thanks. steve rosenberg in moscow then. to pakistan, where the prime minister made a rare appearance before his country's supreme court to defend himself against allegations of contempt. the case against gilani is based on his refusal to reopen an earlier case of corruption against the president, czar

dooree. proceedings have been adjourned until february. if mr. gilani is found guilty, he could be jailed up to six months and disqualified from office. the bbc's aleem maqbool is in islamabad. he sent this report on pakistan's growing political crisis. >> the prime minister appeared here in pakistan's highest court for about an hour and a half this morning. the supreme court had called him because they started contempt proceedings against him because of a ruling they made a couple of years ago. they told him that he had to move to reopen corruption cases against the president, asif ali zardari. he hasn't done that, and that's why he was called here, and they do have the power to sack him and his government if found in contempt of court. there's also a history of animosity between some of the top judges and this government. but the prime minister came here, and his home is very conciliatory. he said he very much respected the court, he was there with his cabinet ministers as well.

but, however, he did still say that he was right in not reopening those corruption cases against the president because the advice he was given, he had immunity from prosecution. so he has managed to buy more time to be able to prove that that was the advice he was given. so while the crisis here in pakistan hasn't quite been averted, it has at least been postponed for another day. >> aleem maqbool reporting there. let's take you live to the italian coast and show you what's going on around the costa concordia. reports say the captain of the costa concordia has now admitted misjudging its roots. francesco schettino is under house arrest, accused ofman and abandoning ship, both charges he denies. the search for 20 people still missing on the vessel has resumed today after being suspended when the costa concordia moved slightly. there are growing fears it could sink completely. here's daniel griffiths.

>> high above the wreck of the costa concordia, a helicopter hovers. the crew waiting for the right moment. then, one by one, rescue workers are lowered on to the side of the ship. they're still sifting through the wreckage, but this is dangerous work. earlier, the ship moved slightly, making it too risky for the teams to go inside and postponing the salvage efforts. from the water, the gash in the side of the ship is all too clear. what we still don't know is exactly how this happened. the ship's captain, francesco schettino, is under house arrest and may hold many of the answers. at first he denied making any mistakes, but now italian media say he's admitted making a navigational error. but the sister of another missing crewmember, says the investigation should be moving faster. >> it's outrageous they have him under house arrest.

it's like he's a free man, and the search is taking too long. >> the pressure is the rescue teams is beginning to show. earlier, emergency crews raced along the harbor wall. a member of one of the teams had collapsed on the ship and was being brought ashore on a stretcher. it's notice reminder of the difficulties facing these teams, and more challenges lie ahead. the salvage operation itself and ensuring that the ship is secure so that fuel doesn't leak into the sea. >> surviving crew from the costa concordia have been returning to their home countries, including india, colombia, and the philippines. there were nearly 300 filipinos serving on the ship, and 100 of those arrived back in manila today with scenes of jubilation at the airport. the others are expected to return next week. the bbc's reporter is in manila and went to meet some of those returning crew members. >> they actually held a mass there. the shipping line that was

responsible for sending them out in the first place, who works there on that cruise ship, and they coordinated their arrival, and they had a big mass and depreviousing session, and now they're all finally going home with their families. they just look really physically shocked about what's happened. there's a huge sense of camaraderie, you can tell that, and the families are obviously looking pretty shaken as well. many of these people were recruiting members on the ship, so they were saying, you know, i've spoken to stewards and cooks and people who were there to look after the passengers, and they're all saying they did all they could. they got all the people that they were responsible for out of the rooms into the main area, like they've been trained to do. and it was only when later on, when they went back to the court, that they realize would the captain had got -- >> that's our reporter reporting from manila. aaron joins us with world

business report in 21 minutes' time. kodak, where was the last time you said here's the film, develop it, and that's the issue, isn't it? >> absolutely. the company that invented the camera filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. this doesn't necessarily mean the end. it means it takes the credit force off its back while it does try to reorganize. but somewhat of a sad story, because i mean, you think that certainly it dominated most of the 20th century, sternl in the 1970's, it had 90% of the camera and film market, even the cameras. i mean, a kodak moment, i believe, is the expression. it became part of lexicon. another sad part is they just never took the bull by the horns and ran with the digital camera, thinking that film would always be around. so it has a bit of breathing time. i'm going talk to an expert on the "world business report" about what next and can it actually survive and turn it around. >> when it comes to the other people, i mean, iphone,

blackberry, you can get h.d., wee got h.d.s cameras on our iphones now. they're going to have to pay a very fast game of catchup to get to where apple is going. >> well, that is the question. what role can they play within the smartphone and the digital technology that we use today? very quickly, do you know where the name kodak comes from? >> yes, i do, it was the noise. >> i just told him that. that's what they say. that was the noise that the camera made when the first camera, when they firsted the shutter. i looked it up, and i don't think it is true, but anyway, i'm going to have more on "world business report," also talk about the committee just to look at the report card of ireland. ireland doing very well, certainly compared to portugal. >> and they're going to start borrowing money next year. >> i'll have more. i'm getting told off, i got to go. see you. bye. >> the arab league's monitoring mission in syria is due to end in the next few hours.

the protest and clashes between the army and opposition groups have continued during their stay. the head of the mission's report on the violence will be discussed on saturday. our correspondent, jim muir, following developments for us from beirut. he joins us live from our bureau there. jim, has this mission been a success, do we think? >> well, obviously, there are different readings. some of the observers have jumped ship during the process over the last few weeks obviously don't think so. the chinese have commented very favorably on it. the syrian opposition believe it's been a bit of a farce, with them being basically led by the nose and having the wool pulled over their eyes, mixed metaphors there. so, as i said, depends which side of the fence you're on. but the key thing will be what exactly the commander of the force on the ground -- i say force, i mean, the observer deployment, actually reports back to the arab league.

and that will be considered on saturday, and they will draw the relevant conclusions. they may belief that their presence on the ground has helped to ease some of the violence. a very troubled town over near the border with lebanon, syrian troops are reported to have pulled back from the town, leaving it pretty much in the hands of rebels. they continue to control the surrounding area. so it could be that the arab observers are having some effect in helping to bring down the violence, but the violence does go on. >> what are the chances, do we think, that they will send people back in again, depending upon the content of this report, or are they just as likely to say, no, job done, we've done all we could do? >> my sort of thought is that most likely thing is they will simply stay on. i don't think they're going to be pulled out. the first month's mandate ends now, but in the protocol covering the existence there on

the ground, there is a provision for a more or less automatic renewal for another month. so unless the arab ministers decide on saturday that they want to call the whole thing off and refer the issue to the united nations security council, which would almost certainly be the next step, they will simply stay on the ground and continue operating as they are at the moment. >> jim, thanks very much. jim muir, our correspondent in beirut there. you're watching "bbc world news." still to come -- the london laboratory preparing to hunt out drugs chiefs in the summer olympics. -- drug cheats in the summer olympics. the residential building has collapsed in a packed neighborhood in havana, killing three people and injuring six. the building in the city's center was home to several families. >> they have cordoned off this entire area as they try to make the rest of this collapsed

building safe for the residents here in this neighborhood. but you can see the three-story building which has partially collapsed. we understand from a local police officer here at the scene that three students, female students, as he described it, were in the building at the time preparing for an exam, and that those three people did die in this building collapse. people in the crowd here have been telling us that, in fact, the building had been declared unfit for habitation some time ago, and you can see that from the building next door, which is in a horrendous state. there are walls missing, the balconies are crumbling away. there's even a tree growing out through the roof of that building. what's happened here is an illustration of a very serious problem, which is a real lack of housing. one of the reasons -- well, the main reason for that, of course, is economics. the lack of funds to build and to repair and maintain the housing stock. one of the problems that cuba has is the number of hurricanes that cause so much damage here. the government is trying to

improve the situation by providing subsidies for the most needy here in order to buy construction materials and to do some basic repairs. but it is an immense path in havana alone. and although this particular building was declared dangerous, was declared unsafe, it seems that whoever was inside there obviously had no where else to go. you can see the signs of their life. they're up on the top floor, where there's still personal belongings hanging out on the line. >> more news, of course, whenever you want it, on our website, bbc.com/news. lots more on all our top stories, including the very latest on kodak and also the pakistani prime minister appearing at the supreme court earlier today. >> this is "bbc world news" with me, peter dobbie. british secret service agents were caught spying on russia using technology in a rock. according to a former british official, revelations today.

the pakistani prime minister has appeared before the supreme court to explain why he did not pursue allegations against president zardari. new figures from the world health organization suggest that nearly half of all abortions performed around the world are unsafe with the vast majority carried out in the developed world. the study into induced abortions published today in the lancet has been tracking trends over a period of 12 years. some 49% of abortions around the world were deemed unsafe. in africa, nearly 97% of abortions carried out were unsafe. in 200 , it's estimated one in five pregnancies there ended in abortion. joining us now is one of the report's authors, a researcher. what's driving this? is it just about poverty? >> it's about levels of contraceptive use, it appears.

the stall on the abortion rates coincide with the stall in levels of contraceptive use that had been increasing in the prior period where abortion rates were also falling worldwide. what we found is they are still high in many parts of africa and latin america. one of the findings that was particularly interesting to us is abortion rates in one part of the world where the rates have fallen are in southern africa. almost all abortions were unsafe in the 199 owe's. >> what's stopping the use of contraception? >> in countries where contraception has been observed, these have been attributed to investments in family planning programs, not keeping up with the demand. the demand is constantly increasing as a size of the population is growing, as women and couples increasing want small families and were just not keeping pace. >> so people do actual want the information, they want to get to that contraception, but it's just not there. >> right. women are asked why they're not using a method, among those who do want to avoid getting

pregnant, the opposition is not showing up as a prominent reason. women need counseling about the method. they need a range of methods to choose from. they're also saying less and less that they don't have access to methods, and they're saying more and more that they need information and counseling to go with the services. awe why is there such a big gulf? where is 97%? what's going on in those places? >> 97% of abortions are unsafe in some parts of the world, and that's because abortion, most of these abortions are illegal. in countries where abortion is illegal, providers around trained to do safe abortions, and women are afraid to ask where they can go to get a safe abortion because they're doing it in a clandestine way. >> what does your organization think should be done about that particular aspect of it? >> all abortions, whether safe or unsafe, but of particular concern is unsafe abortions. abortions have been reduced by making contraception available. for women who do resort to unsafe abortions, post-abortion

care needs to be in place to help minimize the consequences. >> many thanks for joining us here on "bbc world news." here's an important part of preparations for london's olympics that the organizers hope will not attract any attention. it's the testing laboratory. staff will wok around the clock while events take place to ensure cheats don't prosper. >> my name is clare taylor, and i'm an analyst. i'll scan the samples on the system. and i will estimate the volume of the sample and the color of the sample and record that on the system as well. >> what information can you get from something as simple as the color? >> it's an indication that what is in the sample is actually urine, not something pretending to be urine. >> my name is richard.

i'm an analyst. after the samples are taken from the athlete, a seal is attached to the bottle, and my job is to break the seals so that we can be sure that no tampering of the samples has taken place. >> this is one of the most important parts of the process. >> the samples are taken from this syringe. from this syringe, they go into this first part of the instrument where all the components are separated, and after the separation is set, we've got detection. you can see a peek on the side of the screen. >> that would mean an inhibited drug in is a sample. >> that means a prohibited drug in that sample. >> it's quite obvious when you get something which shouldn't 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 prohibitive drug and not to be picked up here?

>> the know-how we have is state of the art. we can test for over 240 prohibitive substances in 24 hours. in somebody is taking one of those prohibited substances, they will be found by this lab. >> that report now. we go to sports news. all the big names are through in the aussie open. >> you've got your favorite pair of slip there's novak djokovic was talking about, the court at melbourne park. he said it's fitting so comfortable, the speed of the ball, the hardness of the court, the conditions, everything, just loves it, a bit of a breeze, not too hot for him at least. so he breezed through his latest match and looking really on good form as he tries to become only the fifth man to win three consecutive grand slam titles. also, people like andy murray. and in the women's draw, serena williams, sharapova. she only dropped one game on her way through. and also kvitova, she dropped a set. >> david beckham staying where he is. >> yeah, and he's got a new

deal. he'll actually be 39 1/2 when he eventually leaves l.a. galaxy. he's 36 now. he's got a two-year deal. it's been agreed to keep him in america. he wanted to go to paris or other parts of europe, but he said no, he's going to stay put, partly because of the family reasons. family liking it out there in l.a. who wouldn't, perhaps? but also, the fact that he's done a lot for the profile of soccer in america. attendance alone went up 7% last year across the whole board. >> because of beckham. >> yeah, and his club won the mls cup for the first time since 2005 last season. he scored 11 goals so far in his career. also, galaxy made a wise move saying, if you come back, you can play for great britain at the olympics, we'll let you go for that, and that has to be a big part. >> because he said that six, eight weeks ago, i'd really like to be there. >> especially the chance to play with his teammates. >> mike, many thanks. you may not notice, but

scientists regularly make small adjust ams in the way we keep time. they're known as leap seconds. they're added or taken away as many as four times a year to keep our clocks in sync with the rotation of the sun -- pardon me, the earth's rotation around the sun. but some experts are questioning whether it's worthwhile. >> the home of timekeeping is in a place like this. we used to use rotation to measure time. so this is one day. but there's a problem. our planet's spin isn't regular, so some say it ends up being a tiny fraction longer or shorter than others, so scientists came up with a better solution, the atomic clock. >> these use of vibrations in atoms, but scientists still want it measured by clock.

it's continuously out of sync, just a few thousands of a seconds every day. that's where the leap second comes in. it's a time based on the earth's rotation are just apart by a second, we add a leap second, and that brings them back together again. sometimes we'll add leap seconds every single year. sometimes it's three or four years. they're unpredictable. some say these one-second adjust ams are hugely problematic for telecommunications and the internet. while others argue that without the leap second, the earth's time and our time would drift ever further apart. so, over a few decades, the two would be a minute apart. over a period of a few hundred years, the two would drift one hour apart. and over thousands of years, by the time the sun is rising, your watch might say it's 8:00 in the evening. one solution to prevent this

could be to add a leap hour every few hundred years. but scientists say this could be even more expensive and technically challenging than the leap second. scientists are now deciding whether it's time for a change. >> you might think they had to have their eyes tested, but drivers, motorists in houston, texas, called emergency services after being distracted by a strange sight on top of a building. look at this. yep, they reported that a tiger was resting on the roof -- oh, that looks really well -- on the roof of an abandoned hotel in the northeast of the city. no, definitely not real. fire crews responded, but they realized pretty quickly, yep, that's a stuffed toy. they did use ladders to remove the tiger, saying it was a hazard because so many people were stopping to look at it. more news on our website, bbc.com/news.

>> 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 know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you?

>> bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles.