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>> china stays prominent rights activist can study abroad as his case continues to cause tension. >> stage is set and the gap is closing, but the french president still trails on the last day of the election campaign. >> i'm in paris where nicolas sarkozy has until midnight tonight grab any votes he can. he still thinks he can do it. >> also a misuse of the olympics tracked. welcome to "bbc world news." i'm david eades. also coming up in the program, britain testing its military might in the case of missile security. and we go inside the world.

>> hello, china's foreign ministry says the activist chen guangcheng can study abroad after he was making a plea. he is in the hospital after seeking help in the u.s. ambassador. china had at first demanded an apology from the u.s. for interfering. following the events including looking at those trying to visit chen guangcheng. >> we're just outside the hospital where chen guangcheng is receiveling medical treatment, and from his hospital bed he's been making a flurry of phone calls, one was

for a u.s. congressional hearing in washington. during that conversation he appealed for help and said he wanted to leave china for the u.s. along with his family. just earlier in the day the head of the u.n. mission entered the hospital behind us. just yesterday american diplomats were forced to wait outside the building and mr. chen guangcheng said they were not allowed to visit him. in a statement it said mr. chen can apply to study in the u.s. like any other chinese citizen. that suggests there may be a solution at hand to end this crisis. >> now to france where one of the candidates is warning against euphoria and complacency while the other warns against mad experiments with the economy.

the frontrunner and incumbent, nicolas sarkozy is at its narrowist. our bbc continue following each and every buildup. katya? >> it's actually quite nail biting. as many people here saying there's rarely in recent years been such a close call in the second round of the elections. it's about economic politics. french people say the economy is number one on their mind and the international market is watching. this is a huge european economy. who will be president will affect the economic policies in the euro zone. joining me to have a chat more about what it could mean is the

university's expert. francois hollande is in the lead. can he really do what he is promising? >> well, for instance that he is going to create 60 extra public jobs. and i think that's quite difficult when you want to reduce the state. but i think there are -- they are really fearing he might come into power. it could also destroy the couple between -- because she doesn't want of the -- and nicolas sarkozy has been so close to angela merkel. they have been at the forefront of how to handle the euro zone and fix the markets.

>> they have tried to find compromise between them. >> people argue they may have been trying to please the markets but french people say they are not pleasing them. the markets want austerity but the people want growth. and they want to grow your way out of the recession. >> but sarkozy has never said that. i think that on some proposal, it's -- he's not clear whoon he's going to do, and that could frighten the market. >> also if we look at it, it's the time of election, and everybody likes a headline, but how accurate are they? because nicholas sarkozy has been dubbed the austerity president but france roy has

been dubbed the spending president. >> yes. we have never really had austerity. we have had crisis and unemployment has been soaring, but we cannot say we have had austerity measures. but each we see it is not in very good shape and spain also has problems and the euro zone is not looking to have very good times. >> thank you very much indeed. and of course it's one thing to promise things on the campaign trail but quite different what you will do once you're in power. >> plenty of ramifications and repercussions. thank you very much for that. and we will be live in paris with if election special all

starting at 17:30 g.m.t. on sunday. >> a suicide bomber has killed 17 people at a check point in pakistan. five of the dead were members of the tribal police force. the pakistan taliban say they carried out the attack. it's long been a battleground between security forces and taliban militants. >> there has now been a claim of responsibility from the pakistan taliban. they say they carried out the attacked and sent a suicide bomber to carry it out and said their main target was an officer in the local police force known as the levy and that this particular officer was decorated last year and received a presidential award for bravery for fighting against the militants and the taliban said he has been responsible for arresting and

killing many taliban members and wanted to kill another who helped arrest a taliban leader. this is an area which has long been a battleground between the army and militants. there's been a series of offensives carried out by the pakistan military going back to 2008. and they have shown up in various areas cleared by the taliban and declared victory. the last was in march of 2010 when a senior militant insisted the militants had been flushed out, but the militants have been able to reappear and prove the military wrong. >> paula, thank you. rachel is here to have a look at the business news. a lot about jobs and unemployment. but the big buildup to the

presidential elections is also up and that's key, correct? >> yes. jobs are being created. but the growth of that dreags is slowing. we had some very strong figures in the months over christmas creating a run on jobs from december to february but that dropped very sharply in march dropping by 120,000 jobs. and the biggest will be 170,000. and when you think they need just 170,000 a month to support the rising population, it's just not enough. it's fallen from -- to 8.2% but they need more. it's not strong enough for recovering an economy. so we're expecting a rocky afternoon on the markets. >> it's a also a neverending supply of hope. >> yes. facebook is a story everybody

seems to be obsessed about. we know now that they will probably start trading. is a share price of between $25-$30. they are going to sale about $12,000. >> easy money. >> now let's have a look at the situation that is dominating around the olympics. britain criticizing argentina for misusing the games. and there was a commercial produced by the argentine presidency and shows the country's hockey camp training in the fall kings which another claims to be -- >> filmed in dreamy early

morning light, this aired on argentine tv and was about an athlete's dream. here he's running in fort stanley and does his exercises outside the tavern and with no one around he uses the set of a war memorial before dashing. >> they are not sure when the filming took place. >> the athlete says it took place in secret. >> it angered the islanders because of the run up to the london olympics. >> spoken here to compete on english soil betrayed on argentine soil. it's in line with recent comments from the noir general tinian president. she views the 30-year war. she wants her country's flag to

fly above the island. with some argentines the propaganda video has gone down well. >> i think it's right. we are defending something that is ours with the weapons we have. we know we are inferior to the big power and we have to use what's in treach get something done. >> it's fabulous atistically, and as an argentine, it brings the spirit. yes, it's argentine soil. it really is rousing. >> but the island is not amused. they say it was made without their permission and in a cheap and underhand way it's as if, they don't exist. >> described by the british foreign secretary as a -- you're watching "bbc world

news" with me, david eades. including. how will the japanese capital keep the lights on with no nuclear power? when a matter identity shower -- when a meteor shower came down, many looked for space rocks, and to the scientific community, they are worth more than gold. we join the rush in california. >> there's a strange new fever running through gold rush country. they are known as meteor zombies looking for the rock that could make their fortune. with star dust and such in the hills, treasure hunters are in the area. >> this is probably the rarest

meteor i've hunted for. it's literally star dust. it predates this planet. >> this was the meteorite, when it hit the earth's atmosphere. >> it's hard to walk without looking for fragments that could make a fortune. they say there's not been as much excitement here in 150 years since they first struck gold. >> this is where the gold rush began, and now the locals are striking it rich again. the park ranger found a piece outside a house. collected a pay of up to $1,000 a gram. at 20 times the price of gold, this is his college fund. quite an incentive to keep eyes down looking for something truly spectacular. alastair, "bbc world news,"

california. >> iran is holding their second round of elections. the ayatollah is among those who have put themselves in the running. this is "bbc world news" i'm david eades. these are the headlines. china stays prominent dissident, chen guangcheng can apply to study abroad in a move that could give a way out of the diplomatic crisis with the u.s. nicolas sarkozy and france roy hollande are getting ready to hold their final rallies for their campaign. >> in a half-hour the champions league final approaches. and a two-year contract extension was signed by robin. >> it takes quite a goal to win

head in the premier league. and looking to topple in cricket. that's all coming up in 30 minutes' time. >> now a new study suggested a lack of sun and long hours studying is leading to a rise in short-sightedness in adult asians. up to 90% of school students in asian in asia are suffering from my oppugn. looking that the report, that's a staggering discrepancy. >> yes. the fact is described as extraordinary. the short period of time with which this has happened. they said over the last 50-60 years the east, east asia have gone from being famous to this incredible nine out of 10

having my opya meaning they have blurred vision beyond two meters. >> that means they are shut in with artificial lights. >> there's a strong educational ethic in asia. and this is across all the ethnic groups there the determination of the children to do well in school combined with cultural things like children not going out in the middle of the day, having a nap in the middle of the day when they are infavents and they say you need two to three hours a day of daylight. but it's not genetic. they look at sing aappear, chinese, malaise, indians, they all suffer from myopia because they are suffering from the same conditions. >> you don't want that but -- there's more to it, right? >> yes. the 10-20% have high myopia.

it means you can't see anything beyond 16 cent meters beyond the front of your face. and they say it could lead to visual impairness and people aren't awafer of how dangerous it is to your overall eyesight. >> a large scale exercise to test britain's military capability is underway. the royal navy's ship to prepare for the role of defending london against the possible terror attack during the course of the game. >> our johnathan beal is onboard. >> this operation at the moment is trying to get this massive warship off through narrow points that switches course of course, so a complicated

maneuver for this captain. that said, of course, this is all about security. all about, first of all, deterring any potential threat. but also reassuring the rest of the world that these games will be secure and that they are going to be a safe gain, and that's why so many military personnel are involved. this is a helicopter carrier, so there will be eight linked helicopters that you may be able to see behind me. some of those will be carrying snipers dealing with threats on the river and in the air and typhoon fast jets will be based in west london to patrol the skies, too. so a lot of military personnel involved and personnel which will be manning the security points. they won't be armed. but 3,000 military personnel who will be involved in the olympics in the security operation. >> johnathan, you ever given me the list there.

this is a mighty operation. there are those who say we're going overboard on this. what is the military view on that? >> well, you're right. the controversial issue is the missile defense batteries in london. some near residential areas, and there have been some residents who are living in the area complaining about the idea of setting up these military installations near them. now what the military is saying is that they wanted to have a safe space around the olympic games. which means having layered air defenses. so you can't just have typhoon five jets dealing with any threats. u also got to have missile batteries and helicopters with snipers onboard. so you need various equipment to deal with various scenarios

that could be faced. that said, the military said there's no specific threats, and that this would only be used as a last reescort. and that warship is going to be open to the public on -- in london but also reassuring those in london are there as a last resort but there to guarantee to the public and wider world that these games will be secure. >> jonathan beale there. this time japan will no longer generate any of its electricity from nuclear power. because before the zphast fukushima last year there were 1/3 of the country's needs being supplied by nuclear power. the local communities have refused to approve the re-start

of one. here's roland buerk. >> once it was a symbol of japan's belief in a nuclear future. the biggest nuclear power station in the world is here. we were taken through the heavy, water-tight doors into the maze of corridors inside. right to the control room for the reactors built to power tokyo. one-by-one, all japan's nuclear power stations have been shut down. and now the output is zero. >> this is the very heart of their power station. that music is a warning that the air lock is open. over here that water, that's the pool where the spent nuclear fuel, still radioactive, of course, where it's being stored, and that circular structure is the top

of the reactor itself. now before the disaster at fukushima, japan relied on nuclear power for nearly 1/3 of its electricity. the nearby town now faces a choice between fear and economic collapse. the power station is the biggest employer but like others, they are reluctant to allow it to be restarted wary of another fukushima. >> we have been living with the nuclear power station, so the most important thing is that it is safe. but now we find out with the accident that it's not the case. our trust in the people who run the plant and the government has been questioned. >> but the lights must be left on in tokyo. the metropolis that consumes much power. to prevent backouts, gas and

fossil fuels prices have risen dramatically. but it comes at a heavy price. more expensive electricity. >> it means cheaper energy. >> here they are constructing huge, new sea walls, big enough they say to with stand any possible tsunami, but japanese were told fukushima was safe, and it went into meltdown. so -- >> now causing wyatt quite a sensation on the internet. it's a picture of dangerous animals trying to get hold of toddlers through security glass

in zoos. this time a zoo in portland, oregon. >> jack, meet kieya. she's very pleased to see you. so pleased, she could eat you up, literally. the little boy brought to a zoo in portland, oregon, a tantalizing bit for her. this was posted on the internet showing the extraordinary encounter between a big animal and very little boy. jack is not all that bothered, he is a cool customer. kai is persistent but jack decides to stand up for himself. conversation exhausted, he sits down. no more needs to be said. at the zoo, they say, don't feed animals, a sentiment jack would hardly agree with. >> and you're watching "bbc world 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 use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended, global network to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?

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