in a moment egypt. but first, let me bring you some breaking news of a shooting in southern france. a hooded gunman armed with kalashnikov rifles is reported to have opened fire on police in the city of marseille in the fans while the prime minister is paying a visit. a police source has told. the news agency, reuters, that troops are being sent to the scene in the northern suburbs of the mediterranean port city following those shots. details still sketchy at the moment. we'll bring you more on that breaking news as it reaches us. egypt has indefinitely suspended its football league after 22 fans died at a crush in a stadium in cairo. it happened after police fired tear gas to supporters who were trying to push their way into the grounds. i've been speaking to the head of bbc's arabic in cairo a short time ago and asked him what the football supporters are saying is. >> reporter: the supporters are saying that the authorities, it is the authorities who are to blame, to be blamed for this only one single gate was open. and also, they are blaming the club for the shortage of tickets, and, you know, only 10,000 tickets were supposed to be on public field, for last night's game. and yet, i think we were told that only 5,000 tickets were available for sale. and this is how the issue or the whole issue started. >> just explain to us the relationship between this particular club zamalic, and the police because they haven't enjoyed good relations at all, have they over the years? >> actually when we talk about the white knights fans and the zamalek, they have not enjoyed a very good relation with the police since the 2011 revolution against president mubarak. and they were seen as a party who played a major part in the overthrow of president mubarak. and that's why the police were accused of sort of standing by when the happened in 2011 and the revenge of the role against them during the revolution. so they haven't enjoyed a very good relation over the last few years. and what happened last night is another issue, which would probably -- nobody knows for sure how it will end, nobody knows how the -- not only zamalek, but for other club as well will respond. but for now it's a blame game. >> just briefly, what happens now? there'll presumably be some sort of investigation. and in the meantime no football matches. >> oh, yes. the whole competition has been suspended for indefinitely and nobody knows for sure whether it will be, it will resume or it will be pulled off like the two additions were called off in the last three years since the disaster and the following addition was also called off after the ouster of the islamist president, mohamed morsi. so this year's competition, nobody is sure now if but most probably, people say that you know, it will be resumed, but not in the very short term. like, it could be weeks or even months before it could be resumed. >> actkrem shaban. thousands of accounts from hsbc's private bank in switzerland were leaked by a whistle-blowers. some clients were able to evade tax and stay ahead of the law. hsbc admits that some individuals did take advantage of bank secrecy to hold undeclared accounts. the bank says it has now changed. well, richard dothan carried out that investigation for the bbc's panorama program. the french paper lamond and the british paper, "the guardian". just give us the background to this story, richard. >> reporter: well, this data was stolen by an i.t. consultant from hsbc's private bank in switzerland in 2007. and he went on the run. in the end, that data ended up with the french authorities. it was leaked to "lamonde" and to media organizations around the world and to the uk it's panorama and "the guardian" who are looking at the story. and it gives us amazing insight as to what life is like inside a private bank. nothing illegal about private banks, you can have an account there, but because private banks are secret some people have used them in the past for evading tax. and this data allows us to look at the way people were using their bank accounts. and to give you a little picture of perhaps what was going on there, the french authorities assessed all of the data surrounding its citizens. and they found that 99.8% of the accounts on that data they thought, were for tax evasion. >> so what exactly was going on at hsbc's private bank in switzerland, then? >> essentially, they were involved in tax evasion for their clients, for some of their clients, on some occasions. and they did it in a variety of ways. so the notes that are attached to the accounts and we can see in some cases what the bankers are saying to each other. the notes declare there is undeclared cash in each accounts. and hsbc turns a blind eye to that. there are some cases that are more proactive. so for example, they offer a uk millionaire a foreign credit card so he can go to foreign cash points and withdraw the money. then the bank itself was actively offering product, as it describes them to stay ahead of legislation like the european savings directive, which was meant to clamp down on offshore accounts. they say, look if you go with this product, perhaps you can stay ahead of the legislation. they don't say it in those terms, but that would have been the end result. so, i wanted to track down the man who was in charge of the bank at that time. he was called steven green. he was in charge of hsbc holdings, the bank itself and also oversaw the private bank. and i caught up with him near his london home. >> your bankers were helping people dodge taxes. why did you let them do that? >> i think i've explained. i'm not prepared to make any comments on hsbc's practices, past or present. >> but you have to. because the taxpayer was missing out. how can you defend that? >> i'm sorry, i'm not prepared to make any comment on hsbc. >> and you were told to talk directly to hsbc so what did the bank say? >> i have a statement, and they point out, there are numerous legitimate reasons for having this, that is certainly true. but they say some individuals took advantage of bank secrecy to hold undeclared accounts although not all of them. but then they go on to say that hsbc has fundamentally changed and there's been a complete overhaul of its private banking service. >> richard many thanks. that was richard billson with the bbc's panorama program. president's president putin has blamed the problem on the west instead of moscow. his comments come as the german chancellor angela merkel heads to washington for talks with president obama, sure to be dominated by the ukraine crisis. she opposes arming ukraine's military, which washington is considering. meanwhile, on the ground, the fighting continues. our correspondent, james reynolds, has been to a town that has just fallen to the rebels. >> reporter: the rebels of eastern ukraine took this town on wednesday after a brutal fight. they're now enjoying their victory. "hi, mom, we're fighting for our land," this rebel says to our camera. another quickly puts down a stray cat when he sees he's being filmed. they've won a town no one can live in. in the 40 minutes we spent here we see only two civilians. first, 63-year-old slavic finds nothing to celebrate. >> this is my country. my father is russian and my mother is ukrainian. someone started this whole thing and now can't stop it. they're idiots i would say. >> reporter: the second civilian wearing a white armband, rescues some of his belongings. he doesn't want to talk. the rebels have relied on russia's help to take this town. and they want to keep it. they're not interested in any kind of deal which would make them give up this ground to kiev. and they haven't yet finished. their next target is debaltseve the government-held town a few miles down the road. >> we need to liberty it.ate it. we'll go and liberate everything up to the borders of the donetsk region, completely then we'll see. >> reporter: taking the entire region would mean the rebels more than doubling the land they already hold. they may not get there, but their ambition complicates the conflict. james reynolds bbc news. >> let's get more now on president putin's comments. i've been speaking to our diplomatic correspondent, bridgette candle who's in moscow. >> this was an interview for an egyptian newspaper. and as you said in your introduction, he made it very clear that in his view the crisis in ukraine was not caused by russia it was caused by the united states and its allies who certainly thought they were it will victors from the cold war, he said. and therefore, they thought they could impose their will on anywhere in the world, and this has created all sorts of problems, the expansion of nato right up to russia's border but also what he calls an eu trade deal, which sparked off the crisis in ukraine last year which he called an attempt to tear off from russia parts of the former ussr. and he laid the blame for the violence in the east squarely on the ukrainian government, which he called a government of ultra-nationalists who seized power when the president fled. and he calls it a failure. and as he put it to ukrainize the east. so no mention of the fact that there's a rebel advance going on. >> bridgette kendall there in moscow. on tuesday, there's a ruling expected on sodomy conviction. it's a crime in the muslim majority in malaysia and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. mr. ibrahim says he's optimistic ahead of the ruling and he's ready to be jailed for the second time in just over decade and has thought about how he may spend his time in prison. >> start reading the classics again or re-reading shakespeare and spend my time reflecting meditating, and reading. >> five years is a long time for a man of your age. >> yes yes, of course. and the prosecutor has said that if there is a conviction he would appeal to enhance the sentence to eight to ten years. >> are you prepared personally for that possibility, of a long jail sentence? >> yes, i understand the system. i've serve edd time. eight years in total in prison two years in prison. i, of course my age and my physical condition, no one would want that but that is the price i have to pay. >> do stay with us here on bbc world news. still to come improving the safety on the beaches of bangladesh, how surfers turn into lifesavers. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ if you want it ♪ ♪ go out and get it ♪ you exercise. you choose the salad. occasionally. but staying well - physically, financially, emotionally - its hard on your own. so cigna's got your back and your knees, 24/7. cigna's there to answer your questions. or when you need some coaching. in sickness and in health, cigna's there, helping you to get well and stay well. that's having a partner, who's with you all the way. cigna. you're watching "bbc world news." i'm james menendez. our headlines so far. egypt suspends its football legal indefinitely after 19 fans died in a crush at a stadium in cairo. hsbc one of the world's biggest banks, has helped clients avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes, that's according to leaked documents. now, reports from afghanistan say a militant leader affiliated to the islamic state group has been killed in a drone strike. mullah abdul raul pledged allegiance to i.s. only last month. let's go live to kabul and talk to david line, who joins us now. tell us a little bit more about who he was? >> reporter: well he'd been a taliban fighter in the late 1990s, taken prisoner by the americans in 91 taken to guantanamo bay, released a few years later, and in recent years, he's fallen out with the taliban. he went back to northern helman but in the last couple of years, he's fallen out with the taliban. and earlier this year he raised the black flag of so-called islamic state. and there were reports that he'd been in clashes with his former taliban comrades but that he was recruiting people across northern helman. there have been increasing reports of islamic state in afghanistan. nobody knows how strong it is. whether she was just an opportunist or not but a couple of weeks ago, islamic state and syria and iraq named him as their deputy commander in the region and afghan and international forces have responded accordingly, targeting and killing him in an air strike on his vehicle. we understand, local elders say the vehicle was crossing the desert last night, when an air strike took it out, killing all the men inside. and it was full of ammunition as well. they said there was quite a big explosion. >> has there been any confirmation from nato about this? >> nato are saying the that there was an air strike. he was calling in coordination with afghan forces. basically up to eight people were killed. they weren't confirmed that mullah raul was among them. what's significant about that is that international forces of course, are not engaged in combat in afghanistan anymore. they're only in a supporting role. and it was only very much at the last minute, last year that president obama said you know, that aeroplanes would still be involved, that drones would still fly over afghanistan and could be called in by afghan forces in support. this is the first confirmation, though, that we've had since the beginning of this year that there has been an air strike as called in by afghan forces here. up to now, generals i've spoken to have said it's been quite hard to call them in only in extreme circumstances. but killing someone who's flying a black flag is clearly one of those circumstances. >> david, many thanks for that. that was the bbc's david loyn live for us in kabul. time for the business news. aaron's here. figures from india? >> in a bit. >> they like to keep us waiting. >> waiting with bated breath. thanks very much. in just an hour just under an hour's time india will release its latest growth numbers and hopes are high that the asian nation, asia's third largest economy, has grown solidly in the final three months of last year. of course, narendra modi's new reform-minded government are keen to show the world they are bringing changes to that country, and therefore growth to india. already the imf has boosted india's outlook, predicting that it will grow 6.5%. that's faster than china. but that's for next year mind you. but some experts are skeptical, because new methods have been used to calculate today's numbers. the change means it could actually boost the growth rate by more than half a percentage point, and that certainly raises questions, to whether it really reflects the health of india's economy. we're going to go live to mumbai coming up on "gmt" very shortly. the first big spaech before parliament, the prime minister alexis tsipras says he will raise the minimum wage and re-hire public service to back to part of the previous government's austerity measures. outlining his economic klines mr. tsipras said his country didn't want an extension of the bailout program, but a bridging loan. that's an agreement, at least until the summer to win time to renegotiate debt that would effectively, though overrule the current terms being offered by its international lenders. last week you may remember we talked about it a lot. the european central bank piled on the pressure certainly limiting its support for the greek banking system. basically, this month, they are cutting off cheap funding for greek banks. let me just finish -- there's some worrying news out of china with the latest trade numbers showing the biggest fall in imports, everything they bring in, since 2009. china's trade performance slumped in january, with exports declining just over 3% on the previous year, while imports fell a hefty, a whopping 20%. the monthly trade surplus has grown to a record $60 billion. all of this more evidence that the chinese economy is slowing down. that news hit shares and sentiment in many of asia's markets. so as i said lots going on. more business coming up on "gmt" in just over an hour's time. follow me on twitter, tweet me i'll tweet you back @bbcaaron. let's round out some of the other stories this hour. the chinese authorities have executed a former mining tycoon with reported ties to the country's former domestic security chief. the he was executed this fall after being convicted of murder and organized crime last may. a bomb blast in baghdad has killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens more. one explosion was during rush hour in a mainly shia district of the city. the attacks happened after a long-standing nighttime curfew was lifted in the iraqi capital. the arguments have been heard in the trial of the captain of the "costa concordia" cruise line. he was charged of abandoning people. an italian prosecutor has asked the court to jail him for more than 26 years for his role in the disaster. a verdict is expected this week. when you think of seaside holidays bangladesh may not immediately come to mind but it is home to one of the longest stretches of beaches in the world. a team of local surfers have joined forces to set up the first life-saving cot on the beach. easter here's the story of one of them. >> reporter: the role of the lifeguard is very important here. this is one of the longest beaches in the world. i work as a lifeguard here. since i was a boy, there has been a real increase in the number of people coming to the beach. now thousands of tourists come here. lots of them are school and college students from the city. they just come here to enjoy themselves, but many are weak swimmers or don't know how to swim at all. sometimes they go too far out, and we have seen many of them get into trouble. 22 years ago, there were no trained lifeguards here. but then trainers came from the uk. they showed us how to rescue people from the sea and how to give first aid. we still practice every day, so we don't forget what our trainers taught us. people say they feel safe when we are around. of i used to do this job as a volunteer, but for the last few months we have been paid as a professional lifeguard. this has really helped us to feed our family. it would be great if lifeguards could be stationed on all of bangladesh's beaches. if one human can save another human being, then that is the best thing one can do in this world. now to some sport. in the africa cup of nations, ivory coast has beaten ghana in a thrilling penalty shoot-out. they picked up their second medal in africa's premiere football competition. the final was decided in a mammoth shoot-out involving 22 penalties and it was a 34-year-old who ended up the hero. he saved his opposite numbers penalty and converted the winning spot kick. let's remind you of our breaking news of a shooting in southern france. hooded gunmen armed with kalashnikov rifles are reported to have opened fire on police in the city of marseille, where the prime minister is paying a visit. a police source told reuters that the elite police troops are being sent to the scene in the northern suburbs of the mediterranean port city. do stay with us here on "bbc world news" with me. you want an advanced degree, but sometimes work can get in the way. now capella university offers flexpath, a revolutionary new program that allows you to earn a degree at your pace and graduate at the speed of you. flexpath from capella university. ♪♪ the adventures you've been imagining. the heroes you've been admiring. the worlds you've been dreaming of. ♪ the thrills you've been craving. the moments you've been missing. the vacation you've been looking for is here. come and take it. universal orlando resort. experience it all with the wizarding world of harry potter vacation package. visit universalorlando.com what makes it an suv is what you can get into it. what makes it an nx is what you can get out of it. introducing the first-ever lexus nx turbo and hybrid. once you go beyond utility there's no going back. ♪ nineteen years ago, we thought "wow, how is there no way to tell the good from the bad?" so we gave people the power of the review. and now angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. you can easily buy and schedule services from top-rated providers. conveniently stay up to date on progress. and effortlessly turn your photos into finished projects with our angie's list app. visit angieslist.com today. ♪ after people find a dentist through us, they often sayworld news". our top stories. 19 fans die in a crush at a stadium in cairo, egypt suspends its football league indefinitely. leaked documents reveal that hsbc one of the world's banks, helped clients avoid paying millions of dollars in tax. as angela merkel heads to washington for talks on ukraine with president obama, there's no sign of an end to the fighting in the east of the country. . and the food that's ready for takeoff. we'll be visiting a singapore restaurant that's using drones to get its dishes to hungry diners. welcome to the program. the egyptian president has expressed his great sorrow over the deaths of at least 19 football fans at a stadium in cairo. the entire league is now being suspended indefinitely. many of the spectators were trampled. the egyptian authority have issued an arrest warrant for the leaders of the zemalek supporters group. >> reporter: this at the doorsteps of a stadium in eastern cairo. thousands of zamalek club supporters were crushed in a stampede as they were trying to get inside to watch a football game. there are two conflicting accounts of the story. security forces accuse the crowds of trying to storm into the stadium without tickets. however, eyewitnesss say huge numbers were allowed in to a very narrow corridor when security forces fired tear gas and gunshot pellets. >> we were happy and singing. we were even trying to help the police to organize the people coming in. but suddenly we saw tear gas fired and people died. >> translator: people were falling under the closed gates and diagnose. people were standing by they even stomped on people without caring. >> reporter: there has been a long history of mistrust between the police and football fan leagues, who took part in the revolution. some officials, including the head of the zamalek club described's crowd of the supporters of the now banned muslim brotherhood group, who wanted to ruin the sport event. this is the second worst sports incident in recent years in egypt. in 2012 more than 70 people were killed after clashes erupted between the fans of two football clubs in the coastal city of port sayyed. up to now, nobody is exactly sure about what happened then. and similarly, yesterday's clashes may remain a mystery for some time. selena bieb bbc news cairo. britain's biggest bank helped clients cheat the country out of millions of dollars in tax. thousands of dollars from hsbc's private bank in switzerland were leaked by a whistle-blower. and they showed some bankers helped clients avoid tax and helped tax dodgers stay ahead of the law. hsbc admits some individuals did take advantage of bank secrecy to hold undeclared accounts. the bank says it's now changed. more from richard bilton. >> reporter: it is the bank that has helped clients break the law. now hsbc's secrets are out. it starts with a leak. hsbc's private bank in switzerland deals with wealthy clients. now we know how. the stolen accounts will lead to the french newspaper, "la monde." the journalist shared them with "panorama" and "the guardian." they show widespread tax evasion. hsbc didn't report keith humphreys, they helped him, arranging a foreign credit card so he could spend the cash without paying tax. i caught up with him. was it all about tax? let me ask you a few questions. were you a signature to that account? >> i don't know what account you're talking about. >> i think so you do sir. >> reporter: fortunately, a few weeks later, mr. humphreys remembered that 147,000 pounds had been paid back to the tax man, but only after the files were leaked. then, there's the bank itself. the european savings directive was meant to tax hidden cash but hsbc showed clients how to get around it. the purpose of the new trust is to shelter the funds from the european savings directive. >> i think they were a tax avoidance and tax evasion service. i think that's what they were offering. >> hsbc wouldn't do an interview, but told us it has fundamentally changed its private bank and has far fewer clients. it now puts compliance and tax transparency ahead of profitability. but has it really changed? sue shelly's job was to make sure that the bank followed the rules. she says she was sacked after raising concerns but won a tribunal. >> people say that those days are gone. do you think that is true? >> from what i've seen no. the verbal messages were great, but i think, in my view they weren't put into practice. >> reporter: steven green ran hsbc at the time and oversaw the private bank that broke the law. the government has seen the damning files, but still promoted him to the lords and made him a minister. >> weren't you in charge of hsbc? >> i have no comment. >> your bank was allowing people to dodge tax. why would you do that? >> i think i've explained, i'm not prepared to make any statements for hsbc's business practices past or present. >> but you have to. you made millions of pounds and the taxpayer was missing out. how can you defend that? >> i'm sorry i'm not prepared to make any comment on hsbc. >> anything? anything you can say? >> reporter: no word but plenty of questions about what went on at hsbc. richard bilton, bbc news. president putin has blamed the crisis in ukraine firmly on the west rather than moscow. he said western countries broke their promises not to expand nato and forced nations to choose between them and russia. and the kremlin says mr. putin won't tolerate any ultimatums over at ukraine. his comments come as the german chancellor angela merkel heads to washington for talks with president obama. she opposes arming ukraine's military, which washington is considering. meanwhile, on the ground, the fighting continues. our correspondent, james reynolds has been to the town of vuhlehirsk, which has just fallen to the rebels. >> reporter: the rebels of eastern ukraine took vuhlehirsk on wednesday, after a brutal fight. they're now enjoying their victory. "hi, mom, we're fighting for our land," this rebel says to our camera. another quickly puts down a stray cat when he sees he's being filmed. they've won a town no one can live in. in the 40 minutes we spent here, we see only two civilians. first, 63-year-old slavic finds nothing to celebrate. >> translator: this is my country. my father is russian and my mother is ukrainian. someone started this whole thing and now can't stop it. they're idiots, i would say. >> reporter: the second civilian, wearing a white armband, rescues some of his belongings. he doesn't want to talk. the rebels have relied on russia's help to take this town. and they want to keep it. they're not interested in any kind of deal which would make them give up this ground to kiev. and they haven't yet finished. their next target is debaltseve, the government-held town a few miles down the road. >> translator: we need to liberate it. we'll go on and liberate everything up to the borders completely, then we'll see. >> reporter: taking the entire region would mean the rebels more than doubling the land they already hold. they may not get there, but their ambition complicates the conflict. james reynolds bbc news, vuhlehirsk. >> joining me now, john russells. many thanks for coming in to talk to us. let's speak about president putin's comments today. we've been here before haven't we? >> we certainly have. he's deploying the old arguments, mainly that russia was deceived by moscow, that it would not go beyond its current borders, that russia was misled and beyond that, they have started a program in his words to tear countries away from russia. >> those assurances i mean is he telling the truth when he says that he did receive those assurances and that the west hasn't stood by them? >> at the time he made assurances to miguel gorbachev and the leader -- >> this was at the time of the soviet union? >> this was when the soviet union was still in existence. and it was really the underpinning of the settlement for the unification of germany. but when the soviet union collapsed, which was not mr. gorbachev's intention, i think everybody was absolutely astounded by the speed of which this moved. russia was then part of a different geopolitical configuration. russia wanted friendship and partnership with the west. and it was absolutely logical for those countries that had fallen under moscow's influence to seek to make their own security arrangements. and moscow in principle accepted that formula. the problem was, it didn't like the speed and the form at which nato enlarged. >> is there an argument to say that nato and the west could have done more to reassure president putin, that it didn't have any sort of territory ambitions or wasn't seeking to curb his influence directly. >> i worked at nato in the 1990s, when the first phase of enlargement occurred and there was a genuine attempt to bring moscow into consultations, into a form of security and it would have gave russia a measure of influence as part of a collaborative effort. but russia didn't want to follow that route, because it saw if it did so it would be legitimateizing the existence of nato, which it didn't want. >> one last question. we've got this diplomacy going on at the moment a summit in minsk on wednesday. yet russia is still saying it's not really a party to the conflict in eastern ukraine. rather, it's acting as a peace program. >> russia has kept this line that this is an internal conflict. we had nothing to do with it so we're not sending forces there, when it's absolutely clear that these entities would not have the military capabilities or i think, the appetite that they're now sharing, if it were not for russia's banking. >> thanks very much for coming in. john lough here in london. still to come this hour, prime minister tony abbott survives a confidence vote. ts naked glory; stripped of chocolate, with nothing but salty roasted peanuts on soft sweet caramel. a payday bar will get you through your day. expose yourself to payday. you're watching "bbc world news." egypt suspends its football league indefinitely after 19 fans die in a crush at a stadium in cairo. sally nabeel is in cairo for us. what exactly happened there? there seems to be very two very different versions of event? >> there are two conflicting counties to the same story. we have the official account posed by the ministry of interior. they said that police forces were trying to protect the stadium from damage by an angry mob mob. they said thousands of people were trying to go into the stadium without tickets, to attend the football match. however, we have another account by the football fans who crowded outside the stadium last night. they said that the police forces had allowed them inside a very narrow corridor leading to the stadium and after that the police forces they have shot down the exits, shortly, security forces started firing tear gas and also buckshot. a lot of people there was a huge stampede a lot of people suffocated. there were thousands crammed into a very narrow space. this is why at least 20 people were killed. and many others were injured. >> and it prompted -- well no more football indefinitely in egypt. >> reporter: exactly. the egyptian authorities today decided that thatey will suspend the local football league until further notice. actually, just a couple of days ago, the authorities had listed a ban on the audience attending football matches. the league was temporarily suspended three years ago after 70 people were killed in clashes that erupted during a football match in 2012. since then the football matches were suspended. just a couple of days ago, the audiences were allowed in inside the stadium, and now we have another reputation more deaths of the same scenario that happened three years ago. >> sally, thank nabil live for us in cairo. now more from that breaking news from the french city of marseille. the hooded gunmen armed with kalashnikov rifles have been in a confrontation with police. police have blocked out of a castelan housing project, which is rife with gun violence. no reports so far of any injuries. australia's prime minister tony abbott has survived a vote taken by his own mp about whether he should be replaced as their leader. the meeting took more than a quarter of an hour to come to a decision. he won by 61 votes to 39. >> reporter: tony abbott arrived at parliament like a prize fighter, flanked by his entourage. the prime minister was left just about still standing with mps rejecting a notion to forcibly remove him. >> ladies and gentlemen, the party has met, we've had a ballot. it was properly conducted. the result is very clear. nos, 61 yes, 39. there was one member away on paternity leave. that seems to me to resolve the matter. >> reporter: but that's hardly a ringing endorsement. with more than a third of his party's mps wants tony abbott gone. the prime minister has pleaded for unity. he emerged a relieved man. >> the liberal party has dealt with it and now this matter is behind us. we are absolutely determined to work for you, the people who elected us. we want to end the disunity and the uncertainty, which destroyed two governments and give you the good government that you deserve. >> reporter: it's a far cry from the swagger and smiles of his landslide election victory less than a year and a half ago. since then mr. abbott has failed to get much of his agenda off the ground and the economy is faltering. but it was this man, a knight formerly known as prince who might have brought tony abbott down. the decision to give prince phillip an australian knighthood was the straw that broke the camel's back. the move was panned in the press. even his biggest former cheerleaders turned against him. this week mr. abbott's a health fa fanatic, keeping to his routine, but australian politics can be a blood sport, where even the fittest struggle to survive. the previous government saw coups. neither of them lasted a full term. and today tony abbott avoided being the shortest serving australian prime minister in almost half a century. tony abbott has survived for now, but he's not out of the woods yet. polls show he's the most unpopular prime minister in the last 20 years. and if he can't turn things around australian political history tells you his party won't stick by him for long. john donnison, bbc news. we've also been reporting, ukraine is likely to be high up on the agenda when the german chancellor angela merkel meets president obama in washington later on monday. regena has been looking at the relationship between the two countries. >> the german american friendship garden, created in the 1980s, under the leadership of ronald reagan it's a sign of the importance of the relationship between the two nations. but this garden and the friendship it represents requires upkeeping and attention. one of the most pressing items on the agenda when angela merkel sits down with president obama here in washington is the situation in ukraine. sanctions that were already in place against russia for its angsts there, but world leaders have been considering additional steps. and then there's the sunni issue of fighting. the u.s. was left red faced after it was found that chancellor merkel's phone had been bugged by the nsa. these kind of headlines put a strain on the u.s./german relationship, but when the pair met last year they both pledged to move on. >> angela merkel is one of my closest friends on the world stage and somebody whose partnership i deeply value. and so it has pained me to see the degree to which the snowden disclosures have created strains in the relationship. >> reporter: it's still winter here, but as the seasons change we'll soon see the first signs of green shoots in this garden. the same can be said of the u.s. and german economy, both of which are forecast to grow in the coming years. for president obama and chancellor merkel they'll be talking about an eu/u.s. trade deal, which if created, would be the world's largest free trading book. so there's plenty on the agenda. >> bbc news washington. closing arguments are being held today on the trial of the captain of the "costa concordia" cruise liner. he's accused of causing the death of 32 people when the ship hit rocks off the coast in 2012. he's also accused of abandoning the luxury liners when many of the passengers and crew remained on board. the italian prosecutor has asked the court to sentence him to more than 26 years in prison for his role in the disaster. a verdict is expected this week. in the africa cup of nations, ivory coast is beating ghana in a thrilling penalty shoot-out. the elephants picked up just their second win ever in africa's premiere competition. the final was decided in a mammoth shoot-out, it involves 25 penalties and it was barry who ended up as the hero. he converted the winning spot kick. >> translator: today, it was superb. we should congratulate our goalkeeper, because he had some difficult moments, particularly back home when he's been criticized a lot. today, he is the one who brings us the trophy. i think it's an example of solidarity and of faith too, because there were difficult moments after the main goalkeeper got injured. our coach talked to him well and tried to bring him back but you can see everything ended well and it's him who brings us this trophy today. >> i'm very very sad, everybody's sad, but i think we did so well in the competition, and we are hoping -- i think we've got young, quality players. they're happy now because they won a cup. i don't have anything to say right now. >> ghana's captain. now, the atmosphere of the restaurant near you could soon be, well more buzzing. that's if they follow the example of one restaurant in singapore, which now has waiter drones. my colleague, annie moore, has been to find out how they work. >> reporter: i've been to restaurant where the service is too slow. but imagine if you didn't have to wait for your waiter to come all the way from the kitchen to your table? i've ordered some food on this tablet and here it is. no leg work. the drones have done all the leg work for him. >> thank you. >> this is how it works. the order comes in here. the chef plates up the food. it's placed on the drone. and off it goes. they're programmed for the right table. but what happens when there are lots of customers and lots of drones? well one of the people who developed the technology is jun young-wu. what happens when it's busy. >> we have technology to allow many drones to contained in a environment without colliding with one another. and it doesn't collide with obstacles or humans. an analogy would be like flying in the sky in formations. >> what about spillage? for example, a bowl of soup? >> each drone has a gyroscope in its that's able to balance itself and balance the plate on it. >> reporter: thank you very much. it's hard to know whether or not drones are the way of the future in restaurants, because, of course, there's one thing a drone can't do. and that's clean up. it would seem that waiters or waitresses of the two-legged variety still have a very good future. ali moore, bbc news singapore. >> i'm not sure i could relax with that buzzing over my head while i was trying to eat. you can get in touch with me and the rest of the team on twitter. my twitter handle is is @jamesmenendez. but for me for now, thanks for being with us. bye-bye. then... wham! a minivan t-bones you. guess what: your insurance company will only give you 37-thousand to replace it. "depreciation" they claim. "how can my car depreciate before it's first oil change?" you ask. maybe the better question is why do you have that insurance company? with liberty mutual new car replacement, we'll replace the full value of your car. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. hey nice game today. thanks. juicy fruit? sure i'll try a piec.... juicy fruit. so sweet you can't help but chew. hello. you're watching "gmt" on bbc world news. our top stories, don't blame me for the crisis in ukraine. it's the west's fault. president putin's promise to end the conflict continues. but so does the fighting. we report from the town of vuhlehirsk, now held by pro-russian rebels and where life is hard for anyone trying to survive there. >> translator: this is my country. my father is russian and my mother is ukrainian. someone started this whole thing and now can't stop it. they're idiots, i would say.