18/05/2012 BBC News at Ten

World leaders gather in Washington, tasked with tackling growing fears

over the eurozone. New and familiar faces are at the G8 summit, after a

week that saw the financial markets rocked by the crisis. Tonight,

David Cameron arrives, warning that the eurozone faces a critical

moment. Decisive action is needed by the eurozone. I think what has

become clear is that they cannot go on kicking the can down the road.

We'll have the latest from the talks, and the growing crisis over

the banks in Spain. Also tonight:

A good day for Mark Zuckerberg and everyone at Facebook, as shares

make their stock market debut. The international royalty joining

the Queen for a Jubilee lunch, but Bahrain's king sparks protests.

And the Olympic flame in Britain - the stage is set for a 70-day

And in Sportsday: A century from the England captain,

Andrew Strauss, put his side in Good evening.

World leaders are gathering in Washington tonight for talks

dominated by the unresolved crisis in the eurozone. President Obama is

hosting the latest G8 summit of leading industrialised nations and

has called for a strong focus on measures promoting growth. That's a

view shared by the newly-elected French President, Francois Hollande.

David Cameron has warned this evening that the eurozone needs

"decisive action". Here's Mark Mardell.

Just a week in the job, and the new man is at the eye of the storm,

being sized up in the White House. When it comes to the European

economy at least, President Obama might have found a new friend. They

are both men of the centre-left. Both want to stimulate a new

European debate on the need for economic growth. We are looking

forward to a fruitful discussion later this evening, and tomorrow

with the other G8 leaders, about how we can manage a responsible

approach to fiscal consolidation that is coupled with a strong

growth agenda. He said what happened to the eurozone was of

extraordinary importance to the whole world, and the French

President added that they both had a message to the people of Greece.

TRANSLATION: On the Greek, the eurozone situation, we share the

same view, that Greece must stay in the eurozone and all of us must do

what we can to make sure of that. And then a little light relief,

President Obama teasing that 30 years ago Francois Hollande had

come to America to study, his special subject, fast food.

Cheeseburgers go very well with French fries. They must hope their

economic recipes amount to another classic combination. President

Obama will have advice on how to solve the crisis, while saying in

the end it is up to the eurozone. He would like a European agreement

to prioritise growth and jobs, not just focus on austerity, a stimulus

package aimed at Greece, assertive action by the European Central Bank,

to send a strong message to the markets, and he does not want to

spend any American taxpayer's money to help the eurozone. The money has

to come from Germany, and so Angela Merkel will be under pressure to

shift her ground. There is a swirl of confusion about Europe's plans.

The Greeks claim Mrs Merkel has been pushing them to hold a

referendum on the euro. Germany says that is false. As the

President of the European Commission arrived in Washington, p

1 commissioner claimed they were working on an emergency exit

strategy for Greece but another denied it. Decisive action is

needed by the eurozone. What has become clear is that they cannot go

on taking the can down the road. Decisive action, decisive about

Greece, about banks, about the firewall. This is in Britain's

interests, too. Eurozone leaders are not short of advice, President

Obama has been making the same 0.4 months. But now they thing with new

faces round the table, the dynamic might change and the Germans just

might bunch. Well, in the last hour talks have

been taking place between David Cameron and President Hollande at

the British embassy in Washington. Norman Smith is there now.

Loss of interest in President Hollande new relationships. How is

it looking between him and David Cameron? -- lots of interest.

told the Prime Minister issued a blunt warning to President Hollande

not to seek the introduction -- the introduction of a financial

transactions tax on banks as part of the response to the eurozone

crisis. While that might at one level confirm the view that these

are two men with precious little in common, it seems to me that in one

important regard, this crisis is forcing them to work together. That

is in seeking to crank up the pressure on the German Chancellor,

because both men know that Germany is the only country with the

financial and political wherewithal to reassure the markets. The

difficulty is that Mrs Merkel has to contend with her own voters, and

secondly, the clock is ticking. In that context we are told not to

expect any resolution to the eurozone crisis at this summit. But

what we can expect is to see the start of a process of attrition to

try to wear down Mrs Merkel's resistance to handing over yet more

German taxpayer's money to prop up the eurozone. Thank you.

Amid more worries about the financial crisis in Spain, the

government in Madrid has announced that the level of bad loans in

Spanish banks has hit an 18-year high. It comes after 16 Spanish

banks were downgraded last night by a leading credit rating agency.

Gavin Hewitt has been gauging the mood in Madrid.

Spain is on edge, its economy in recession, buffeted by uncertainty

in the eurozone. The biggest concern, the health of its banks.

Here, the Spanish minister of finance is stopped in the street by

a woman distraught about whether her life savings, held in a bank

since she was 13, are safe. The minister tries to reassure her. But

there are persistent reports that significant sums are being

withdrawn, particularly from Bankia, nationalised last week. I met Rocio

Lopez, who works in animation. Her savings, until a few days ago, were

with Bankia, but her confidence has been shaken. When I saw the problem

was growing I decided to take all my money out. How much? 40,000

euros. What have you done with that money? I took it to another account

in another bank. Why did you do that, because it is quite a drastic

step? Yes, it is a drastic step but I think we have a drastic situation.

She says many of her friends have taken similar steps and moved their

money but there are no signs of wider panic. The Spanish markets

have been on a roller-coaster today, volatile after the downgrading of

16 Spanish banks. What makes investors so nervous is the bad

loans held by the banks. We learnt today that those loans the at risk

of never being repaid have reached an 18-year high, and the government,

struggling with huge debts, is in no position to help out the banks.

Among the banks downgraded, Santander. However, Santander a UK

says that it will have no impact on their business, run and regulated

in Britain. The big fear in Spain is that loans used to finance

construction in the property boom could deteriorate further, adding

to pressure on Spain's already shaky finances. The fear is that we

are in a very difficult situation and, you know, if the situation,

you know, slips down further, down the road we could get into way bail

out situation and they want to avoid that at all costs. Tonight,

the controversial suggestion that Spain's banks should be

recapitalised using Europe's bail out funds. It came from the new

French President. The social networking site Facebook

has been valued at over a billion dollars at the end of its first day

of trading in New York. Some expected the shares to go higher,

but the debut has catapulted Facebook's 28-year-old founder,

Mark Zuckerberg, to the top echelons of the world's rich list.

From New York, Michelle Fleury reports.

Facebook's army of employees in Menlo Park, California, had plenty

to celebrate as the company went public. This is the first time we

have given out the Nasdaq hoodie. The gift was a reference to Mark

Zuckerberg's preference for wearing a hoodie. He can afford many more.

He is now worth an estimated $19 billion. On this special day, on

behalf of everyone at face book, I want to say to all the people out

there who use Facebook and our products, thank you. So let's do

this. And with that, the company worth nothing eight years ago made

its stock market debut. On the other side of the country in New

York where trading started, there was also a sense of optimism.

Everybody uses Facebook for social networking and connecting with old

friends. They are doing well and they will continue to do well. They

put MySpace out of business, so it is a good investment. We do not use

it but we would buy shares if we could get our hands on them.

American company has been so highly valued on its stock market debut,

but another Facebook shares have begun trading at the Nasdaq stock

market in New York, that value is about to be tested by investors. --

now that they have begun trading. Facebook was launched in February

2004. A year later, Viacom tried to buy it for $75 million. In 2006,

Yahoo offered $1 billion. Today's flotation values it at 100 times

that figure, more than Amazon and Disney. The last time a share

offering generated is much excitement was Google in 2004. So

how do they stack up? A lot of the Facebook people will say that this

company is going to be bigger than Google. But Facebook right now is

one-tenth of the size of Google. Google has more cash flow than

Facebook has revenue, and Google was growing faster at this stage

than Facebook is, so why do nothing that is a safe assumption.

share price ended much where it started the day. Who knows where it

will go from here? Rescuers searching for three

fishermen missing off the Dorset coast have tonight found a body.

The men have not been heard from since leaving Weymouth on board the

Purbeck Isle yesterday. Two navy ships, a lifeboat and a coastguard

helicopter have been involved in the search. The body found tonight

has not yet been identified. Metal thieves are thought to have

stolen a plaque erected in memory of two children who were killed in

an IRA attack in Warrington 19 years ago. The scrap value of the

metal of the memorial is thought to be less than �30. Tim Parry, who

was 12, and Jonathan Ball, who was three, died when two small devices

exploded in the town centre. The Olympic flame has touched down

on British soil at the start of a 70-day relay involving 8,000

torchbearers, 700 of them athletes and celebrities, and culminating in

the Games. The flame travelled on board a special flight, BA2012,

from Athens, and David Bond was the only broadcast journalist to travel

Out of a gloomy sky, a golden delivery. After all the talk, the

grand plans and of course the money, London's Olympic moment had at last

arrived. Hundreds had come to greet British Airways flight BA2012 at

Culdrose Royal Navy base in Cornwall this evening and it is a

very -- and it's very special cargo. When it eventually emerged, held

tightly by the Princess Royal, it did not look very much, but there

inside this little lamp was the Olympic flame. It comes into your

possession and it gets here, it is only then that you realise, this is

it. All lies then switched to supporting royalty -- all eyes. It

marks the start of London's torch relay tomorrow. This has been 10

years in the making and the start of the 70 day countdown. And the

flame is here. The flame is here. For the trip from Athens, the flame

and its three back-ups were fitted into safety cradles with VIP

treatment all the way. London 2012 admits the build-up to the games so

far has been a bit of a slow-burn, but they hope the arrival of these

in the UK will change that. And the close of the plane got to UK soil,

the more the excitement seemed to build. They are special, I'm scared

to touch them. We are mid-air and we have the flame next to us, but

it is special. It really is. It really is a proud moment for

everyone on board, everyone in the country, it is a reminder that the

Games are going to be here and kind of a reminder that tomorrow is the

start of something very special. Today's the start of something

special, we are bringing it to the country. After a very British

greeting tonight, the torch will now embark on an 8,000 mile tour

around the country. For London, it looks like the slow-burn might be

over. And you can find out exactly where

the torch will be going over the next 70 days by visiting

bbc.co.uk/torchrelay and clicking Coming up on tonight's programme:

The man behind the beard - the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen on his

The Prince of Wales is hosting a dinner at Buckingham Palace tonight

to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. This afternoon, a lunch

for 21 reigning monarchs was held at Windsor Castle - among them the

King of Bahrain. His inclusion drew sharp criticism from some human

rights campaigners over the crackdown on pro-democracy

demonstrations in his country. Our Royal correspondent, Nicholas

Witchell, is at Buckingham Palace Yes, a day when high-powered Royal

socialising has gotten mixed up with the realities of politics and

diplomacy. One notable absentee, the Queen of Spain in a protest

over Gibraltar, but the bigger fast has been over two kings who

accepted their invitations and came for lunch. There's flash

photography in this report. These are dictators. Buckingham

Palace this evening, hardly the sort of public display officials

would have hoped for two weeks before the main Jubilee

celebrations, but a reminder aimed at monarchs who are resistant to

democracy that public opinion counts. Nearly 30 of the world's

crown sovereigns have come to London to mark the Queen's Diamond

Jubilee. The host tonight at a grand Buckingham Palace dinner was

the Prince of Wales. But this morning, the motorcades were

heading for Windsor Castle for lunch at the invitation of the

Queen. Two guests in particular have angered human rights

protesters. This is king Maserati the third of Swaziland, a man

sometimes described as the last absolute monarch in the world, who

it is said enjoys an extravagant lifestyle while many of his people

live in poverty. And this is the king of Bahrain, a monarch whose

government has been accused of deploying a necessary brutality in

its efforts to curtail demands for greater democracy. All were warmly

welcomed. They posed for a group photograph. 27 kings and queens,

and Emperor from Japan, a sultan from Brunei, and a mere from

catarrh, there was even a grand Duke from Luxembourg. They chatted

together at a reception. Prince Andrew was there with the king of

Bahrain. Prince William and Catherine on rather less

contentious ground with the king and queen of Jordan. Outside the

castle, Bahrainis had come to support their king, but others say

he should not have been invited given what is happening in Bahrain.

People are still in prison, people are still being tortured, human

rights activists are still in great trouble there. Her back at the

Palace, the crowned heads were at dinner, an exclusive group, most of

them constitutional monarchs through rain within democracies,

but one or two who don't. So whose guest list was it? It was drawn up

by Buckingham Palace, but as with everything to do with the

constitutional monarch, it was subject to government, Foreign

Office, approval, and that approval was given.

Thank you. France has confirmed tonight that

it will withdraw its combat forces from Afghanistan by the end of the

year - two years ahead of the original schedule. NATO leaders

will meet this weekend to discuss the handover to Afghan security

forces. Parts of the country are already under Afghan control,

including the province of Nangahar and its main city, Jalalabad. From

there, our correspondent Andrew It is a new innings for Jalalabad,

NATO has already handed over here, Afghan forces are now in charge.

There are signs of a boom. The I take a ride in one of Jalalabad's

signature rickshaws to see a city I last visited seven years ago. I

discover it is still a place of Rehearsals at the city's only movie

studio. Better security has allowed more film-making. But it is still a

Taliban target. And the director fears a return to the past when

NATO is gone. I'm 100% concerned, he tells us, even now the Taliban

are warning us not to make films. We head out of the city to the

mountains along the border with Pakistan. With an escort of armed

This is Taliban, not NATO country. Where the fields are again blooming

with opium poppy, a source for most of the heroin on Britain's streets.

The government wants to destroy some of the poppy fields. We've no

choice but to grow it, claims the farmer, we are very poor and we

But a deal has been done, and eradication team won't go too far.

This looks like a serious effort to clear opium poppies, but this is

just one small area. All around here there are hundreds of other

fields full of opium poppy that are being left untouched. And all the

signs are the farmers are planning to grow even more opium poppies

this year because they are worried about the future after NATO pulls

out. Soon that NATO and American vehicles will be heading home

through this border region. They promise their support will keep

flowing, but many Afghans fear they are being left on their own.

Cricket, and England's captain Andrew Strauss finally made a

century at Lord's today. Cut away, Verity's. He'd been under

increasing pressure after enduring a year-and-a-half without a Test

hundred. His innings helped put England in a strong position in the

first Test, reaching 259-3 in reply to the West Indies' 243 all out.

Football, and Chelsea are counting down to their Champions League

final clash away to Bayern Munich tomorrow evening. The Chelsea team

have already taken the FA Cup this season. Their caretaker manager,

Roberto Di Matteo, said his team was looking forward to further

success. In terms of motivation, our players are highly motivated. I

will be positive. Obviously some of them have had that experience

before and that is the past. We are looking to the future now. We're

going to try and make the best out of the game tomorrow and try to win

He's been Ali G, Borat and Bruno, and after the launch of his latest

film The Dictator this week, he will be Admiral General Aladeen.

Sacha Baron Cohen rarely talks about his work and virtually never

speaks out of character about what motivates him. So it was a

television first when our arts editor, Will Gompertz, sat down

The Cannes Film Festival 2012 and Sacha Baron Cohen is in town with a

new character and film to promote. He very rarely gives interviews as

himself, but he has now decided to make a personal appearance. Why?

That is a very good question. Probably a mistake. I will tell you

why I haven't done it before. Basically, there was a chance that

the interview we would see the interview and withdraw consent. Now

I don't have to do that, this is a different kind of movie.

I am for free press, free elections and evil rights for women. His film

The Dictator launched this week. He plays a ruthless despot with an

enormous ego. Why The Dictator? Well, I had always found Colonel

Gaddafi hilarious. I highly recommend a visit to the Empire

State Building. Before will you or one of your cousins take it down.

When you say hilarious, he has murdered thousands. Of course, I

think the word is ludicrous. They are vicious and yet ludicrous. They

are all powerful. They end up becoming these kind of larger than

life absurd characters. Talking of which... Ali G, the delusional

would-be gangster from Staines, a steerage -- satirical stereotype

with which Sacha Baron Cohen made his name. Do you know how I make

this country better? To words. Keep it real. The great thing about the

characters is that they can expose things that the documentary finds

difficult in exposing. The first time I went out as Borat, I went up

to people and said you hunt the fox, in Moldova we hunt the Joof. Some

of these members of the effort -- upper-class were going, yes, rather

good idea. I remember doing that and thinking wow, there's this way

of exposing prejudice and also getting bigger laughs. I'm not a

politician, I'm a comedian, but there are certain things in the

world I find unacceptable. everybody finds his work acceptable

and now those who don't will be able to put a face to the name.

enjoy being anonymous. Will you enjoy not being anonymous? No, not

as much. Newsnight has just started over on

BBC Two, asking if the world leaders meeting in Washington can