:00:11. > :00:15.Tonight at Ten: On the eve of the G20 summit the crisis talks are
:00:15. > :00:18.already under way. France and Germany are fighting to save the
:00:18. > :00:22.euro rescue package agreed last week. They've summoned the Greek
:00:22. > :00:26.Prime Minister to explain his decision to hold a referendum. It
:00:26. > :00:31.could be a long night. We are working in a co-ordinated fashion,
:00:31. > :00:35.OK. There's a work to be done, a lot of it, but bear with us.
:00:35. > :00:40.will have the latest where the summit opens officially tomorrow.
:00:40. > :00:43.Also: A new pensions offer to public sector workers. Unions
:00:43. > :00:46.aren't impressed. Ministers say it's the best they'll get. This is
:00:46. > :00:50.a strong set of pension reforms that will give you pensions that
:00:50. > :00:54.are still better than anything available in the private sector.
:00:54. > :00:58.After months of protests in Syria, the regime promises an end to the
:00:58. > :01:03.violent crackdown. The Archbishop breaks his silence
:01:03. > :01:07.on the St Paul's demonstration. He says the protesters do have a case.
:01:07. > :01:13.And David Beckham tells us about his hopes of competing in London
:01:13. > :01:19.2012. We all dream about it, we all think about it. If it happens, then
:01:19. > :01:23.I would be honoured. I will be here with Sportsday later,
:01:23. > :01:33.including the best of the goals from tonight's Champions League
:01:33. > :01:46.
:01:46. > :01:50.matches on a great night for City Good evening. Leaders of the
:01:50. > :01:52.world's richest nations, the G20, are in the south of France for a
:01:52. > :01:59.summit that starts officially tomorrow but crisis talks are
:01:59. > :02:02.already under way. The French and German leaders have summoned the
:02:02. > :02:09.Greek prime minister to explain his decision to hold a referendum on
:02:09. > :02:14.the latest bail-out package. Live to Cannes for the latest with our
:02:14. > :02:19.Europe editor, Gavin Hewitt. Well, the big showdown meeting
:02:19. > :02:23.between the French and German leaders and the Greek Prime
:02:23. > :02:27.Minister is over, tough words were spoken. There was a lot of
:02:27. > :02:30.irritation expressed at the decision to hold a referendum, but
:02:30. > :02:35.there is a huge frustration that essentially everyone's going to
:02:35. > :02:41.have to learn to live with uncertainty until the Greek people
:02:41. > :02:46.have cast their vote. Some of the world's most powerful
:02:46. > :02:50.leaders and officials arrived in Cannes ahead of the G20 summit, but
:02:50. > :02:53.hanging over the meeting the latest crisis in the eurozone. We are
:02:53. > :02:57.going to do a little bit of business here, OK. The French
:02:57. > :03:00.President was playing host, and found himself waiting for ten
:03:00. > :03:05.minutes for the Chinese President, but on his mind was the shock
:03:05. > :03:09.decision by the Greeks to call a referendum on the bail-out plan. It
:03:09. > :03:16.put in jeopardy the entire agreement reached by the EU last
:03:16. > :03:20.week. So, before the summit he and the German Chancellor and European
:03:20. > :03:24.leaders held an emergency meeting. The Greeks would be told there
:03:24. > :03:28.would be no reopening of negotiations. There were also
:03:28. > :03:33.strong hints that Greece might not get its latest tranche of bail-out
:03:33. > :03:37.money until after the referendum. When the Greek Prime Minister,
:03:37. > :03:41.George Papandreou, arrived there was no French President to greet
:03:41. > :03:45.him. Europe's leaders are furious with him. If the tkpraoebg people
:03:45. > :03:51.vote no it could lead to a Greek default with enormous consequences
:03:51. > :03:56.for Europe. The French Prime Minister, Francois Fillon, said
:03:56. > :03:59.Greece had to decide where its future lay. TRANSLATION:
:03:59. > :04:03.The Greeks must understand that Europe cannot spend long weeks
:04:03. > :04:07.waiting for the response they will give at the referendum. The Greeks
:04:07. > :04:12.must thus say quickly and unambiguously whether or not they
:04:12. > :04:16.are choosing to keep their place in the eurozone.
:04:16. > :04:20.Back here in Cannes, George Papandreou is being urged if there
:04:20. > :04:24.is to be a referendum, hold it as quickly as possible, don't wait
:04:24. > :04:27.until the new year. There is also pressure over the question that
:04:27. > :04:31.would be asked, the Greek Government insists the people would
:04:31. > :04:34.simply be asked whether they approved of the bail-out deal. The
:04:34. > :04:39.French, in particular, would much prefer a question that asked the
:04:39. > :04:44.Greeks whether they wanted to remain inside the eurozone, or
:04:44. > :04:47.outside. There are limits to what pressure can do, however, it would
:04:47. > :04:52.now be almost impossible for the Greek Prime Minister to back off
:04:52. > :04:55.holding a vote. The fear is that until the referendum is resolved,
:04:55. > :05:02.there will be uncertainty and that's damaging to the world
:05:02. > :05:06.economy. Well, the Greek Prime Minister,
:05:06. > :05:10.George Papandreou, will leave here, he won't be attending the G20 and
:05:10. > :05:14.on Friday he faces a vote of confidence. It will be very tight,
:05:14. > :05:17.it will be something of a cliff- hanger. If he was to lose that
:05:17. > :05:22.almost certainly would trigger elections and that, of course,
:05:22. > :05:25.would lead to further instability and uncertainty. All of that will
:05:25. > :05:33.be very much on the minds of the G20 leaders when they gather here
:05:33. > :05:36.tomorrow. Thank you very much.
:05:36. > :05:39.The impact of a 'no' vote in any Greek referendum and a consequent
:05:39. > :05:42.failure by that country to pay its debts is already being considered
:05:42. > :05:44.in European capitals. Such an outcome would certainly have
:05:44. > :05:47.implications for the British economy, but, as our business
:05:47. > :05:53.editor Robert Peston explains, it would be an event of global
:05:53. > :05:58.importance. The eurozone's financial crisis
:05:58. > :06:04.started in Greece 19 19 months ago and is still in Greece but has
:06:04. > :06:08.spread to Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, and perhaps most worrying
:06:08. > :06:13.of all, Italy, with its huge Government debts.
:06:13. > :06:21.So why does it matter that the Greek referendum could lead to
:06:21. > :06:25.Greece unilaterally regeging on its debts or withdrawing from the euro?
:06:25. > :06:30.You can't really get this one country out and say the rest does
:06:30. > :06:33.not have similar implications. This is one of the crucial problems that
:06:33. > :06:37.other countries have similar, not as massive problems as Greece, and
:06:37. > :06:40.as long as you have this threat investors will think about it.
:06:41. > :06:44.point is that last week's painfully negotiated eurozone bail-out
:06:44. > :06:47.package doesn't have the money to cope with the stresses and losses
:06:47. > :06:52.this will be generated for countries and banks by a Greek
:06:52. > :06:57.default or exit from the euro and it's Italy that looks most
:06:57. > :07:00.vulnerable. It le's -- lit's problem is the Government debt is
:07:00. > :07:04.huge. A fifth higher than economists see
:07:04. > :07:08.as healthy. Creditors have become nervous about whether they'll be
:07:08. > :07:14.repaid so they're charging Italy record amounts to borrow an
:07:14. > :07:20.interest rate of more than 5% for a one-year loan, more than the 0.3%
:07:20. > :07:24.paid by Germany. Disaster for Italy which has to borrow around 300
:07:24. > :07:27.billion euros next year would be if investors took fright and stopped
:07:27. > :07:34.lending. So it's vital for Europe's bail-out fund to have enough money
:07:34. > :07:37.to fill that gap. When it's one trillion euros of firepower enough?
:07:37. > :07:41.One trillion is probably not enough. We have seen the spreading of the
:07:41. > :07:44.crisis of the last few months to countries like Italy and Spain and
:07:44. > :07:48.even before that crisis spreading to those countries we thought that
:07:48. > :07:52.two trillion was probably already necessary, so one trillion not
:07:52. > :07:55.enough to stablise the situation I am afraid. The Italian Prime
:07:56. > :07:59.Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, and his cabinet under pressure from
:07:59. > :08:04.Germany and other eurozone members to accelerate moves to improve
:08:04. > :08:07.Government finances have been meeting in emergency session today.
:08:08. > :08:13.We as the Government are doing everything that was agreed with
:08:13. > :08:17.Europe. As for Greece, well the IMF is threatening to turn off its
:08:17. > :08:20.financial life support machine until after the referendum result
:08:20. > :08:24.is known. Will such pressure persuade Greek people to vote for
:08:24. > :08:28.the new bail-out package which would see Greece staying in the
:08:28. > :08:33.eurozone circle or will Greece break the circle with who knows
:08:33. > :08:36.what painful consequences for it and for us?
:08:36. > :08:41.Let's explore the impact of this crisis in more detail. Stephanie
:08:41. > :08:44.Flanders, our economics editor, is in Cannes for us tonight and our
:08:44. > :08:48.political editor is in Downing Street. Nick, a new dimension to
:08:48. > :08:53.this row tonight with direct implications for the British
:08:53. > :08:56.taxpayer. The British Government is preparing to lend more money to the
:08:56. > :09:00.International Monetary Fund knowing that it in turn will lend more
:09:00. > :09:03.money to stricken eurozone countries, perhaps to Greece,
:09:03. > :09:08.depending what happens in these talks in the next few days, to
:09:08. > :09:11.Italy and to Spain. David Cameron heads to those talks in Cannes
:09:11. > :09:14.tomorrow with a solution that he hopes for, that the eurozone gets
:09:14. > :09:19.its act together and gets that deal back on the road, one that he fears
:09:19. > :09:23.that the Greeks pull out of the euro, causing possibly awful
:09:23. > :09:28.economic dislocation around the globe and finally, that one he is
:09:28. > :09:31.preparing for, giving more money to the IMF. Now this is very delicate
:09:32. > :09:34.political territory for the Government. The Chancellor has
:09:34. > :09:39.consistently said British taxpayers' money would not go to
:09:39. > :09:43.the eurozone direct, not via the IMF to the eurozone. How do they
:09:43. > :09:46.get around this problem? Well, what he is likely to argue is that the
:09:46. > :09:50.International Monetary Fund just needs to be bigger, to help other
:09:50. > :09:53.countries, like Mexico, not just the eurozone countries, but in
:09:53. > :09:59.reality, British taxpayers' cash will end up going to those
:09:59. > :10:04.countries and the Government will only have to say we hope, we
:10:04. > :10:08.believe, we will get it back. Stephanie, how do you see the
:10:08. > :10:14.impact of all this, not just for Britain but for the global economy
:10:14. > :10:17.really? Well, I have actually just come from a big room where many,
:10:18. > :10:21.many journalists from all over the world are waiting for President
:10:21. > :10:24.Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel to give a joint statement, presumably
:10:24. > :10:28.to report on their meetings with the Greek Prime Minister, the
:10:28. > :10:32.managing director of the IMF I am told is meeting with him right now.
:10:32. > :10:35.All of this is about trying to salvage something from this summit
:10:35. > :10:39.which President Sarkozy had such high hopes for. He thought that
:10:39. > :10:42.there were going to be rewriting the rules of the global financial
:10:42. > :10:46.system, changing the approach to economic development. Instead, the
:10:46. > :10:49.whole thing has been blown open by a country that's not even in the
:10:49. > :10:53.G20, Greece. I think what we are seeing now with these meetings
:10:53. > :10:56.before the formal proceedings begin is effort to put the summit on the
:10:57. > :11:00.right foot and I think to put the emphasis to go back to what Nick
:11:00. > :11:03.was saying, put the emphasis not so much on Greece, but on what is
:11:03. > :11:05.going to be done to protect our countries from the fallout of what
:11:05. > :11:08.happens in Greece. There is a feeling with officials around here
:11:08. > :11:13.that Greece is nearing the end of the road and what's really crucial
:11:13. > :11:16.is to be able to say tomorrow or Friday credably to the financial
:11:16. > :11:20.markets in a way that European leaders were not able to say last
:11:20. > :11:23.week, look, we are not sure what's going to happen to Greece but we do
:11:23. > :11:27.know we have the capacity, the financial capacity, to protect
:11:27. > :11:30.other countries from any contagion from what happens in Greece. People
:11:30. > :11:35.watching at home might not care what happens in Greece, a lot of
:11:35. > :11:45.people in the eurozone might not care, but we all care about that
:11:45. > :11:47.fallout, that contagion being contained. Thank you. Public sector
:11:47. > :11:51.workers have been offered a new deal on their pension. Ministers
:11:51. > :11:54.say it's their best and final offer. The unions say it's not enough and
:11:54. > :11:57.they're still planning a day of strikes at the end of the month.
:11:57. > :12:00.Under the latest plans, workers retiring in the next ten years
:12:00. > :12:03.would be protected and new pensions would grow more quickly. But staff
:12:03. > :12:06.would still have to pay higher contributions and many would have
:12:06. > :12:15.to work longer. Our chief economics correspondent Hugh Pym has the
:12:15. > :12:18.details. Today a new front opened up in the
:12:18. > :12:21.battle over public sector pensions, with the results of a ballot on
:12:21. > :12:31.industrial action by one union due tomorrow the Government has come up
:12:31. > :12:32.
:12:32. > :12:34.with a new offer, what it's calling a very big move. Everyone will keep
:12:34. > :12:36.what they've built up so far. Anyone within ten years of
:12:37. > :12:39.retirement will see no change in their pension pension arrangements
:12:39. > :12:43.and people in the public sector will actually still get far, far
:12:43. > :12:47.better pensions than people in the private sector. Under the new
:12:47. > :12:50.proposals public sector workers aged 50 or over won't have to work
:12:50. > :12:53.longer, they'll get the same pension as before. The value of
:12:53. > :12:56.pension benefits will rise faster across the board, Government
:12:56. > :13:02.contributions will be higher. But there is no compromise on a change
:13:02. > :13:05.to a less generous inflation measurement or on higher employee
:13:05. > :13:10.kbgses - contributions. Those under 50 will have to work longer before
:13:10. > :13:16.getting a full pension. At the TUC union leaders gave this reaction to
:13:16. > :13:20.the proposals. We want to resolve this by negotiation without the
:13:20. > :13:23.need for further industrial action, that's -- that's always been our
:13:23. > :13:26.position. But there's no doubt there are very, very big barriers
:13:27. > :13:29.still in the way of us being able to reach an agreement.
:13:29. > :13:33.Union leaders acknowledge that the Government has made concessions,
:13:33. > :13:36.but they say the detail will now need to be looked at and how it
:13:36. > :13:40.applies to different bits of the public sector like health and
:13:40. > :13:45.education. At this stage there's no suggestion that the day of action
:13:45. > :13:48.and planned walkouts for the end of November will be called off.
:13:48. > :13:52.The Government's made a couple of concessions, they're not willing to
:13:52. > :13:56.give ground on the question of member member contributions, that's
:13:56. > :14:00.the one concession they're still looking for. Ministers say the new
:14:00. > :14:04.offer could be withdrawn if there's no agreement. They also acknowledge
:14:04. > :14:08.that even if ballots deliver strike mandates for the end of this month
:14:08. > :14:13.talks will continue beyond then, but they'll have to be a cut-off
:14:13. > :14:16.The Arab League group of nations says that Syria has agreed to its
:14:16. > :14:18.appeals for an end to the violent crackdown on protestors. The UN
:14:18. > :14:22.estimates that 3,000 people have died in seven months of anti-
:14:22. > :14:25.government protests. According to the prime minister of Qatar, Syria
:14:25. > :14:27.has been told to take its tanks off the streets, release political
:14:27. > :14:37.prisoners and allow foreign journalists into the country to
:14:37. > :14:39.
:14:39. > :14:43.monitor events. Jeremy Bowen is with me. Will it work? The question
:14:43. > :14:53.no one knows. If it doesn't work, he will make more enemies than he
:14:53. > :14:53.
:14:53. > :14:56.already has. He also says that... The thing about President Assad, he
:14:56. > :15:00.has made earlier promises to do things like pull back the army and
:15:00. > :15:08.he hasn't done that. In this, he might feel he has room for
:15:08. > :15:11.manoeuvre. He says that violent extremists and criminals are trying
:15:11. > :15:14.to take over Syria and he is fighting against them. Other
:15:14. > :15:20.questions, how do you fire -- defined a political prisoner before
:15:20. > :15:24.you release in? Free movement for journalists, will they be able to
:15:24. > :15:32.go around and report what is happening? If this goes ahead as
:15:32. > :15:37.expected, or as wanted by the Arab League, those demonstrators may
:15:37. > :15:41.well parade in their thousands and declare victory and what does the
:15:41. > :15:44.regime do then? Your Coming up on tonight's programme:
:15:45. > :15:54.After Beckham in Beijing, all eyes on London 2012 as he reveals he'd
:15:55. > :15:56.
:15:56. > :15:59.As the G20 leaders gather in the south of France and Europe's
:15:59. > :16:04.economies slide towards another crisis, the search for a solution
:16:04. > :16:07.has led many to look towards China. With plenty of cash from its huge
:16:07. > :16:11.export industry, China is seen as a promising source of help with the
:16:11. > :16:12.euro bail out scheme. Our China correspondent, Damian Grammaticas,
:16:12. > :16:15.has visited the country's manufacturing heartland in
:16:15. > :16:25.Guangdong to see if China really can provide a solution to Europe's
:16:25. > :16:31.
:16:31. > :16:35.The peaceful canals of Venice. Not quite. This is China, with enough
:16:35. > :16:40.cash to recreate gondolas in a shopping mall. In its hour of need,
:16:40. > :16:43.Europe is hoping China will sail to its rescue. The problem is China
:16:43. > :16:48.has already said it would be Europe's saviour. This country is
:16:48. > :16:51.starting to get rich, but has a host of problems of its own end you
:16:51. > :16:56.only have to look at this place, some people call it the great
:16:56. > :17:00.shopping mall of China, to see why. It's empty. Built six years ago to
:17:00. > :17:05.be the biggest mall and the world, the few shops that moved in have
:17:05. > :17:09.mostly closed. If Europe thinks Chinese consumers are the answer to
:17:09. > :17:15.its economic woes, it needs to think again. I certainly don't
:17:15. > :17:19.think China could actually save the world or on its own. Chinese
:17:19. > :17:23.consumption is big and it is increasing and everybody forecasts
:17:23. > :17:28.it to be growing at a very high rate, but still it is a very small
:17:28. > :17:33.part of global consumption. China was a bright spot when the global
:17:33. > :17:37.crisis hit three years ago. Then it pumped money into its economy,
:17:37. > :17:42.cities like this all the way. China may not be able to repeat that
:17:42. > :17:47.trick. Now it is trying to rein in inflation, but the building blimp -
:17:48. > :17:54.- boom is slowing. You can see the impact here. Recycling scrap metal
:17:54. > :17:58.used to be profitable. China's economy is poor. Metal demand has
:17:58. > :18:04.gone down. International prices have gone down and prices in China
:18:04. > :18:09.have dropped. For and a slowing China is vulnerable, especially if
:18:09. > :18:13.there's a downturn in Europe, its major overseas market. Choi was
:18:13. > :18:18.biggest export fair, on this week, the turnover is roughly equivalent
:18:18. > :18:23.to the turnover of a small nation like Lithuania. But Europe's crisis
:18:23. > :18:28.is already hitting orders. Some of them don't attend. Some of your
:18:28. > :18:34.buyers are becoming? Sure. And the people who are here, are they
:18:34. > :18:37.buying much? I don't think so. course many malls in China are
:18:38. > :18:43.doing well, but at the Great Mall they are having to let some shops
:18:43. > :18:47.stay rent-free just as fill space. TRANSLATION: There are fewer and
:18:47. > :18:53.fewer people coming. I think the economy is getting worse. Sunday's
:18:53. > :18:57.not a single person even walks into this shop. -- summer days. Like its
:18:57. > :19:03.shoppers, China may decide it is better to hold on to its cash in
:19:03. > :19:05.uncertain times rather than bail out Europe right now. Paddy
:19:05. > :19:07.The Archbishop of Canterbury says the protestors camped outside St
:19:08. > :19:13.Paul's Cathedral are expressing 'a widespread and deep exasperation
:19:13. > :19:17.with the financial establishment'. Dr Williams has broken his silence
:19:17. > :19:19.on the crisis at St Paul's by calling for a new tax on financial
:19:19. > :19:23.transactions and insisted that the protestors had little faith in the
:19:23. > :19:33.current pace of reform. He spoke to our religious affairs correspondent
:19:33. > :19:34.
:19:34. > :19:38.A protest about banks became a debate about whether the Church was
:19:38. > :19:43.standing up for Christian values. Today its leader tried to wrest
:19:43. > :19:47.back control of the debate. Dr Williams said people were
:19:47. > :19:51.frustrated by bankers irresponsible behaviour and their soaring bonuses.
:19:51. > :19:57.People still feel that the public is very more of the cost and they
:19:57. > :20:01.should. An occasion like a protest outside St Paul's has been a focus
:20:01. > :20:06.for people's feelings. Even if they haven't known exactly what they
:20:06. > :20:10.have wanted. What would you say to criticism that you have been slow
:20:10. > :20:13.in exercising your own leadership, two weeks on. Judging the right
:20:13. > :20:17.time to say something is always difficult and it may not have got
:20:17. > :20:21.it right. This is what I would like to say now. The protest at St
:20:21. > :20:26.Paul's as well as the wider economic crisis represents an
:20:26. > :20:29.opportunity as well as a danger. He wants the Church to seize back the
:20:29. > :20:33.initiative, but Christian concern for the Palace at the centre of the
:20:33. > :20:38.debate. So today he has challenged the government to use the upcoming
:20:38. > :20:42.meeting of the G20 to back controversial proposals for a tax
:20:42. > :20:47.on financial transactions. The so- called Robin Hood tax would place a
:20:47. > :20:52.levy on millions of share, bond and currency transactions. Dr Williams
:20:52. > :20:57.said the tax could answer the campaigners's moral agenda. When
:20:57. > :21:04.you have a scheme like this that is backed by a lot of very serious
:21:04. > :21:08.economists, people who can't be represented as antique applet to
:21:08. > :21:14.lists, there has to be something said for it. Protesters welcomed
:21:14. > :21:18.the intervention. A lot of powerful interventions -- individuals are
:21:18. > :21:21.starting to raise questions. People have a real sense of zeal and
:21:21. > :21:27.commitment and it has a nice answer to the critics saying this is a
:21:27. > :21:29.pointless exercise. Protesters claim tonight the City of London
:21:29. > :21:33.Corporation had delayed legal action, allowing them to stay until
:21:33. > :21:36.the new year. That call for a new tax on
:21:36. > :21:40.financial transactions is also being backed by one of the world's
:21:40. > :21:43.richest men, Bill Gates, the former head of Microsoft. He'd like some
:21:43. > :21:46.of the billions raised to be spent on helping the world's poorest
:21:46. > :21:49.communities. It's a message he's taking to leaders at the G20 summit
:21:49. > :21:58.in Cannes tomorrow. He spoke to my colleague George Alagiah before he
:21:58. > :22:01.Bill Gates is arguably the businessman of his age, the big
:22:01. > :22:06.beast of the information era. It made him one of the world's
:22:06. > :22:12.wealthiest men. But now he has turned his attention to the plight
:22:12. > :22:17.of the poor. Today he told me that helping them was in our interest.
:22:17. > :22:24.Not caring about the instability of these countries really would hurt
:22:24. > :22:29.our economic future quite dramatically, whether it is unrest,
:22:29. > :22:35.disease. On the other hand, if you bring these people into the world
:22:35. > :22:41.economy, then you get this very positive cycle. Few have now come
:22:41. > :22:45.to support something called the attacks on financial transactions.
:22:45. > :22:52.The Archbishop of Canterbury has come out today in support of that.
:22:52. > :22:58.Is that really something that will fly given the opposition? I don't
:22:58. > :23:03.know. It is clearly a political question. When we talk about the
:23:03. > :23:08.financial transaction tax, there's many flavours of this. What I was
:23:08. > :23:13.looking at, are other ways for countries that are falling a bit
:23:13. > :23:18.short of their aid commitments, are there ways they could raise money
:23:18. > :23:25.to get to those commitment levels? My expertise is being able to say,
:23:25. > :23:28.if you apply it to development aid, it will have a fantastic effect.
:23:28. > :23:32.For Bill Gates accepts these are tough and volatile times for the
:23:32. > :23:42.global economy, but he insists that the poor should not be sacrificed
:23:42. > :23:44.
:23:44. > :23:48.to save the rich. I think steps have to be taken to restore
:23:48. > :23:54.confidence and vigour -- in the Government's paying their debts. I
:23:54. > :23:58.do think we can come out of this without taking the % or so that
:23:58. > :24:03.goes to the poorest and using that as a way to solve the problem.
:24:03. > :24:06.time tomorrow, Bill Gates will be at the summit in Cannes. He is
:24:06. > :24:09.determined to ensure that the voices of the poor are not
:24:09. > :24:12.forgotten when the world's most powerful politicians sit round a
:24:12. > :24:17.table. George Alagiah with the former head
:24:17. > :24:20.of Microsoft, Bill Gates. David Beckham has no plans to
:24:20. > :24:24.retire as a footballer in the foreseeable future and he hopes to
:24:24. > :24:27.represent the Great Britain football team at the 2012 Olympics.
:24:27. > :24:32.Beckham, who's currently with Los Angeles Galaxy, also says he will
:24:32. > :24:40.probably buy a US football franchise in the years ahead. He's
:24:41. > :24:45.been speaking to our sports editor For decades, people have been
:24:45. > :24:50.making the pilgrimage to this city seeking fame and fortune. When he
:24:50. > :24:55.came to Los Angeles five years ago, David Beckham already had both. His
:24:55. > :24:59.dream was to use his celebrity to help transform a nation of sporting
:24:59. > :25:04.habits. This season it has been his form on the pitch which has got
:25:04. > :25:08.Tinseltown talking. Guiding his club, the Galaxy, to within three
:25:08. > :25:12.games of the American title. But with his contract up at the end of
:25:12. > :25:17.the month, his time here could be coming to an end so has he helped
:25:17. > :25:22.football to break America? When I first came here, I always said it
:25:22. > :25:28.is not going to be a huge success in a year or two, there might be a
:25:28. > :25:32.buzz, but that has to continue. There was the buzz at the start,
:25:32. > :25:35.there's been new stadiums built, new franchises coming to this
:25:35. > :25:39.league, new players coming into this lead in this country, but
:25:39. > :25:43.there's still a way to go. David Beckham's time in America may not
:25:43. > :25:47.have completely delivered on all the ambitious targets he set
:25:47. > :25:51.himself, but he remains one of world football's most valuable
:25:51. > :25:57.brands. The question is, at the age of 36, how long he can continue
:25:57. > :26:02.playing. There is still interested in signing Beckham in Europe, most
:26:02. > :26:06.notably from Paris St-Germain. That is why he insists he is not ready
:26:06. > :26:10.to quit just yet. I think it is always difficult when you come
:26:10. > :26:14.towards the end of your career. It is always difficult making that
:26:14. > :26:19.decision about stopping. But I don't think I will have that
:26:19. > :26:25.problem. I will know when I need to finish. But that's not yet. To the
:26:25. > :26:30.City of London. As part of the London 2012 bid team, Beckham
:26:30. > :26:36.helped bring the Olympics to his home city. Now he is focused on
:26:36. > :26:40.playing a key role in the British football teams push for gold.
:26:40. > :26:46.still a kid when it comes to leading my country or playing for
:26:46. > :26:51.my country. Yes, we all dream about it, we all think about it. If it
:26:51. > :26:54.happens, I will be honoured. people will think it is a bit of an
:26:54. > :26:58.indulgence, we should be picking other players, we want the best
:26:58. > :27:02.team and maybe the youngest team. Maybe people will say that, but
:27:02. > :27:07.people have been saying that about me for the last 10 or 15 years and
:27:07. > :27:11.I have continued to play for my country. David Beckham could have
:27:11. > :27:16.used his time in LA to gently wind down after a long career in the
:27:16. > :27:21.spotlight. Instead, this American adventure has left his footballing