22/09/2011 GMT with George Alagiah

The global economy battling on all fronts. Stocks hit a one-year low.

America's Fed paints a gloomy picture. And the eurozone is in

crisis. Red alert. Markets plunge in Asia

and Europe, as the world economy faces several threats.

Greece, the central threat to the eurozone. A wave of strikes, as the

government pushes even tougher Welcome to GMT. I'm George Alagiah.

Also in the programme: Pope Benedict begins his first official

visit to Germany. But not everyone in his home country is glad to see

him. And, saving the most endangered

species of sharks, one bowl at a time. A new campaign gets underway

in China to persuade restaurants to drop one of the more exotic

delicacies on their menus. We are doing our best to get our message

It's 2.30pm in the afternoon in Athens. It's early morning in New

York. It's lunchtime here in London, where the market turmoil is plain

for anyone to see. A few minutes ago, the London exchange was down

more than 4%. That followed a sea of red in Asia. In fact, global

stocks have hit a one-year low. The reasons? Take your pick: a gloomy

forecast from the US Fed. A slowdown in Chinese manufacturing.

And, of course, the eurozone crisis. The Greek government has approved

another raft of austerity measures, but faces a wave of protests from

the unions. Our correspondent Mark Lowen is in Athens.

Hello from the Greek capital where demonstrations and strikes have

returned. Later it will be the turn of teachers and university staff

who will gather in front of the iconic Greek Parliament, protesting

at the austerity programme being pushed through by the Government. A

new wave of social unrest has hit the country and Athens has been

brought to raise standstill. After a summer lull, the strikes

are back. Asos, trained empty. No sign of the attack sees. A 24 hour

strike is under way in protest at the growing wave of austerity

measures. The station's silent. A mixed reaction. TRANSLATION: We are

trying to solve the problems of several generations. They are

painful but there is nothing we can do and we will have to face it, we

will have to deal with it. TRANSLATION: The best thing would

be for these people who govern us today, to leave. A new round of

austerity measures was announced on Wednesday. 30,000 public sector

workers are to be placed on partial pay, given notice by the end of the

air. Pensions will be cut by 20%. The threshold on income tax will be

lowered and the controversial new property tax will continue for

three more years. This is to meet the terms of the next bail out

instalment. Without that, the country could declare bankruptcy by

next month. The news dominated the headlines, one newspaper calling it

an attack without mercy. The European Union and IMF will send

officials back to Athens next week to assess progress. And decide on

the next tranche of bail out. Even if that is released, many fear an

inevitable default. And that would bring more crisis to the eurozone.

The government is facing an increasingly difficult challenge,

trying to show international creditors it is sticking to these

austerity measures to meet its fiscal targets, but trying to calm

the growing wave of social unrest. People feel the austerity measures

are driving up unemployment and exacerbating the economic crisis.

Many feel Greece is paying an increasingly large price for

keeping the eurozone together. Greece is seeing a wave of protest.

When does that wave of protest become what people might call a

political threat? Until now, of the government has

sounded a defiant note, saying Greece will push on with its

austerity measures. The government is determined to see off these

protests. More strikes have been called for October. We will have to

see whether the protests grow to an extent the Government is threatened.

In Greek politics, the government is facing opposition which says it

wants to renegotiate the terms, it does not feel happy with the

programmes being introduced. The government is facing a tax on all

sides but it says they have the support of the European Commission,

European Central Bank and IMF which was to see the country meeting its

fiscal targets and the terms needed for the bail-out.

Let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines

around the world today. Pope Benedict XVI has returned to

his homeland for his first official visit to Germany. He was welcomed

by Angela Merkel at Berlin airport. In one hour he will address the

German Parliament. 100 MPs has said he will boycott -- they will

boycott his speech. Our correspondent is in Berlin. These

protests that the MPs have been talking about, it is that reflected

in the population? Will they be protests outside? I think there

will be some protests outside. You must remember there will be a big

mass in the biggest football stadium in Berlin of where 80,000

seats have been taken. Later in the week, the Pontiff goes to the

Catholic heartland of Germany in the south west. I have no doubt

hundreds of thousands of people will come out to greet him. Having

said all that, this is a very different visit from the first one

he did just after he became Pope, when he was greeted back as a

national hero almost, a man who had done very well in his job as it

were, being welcomed back by a united nation. Now you get all

kinds of division, the child abuse scandal, people within the Church

saying there is a big shortage of priests, and policy needs to be

changed. Difficulties within the Church. The man who met him,

President Wulff, is a divorced Catholic, remarried, and he cannot

take part in some Catholic ceremonies. It is not the easy

visit that it would have been five years ago. Do you think he is

likely to address any of those issues you have listed? I do not

think he will come out for and say policies will change. But the

critics within the church I have been talking to, they say they are

listening to his tone, they are listening to signs that he welcomes

dialogue. And they say in the first speech he made at the presidential

palace, where he used that word, freedom, frequently, they see that

as hopeful. They regard an attitude that tolerates some dissent within

the Church as being hopeful for them. But, they also say, he is a

conservative, in his eighties, they did not expect a transformation.

All they want is a little bit of tolerance, and a sign of listening.

Two French Muslim women have become the first to be convicted of

covering their faces with veils in public, in defiance of a new law.

Hind Ahmas and Najate Nait Ali were each ordered to pay a fine.

A man convicted of killing an off- duty policeman in 1989 has been

executed in the American state of Georgia, despite concerns the case

against him was not conclusively proved. Troy Davis was put to death,

after a four-hour delay while his final appeal was being considered.

Officials in Pakistan say more than eight million people are now

affected by monsoon flooding in the southern province of Sindh. The

United Nations World Food Programme estimates that three million are

critically short of food and aid organisations are struggling to

reach those stranded on high ground. And there are fears that large

areas of stagnant water will help spread disease.

Still to come on GMT: A group of South African designers seek to be

discovered, with collections on the First though, let's get all the

business news. What is going on, in these markets?

Let me get some of the figures on the screen.

The FTSE index is down 5%. At the beginning of the programme, it was

I don't seem to be able to get the markets on the screen. These are

down to levels which they haven't been down to for many months.

Any reasons? We are getting a pretty bad storm.

We had the IMF worries, they were saying the problems we were getting

in terms of the financial stability of the eurozone in particular,

recapitalisation of banks, the use of economic growth. Worries from a

Federal Reserve in the US. A number of very bad surveys. One analyst

summed up some of the worries people have.

We have a lot of negativity now which has managed to hit Business

Investment for some time. Not just a European a story, but a US growth

story. And the ongoing European debt crisis which is not resolving

itself. Now, contagion is spreading to larger economies like Spain and

Italy. Was contagion does spread it is difficult to see how the

European Union can deal with such large economies. We have the market

figures again. The FTSE 100 index has been worse.

Today we had more figures about Italian growth, the government

saying growth will be even slower. Still just positive.

Given all of that come up are the market's going to fall further?

told earlier to a portfolio manager and this is what he said.

European shares have come back a long way. We have to remember a lot

of European companies have significant sales outside the

eurozone. Not just into the Far East but in Scandinavia, a UK,

North America. A lot is discounted in current share prices. The

problem is the banking sector is in meltdown. Until that issue is

resolved, it is hard to see investors getting the confidence to

buy equities. Stay with us, much more on these

This is GMT. Our main story. There is gridlock in Greece as a

transport strike bikes and into financial fears as stock market

plunge around the world. Palestinian officials have brushed

aside a promised US veto and pressure to abandon their bid for

UN membership, saying they were determined to take their case to

the Security Council. There was no progress after a meeting between

President Obama and the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday

night, so the Palestinian bid will be formally presented on Friday.

The Israeli president Shimon Peres has been involved in the peace

process since its inception. He explained to our Middle East

correspondent Rupert Wingfield- Hayes why Israel is opposing the

Palestinian bid for UN membership. How should we negotiate with the

Palestinians or through the international talents -- channels?

The problem is the United Nations cannot answer the full questions,

how to provide independence to the Palestinians? How to provide

security to Israel. If there is no security there is no independence.

There is no independence without security again. Since the United

Nations cannot deal with the security issues, it is an empty

declaration. A waste of effort. I am not speaking against the

Palestinians. Peace is possible. The best way is through talks. Even

though there are difficulties in Lots of diplomacy going on in New

York. Our correspondent has been watching it off. Mahmoud Abbas and

President Obama, very entrenched positions, we know that. What on

earth is there for them to talk about? If there was any doubt left

that the United States would indeed veto the plan the Palestinians are

putting forward for membership if it comes to a vote at the Security

Council. Overall administration officials are being slightly tight

lipped about what other compromises or options they are looking at for

the long term. It is becoming increasingly clear that the

Palestinians are going to go forward with their plan to give

that letter to the secretary general of the United Nations on

Friday, requesting full membership for their stake. The United States

is trying to sea with its allies in Europe whether there is a way of

looking beyond that day. The French foreign minister has said once the

Palestinians give in their letter, it could take weeks until this

comes to a boat and that gives everybody time to develop a

strategy to try to avoid showdown. But that strategy is not very clear

at the moment. There are calls in China for people to stop eating

sharks fin soup. As wages have risen, so has the demand for the

delicacy, but now the Chinese superstar basketball player Yao

Ming has lent his name to a campaign to persuade people to

abstain. Some viewers might find some of the pictures in this report

rather distressing. It is legal, but harvesting a

sharp's Finn is a gruesome business. This display aims to bring home

that point. The Finns are sliced off at sea, dried and sold to

Chinese restaurants to make soup. Myth has it that the things grow

back, but in reality the sharks simply bleed to death. This exhibit

is to show the connection between the bowl of soup that lands on your

table to the origin of the soup, which is these really beautiful,

majestic animals which are fast in decline. I was moved by that

picture, says this woman. Humans are the cruellest animals. A sharks

fin is tasteless and has no special, nutritional value. But its high

cost means it has become a status symbol in China. People come to

restaurants like this one behind me to buy shark's suit to show off

their wealth. This is another restaurant, but it has decided to

stop selling the delicacy, which can cause more than $100 a bowl.

China's increasingly wealthy consumers are pushing some species

towards extension. Tens of millions are killed each year. This company

wants to take a stand. TRANSLATION: Most of the people agree with what

we have done. We have not lost many customers since we decided to stop

selling shark's fin soup. But most shark's fines still end up in China.

That is where the country's famous sportsman, Yao Ming, has lent his

name to a new campaign. His message is simple. We can now speak to our

BBC colleague and Chinese cuisine at writer, Fuchsia Dunlop. I

suppose the problem would days is that in China we are talking not

just about people's tastebuds, but people's yearning to show their

status. Yes, shark's Finn is a curious delicacy. It has no

inherent taste, but it is a prize for its supposed tonic properties

and its wonderful mouth feel, an intriguing sulkiness in the mouth.

But because it is the kind of delicacy that used to grace the

tables of emperors. Ordering a sharp's Fen is a way of honouring a

guest or buttering up an influential official. It raises the

status of the fees, like cracking open a bottle of champagne. What do

you think the chances are of Richard Branson and the basketball

player of influencing people? the moment it does not look very

good because there is not much social stigma attached to eating

shark's Fen. In fact, the contrary. People will boast about serving

delicacies and endangered species that should be protected. On the

other hand, sophisticated consumers are getting concerned about eating

green food products, products are free of pollution a. As people

become more aware of environmental issues and more concerned with

these kind of thing is, eating shark's event will become less

acceptable. Do you think this particular campaign, which is about

shark's fin soup, do you think there is a spill over into tigers?

That is another animal that is in danger in China. Could it become

part of a wider campaign? Burka Singh on shark's Fein is an

important example of a delicacy that is driving various species to

extinction, but it is the tip of the iceberg. China is the world's

greatest market for endangered species in general. It is important

they have brought on board such an important Chinese celebrity, so it

looks like not as an international campaign targeting China, but

something coming from China itself. It bait and stigmatised shark's Fen,

perhaps people will become more aware of the issues of eating

endangered species in general. you are a fashion follower, you

won't know that London Fashion Week has just come to an end. For

everyone who took part now it is the time to take stock and count

contacts and contracts. Shows like the one in London are opportunities

for young designers to get their work noticed. Among those looking

for their big break was a group of South African designers and one of

them is here in the studio. Heni Este-Hijzen runs a fashion label

Heni. We are also joined by Theo Ombalala, creative director of the

Ubuntu International Project initiative to grow talent from

emerging markets. Thank you both for being with us. Is there such a

thing? We hear about South Africa being the rainbow nation and you

are the perfect example of it, so can we talk about South African

fashion? Surely there are different fashions? The biggest thing coming

to London for me was in fact that. There is no essential things such

as South African fashion. We are all different cultures,

inspirations and points of view. The biggest thing is the merger of

all those aspects. That is what creates the aesthetic of South

African fashion. What is your organisation trying to do with

fashion? You are very involved in promoting it? It is an initiative

that seeks to, it you like, identified a first and foremost Pan

South African aesthetic that has cultural reference, that is

intelligent, that fuses things like rural craft with contemporary sort

of aesthetic. Are we going to see a bit of material from Durban and

mixed in with what Afrikaners where? That is quite a good idea.

That is what we are talking about. It is taking those wonderful,

different aspects and it is up to the designer in terms of

interpretation and what they want to do with it. We have got so many

things to pull form -- from. Ubuntu, you're organisation, is an ancient

concept. I cannot be human and less I recognise their humanity in you.

One of the things that struck me when I lived in South Africa was

the way in which South African politicians, especially the men,

had to borrow from West Africa when they turn up in Parliament because

there was not a South African traditional costume. Where did it

go? The important thing about the Ubuntu philosophy is I am what I am

because of who we all are. In terms of the aesthetic and the creative

process, if we start with the Allied, who am I? What do I

represent especially in modern Africa? Race, colour, creed is all

changing now. We have Africans who are white, Indian, Chinese, who

have as much right as the indigenous people of Africa. The

whole sort of community in Africa is changing. We have I am who I am.

They also have who we all are. How do we fit in as individuals into

that collective context? That was amazing. But, in the end, as I said

earlier, you have got to sell some clothes. That is what you are. That

is the bottom line. You are a tailor. How did it go? Interesting

question. That is the bottom line. I think it is a bit too early to

say that it went. That sounds like it did not go well at all. No, it

went really well. We are talking about publicity and what everyone

is saying and after that it translates into sales. It has been

very positive. I am hopefully going to be counting the money pretty

soon. Nelson Mandela established a new way that people did not have to

wear a new tie and a suit. You need someone else to take up the cause.

The fashion market at the moment is saturated. We want these designers

to become international brands, but if you do not already have a

signature in terms of your own label from an individual point of

view, you cannot penetrate that saturated market. We first of all

have to work on the signature. What does it mean? How does it represent