03/05/2012 BBC World News

Chinese dissident, Chen Guangcheng, tells the BBC he does want to leave

the country. He says he is concerned about his family's

treatment. Angry exchanges between France's

presidential candidates, in the only television debate of the

country's election campaign. The masterpiece, The Scream,

fetches a jaw-dropping price at auction in New York.

Welcome to BBC World News. Also on the programme: We hear from

one worker who braved the Fukushima Daiichi crisis in Japan. The

pioneering eye implant that has helped to restore the sight of two

The prominent Chinese Human Rights Act visit, Chen Guangcheng, has

confirmed to the BBC he wants to leave the country to ensure his

safety. The US has also confirmed that Chen Guangcheng wants to leave

China. This comes as the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton,

is in the capital, Beijing, for wide ranging discussions on the

global economy and foreign policy, but human rights in particular is

threatening to overshadow the talks. So who is Chen Guangcheng? Well,

the blind 40-year-old is a self- taught lawyer who came to

prominence for exposing a policy of forced abortions in his home

province of Shandong. He was jailed for four years in 2006 for

obstructing traffic and damaging property. In 2010 he was placed

under er house arrest but then escaped and fled to the US embassy

in Beijing. Our correspondent is in Beijing, he gave me more details

about what Chen Guangcheng said to him.

We have been trying to speak to Chen Guangcheng for some time. He

is in a hospital bed in the centre of Beijing. Finally we were able to

get through. We asked him about his situation. It appears that he is

feeling lonely and alone. He has not been able to, he had confirmed

he wanted to leave China, to go to America, to seek compile there, but

he says he has not been able to talk to US officials about the

desire to leave with him and his family, his wife and two children.

He believe that the Chinese Foreign Ministry officials are stopping the

Americans coming in to see him to talk about that. He said that he

addressed the point about the fact that he said that he wanted to stay

in China. Now he says he wants to leave. That is because he believes

that the Chinese have reneged, to go back on an agreement that would

have guaranteed the safety of him and his family. That is why he now

wants to leave China. US state officials have confirmed he has had

a change of heart, that he does want to leave. How dangerous is

this to China/US relations? Well, this is very damaging, or

potentially it could be damaging. At the moment, China and the United

States are having two days of high- level talks on which they want to

talk about North Career, Iran, Syria, many important topics that

they need co-operation on -- North Korea. It puts America in a

difficult position. The Americans have claimed initially on Wednesday

when Chen Guangcheng left their embassy that he had managed to get

a deal to guarantee his safety. If it transpires that the safety is

not guaranteed, that they are unable to force the Chinese to

comply with promises that they have made, than they will look pretty

bad because of this. Finally, briefly, Michael, what was

the mood that you could sense when talking to Chen Guangcheng on the

phone? Obviously he has been through a lot in the last few days.

He sounded quite shaken. A little bit alone. He is obviouslyly in

need of information, he is not able to get as Mitch as he would like.

He fears for the future. The one thing he seems to want out of this

is security for him, his wife and two children who are with him in

the hospital at the moment. I think at the moment he fears he

will not be able to get that Michael, thank you very much.

The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy and his social -- socialist

rival, Francois Hollande, have traded verbal blows in a live

television debate. Commentators said that nee neither managed to

land a knock-out blow. Here in the fish market, the

socialists are fishing for votes. The stalls are busy, but in five

years, the local economy has gone flat N 2007, the left took half of

the first-round vote. The Front National with 7%. This time they

came top with 28%. The Socialist Vice-President of The department is

shocked and is here to learn the lessons.

TRANSLATION: People say they have had enough. That they don't feel

safe. They have no money in their pockets, they are unemployed. There

are 13% would a -- without a job in the area, 20% is among young people.

It is the kind of isolated village that the FN targeted around the

country. Where the factories are closed and the disillusion has

grown in its place. This is the difference... It is a

big difference. Will you vote in the second round?

It is possible, you know. I want to change Presidents, that

is it. A quarter of the people who voted

last week, under the age of 35, turned out for the Front National.

They are white, working-class, and many are first-time voters. They

are disillusioned with the two main parties and motivated by the

rhetoric of Le Pen. So popular has that message become, it has drifted

into the political main stream. The two men who debated live on

television last night are not inspiring the waivering voter. In

these parts they see the broken promises. Marine Le Pen refused to

endoers either candidate. On Sunday most of her supporters will abstain.

She has no interest, some say, in throwing the President a lifeline.

TRANSLATION: Marine Le Pen wants to demolish the classic centre-right

and rebuild a more powerful hard - right in its place.

Rural France was built on traditional industries and all have

taken a battering. They long for the old certainties here. If ang

ser the threem of the election, then -- if anger is the theme of

the election, then nostalgia is a close second.

For more on the elections, have a look at the website. We have put

together a page of analysis and professionals of the main

candidates of the presidency. Do have a look.

A gunfight between the Mexican army and suspected drug gang members has

left at least 12 people dead including two soldiers. Officials

said that the gunmen used grenades and the police enforcements

included a helicopter that rushed to the area. It is one of the

worst-affected areas of drug- related violence. Mervyn King said

he should have done more to fix the banks crisis. That the regulations

had not worked properly. He urged the Government to speed up its

plans to reform the banking industry.

And News Corp has backed Rupert Murdoch to be its chairman despite

a highly critical report into phone hacking that branded the media

mogul unfit to run a media company. Raich 7/11 here with all of the

business news. -- Rachelle is here with the business news. High

expectations in Barcelona? There have a meeting there with the IMF.

There is a heavy security presence. European stocks are up on news that

Spain has gotten through another set of bond auctions unscathed.

Ahead of the latest statement from Newport-Gwent Dragons, the European

Central Bank officials are in time for the meeting outside of

Frankfurt. There is growing pressure for the ECB to re-start

the bond-buying programme it is sold at lower interest rates than

those offered by wary investors. This week Addidas reported that

first quarter net profit rose 38% to 3 239 million Euros. Helped by

strong sales in China and lower brogue on tax expenses. The CEO of

Adidas is with us this morning. If we could ask you, why do you

think that the company has done so well in this quarter? We have had

an excellent first quarter, we are firing on all cylinders. Our brands

are in high demand by consumers around the world. We are growing in

all regions in China, Europe, and America. I think that our business

has never been in a more healthy state than it is in today. When you

look at the inventtory, the balance sheets and the momentum that we

have. You mentioned growth across the

world, you have grown in China by more than 25%, but in Western

Europe it was more like 7%. Will that lead you to focus more in

China or to Western Europe to increase the growth? We have to

focus on all markets. Europe is our home market where we have a strong

position. China is the growth market. We have, after the

economical crisis, patiently rebuilt our business in China on a

healthy and sustainable way together with retail partners. We

have a close connection to our retailers. We monitor the sales

through inventory better, this has put us in the better position we

are in today with a 2% increase in the first quarter after the double

digits last year. I think that this will continue. I foresee double

digit sales growth in China in years to come.

You have warned about problems with Reebok in India. What is happening

there? Well, please, understand that this is a pending

investigation, I cannot Kent comment on that. I do believe that

when we are back in three months with a call for the second quarter

we can give you more at the tails on that.

Thank you very much. You are welcome.

In other business news: Lufthansa is to axe 3,500 office jobs.

The German carrier group say it is has to cut costs after posting a

$521 million loss. The in Spain they have sold 2.5 billion Euros of

debt. That is at a higher interest rate. The bank of Spain sold the

bonds at average Cheadles -- yields of 0 .4%.

China's state-owned Bright Foods Group has agreed to buy a 60% stake

in Weetabix from Capital. If completed it would be the second

successful overseas acquisition in less than a year. Society general

has posted a fall in profits. Making $963 million in the first

three months of the year. There has been a dent in trades and bonds

that has hammered the group's share price.

Now the markets and what they are doing: We should be able to see

that, yes, the Dow Jones there is that, yes, the Dow Jones there is

down from yesterday. The FTSE is trading up. The

European markets are waiting to see what decision the ECB comes out

with. The financial markets across Europe would like to see the

Central Bank stepping up efforts to fight the crisis by buying more

bonds, but we are not expecting that news. More likely that they

make more cheap loans available to European banks. The jns markets and

the Asian markets are closed for the day. Japan was closed for a

public holiday. public holiday.

That's it on the business. This is BBC World News. Still to

come: How having electronic retinas fitted helped two blind men to

restore part of their eyesight. In the United States Newt Gingrich

has officially ended his bid for the Republican presidential

nomination. He is now some $4 million in debt. He disease not

endorse Mitt Romney, despite acknowledging that Mitt Romney was

certain to become the Republican nominee.

In the end Newt Gingrich bowed to reality. Formerly ending a year-

long campaign that enlivened the Republican contest.

I could never have predicted the low points or the high points it

was all amazing and astonishing. It was also true to character,

erratic. Earlier on the senior campaign staff resigned en masse.

Later coming back with a vengeance, in January taking the state of

South Carolina after strong performances in the Republican

debates. She said that she asked you to

enter into an open marriage. Would you like to take the time to

respond to that? No, but I will. In fact, his multiple marriages an

public divorces never endeared him to the Conservative Christian base

which went for Rick Santorum. His departure last month left Mitt

Romney the presimplive nominee. Newt Gingrich gave him lukewarm

support. I am asked if Mitt Romney is

Conservative, the answer is simp: Compared to Barack Obama? This is

not a choice between Mitt Romney and Ronald Reagan... This is a

choice between Mitt Romney and the most radical, leftist President in

American history... For its part, the Obama campaign compiled a Newt

Gingrich video with which to attack the Republicans.

Are you calling Mitt Romney a liar? Yes.

The former House Speaker and author of The Contract With America has

left the public stage before. He is now seeking help with his

campaign's $4 million debt, but in announcing plans to champion

religious liberty, energy security and space travel, Newt Gingrich

signalled that he intends to be This is BBC World News. The

headlines: Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng

tells the BBC he does want to leave the country, saying he's concerned

about his family's treatment. The two men fighting for the French

presidency accuse each other of lying in their only televised

debate. It's one of the most recognisable

images in the world - Edvard Munch's, The Scream. There are four

versions of the masterpiece, but now the only-privately owned

original has gone under the hammer in New York and it's fetched a

record breaking amount of almost $120 million.

The unmistakable image of Edvard Munch's The Scream. The four

versions that exist, this was the most sought after, because Munch

wrote a poem about the work on the frame. The word was auctioned in

New York. The timing was deliberate, to heighten the sense of occasion

and attract wealthy collectors in Asia who were just waking up. Seven

bidders began competing for a version of the Norwegian artist's

seminal work. The opening offer was $40 million, and the price kept

going up. Can I say I love you? 106 million. In it was an intense

competition between two telephone bidders for 12 tense minutes, which

drove the final selling price to a historic high. A symbol of human

anxiety sold for $120 million to an unnamed buyer. Sold. Thank you,

Charlie. That price far exceeded the auction house's estimate of $80

million. The seller was a Norwegian businessman whose father was a

friend of the artist. More than 100 years after Munch created The

Scream, his capacity to astound has reached new heights.

In Egypt, two leading presidential candidates have suspended

campaigning after 20 people were killed while demonstrating in Cairo

on Wednesday. The unknown attackers used rocks firebombs and shotguns.

The protesters retaliated, beating some assailants. BBC correspondent

Jon Leyne has been following events in Cairo.

It seems to be a strange mixture, yesterday's attack. By most

accounts, there were some local people involved who were angry

about the fact that this demonstration has disrupted their

neighbourhood. But the widespread belief is that in some way, they

must have had some official endorsement. Maybe some government

paid thugs were in there, too, or at least the Government was turning

a blind eye, because we did not see the security forces turning up and

separating the two sides for several hours. Today, the

demonstrators are very angry. The reinforcements have arrived. There

was a big demonstration last night. Now we are waiting to hear from the

military ruling council, who are holding a news conference today.

They will no doubt want to reassure people that they will go ahead with

the election in three weeks' time, and they are pushing ahead with

their plans to transfer to full civilian rule.

Behind this initially, it was to do with whether a radical Islamist

candidate could stand. What is the politics behind this? That's right,

this demonstration was about one of the hardline Islamists who has been

disqualified from the election for fairly legalistic reasons. Clearly,

there is a wider fear that the demand -- democratic prices will

not go smoothly and that someone behind the scenes is trying to

sabotage the move to democracy. That is why the demonstrators have

been joined not just by supporters of that candidate, but by a wide

range of Egyptian society, particularly the Liberals and

secularists, who certainly do not support that candidate.

Reports from Syria say that security forces have raided student

dorms in the University of Aleppo, killing at least four people.

Activists say the raids happened on Wednesday night in response to

anti-Assad protests by more than a thousand students. Aleppo has so

far not experienced the violence and protests seen in many other

Syrian cities. The first UK clinical trials of an

electronic eye implant designed to give blind people their sight back

have exceeded expectations, according to scientists. Two

patients with a genetic eye condition were fitted with the

wireless device in April. Now they can detect light and even find

white objects on a black background. Professor Robert MacLaren is

leading the trials. We are working together with a German engineering

company, Retina Implant AG, which has developed this device. It is

similar to an electronic camera or an electronic retina. It has the

ability to restore vision, at least some degree of vision, to patients

who are completely blind from a disease called retinitis pigmentosa,

which affects many young people. The device itself is like an

electronic film that we in plant at the back of the eye, where the

light sensors normally reside in patients who can see. So if you

like, we have a device of 1500 pixels, similar to a rudimentary

camera. And the patience can use the device to make out basic images.

At the moment, we are doing a clinical trial together with King's

College in London. We want to know more. We want to know what the

limitations are in terms of the patient's use of the device, how

practically tears. With this information about the current

clinical trial, we hope we can then feed back to the retina implant

company and help them develop more complicated devices. We want to

know how useful the patients find the device, what they use it for in

terms of their vision. They need to learn to see again, and it is a

slow process. We are most interested in activities in their

daily living, how these patients can use the device to do things

they could not be before when they were completely blind.

There were emotional scenes in northern England on Wednesday

evening, when Fabrice Muamba appeared before his home crowd at

Bolton Wanderers for the first time since collapsing with a cardiac

arrest. Just over six weeks ago, Muamba was technically dead for 78

minutes and unconscious in hospital for three days.

This was a sight many had feared they would never see. Seven weeks

ago, Fabrice Muamba was carried off the pitch, close to death. Bolton

fans were thrilled with his return, and Muamba's fiancee was clearly

moved by the celebrations. He was overwhelmed as well as the stadium

resounded to his name. His recovery has been remarkable. His heart

stopped for 78 minutes that night. His life was saved by a

cardiologist who came down from the stands. I am happy to be back. I am

overwhelmed with the support I got. I am just happy to be able to speak

to people and walk freely. I am happy that I am here. So will he

return as a player? Bolton's manager says not yeah, but he is

moving in the right direction. They were hailed as heroes for

braving the dangers, but few of the Japanese workers known as the

Fukushima Fifty have ever spoken publicly about those terrifying

days after the tsunami-triggered nuclear crisis. Our correspondent,

Roland Buerk has been to meet one of them, Akihiro Harako and asked

him about the moment the buildings exploded.

TRANSLATION: So I was in the earthquake resistant control room

building at the time. We had been feeling a lot of aftershocks, but

when the explosion happened, it was so strong that I jumped out of my

chair. At first, I thought it was another earthquake, but it was just

one shake, so we wondered what had happened. At the same time, I saw

on a TV monitor that the nuclear reactor building had exploded. I

guessed it must have done huge damage to the facility. But I did

not know if the reactor itself had exploded and the radiation had

spread, or it was just the building itself and the containment vessel

was intact. Was there a feeling that you had to stay there to save

Japan? TRANSLATION: I don't know what went

through everybody's mind at the time. We had been operating the

nuclear power plant safely up until that point. Then we encountered

this accident that was beyond imagination. We felt it was our

responsibility to stop the radiation spreading, and we did not

want to cause trouble to the local area. For 40 years, we have been

running our nuclear power plant safely. We believe we have

contributed to providing energy to the country. But there has been a

regrettable accident. Operators inside Japan and outside need to

learn from it to run power plants safely. As for the existence of

nuclear energy in Japan, I think we need to discuss it widely in the

future. I want to wait to hear what decisions the people make. Before

we go, let's show you this. Yves Rossy jumped from a plane above Rio

de Janeiro wearing just a jet- propelled winning that he had made

himself. It was the first time anyone has flown around the famous

statue of Jesus on a jet-propelled wing. He developed the technology