:00:05. > :00:10.Grotesque and unjustifiable - the royal response to topless pictures
:00:10. > :00:13.published of Kate as she sunbathes with Prince William.
:00:13. > :00:20.This is the scene live in Cairo as protests continue in Egypt and
:00:20. > :00:23.across the Arab world over a film seen as insulting to Islam.
:00:23. > :00:29.Pope Benedict arrives in Lebanon shortly with the conflict in
:00:29. > :00:33.neighbouring Syria on his agenda. Welcome to BBC World News. Also in
:00:33. > :00:37.this programme: China moves its ships away in a
:00:37. > :00:40.deepening row with Japan over disputed territorial islands.
:00:40. > :00:50.And thousands of Guatemalans forced to flee their homes as the Fuego
:00:50. > :01:02.
:01:02. > :01:04.Grotesque and unjustifiable - those are the words used by British Royal
:01:04. > :01:10.officials to describe the publication of pictures in a French
:01:10. > :01:13.gossip magazine. They show Prince William's wife Kate topless, and
:01:13. > :01:17.were taken last week when the couple were on holiday at a private
:01:17. > :01:20.chateau. The officials say the incident is reminiscent of the
:01:20. > :01:26.worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana,
:01:26. > :01:36.Princess of Wales. The Royal couple are now seeking advice from lawyers.
:01:36. > :01:37.
:01:37. > :01:40.This report by Luisa Baldini The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
:01:40. > :01:45.toured a mosque for the first time during their tour of Malaysia this
:01:46. > :01:51.morning. This is a largely Muslim country with laws on decency so the
:01:51. > :01:57.timing of the publication of the topless photographs is awkward. The
:01:57. > :02:04.magazine which has published the photos, called Closer, is now on
:02:05. > :02:11.sale at news-stands across France. TRANSLATION: I think it is not
:02:12. > :02:15.normal to photograph this type of thing. He she is entitled to a
:02:15. > :02:20.private life. Why do journalists take this type of photo? It is not
:02:20. > :02:25.normal. The pictures were taken at this private chateaux, reportedly
:02:25. > :02:30.set in hundreds of acres of land. It belongs to Viscount Linley, the
:02:30. > :02:40.Queen's nephew and William's cousin. In a statement, St James's Palace
:02:40. > :02:57.
:02:57. > :03:02.It is not the first invasion of the couple's privacy. Just after their
:03:02. > :03:06.marriage last year, the Cambridges honeymooned in the Seychelles and
:03:06. > :03:09.an Australian magazine published several unauthorised photos of the
:03:09. > :03:14.couple on the beach Stennack. Kate is a huge draw for photographers
:03:14. > :03:19.and was so even before marrying into the Royal Family. This was her
:03:19. > :03:26.at a charity roller disco during a brief split up from William when
:03:26. > :03:30.their relationship was on hold. In 1999, a topless photo of the then
:03:30. > :03:36.royal bride-to-be Sophie Rees-Jones, now Countess of Wessex, was
:03:36. > :03:38.published by the Sun, prompting an official complaint by the Palace to
:03:38. > :03:43.the Press Complaints Commission. The Palace hasn't done that in
:03:43. > :03:47.regard to the Sun's publication of a naked Prince Harry in Las Vegas.
:03:47. > :03:51.The paper made the decision to publish after the photos when viral
:03:51. > :03:57.on the internet. There's a qualitative difference between
:03:57. > :04:01.snapshot of a young couple at a hotel, in a private hotel, in
:04:01. > :04:06.France, and a young lad with a relatively raucous group of people
:04:06. > :04:09.in Vegas. The couple, initially said to be saddened and
:04:09. > :04:12.disappointed, are now said to be furious and are consulting their
:04:12. > :04:15.lawyers. Our Royal correspondent, Nicholas
:04:15. > :04:18.Witchell, who's in Kuala Lumpur, says the wording of a statement
:04:18. > :04:25.released by Royal officials in response to the publication of the
:04:25. > :04:28.pictures uses exceptionally strong language.
:04:29. > :04:34.It says that the incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses
:04:34. > :04:38.of the press and paparazzi during Diona's life and it is all the more
:04:38. > :04:41.upsetting to the Duke and Duchess for being so. For are invoking the
:04:41. > :04:44.memory of William's mother in the context of this latest incident.
:04:44. > :04:50.The statement goes on, it is unthinkable that anybody should
:04:50. > :04:55.take such photos, let alone publish them. It says there publicity --
:04:55. > :04:58.privacy has been invaded in a grotesque and done justifiable
:04:58. > :05:01.manner. They say the Duke and Duchess are consulting lawyers to
:05:01. > :05:06.consider what options might be available to them. They are
:05:06. > :05:10.absolutely furious and outraged, not just that the photographs were
:05:10. > :05:16.taken, but that in France of all countries, supposedly with such
:05:16. > :05:21.strict privacy laws, a magazine published them. They do speak about
:05:21. > :05:25.a red line being crossed and given what kind of -- given that, what
:05:25. > :05:31.kind of legal action could follow? That is what they are now
:05:31. > :05:35.consulting lawyers about. They have lost the opportunity to restrain
:05:35. > :05:39.publication in France. The magazine is on the news stands, these
:05:39. > :05:44.pictures are in the magazine. What I imagined they must be at least
:05:44. > :05:49.looking at now is the option of selling the photographer answering
:05:49. > :05:54.the magazine which published them. Fees were pictures taken without
:05:54. > :05:59.permission, clearly. They were on private property, they had every
:05:59. > :06:04.expectation of privacy on such a private few days at Williams
:06:04. > :06:07.cousin's home in France. It is in that context that I would imagine
:06:07. > :06:10.French lawyers will be looking at whether there's any opportunity to
:06:10. > :06:14.take legal action against a photographer and the magazine.
:06:14. > :06:17.Thank you. There have been more protests over
:06:17. > :06:20.a film produced in America and widely seen as offensive to Muslims.
:06:20. > :06:24.There are concerns that many more people could take to the streets
:06:24. > :06:29.following Friday prayers. Let's take you live to Cairo - this is
:06:29. > :06:34.the scene right now near the American embassy. It looks as if
:06:34. > :06:39.there could be tear-gassed in the air. We know police have fired
:06:39. > :06:43.teargas today. Clashing with protesters, trying to get past
:06:43. > :06:46.their cordon to the American embassy itself. Security has been
:06:47. > :06:49.stepped up in many countries across the region.
:06:49. > :06:51.In Libya, authorities investigating the attack that killed the American
:06:51. > :07:01.ambassador, three other Americans, and several Libyans trying to
:07:01. > :07:01.
:07:01. > :07:05.protect them, have made several Skirmishes, a stand-off and
:07:05. > :07:09.simmering tension on the streets of Cairo. Here and elsewhere around
:07:09. > :07:13.the Muslim world, the authorities have been braced for more public
:07:13. > :07:17.anger to flare up after Friday prayers over the controversial
:07:17. > :07:21.video. The Muslim Brotherhood has called for Egyptians to protest
:07:21. > :07:25.outside local mosques, and effort perhaps to disburse the anger.
:07:25. > :07:28.Because all this comes at a critical time in the Egyptian US
:07:28. > :07:32.relationship as the two sides have been trying to rebuild their ties
:07:32. > :07:37.following the upheavals that toppled Hosni Mubarak and brought
:07:37. > :07:42.the Muslim Brotherhood to power. For a new adoption authorities, the
:07:42. > :07:45.last few days have been unwelcome. After US complaints that the
:07:45. > :07:49.Egyptian authorities were slow to denounce attacks on its embassy,
:07:49. > :07:59.this letter from the Muslim Brotherhood's deputy leader to the
:07:59. > :08:01.
:08:01. > :08:05.Meanwhile, the US and Libyan authorities are still trying to
:08:05. > :08:09.piece together exactly how the US consulate in Benghazi was gutted
:08:09. > :08:13.and the US ambassador and three other Americans killed. For Libyan
:08:13. > :08:16.authorities say they have detained a number of people in connection
:08:16. > :08:21.with the attack, but still questions over the extent to which
:08:21. > :08:24.this was a pre-planned assault under the cover of protests.
:08:24. > :08:28.President Obama and his administration have distanced
:08:28. > :08:32.themselves from and to denounce the video, but in election season, he
:08:32. > :08:38.is also under pressure to take a firm stand on the attacks. Her no
:08:38. > :08:42.act of terror will go unpunished. It will not in the light, the
:08:42. > :08:48.values that we proudly present to the rest of the world. No act of
:08:48. > :08:53.violence shakes the resolve of the United States of America. And the
:08:53. > :08:57.Americans are taking no chances as they further 45 their embassy in
:08:57. > :09:06.Cairo and US and other Western missions around the world step up
:09:06. > :09:10.their security. -- further fortified. And now the business.
:09:10. > :09:14.Yesterday we had that move by the Federal Reserve and that has fed
:09:14. > :09:19.through onto the stock markets in Asia and Europe. They have been
:09:19. > :09:25.making healthy gains. It follows that fresh effort by the US Federal
:09:25. > :09:29.Reserve to kick-start growth in the US economy. It is called QE three,
:09:29. > :09:33.a third round of quantitative easing. It will see the Fed pump
:09:33. > :09:38.about $40 billion every month into the economy by buying mortgaged
:09:38. > :09:47.debt. They will continue doing so until the outlook for the labour
:09:47. > :09:51.market improves. James jug says QE isn't actually the perfect tool for
:09:51. > :09:55.fixing economic problems. It is not a particularly effective policy at
:09:55. > :09:59.getting the economy going. What really needs to happen is that we
:09:59. > :10:04.need more time for households to D leverage, to lower their debt
:10:04. > :10:08.levels, and for the government to do the same thing. That process
:10:08. > :10:12.itself involves slowing down the economy. If people are spending
:10:12. > :10:17.less and saving more, if the government is cutting, it weighs
:10:17. > :10:21.down the economy. The best way to look at QED as as if it is putting
:10:21. > :10:26.in place a cushion for the year, may, preventing it from being worse
:10:27. > :10:32.than it would otherwise be. They are doing this to some extent
:10:32. > :10:36.because the government is in a state of stagnation because of the
:10:36. > :10:42.election and so forth, and indecision in Congress. This is the
:10:42. > :10:45.only thing they can day. They've got this legislated cut coming in
:10:45. > :10:51.next year that will slash perhaps three percentage points off the
:10:51. > :10:57.growth rate of the US economy. We think the economy can only grow at
:10:57. > :11:01.around 2% next year. Effectively there's a risk of recession in 2013
:11:01. > :11:07.in the US unless Congress can get its act together. In Europe you
:11:07. > :11:10.have 17 different governments, that is the problem here. In the US
:11:10. > :11:14.they've only got one government, but they can't even make a decision
:11:14. > :11:18.that is so critical to the performance of the US economy.
:11:18. > :11:22.India's government has raised the price of diesel by 12%.
:11:23. > :11:28.It is a deeply unpopular move. Even the Prime Minister's coalition
:11:28. > :11:34.allies have criticised this rise. India imports around 80% of their
:11:34. > :11:38.oil needs. Joining us from them by it is the India business
:11:38. > :11:43.correspondent. Face simply can't afford to go on subsidising at this
:11:43. > :11:47.rate? -- and they simply. that's right. Fuel prices, except
:11:47. > :11:52.for those of petrol, are controlled by the government and heavily
:11:52. > :11:56.subsidised. Prices don't change according to global rates. The
:11:56. > :12:01.government has been criticised for spending as much as $35 billion
:12:01. > :12:05.every year on these fuel subsidies. It is becoming a burden on the
:12:05. > :12:13.country's economy. They are attempting to cut down on these
:12:13. > :12:17.subsidies and get that finances on track. It is an unpopular move.
:12:18. > :12:21.There have been political protests and we are expecting more street
:12:21. > :12:27.protests in the coming days. Concerns about what this will mean
:12:27. > :12:31.for inflation, in particular food prices. What will it mean for
:12:31. > :12:35.growth within the economy? Surely if you put up the prices of diesel,
:12:35. > :12:38.there is a very good chance you might slow growth in the economy if
:12:38. > :12:44.people's money is being spent just on transporting themselves around
:12:44. > :12:49.and cooking. Diesel is one of the main fuels used for transport. This
:12:49. > :12:59.could increase prices for everything, everyday items, like
:12:59. > :12:59.
:12:59. > :13:03.food. What will that do for consumption? Fuel subsidies --
:13:03. > :13:11.subsidies were a big part of government spending. This is an
:13:11. > :13:19.attempt to get it in order. It has been welcomed by business analysts
:13:19. > :13:24.and industries. Thank you. Eurozone finance ministers are holding talks
:13:24. > :13:27.in Cyprus today and on Saturday ahead of a meeting. Austria's
:13:27. > :13:32.finance meeting said -- finest -- finance ministers said Greece could
:13:32. > :13:36.be given more time to meet its financial targets.
:13:36. > :13:42.Strike in miners in South Africa have rejected a wage offer from the
:13:42. > :13:48.Lonmin platinum producer. The offer is still well below the increase-up
:13:48. > :13:54.demanding. Last month 34 people were killed by police. The trial
:13:54. > :13:58.has become the former UBS trader. Prosecutors have accused him of
:13:58. > :14:04.making rude traipsed that cost the bank more than $2 billion. -- Rd
:14:05. > :14:09.trades. He denies two charges of false accounting and fraud.
:14:09. > :14:14.Advertisements have appeared for the post of the Governor of the
:14:14. > :14:21.Bank of England. The bank's current chief Mervyn King retires next year.
:14:21. > :14:31.The Bank of England is set to take on sweeping new powers. A quick
:14:31. > :14:36.
:14:36. > :14:46.European markets are up sharply. There's a feeling Dewey in America
:14:46. > :14:58.
:14:58. > :15:03.is good for the commodity markets. And that is it. That is the
:15:03. > :15:06.business news. Thank you very much. Still to come:
:15:06. > :15:11.The Pope arrives in Lebanon with what has been called a gesture of
:15:11. > :15:21.peace for the region. And the latest on the volcanic eruption in
:15:21. > :15:22.
:15:22. > :15:26.Guatemala that has forced tens of thousands to seek safety.
:15:26. > :15:30.Shameful, the verdict of the former United Nations Secretary General,
:15:30. > :15:34.Kofi Annan on what he sees as the international community's failure
:15:34. > :15:42.to act together to help those caught up in the Syrian conflict.
:15:42. > :15:47.His comments come as his successor is visiting Damascus. It is his
:15:47. > :15:51.first visit there in his new role, due to me to the Syrian President
:15:51. > :15:56.later. Kofi Annan has been telling my colleague that it is important
:15:56. > :16:01.to keep up the pressure on both warring parties. To get them to pay
:16:01. > :16:05.even any attention, you have to give them an outline of what the
:16:05. > :16:11.political settlement could be, for them to see it as an alternative to
:16:11. > :16:16.trying to achieve the objectives through the battlefield. If they do
:16:16. > :16:20.not do that today, they're going to have to do tomorrow. Whether
:16:20. > :16:24.tomorrow is six months from now or one year from now, but in the
:16:24. > :16:32.meantime thousands of Syrians will have been killed. Thousands have
:16:32. > :16:39.been displaced, if not a million. And the international community
:16:39. > :16:46.cannot get its act together to help them. I think this is one of the
:16:46. > :16:54.most shameful moments in the system being confronted. Does this rank as
:16:54. > :17:00.one of the worst you have seen two this ranks -- the worst you have
:17:00. > :17:03.seen? This ranks as potentially the worst because we are only at the
:17:03. > :17:07.beginning. It can lead to sectarian divisions not only within the
:17:07. > :17:14.country but within the region. Syria is in the most volatile part
:17:14. > :17:19.of the world, and it is not a country that is neatly tucked away.
:17:19. > :17:24.You cannot expect the crisis to be contained. This could affect all of
:17:24. > :17:30.the region and have an impact globally. We need to be conscious
:17:30. > :17:34.of that. The Russian parliament has expelled the opposition politician,
:17:34. > :17:38.Gennady Gudkov, over allegations that he ran a business while he was
:17:38. > :17:42.a member of parliament. He denies breaking the law. He said he was
:17:43. > :17:52.ousted as part of a crackdown by Vladimir Putin on dissent, which
:17:53. > :18:02.
:18:02. > :18:05.started when he returned to the Here are the headlines: Grotesque
:18:05. > :18:12.and unjustified, the Royal response to the publishing of topless
:18:12. > :18:16.pictures of Kate Middleton sunbathing with Prince William. And
:18:16. > :18:23.protests continued against a film produced in America that is widely
:18:23. > :18:27.seen as offensive to Muslims. Live to Beirut, where Pope Benedict
:18:27. > :18:31.has arrived at the start of his three-day visit to the Middle East.
:18:31. > :18:38.This is a visit that has been called a gesture of peace to the
:18:38. > :18:41.region. He is expected to urge Christians not to leave the region.
:18:41. > :18:46.There have been high emigration figures in recent years. As you see
:18:46. > :18:51.the Pope's plane touching down, we should say that this is the first
:18:51. > :18:53.papal trip to Lebanon in 15 years. Pope Benedict is expected to
:18:53. > :18:57.emphasise calls for an international solution to the
:18:57. > :19:07.conflict in neighbouring Syria, the kind of course we have been hearing
:19:07. > :19:09.
:19:09. > :19:18.from Kofi Annan. -- the kind of calls. Jim Muir is in their return.
:19:18. > :19:28.-- Beirut. This is keenly anticipated by the a Christian
:19:28. > :19:30.
:19:30. > :19:35.community. Absolutely. And the number two man in the power
:19:35. > :19:39.structure here is present, with the Sunni Prime Minister. A whole of
:19:39. > :19:43.Lebanon, really, turning out here to welcome the Pope on what is seen
:19:43. > :19:49.as a very special day. The plane has just arrived and the Pope is
:19:49. > :19:54.about to appear. As I say, the Government is waiting to meet him,
:19:54. > :19:58.with the whole of London on right behind them. He will be here for
:19:58. > :20:03.three days and he will make several big public appearances. He will be
:20:03. > :20:09.addressing Christian youths on Saturday evening. He will be giving
:20:09. > :20:16.an open-air Mass on Sunday, not long before he takes off again to
:20:16. > :20:21.go back to the Vatican. A very big day, a very big weekend for Lebanon.
:20:22. > :20:26.In which he will be very much shredding his message -- spreading
:20:26. > :20:29.his message, which is one of unity and steadfast as I made the
:20:29. > :20:35.challenge is that Christians face, and opening up to other communities
:20:35. > :20:41.and faiths. I think he is probably about to come out of the plane.
:20:41. > :20:47.Eagerly-awaited. It is a very nice, sunny day, as you can see, and one
:20:47. > :20:56.in which people are really looking forward to this visit, which they
:20:56. > :21:02.hope will keep Lebanon on the map, and be part of his message of
:21:02. > :21:06.tolerance and understanding between faiths in the region. We can see
:21:06. > :21:10.the Vatican's camera man coming down the steps now. And the crew is
:21:10. > :21:14.being brought around. I'm sure the Pope will be disembarking in just
:21:14. > :21:18.the next few minutes. As you are saying, very important to the
:21:18. > :21:22.people of Lebanon at a time when the civil war in Syria and the
:21:22. > :21:30.threat of that spilling over Borders is creating a lot of
:21:30. > :21:34.tension. That's right. He will find his Christian community here deeply
:21:34. > :21:39.divided over Syria. There are some who are allied with the opposition
:21:39. > :21:45.and support them, and others who are allied with the regime because
:21:45. > :21:50.they see it as the best way to stop the rising tide of fundamentalism.
:21:50. > :21:55.The pontiff, coming out now. You can hear the cries of the crowd.
:21:55. > :21:58.Obviously, it is a big moment for people. As I was saying, he will
:21:58. > :22:02.find a divided Christian community but they are not at each other's
:22:02. > :22:08.throats. That is the important thing. In a sense, they are
:22:08. > :22:14.spreading their bets unwittingly, because by backing both horses,
:22:14. > :22:18.they are not seen as a target or a party. They are seen as a community,
:22:18. > :22:23.and as spread out, not identifying with one side or another. To that
:22:23. > :22:31.extent, they are almost like a buffer zone between the Shi'ite and
:22:31. > :22:36.the Sunnis, who were in quite a hostile Configuration at the moment.
:22:36. > :22:41.Pope Benedict being greeted, as you say, by all sections of Lebanese
:22:41. > :22:48.society, represented by senior politicians here. A three-day visit,
:22:48. > :22:55.the highlight will be the open-air mass? That's right. He is being
:22:55. > :23:03.greeted by President Silman, who is a Catholic, of course, and the
:23:03. > :23:07.Prime Minister, the very tall man, who is a Sunni Muslim from Triple A.
:23:07. > :23:10.-- Triple A. And the main public event will be the mass he is
:23:10. > :23:14.presiding over on Sunday. In the meantime come on Saturday, he will
:23:14. > :23:18.be going up to the palace to be received by the President that he
:23:18. > :23:22.will again have the chance to meet the full government. As well as not
:23:22. > :23:26.just Christian leaders from around the region and from Lebanon, but
:23:26. > :23:30.also Muslim leaders. That is very much part of his message of
:23:30. > :23:34.reaching out between faiths. Encouraging Christians to be part
:23:34. > :23:38.of the societies around them, rather than frightened minorities.
:23:38. > :23:44.That will be his main message. Of course, he will be treading a
:23:44. > :23:50.careful line because he knows Teresia is to put a foot wrong in
:23:50. > :23:55.this very hothouse atmosphere in the region. Especially with the
:23:55. > :24:00.outcry over that hitherto hardly noticed video which has now set the
:24:00. > :24:06.region in flames. That will be one of the contexts in which he will be
:24:06. > :24:12.making his remarks during his visit. In a way, Jim, one of the missions
:24:12. > :24:18.of the pot in Lebanon maybe to help to advise Christians who may feel
:24:18. > :24:21.vulnerable, given the potential backlash against their communities
:24:22. > :24:27.following the outrage of that film that you were just talking about,
:24:27. > :24:32.linked to a Coptic Christian in California, according to reports.
:24:32. > :24:38.Obviously, there are more tensions and worries than usual and the
:24:38. > :24:43.timing is unfortunate. That's right. In a sense, the timing is apposite.
:24:43. > :24:51.Because of these controversy is that a racing -- raging controversy
:24:51. > :24:54.is that are raging. The potential link with Coptic Christians is bad
:24:54. > :25:01.news for Christians in the area because you can see how sentiment
:25:01. > :25:05.has been inflamed. Even without that link, it was always the -- it
:25:05. > :25:10.was already worrying development because in general the uprisings in
:25:10. > :25:14.at various Arab countries have had quite a strong context of
:25:14. > :25:18.Islamisation. They have brought Islamist parties to the fore, often
:25:18. > :25:25.moderate ones that believe in democracy but also there has been
:25:25. > :25:30.the alarming emergence of more violent factions, as in Libya. It
:25:30. > :25:35.is already a tense situation for the Christians. That is why I think
:25:35. > :25:39.they are so glad to see the Pope here, this very visible symbol of
:25:39. > :25:45.unity among Christians and also stretching out to other faiths.
:25:46. > :25:52.That will be his message and that is why he is so very welcomed here
:25:52. > :25:57.by most Lebanese. Finally, and briefly if you could, the Pope has
:25:57. > :26:01.apparently told reporters that the import of weapons to Syria is a
:26:01. > :26:06.grave sin. Quite a political statement. Yes, it had been known
:26:06. > :26:10.that he would speak out against the arming of both sides, and that is
:26:10. > :26:14.of course the UN's position. Ban Ki-Moon and others have said the
:26:15. > :26:21.same thing. It is perhaps slightly unusual that he would take such a
:26:21. > :26:25.strong stand on that because, in a way, it is against the Syrian
:26:25. > :26:30.opposition who are clamouring for arms, to be able to fight on a more
:26:30. > :26:36.level battlefield. It is very much part of his message of peace that
:26:36. > :26:41.arming either side is simply fuelling the flames. Jim Muir in
:26:41. > :26:45.Beirut, thank you very much. We will leave you with these pictures
:26:45. > :26:50.of the poll's arrival for his three-day visit to Lebanon. He has
:26:50. > :26:54.already spoken on the plane about the importing of weapons to Syria