03/12/2012 BBC World News

Britain and France call in their Israeli ambassadors as concern

grows over plans to expand settlements in the occupied

territories. Japan orders emergency inspections

of tunnels across the country after one collapsed killing nine people.

Tackling tax avoidance - the British Government promises to

crack down on some big companies with small tax bills.

Welcome to BBC World News. Also in this programme - who is

next in the bail out club? Social services Cyprus. Eurozone officials

try to work out a rescue package for the island. And it's 20 years

Hello and welcome. The UK's summoned Israel's ambassador in

London over plans to expand settlement building in the

Palestinian territories. The Foreign Office dismissed reports

that the UK Ambassador could be withdrawn from Israel as

speculation. Ban Ki-Moon's condemned the expansion plan. We'll

be live later on this for more. First this report.

It's the prospect of more Israeli developments like this one that is

focusing minds at the UN. Plans have been announced to build 3,000

new Jewish settler homes like these in the occupied West Bank,

including east Jerusalem. A statement issued by a UN

spokesman on behalf of the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon,

gave a stark assessment of the Earlier, the Israeli Cabinet

officially rejected the UN General Assembly vote to recognise

Palestine as an observer state. It said it wouldn't make this much

transfer of tax revenues that it collects on behalf of the

Palestinian Authority. The position of new building developments was

made clear. TRANSLATION: Today, we are building

and will continue to build in Jerusalem and in all areas that are

on the state of Israel's map of strategic interests. Mahmoud Abbas

who heads the Palestinian Authority was hailed a hero on his return to

Ramallah. At a rally held in his honour, he told supporters, the

world was on their side. Mr Abbas also made references to

the challenges that lay ahead. TRANSLATION: Yes to the state of

Palestine, tkwro the freedom of Palestine. -- yes to the freedom of

Palestine. Yes to the independence of

Palestine. No to the aggression, settlements and occupation.

After two years of stalled peace talks, a return to the negotiating

table now looks even less likely. Let's go to the Foreign Office in

Central London. Our correspondent, Richard Galpin is there. The

British and French have called in the Israeli ambassadors. Is this

anything more than a slap on the wrist? Certainly the line I'm

getting from the British Foreign Office here is that it was to

express the strength of concern that the British Government has for

what Israel is threatening to do with this massive building of

settlements with 3,000 homes and also the cutting off of the tax

revenues which Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinians. So that

was clearly made, those concerns were expressed in the meeting

between the British Foreign Office minister who's responsible for the

Middle East and the Israeli ambassador which took place earlier

this morning. What officials are saying is that they are now waiting

to see what the next steps may or may not be. They are looking at

what other countries are doing. Obviously, maybe there's a bit of

coordination going on with the French also summoning the

ambassador there, but I think probably everybodylike looking to

see what action the US may or may not take. Its reHaitianship with

Israel is pivotal. I don't know if there's been reaction from the

Israelis here in London but there was speculation that Britain and

France would withdraw their own ambassadors from Israel itself?

that's right. That's been speculation in the media I think

mostly. What Foreign Office officials are saying is that

nothing else is imminent and that talk of withdrawing the British

Ambassador from Israel is and remains absolutely speculation.

They are clearly not ruling out any possibilities. They are saying

there could be a whole range of different steps that they could

take. I think at the moment, they are still waiting. Talks are still

going on. I think they want to see whether Israel will reconsider this

announcement. It's obviously only at the moment an announcement. It

has to be seen whether it's implemented in any way or whether

steps are taken towards implementation. Then we will see

how the international community reacts.

Richard Galpin, thank you very much indeed.

Emergency roadworks are taking place in Japan after the roof fell

in. It underwent a major inspection two months ago and there were no

problems reported. Questions are being asked about how and why the

Sasago tunnel collapsed. I asked our correspondent to explain the

government's position? Government's immediately ordered

inspections to be carried out on this tunnel to check whether the

other tunnel which didn't collapse is being inspected, starting today.

That's not the end of it, and there are at least 20 tunnels around

Japan that are of a similar design and age and those will now need to

be inspected too to see if they have the similar sorts of faults. I

think there's also a focus now on the sort of inspections that were

done on the tunnels over the years. This is a 35-year-old tunnel and we

understand now that the inspection mainly was just a visual inspection,

a man going in with a flash light and having a look at the ceiling to

see if it's OK. Clearly those inspections were not thorough

enough because they did not pick up on the faults that led to this

collapse. But aren't the companies regulate and inspected in some way

themselves? Yes, of course they are. Japan's

private highway network - sorry the network is privately run but it's

regulate bid the transport ministry and there are regulations on how

often inspections should be done and what way they should be done

and indeed an inspection was carried out just two months ago. I

think there will be questions asked once again about whether Japan's

regulations are tough enough and whether they were carried out to

the full letter of the law. Remember, of course, that there

were huge questions in the investigation into the Fukushima

nuclear disaster as to whether Japan's nuclear industry was also

complacent and didn't really have safety systems in place for the

sort of disaster that happened here last year which led to the multiple

meltdowns at the nuclear power plant.

Some of the best-known multinational companies like

Starbucks, Google and Amazon are being accused of immorally

minimising their UK tax bills by the Government spending watchdog.

They are not doing anything illegal, but the UK's Public Accounts

Committee says that many multinationals are exploiting the

law. Here is our business correspondent, Theo Leggett.

They're household names, doing business up and down the UK, but

they pay very little corporation tax. Two weeks ago, bosses from

Starbucks, Google and Amazon were called before the Public Accounts

Committee to explain why. Why on earth do you manipulate your

accounts so that you get awhich -- away with not paying corporation

tax in the UK? Respectfully, I would disagree with that

characterisation. We do not man it late anything... The committee

decided that big firms are deliberately exploiting loopholes

in the tax system, sending profits abroad or basing operations in

countries with lower taxes. Margaret Hodge says that's unfair.

We want a level playing field and, at the moment, the big corporations

are getting an unfair advantage because they are avoiding paying

corporation tax whilst the little corner coffee shop or the local

book shop is being harassed by the tax authorities for their money and

they're having to pay more tax than the global companies. Such pressure

may be paying off. Starbucks now says it wants to rebuild public

trust and it's talking to HMRC and the Treasury about its taxes. What

companies like Starbucks and Amazon and Google are doing is perfectly

legal, but the committee thinks the tax authorities can do more the

ensure they collect every penny they can and it wants the

Government to make sure that in future, if companies make profits

in Britain, they pay tax here as well. The BBC's Political

Correspondent says the British Government says it's determined to

try and crack down on tax avoidance. It's become very political this

area because it's essentially boiling down to fairness in a

period of austerity. So, as we heard in that report, what these

companies are doing is not illegal. They are exploiting perfectly legal

loopholes. As we heard from the committee, many people find it

immoral. That's why today the Government's announced more

resources to clamp down on this kind of behaviour and to make sure

that these companies do pay more tax. But it is a difficult area

because these companies are multinationals so they are able to

move their money around and it's a very grey area.

We have already seen, for example, France, the Government there being

criticised for being anti-business, the British Government's got to be

careful, hasn't it? It has, but I think what's interesting is when

you've watched ministers appear on Breakfast programmes this morning,

they're often asked whether they would still buy coffee from

Starbucks or whether they'll do their Christmas shopping on Amazon

and you do get this sense of almost a kind of grass roots crusade going

on here. I think that's why star bucks have this morning said that

they will look at their tax obligations in the UK. They realise

that there is a reputational damage which can be done here and why they

do need to, in a sense, rebuild trust.

Interesting stuff seeing how that one unfolds. You are talking Cyprus

today? Indeed, eurozone Finance Ministers meeting today and they're

shifting their focus with Greece firmly behind them. They are

shifting focus to Cyprus now because two weeks ago, Cyprus said

it had asked for a bail out, possibly as much as 17.5 billion

euros, $23 billion or equivalent to the island's total annual economic

output. Ministers must find out how much the Cypriot banking system

particularly which was heavily exposed to Greece needs

recapitalisation. Only then can they work out the size of that bail

out. We've also had the latest figures

on manufacturing activity in China and the euro-using countries. There

are signs that China's factory bosses are feeling more positive.

The manufacturing recovery gained momentum in November and HSBC's

purchasing managers index, that's a survey of manufacturing bosses,

rose to 50.5. Now, anything above 50 indicates activity is expanding

and this was the first expansion in 13 months. Eurozone PMI figures

also rose to 46.2 in November. Still below the 50 mark there.

Germany's manufacturing sector shrank for the ninth straight month

in November, although at a slightly slower pace than in the previous

month. All the signs are that the core

European economies are also likely to suffer negative GDP growth. If

you look at even economies such as Germany or France which have strong

domestic fundamentals, even they are starting to feel the head winds

from the European debt crisis. What we'll see in the fourth quarter is

negative GDP rates across much of Europe, applying to the eurozone

and many European economies outside the eurozone, the UK for example

could suffer a negative GDP reading. Every cloud has a silver lining and

in the US the devastation wrought by Hurricane sandy's pushed up

demand for new cars as those affected head to show rooms to

replace damaged vehicles. November's sales figures will

reflect this later when they come out this Monday. It's providing a

welcome boost for the recovering US car industry. In New York's Staten

Island, life after Hurricane Sandy is still a work in progress. Cars

damaged by saltwater, sit as nature left them, now unsalvagable. That's

where Ronnie Demarco comes in. His firm pays cash for flooded car,

giving the owners its value as scrap metsal minus their towing fee

-- metal. This one in particular is a 9le. -- 98. The woman loved this.

People get emotional when their prized Mo petions have to go.

Brooklyn, New York, this show room's been swamped with buyers

replacing cars destroyed by Sandy. Sales for November are twice the

normal level -- prized possessions. All my sales guys, me and myself

and three other managers have been working non-stop 12 hours a day

around-the-clock. Our business from what we used to do has doubled. For

all the customers, we are trying to help them as much as we can. Even

in the short time we have been here, a customer's come in looking to

replace her car flooded during Hurricane Subpoena candy. All of

this is helping to boost sales -- Hurricane Sandy. It's believed that

when you factor in November's data, sales for this year could top 15

million. For this month I think Hurricane Sandy is going to help

drive demand higher than we'd normally see and then it's the

underlying US recovery which will be a key factor as well as consumer

confidence is improving and used car prices still are very high.

That's pushed people into new vehicles. With more than 200 cars

destroyed by superstorm Sandy, the extra demand for new vehicles may

Some other stories making headlines now onus international chief

executive, Tom Mocrigge will leave his role at the end of December. He

replaced Rebekah Brooks, is stepping down to pursue "outside

opportunities." The chairman and chief executive of news executive

said that his decision was entirely his own. Singapore airlines says it

is in talks to sell its 49% in Virgin Atlantic. Several news

agencies reporting that Delta Airlines is the interested party.

Billionaire Richard Branson holds a controlling 51% of Virgin. A

partnership with Virgin would allow Delta to access the lucrative

transatlantic market between the US and London. Today is the 20th

anniversary of the SMS. The first one ever sent was "merry

Christmas." A greeted sent by a Vodafone engineer to his colleagues.

We know how popular they are. In 2010, 6.1 trillion messages were

sent worldwide. Breaking that down for you it is roughly 200,000 per

second. OK, let's see how European markets are doing this hour. They

have been climbing all day. The FTSE hovering around the 5800 mark.

Better than expected manufacturing data coming out of the eurozone.

That the way business looks. Back to you. 20 years since texting -

well stay with us, because the Pope is joining Twitter now to spread

the gospel. The Catholic Church trying to get new followers online.

Now, a small shop in Delhi University has stopped students

from photo copying books after three leading publishers took it to

court, Oxford and Cambridge University press and Taylor &

Francis told the shop they were reproducing their books in an

unauthorised manner. They are not demanding special facilities, nor

are they protesting against rising fees. These students are mobilising

support for this - a small photo copying facility on the campus. For

years, this printing shop has been copying books for students, but now

renown publishers, including Oxford and Cambridge University Presses

have taken out an order banning the practise. They accuse the owner of

practicing by violating laws. had such a large income would I not

use it to buy copyrights directly? I charge very little. These are the

cheapest rates in India. university authorities gave the

shop a license to operate with fr the campus. Now they are not

willing to contest the publishers in the court. If you take this book

in Indian history N an order shop it would cost $22. Here a student

could get copy for $2. Students and even some authors have accused the

publishers of putting profit before knowledge. The pulishers say they

had no option but to take legal action. As soon as we photo copy a

full chapter, then you are in violation of some rule. We are

asking you for a small amount to go back to the author - a small amount

to go back to the publisher. But that argument has failed to

convince the students here. seems as if they are presuming we

should buy the entire book for like a couple of chapters, which is not

practical at all. There is a huge appetite for education in India,

but this pact between the publishers and the photo copy shop

is threatening to create hurdles in This is BBC World News.

The headlines for you: Britain and France summon their Israeli

ambassadors to protest against plans to expand settlements in the

occupied territories. Japan is conducting emergency inspections of

road tunnels, following a collapse which killed nine people. Now, Pope

Benedict is to start Tweeting in eight languages from a personal at

next week in an effort to try and spread the message of the Roman

Catholic Church. The Vatican say the first Tweets on December 12th

will be to answer questions about faith. His Twitter will be @

pontifex. It means "Pope" in lat tan. It is thought the 85-year-old

pontiff is unlikely to Tweet himself. Apparently he prefers

writing in long hand. The Vatican has always been quite

interested in being in the Vanguard of new technology. The inventor of

radio set up the first radio station for the Vatican as long ago

as 1931. So, I think the Church, the Catholic Church is conscious

that it's a very interesting way of propagating the gospel message to

try and use social media. This is an experiment and they will see how

it goes on. Do you think the Vatican will get involved in

debates - many controversial debates around the Catholic Church

and its policies? I am sure they will get people Tweeting about this.

I am sure it will be re-Tweeted. I received my first Tweet from

somebody I thought was Pope Benedict a year ago. I enquired at

the Vatican whether it was true or a fake. They told me, in fact, it

was a fake - it's an imposter. So there are several people who are

using Twitter to even to mock the Pope, which is not very nice.

We know the Pope's Twitter. We expect followers very quickly.

President Morsi faces a growing rebellion from the judicial system

with the court refusing to oversee a vote on the new constitution. A

standoff began when the President issued decrees giving himself

sweeping powers. Opposition groups are planning protests against the

group tomorrow. I spoke to our correspondent in Cairo. I asked if

Egyptians will see the judges as fighters for democracy or part of

the old elite of the former President, Mubarak? It depends

which camp you are in here of this very divided nation. Yes, there has

become an alliance between the judges and the opposition, but of

course in the past the judges were criticised for being people and it

is true that many were appointed, if not directly by President

Mubarak, certainly in the time of President Mubarak. The people who

don't like the judges will say, hey, it is brave for you to stand up for

your independence now, but we didn't hear so much under President

Mubarak. There is suspicion about them. At the same time, I think

plenty of other people think they are standing up for a principal,

the principal of judicial independence, which has been

tramped over, according to the opposition, by President Morsi.

ordinary people, the fears of the institution being increasingly

Islamist, how might that affect people in their day-to-day lives?

Well, if you look at the way the constitution is written, yes, it

has the same reference to Islamic principals as the whole Mubarak

constitution. But there's an awful lot of stuff there in the

constitution that the opponents say could be used to steer this country

in a more Islamist direction. For example, the reference to family

values, saying that women have got to balance their work and home life

and a lack of reference to equality between men and women. All of this,

it is said, is a way in which gives a shelter to encourage more

Islamist legislation, more legislation pushing Islamic values

in the country, and less freedoms on the country. Obviously

supporters of the constitution don't agree with that. But that is

the fear really. Very strong fear by the opponents of it, that this

country is moving from one tyranny, if you like, to another one. And

this time more ideological. North Korea is pushing ahead with

plans to carry out a rocket launch later this month saying the aim is

to put a satellite into space. The United States, Russia and China

insist the country should stick to the ban on ballistic missile tests.

Our correspondent is in South Korea. This report has come from the main

news agency. It is sourced to an unnamed Government source. It is

not something we can at the moment independently confirm. These are

sensitive details. It usually takes a day or so before details are

confirmed. Certainly this country's main news agency say they are

getting reports that the first stage of North Korea's three-stage

rocket has been installed on the launch pad. And the planned launch

could happen as early as next Monday, is that right? It could

happen as early as next Monday. They have given a window of the

10th-22nd December to carry out this launch. That fall close to the

South Korean Presidential elections on the 19th. It covers the period

when North Korea will mark the first anniversary of their former

ruler's death. A lot of events going on during that window.

Although some people seem to think that if the launch is being

prepared as soon as it seems to be, then North Korea may be looking to

carry it out -- -- carry it out sooner. Barack Obama has told Led

Zeppelin they still rock. He presented them with an award.

Robert Plant, Jade Jones and Jimmy Page were among performers given

the Kenny awards. Plant said Led Zeppelin's music had the roots in

American music. To be part of Led Zeppelin, put the music and put it

through the blender and develop so many styles within it, I am very,