>> this is "bbc world news . funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you?

>> and now, "bbc news." >> america's amnesty of libya is killed -- ambassador of libya is killed. a violent protest against an american made film. welcome to "g.m.t.." also coming up in the program, it could prove to be in the worst industrial disaster in pakistan history as more than 230 people are dead in a fire at a clothing factory in karachi. and germany's constitutional court says that there's nothing to stop the country taking part in the euro bailout fund. it's midday in london, 7:00 a.m.

in washington and 1:00 p.m. in benghazi where a violent protest portraying the prophet muhammad has led to the death of four u.s. officials, one of them the ambassador to libya, christopher stevens. officials said he died when the consulate was set on fire. three others died. there's been no confirmation from the united states. the secretary of hillary clinton issued a statement. but she added there is no justification for violence. emily buchanon has more. >> inferno overnight at the u.s. consulate in benghazi. militants stormed the compound and set fire to buildings. it's not clear yet how the ambassador died, but reports suggests his car may have come under rocket attacks as he and others were trying to escape. the anger was sparked by a provocative film made by an

israeli american about the life of the prophet muhammad. >> my name is christopher stevens and i'm the new u.s. ambassador to libya. >> the american ambassador of christopher stevens had a lifelong interest in the middle east. he had been in libya for less than four months after taking up his post in may. the killings was strongly condemned by libya's general national congress. it's not clear who is responsible. some suggest hard line groups. but the country's deputy interior minister accused realm thans for testing about the treatment of gaddafi. >> let's go live to libya. our correspondence -- correspondence is there. give us what you can about how this happened and indeed the latest as you understand it on the death of what we now understand to be four americans.

>> well, yes, and i think you no, the more questions you ask and the different officials you talk to, you just get more conflicting accounts, if you will. we are now hearing that four members of -- of the u.s. e.m.s. in benghazi were killed, including the u.s. ambassador christopher stevens. we have also heard in the last few minutes from an official in benghazi who told the bbc that three members of the brigade, a conservative islamist brigade in benghazi is believed to be having leading the attacks on the e.m.s. -- embassy overnight has also died. they are all giving different numbers at this stage so we

haven't confirmed the death toll on the u.s. embassy side or from the attacker's side or whether security services were killed as well. >> just tell us a little bit more about that brigade and the relevance of benghazi. >> well, benghazi is the birthplace of the libyan uprising last year. it's also very much a city where your average resident there is -- you find is very much in support of the west simply because they did help them out during the uprising that toppled and killed gaddafi last year. benghazi, as well as the country as a whole, when it comes to people that took part in the uprising, they have been looking

more favorably towards the u.s. we have seen a rise in attacks in libya's second largest city in benghazi in recent months as security situation deteriorated for a while. we saw random attacks, also assassinations of former regime figures, people who were close to -- or rather ex-army officials during the gaddafi regime. various things that don't appear mostly connected at the time but again, people there have been taken aback by the recent attacks on the u.s. consulate. it was unexpected. it is unclear now whether the ambassador or any of the south are specifically targeted or whether this was simply an attack inspired by the protesting cairo that we saw

yesterday night as well that was sparked by that low budget film that so many people have talked about that was circulating on youtube, that allegedly insulted the prophet muhammad. >> ok, thank you very much for bringing us up to date. let's get some reaction from the u.s. as well now. from washington, kim, we've obviously had a statement from hillary clinton which emerged prior to what now appears to be confirmation about the death of the ambassador. anymore yet? >> the state department is not confirming the news. so there is no confirmation from washington about these reports that we're getting from libya. there are also -- they are also not denying. i assume that they are trying to

get together a statement. this is probably a difficult time for the state department, for the secretary of state herself, this is one of her staffers serving in libya who appears to have been killed. she did, as you mentioned, issued a statement yesterday saying that she opposed any acts that denigrate religion. she was referring, of course, to that low budget film but she said as well "let me be clear. this does not justify any of the violence." now, it's unclear to me whether they were aware already last night in washington that the ambassador had been killed. a lot of details are still very confused about exactly what happened and when. but at this moment, the state department isn't yet confirming the death of christopher stevens who was one of the state department's finest diplomat. he knew libya very well he spoke

arabic. he already served in libya prior to this post as ambassador and he was in fact, the state departmentlation during the -- las vegas during the revolution -- liaison and he had a lot of enthusiasm and dedication for that country. >> he might have suffocated within the building so we await for more news on that as well. but what can you tell us about the film itself, which is seen as the colonel, the cause of all this upset? >> well, the film has been circulating on the internet and it hadn't provoked any reactions until yesterday. it's produced by a pastor in the united states and terry jones who's been very controversial in

the past as well because of his call to burn the koran, the holy book in islam. it produced this, as far as we understand, with a very extreme right-wing christian egyptian in the united states and it denigrates the prophet muhammad, the prophet in islam and it has provoked this backlash, a lot of the reactions that i've seen are one of bewilderment that a film that is low budget but doesn't -- that nobody had heard of until yesterday could suddenly be used to conduct such violence in the middle east. and those reactions are coming not just from people in the united states but also from people in the region. i've been looking at the reactions on twitter, for example, in social media, across

the social media, looking at reactions from people in libya and in egypt who say that this isn't just an attack against an american diplomat, this is not just an attack against the united states, but it's an attack against the revolution of the iran people and the air ran -- >> thank you for that, kim. nearly 250 people are now known to have died in a huge fire in a clothing factory in pakistan city of karachi. it's believed to be the worst factory fire in the country in at least a decade. for the hundreds of people trapped inside this building became the thing of nightmares. hour upon hour, bodies ha been pulled from its burned out shell. some relatives are still waiting for news. they're finding bodies all the

time. they're all laying there, this man said. they still haven't found the body of my son. writes he? where's my boy? he's my youngest son. the fire broke out in the evening and quickly engulfed the entire building. large quantities of cotton and of chemical dyes fueled the flames. there are report offense factory workers calling relatives to say they couldn't get out the first staggering number of people was quite simply no escape. >> there was no safety exit. and all the people got trapped and there was probably only one way out, which they could not reach out to get out -- outside the building and they also tried to jump on the windows but the windows are also blocked and many women and many children, they got trapped inside. >> in terms of the number of

dead, this is the worst fire in pakistan for many years. there are renewed calls for the authorities to finally do what they've promised to make sure factory owners abide by safety regulations before more people lose their lives in such horrific circumstances. >> we're going to have a look at some of the other stories making headlines around the world. south african military base has been place on high alert since the end of apartheid in 1994 as the expelled former leader prepare to issue disgruntled soldiers. he was not to attempt to stir up problem with the troops. he is reported to be reporting soldiers facing disciplinary charges relating to protest they staged back in 2009 over their salaries and conditions of employment.

an anti-corruption cartoonist in india jailed on have a digs charges has been released four days after being arrested. he was arrested over cartoons alleged to have marked india's constitution. more than 7,000 people have been evacuated in northern japan after heavy rains which burst the bank of a river. rising waters forced the evacuation of more than 3,000 homes. rescue rescuers used rubber boats to pull people from their homes. plenty more still to come here on "g.m.t.." voters in netherlands head to the polls in a close election overshadowed by concerns over the eurozone's debt.

the u.s. tax authority are $104 million for giving details abou. the testimony in 2007 resulted in a $7 0 million fine against switzerland's bank. it was the biggest ever handed to encourage other whistleblowers to come forward. >> the reward for information used to catch tax chief has just gone up. u.s. authorities have rewarded $104 million, the biggest payment to a single american whistleblower according to his lawyer. >> today is a great day for whistleblowers. today is a great day for all the honest americans out there who work their job, pay their taxes. today is a great day for taxpayers. today is terrible day for big-time tax cheats.

>> mr. birkenfield is a u.s. banker who told the i.r.s. how his former employer helped thousands of americans illegally evade taxes. his time and asset have paid off. >> i cannot approve upon the i.r.s.'s own word in making this award decision. the information was unprecedented that he provided information that was exceptional and brad's information served as the basis for unprecedented actions against the swiss bank u.b.s. and collateral impact on other enforcement activities. >> not only was u.b.s. forced to pay $780 million to svelte the justice department, it had to turn over account information for thousands of its american clients, cracking open swits lan's famed banking secrecy laws.

>> these are the headlines from "g.m.t.." the u.s. ambassador in libya has died after an attack in the u.s. consulate in the eastern city of benghazi. nearly 250 people have been killed in a fire at a garment factory in the pakistan city of karachi. germany's constitutional court has been ruling on one of its most important cases in post-war history of the it had to decide whether germany's role on the bailout fund was legal. the court backed out the plan with some condition. those stocks have rallied. steve evans is in berlin following this. steve, generally people think this was likely to be the

ruling. is the devil in the detail here about the condition? >> there's some delve in the detail. it -- devil in the detail. the court basically said the new bailout fund doesn't fall foul in the german constitution. so germany can put money in it the existing arrangement stands. if they say it the other way, there would have been all kinds of pretty dire consequences. so that stands. but they then said if you want to put more money in it, you've got to get that decision fully ratified by the german parliament. it's a yes, but a victory for chancellor merkel but warning to her that she's not god. the ease -- got the ease of movement she might like. >> i suppose it comes down now to whether people believe that the size of that fund is adequate or not because if

deemed not to be adequate, then all of this is for thought. >> yeah. and that's the big division, really. chancellor merkel and the finance minister here, there is in brussels say that there's a lot of money in that part. that is enough money to guarantee for the spectators on the international finance market speculate against the euro. we can beat them. that's the big signal. on the other side there, are skeptics who say the situation in spain could get much worse. the real situation, the real economy in spain could get worse and that could worsen the economic situation of the spanish government, for example. there could be trouble in italy the same way. if things get dramatically worse in the real economy, then they say that part simply won't be big enough. in the short term in the

immediate term, there is now no obvious threat to the stability of the euro, but that doesn't mean that as the economy gets worse, if it gets worse that that won't happen. >> ok, steve, thank you very much indeed for that. as we move on to business matters, we're still focusing on european banks in many ways with an effort by the commission to make them all follow the regulatory format. >> absolutely. this is all about the east wanting the e.c.b. to be given the powers to supervise all 6,000 banks that are a part of the 17 members that make up the eurozone. that was the outline put on the table by the president. he outlined this in brussels. he said it takes a big step closer to a banking union. they throw in the fact that this

is a vital step towards fixing the crippling financial crisis. the e.c.b. would be given overriding supervisory power on over the 17 members their own central banks and their own regulators. and that's where they say the problem lies. 17 different members and regulators who really didn't do their job. they didn't supervise popular. the e.c.b. will have the power to issue and take away banking licenses. they'll have to approve very large mergers in acquisitions and fine banks if they're seen as breaking the rules. saying all of that, there's a lot of big opposition to all of this and there's a very short timetable. >> the timetable is tight as the commission wants the supervisor up and running over three months. they're going to have to move swiftly. germany is suggesting less than 100 banks. that could be a compromise to include more than 200, for

example, you probably cover about 90% of all banking asset. but the counterargument is if you're going to have a single supervisor you can't, have a two-tiered system. if you have that, then it isn't a single supervisors. most states agree with that but germany has a big say and of course, each member state could potentially veto any eventual decision. >> take us from the heavy macro stuff which is sort of where we're going there to something lighter and fluffier to something apple-like. >> this is a big day for apple because later on in san francisco, this afternoon, they're expected to make a big launch. and the word on the street will be the next iphone 5. apple's very good at keeping secrets we do know it's going to have new technology and it's going have a larger display screen, quite possibly a thinner handset. it's a very different smart phone five years on from when

apple first launched the iphone. five years ago when it did launch the original iphone, apple was seen as an upstart, today, it's on the defense because it's competing very tough competition from the likes of samsung, which makes more handset -- most smartphones than any other companies in the world and the competition is really heating up and it had those recent patent battles between apple and samsung. apple won but the experts have been telling me that because of these big technology battle, at the end of the day, the winner will be you and i, the consumer. >> if you really want to beat apple, try something totally different. trying to beat apple at what it's doing, we think that samsung, what they want to do is they want to try and go a different direction. so offer a consumer a truly unique choice. >> there are 10 million to be sold in each week and this will be such a popular device it

could add a quarter to half a percent of u.s. g.d.p., economic growth. one launch. >> you seem to suggest that apple might be the big winner. >> indeed. [laughter] >> people in the netherlands are going to the polls after a campaign dominated by the financial crisis in the eurozone. the two main parties are pretty much neck and neck. certainly in the final opinion polls leading up to voting. let's get some more on this from our correspondent from the hague. are voters given to particularly different policy approaches there, anna? >> yeah, very much so. we've got the two parties to the center left and the center right both proposing the netherlands stay in europe but their approach is to solving the eurozone crisis. on the left, they want more time and make it less hard for people

at home to hit those e.u. targets. and on the right, they're proposing more austerity but less money going to greece and that has been one of the main issues that come out in these elections. people don't want what they see is blank checks being sent to the eurozone's struggling nation. >> this is a country to which many people's surprise ha founded in the last couple of years struggling to hold any sort of government together. there is any real suggestion that the election is going to change the landscape in that regard? >> it could do, because what we have six months ago was on the far right, he has been all about immigration, very much anti-immigration, he calls it the collapse of the government. and so then six months on, what we've seen is people moving away from those far on the sideline parties and going back towards

the center because what they really want is a strong stable economy but what they're seeing at home, talk of raising time and life is getting tougher here. what we can be sure to expect is a coalition government and last night during the debate there, was talking about what form that coalition could take, but those are negotiations that could go on for months. so it could be sometime before we actually have a new solid government here. >> ok, anna, thank you very much for that. i just want to bring you some breaking news coming into us here, which is a statement from president obama in which he acknowledges the death of the american ambassador christopher stevens. just from the top of that statement, he says i strongly condemn the outrageous attack of christopher stevens from benghazi. that's it for the moment. plenty to come on "bbc world news."

>> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and

capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. and major corporations. what can we do for you?