>> this is "bbc world news." >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions in 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 world news." >> this is "bbc world news america." reporting from washington, i'm katty kay. was angela merkel xfone merkel's phone monitored by the united states? beene u.s. has not monitoring and will not monitor communications of the chancellor. image that sri lanka wants the world to see. but there are allegations of torture and brutality carried out by the state.

three months old and already drawing the crowd. prince george with all seven godparents watching. welcome to our viewers on public television in america and also around the globe. on goa u.s. spy on merkel? the uncomfortable question vexing berlin and washington tonight. german authorities suspect that chancellor merkel's own cell phone may have been monitored and what they say would be a serious breach of trust. the white house spokesman rebutted the allegations with rather carefully chosen language. >> president obama and chancellor merkel spoke by

telephone regarding the allegations you have mentioned. the nsa intercepted communications and the president assured that the united states is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of the chancellor. we greatly value our cooperation with germany on a great swath of security challenge. neck, did they act oh -- nick, did they? >> america is not monitoring her mobile phone calls and will not monitor. what we did not hear was "we have not." present and future tense. not past tense. askedite house has been if it is a categorical denial

and they have not answered. it seems to be an admission that this surveillance was going on. certainly the germans believe that these claims were plausible enough to initiate a phone call to the president of the united states which sound like a pretty awkward phone call as well. much of an impact will this have on relations between berlin and washington? rex angela merkel has replayed , but it is language far stronger. totally unacceptable, she has said. this is personal. she grew up in east germany a veryeople were used to overbearing state surveillance operation. berlin walllow the and the reunification of germany, -- with the fall of the berlin wall and the reunification of germany, it is

a very personal idea. german ande damaged american relations. it is part of a broader problem for the white house. tonight, there was supposed to be a state dinner for the president. she canceled because of allegations that her private communications were being intercepted. and allegations of mexico. my sense is that washington has not taken most of these allegations to seriously. it is a slightly different case. was a frenzy in tone. allegations that the french, for years, have been spying on american businessmen and conducting a similar kind of surveillance operation of their own.

seriousthis is far more and it stems from the readout of the conversation from berlin that the conversation was far sharper than what president had with françois hollande. staying at the white house now where president obama and the pakistani prime minister have had their first face-to- face meeting. the items on the agenda were the controversial use of drone strikes as well as combating the taliban and. there is nod disguising the tension. we spoke with a former u.s. special envoy. thank you for having me. it lasted 90 minutes. they issued a long joint

statement and i am sure it was a substantive discussion. the fact that the two leaders are talking again is a good thing. obama said that on the drone strike issue, in particular, they said that we should work to make this a strength between the countries and not a source of tension. >> i don't know that is possible but i am sure he took him through the speech in may. i am sure they also talked to the prime minister. the idea for pakistan is to see if we can't do some of these counterterrorism missions together. >> the u.s. has already started to scale back strikes. as that had an impact on public opinion? do people see this as a real

infringement of pakistani sovereignty? talk about the operational aspect because i don't know. but i think the public is still very upset i the strikes which is why it is important for the president to have been talking to the prime minister about the way the u.s. and pakistan can work together with counterterrorism. about theso spoke telegram and the relationship with afghanistan. he said it is in both pakistan and america's interest for afghanistan to be stable and secure. a lot of what you said sounds a bit like wishful thinking. >> i think it is in their interest that there be a secure state for a prosperous afghanistan. >> pakistan believes that? think they do. when they look and the region, how else will it draw economic development? how will it defeat terrorism?

the pakistanis themselves are attacked by a terrorist group. is chaos in afghanistan, who will take advantage of that? there has been a change in toistani thinking participate in the talks. is not say everything 100% perfect, but if you look out on this world, how are you going to change your society? having a secure and prosperous afghanistan is a big part of that. >> is the white house more convinced that pakistan will groups thatpporting will destabilize afghanistan in order to use them as a possible counter against india? the pakistanis have a long

history of maintaining ties with a lot of groups that the u.s. is opposed to. if youm trying to say is look at the questions of counterterrorism and try to bring some economic developments into the area, they have to be thinking about trying to create a 21st century society. president obama took the occasion to say to the prime minister, what a great democratic step forward. peace was handed over for the first time in history. >> thank you very much. look at other news around the world. test results have concluded that a child removed from the care of a couple is their biological child. a seven-year-old was taken from the family when they could not prove evidence that she was

their daughter. the girl looked lighter skinned than her parents. it follows a separate case where the authorities have yet to formally identify this little girl. interpol is asking members to check their own national database for a dna match. she was removed from a community last week. a roman couple were charged with objection -- abduction. dropping charges of piracy for 30 greenpeace activists. they will be tried on a less serious charge of hooliganism. they had been facing up to 15 years in prison. the new charger brings 15 days in jail but usually a fine. standing trial this time for bribing a senator,

paying $4 million to join his party shortly after an election. it helped bring down the government a few years later and berlusconi has often been accused of buying votes. the last few months of sri lanka's civil war, tens of thousands disappeared with thousands killed. the figures are staggering. it has no intention of cooperating with an international inquiry. ministerry's foreign says that existing inquiries set up by the government are sentate enough. we were this report from sri lanka and it contains graphic descriptions of torture. they are marching to welcome the commonwealth. a local television station organized the rally. memorialed a giant

celebrating the army's victory over the tigers. triumphant category, peace reigns. the state says it is firm but benign. these are civil defense members employed by the government to provide local security. the situation is good, he told me. the government has given us jobs and we are able to carry on with our day-to-day lives happily. infrastructure is being repaired. governmentt the calls the reconciliation agenda from 12,000 former detainees have been released. challenging that narrative is investigators and human rights organizations. a country where depression is widespread and security forces can act with impunity. we have spoken to some of those

that allege state brutality because they fear reprisal. we have agreed to protect their identity. >> allegations of torture have been leveled at successive governments here. they say the crime of repression has deepened. this man was detained on terrorism charges. he says he was tortured to obtain the confession. they burn me with cigarette butts and four or five people would squeeze my. every time they asked a question, they would squeeze my. i would crawl across the floor in pain. widely use against detainees, something the government denies. .e traveled to a safe house she alleges beating, sexual

assault, and threats of rape. >> i don't want to be molested by the army. if they take me, i will be tortured and i will not come back again. i keep these tablets because i don't want to be raped by them. >> she asked me who is going to protect her and for now, she will be hiding in this safe house. long-term, what guarantees are there? the gravest abuses are alleged to have happened at the wars and. 40,000 may have died and shelling of what was supposed to be safe stones. -- save zones.

fe zones.one that civilians were indiscriminately shelled. it is in or is executed. others vanished after surrendering to the army. charges the government rejects. tiger surrendered at the wars and. she is mounting a legal challenge to find the father of her three children. just took two shirts with him. he said, don't worry if i am taken away. even if i am shot, don't worry. go to your mother's and they will take care of you. >> the government feels it should be congratulated for byeating the tigers, accused the u.n. of using civilians as human shields. the foreign minister insists

that inquiries are independent. not as human rights groups claim, a whitewash. the intention to appoint an independent investigation. it is something that is ongoing. investigation, not a preconception of guilt. >> if there is any attempt to set off an international investigation, sri lanka will not cooperate? >> it is unwarranted and there is no reason to do this. it is entirely without justification. >> it is accompanied by the silence of absences. unanswered questions and fear. >> a legacy of a very brutal war. still to come on tonight row

graham, abandoned and broken. the motor city makes its case for bankruptcy. almost inevitably, he has been dubbed the bishop of bling. he racked up a $42 million bill for renovations on his residence in germany. now he has been suspended by the vatican over this alleged lavish spending and they await the outcome of a church commission investigation. >> in germany, they call him the bishop of bling or the bishop of luxury. of spending more than 31 million euros on renovating his official residence.

pope francis has stepped in. the tone of the new papal see is of humility and reaching out to the poor. the german bishop has fallen foul of that. says thatn spokesman in the diocese of the present time, a situation has been is not where the bishop able to carry out his episcopal ministry. the suspicion has not been made public. in germany, many catholics assume that the bishop of bloomberg will not return to his post. indburgh will not return to his post. he says it is self evident he can no longer be bishop. and everyone agrees on that. the bishop has denied wrongdoing but it is clear that the high

spending on buildings does not fit with a mood of austerity under the new pope and in a country where austerity is a virtue. >> if you go bankrupt, somebody pays. that is what the residents of detroit are learning. they are in court to prove that they don't have money to pay debts, the largest bankruptcy in history. bankruptcy protection means that retired workers would see big cuts to their pension, and it has many in the motor city furious. >> hundreds marched in front of a federal courthouse, chanting angrily of what is left of the

city. this was the cradle of america's automobile industry. decades of decline have left detroit roque and unable to fulfill its promises to its workers. mcdonald is proud of his 39 years at the detroit police department. there he saw the city's demise. he and his wife live off the pension and benefits that he gets with the city. detroit says it can no longer afford to pay pensions for the >> we retired workers. don't sleep very well. >> in just a few months, their health benefits will and. know what she is going to do. >> how does that make you feel?

>> kind of sad for her. detroit needs to do something. thousands of abandoned cars litter these streets. as the city tries to declare bankruptcy, municipal workers remove some of the evidence of just how bad things have become. >> i have been here for 59 years and detroit is coming back. >> towing cars can't get detroit out of debt. it goes roughly $18 billion. it is looking to van gogh and monet to solve the problems. detroit's impressive art collection was built during its economic boom. the city owns some of the most famous pieces, including this matisse. if detroit files for bankruptcy, it means these works of art are actually assets.

if sold, the city could gain tens of millions of dollars. idea, onen abominable of america's greatest collections. it talks about the history of detroit. >> many are watching what happens very carefully. what takes place here will elsewheree place feeling similar financial constraints. >> very ugly finances. old, bute months prince george is already drawing quite a crowd. a british royal family came to his palace for the christening of the future monarch. third in line to the throne, he has seven god parents. it definitely isn't when you are a royal. >> three months and one day old.

it is his big day. second in line to the throne, his father was carrying him. first in line was his grandfather, the prince of wales and the throne herself, the queen. the proud great-grandmother dressed for the day. catherine's family was also there. michael and carole middleton with heather and james. george is gone parents have been named, seven of them. only one from williams family. two significant choices. the man on the right a former sas officer who has been a source of invaluable advice. patron of a child

bereavement charity and formally a close friend of williams mother, a connection which is clearly important to him. another link with diana, her coffin rested before her funeral and it was to this intimate setting that william brought his son to be baptized. he is just there behind the stained glass windows. the service is entirely private. there will be no visual record of it at all. >> the queen led the principal guests so that photographs could be taken. as for george, he seemed to be taking it very calmly. dressed in a replica used by the reign of queen victoria, a young prince that will take the monarchy on towards the 22nd century. prince george getting a lot of attention from his family

and the media. that brings today's program to a close. it you can watch bbc world news on our 24 hour news network. you can find that channel number at your local news listings. tune in tomorrow. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard

to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.