BBC World News with Steve Titherington

The media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has made a personal apology to the family of a murdered British schoolgirl, Milly Dowler, whose phone was allegedly hacked by one of his newspapers. News International said Mr Murdoch would also apologise for what he called "serious wrongdoings" in advertisements to be placed in British newspapers on Saturday. Mr Murdoch met the Dowler family at a London hotel. When he came out, he was

besiege

d by reporters.

"I want to say it was a

totally

private meeting."

"Did you apologise to the Dowler family?"

"Of course I did. Of course I did."

"Can you tell us exactly what you said?"

"No, I'm not going any further. I just said that as founder of the company, I was appalled to find out what had happened."

Earlier, one of his most senior executives, Rebekah Brooks, resigned as chief executive of News International. She'd been under intense pressure over the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World newspaper, which she edited until 2003.

The European Banking Authority says eight European banks are not strong enough to

withstand

further financial shocks. A total of 90 banks were tested. Five banks in Spain, two in Greece and one in Austria did not pass the test. The President of the European Union, Herman van Rompuy, has called an emergency meeting next week of the 17 leaders of eurozone countries to discuss the financial situation of the eurozone