Luciano Benetton handed over the reins of his fashion empire on Tuesday to his son, who must relaunch a struggling brand known for its controversial ad campaigns.

Benetton, 76, who founded his clothi

The Benetton clothing company has withdrawn an ad showing Pope Benedict XVI kissing a top Egyptian imam on the lips after the Vatican denounced it as an "unacceptable" provocation.

Benetton had said

The Vatican said on Thursday that it was taking legal action to prevent the publication of a photo montage showing the pope kissing a leading imam as part of a Benetton advertising campaign.

The stat

Italian store Benetton on Wednesday launched a provocative publicity campaign with photo montages showing the pope kissing an imam on the lips and the US president smooching his Chinese counterpart.