BBC news 2010-12-01 加文本

BBC news 2010-12-01

BBC News with David Legge

A report by the Pentagon has concluded that the ban on openly gay people serving in the American armed forces could be lifted without harming military readiness. The US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said that most soldiers surveyed supported this view. From Washington, Paul Adams.

Robert Gates said that a strong majority of service personnel favoured repealing the law. If implemented carefully, he said, the consequences should be minimal. The key to success would be training, education and strong leadership. Mr Gates urged Congress to repeal the 1993 law by the end of the year. The defence secretary did acknowledge that in certain all-male combat units, notably among special forces and the Marine Corps, there are serious reservations about repeal, but he said there was a real danger that the courts, which have already attempted to intervene, would try again to overturn the law. This, he said, would be the most hazardous way to do it.

In the latest batch of documents released by Wikileaks, the US, Britain and Russia have all expressed strong concern that Islamist militants could steal enough nuclear material from Pakistan's facilities to build a crude nuclear device. Our security correspondent Frank Gardner has more details.

A US diplomatic cable said last year the UK has deep concerns about the safety and security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons. That followed a meeting between US diplomats and Mariot Leslie, then the director of Defence and Strategic Threats at the Foreign Office. Another US cable sent back to Washington last year by the US ambassador in Islamabad confided "our major concern is not having an Islamic militant steal an entire weapon but rather the chance someone working in government of Pakistan facilities could gradually smuggle enough material out to eventually make a weapon."

Leaked American diplomatic messages indicate that Britain promised to protect US interests during an inquiry set up last year to investigate the causes of the war in Iraq. A document released on the Wikileaks website says the assurances were given during a meeting between British defence officials and a visiting American delegation. The British said that measures had been put in place to protect US interests.

There are continued signs of concern in the financial markets over European debt, despite the bailout package agreed for Ireland last week. There are worries that Spain and Portugal may need outside help to repay their debts. Here is Andrew Walker.

It's very clear that the financial rescue agreed on Sunday for Ireland has not resolved the worries in the markets about government debt in the euro area. Portugal and then Spain are seen as the next countries that might struggle to repay their debts and need financial help. The further fall in the euro reflects that concern, and so did the fact that the interest rates on their debts have risen again. The rates for Italy and Belgium are substantially lower, but they've also risen as their finances begin to receive more attention in the markets.

World News from the BBC

The electoral commission in Ivory Coast has delayed announcing results from Sunday's presidential election, as each side in the run-off continues to accuse the other of cheating. A BBC correspondent in the commercial capital Abidjan says the situation is becoming increasingly tense, and there is a heavy security presence on the streets. Supporters of the opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara have accused President Laurent Gbagbo of trying to confiscate power. Mr Gbagbo says he reserves the right to annul results from Mr Ouattara's stronghold in the north of the country due to alleged fraud.

The opposition in Egypt has reacted angrily to the outcome of Sunday's parliamentary election. The official results have yet to be announced, and some seats will be decided in a run-off this weekend. But state media said President Mubarak's ruling party had won a landslide victory. The main Egyptian opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, said the vote was illegal. From Cairo, Jon Leyne.

The outrage has come from across the opposition. The Muslim Brotherhood complained that the election was rigged. They said they were still undecided whether or not to boycott the run-off election on Sunday, which would be their only chance of winning any seats. But the protests have been equally strong from the secular opposition parties. The main one, al-Wafd, are widely believed to have a close relationship with the government and were expected to replace the Brotherhood as the main opposition. But after reportedly winning just a handful of seats, the party said that the election witnessed the massacre of democracy and freedom in Egypt.

The coach of Real Madrid Jose Mourinho has been banned for two games by the European football authority Uefa for improper conduct. During a Champions League match earlier this month, he appeared to instruct two of his players to get themselves deliberately sent off. This meant they would serve a ban in the group stage of the competition and wouldn't carry a yellow card into the knock-out rounds.

BBC News