BBC news 2010-12-17 加文本

BBC news 2010-12-17

BBC News with Iain Purdon

The founder of the Wikileaks website, Julian Assange, has been released on bail from prison in London. He was set free several hours after prosecutors lost a second attempt to keep him in custody. He's wanted by police in Sweden to answer questions about the alleged sexual assault of two women, accusations he strongly denies. As he emerged from custody, he vowed to continue his work and to protest his innocence. This report by Jane Peel.

"Well, it's great to smell fresh air of London again."

Four and a half hours after being granted bail, Julian Assange emerged into the snow outside the High Court. Glad, he said, to be out of solitary confinement in a prison basement. He thanked his supporters, financial backers, lawyers, the media and the British justice system. The Swedish judicial authorities had argued that Mr Assange posed a substantial flight risk and should be kept in prison, but the judge granted bail subject to strict conditions. He said that while Mr Assange might have some incentive and the means to flee, were he to do so, his reputation would be diminished in the eyes of his supporters.

Reports from Ivory Coast say at least nine people were killed when security forces tried to disperse a protest in the main city Abidjan by supporters of the disputed president-elect Alassane Ouattara. The protesters had tried to take control of the state television channel. Fighting was also reported in central Ivory Coast between former rebel fighters and troops loyal to the incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, who is refusing to cede power.

European Union leaders meeting at a summit in Brussels have agreed to make changes to the Lisbon Treaty to enable them to set up a permanent rescue mechanism to help eurozone countries in financial difficulty. Here's our economics correspondent Andrew Walker.

The European Union has a temporary system for helping countries in financial difficulties set up in the wake of the Greek crisis earlier this year and already used to assist Ireland. It expires in 2013, and EU leaders have agreed that the countries which use the euro will create a new permanent arrangement to replace it. The proposed treaty amendment says that using the new mechanism will be subject to strict conditions. Countries doing so are likely to have to undertake similar austerity policies to those now being pursued in Ireland and Greece. And it's reported that the draft says the new system will only be used if it's indispensable for the stability of the euro area as a whole.

The government of Northern Ireland says it'll investigate the abuse of children in institutions run by churches and the state over the past decades. The decision to hold an inquiry comes after a similar probe in the Irish Republic documented the abuse of thousands of children by Roman Catholic priests. A task force is expected to present a report on the scale of child abuse in Northern Ireland next summer.

World News from the BBC

President Obama has said US and allied forces are disrupting al-Qaeda operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but it will take time to defeat the group. Mr Obama was speaking at a news conference marking publication of a review of strategy in Afghanistan. It says the recent surge in troops has halted the Taliban's momentum in many areas. Nick Childs reports.

Running through both President Obama's remarks and the administration's strategy review, it's a mixed and somewhat uneasy message. There are assertions of limited progress, but also that it's far from decisive. And reading between the lines, the tensions that remain in the strategy are clear to see, even as Mr Obama insisted that it's on track. There is the clear military message that more time is needed but also a recognition of the growing political pressure to show that there's an end in sight.

The Israelis say one of their warplanes has shot down what they describe as an unmanned balloon which had flown over the Dimona nuclear reactor in the Negev desert. A military spokeswoman said that officials were still trying to find out the precise circumstances of the incident.

The European Parliament has called for European governments to freeze the assets of Russian officials accused of involvement in the death in prison of a Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky. He was charged with tax evasion while acting for an investment firm and died last year in pre-trial detention. His supporters say he was tortured. In a statement, the European Parliament said it viewed the case as an outstanding example of the serious shortcomings within Russia's judicial system.

Health experts in Britain say avoiding direct sunlight because of fears about skin cancer can lead to a deficiency of vitamin D, which is needed to strengthen bones. Seven health organisations now recommend spending 15 minutes in summer sunshine without sunscreen several times a week in order to boost levels of vitamin D.

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