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BBC news 2012-07-31

BBC News with Iain Purdon

A United States government report on reconstruction in Afghanistan has found that many projects are so far behind schedule. They will not be up for running before the last US troops leave in 2014. The report concludes a failure to finish or maintain such projects could be counterproductive to the US mission in Afghanistan. Adam Brookes reports.

The special inspector monitors the tens of billions of dollars that the US spends in Afghanistan, attempting to rebuild roads and bridges and power stations, and all the rest of infrastructure of a functioning state. Such spending has been central to America's strategy there. But in a bleak and blunt assessment, the inspector general said that of $400m allocated last year, a significant portion may be wasted because of weak planning, coordination and execution of projects.

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed deep concern about the fighting in Syria's second city Aleppo as government forces try to retake rebel-held areas. Barbara Plett reports from the United Nations.

We'll try to bring in Barbara Plett's reports as soon as we can. At the moment, I will move on to another aspect of the Syria story. The British Prime Minister David Cameron has welcomed the resignation of Syria's most senior diplomat in London, the charge d'affaires Khaled al-Ayoubi. Mr Cameron said it was another blow to President Assad and what he called 'his cronies' in Damascus. The Foreign Office said Mr al-Ayoubi and his family were now in a secure location in Britain.

The man accused of carrying out a massacre at a cinema in Colorado earlier this month has been formally charged. Mr Holmes, aged 24, was arrested shortly after the shooting rampage at a late night show of the new Batman film near the city of Denver. Alastair Leithead reports from Los Angeles.

James Holmes appeared a little more alert than in his first appearance a week ago when he seemed dazed and confused, but showed no emotion as the 141 charges were laid against him. He faces two counts of first-degree murder for each of the 12 people killed and two of attempted murder against each of the 58 people injured. The charges were doubled because of what court papers described as crimes with 'extreme indifference to life'. He also faced the count of possessing explosives. Homemade bombs have been rigged up in his apartment, designed to detonate if anyone entered.

Now back to Syria. And as we said the UN secretary general expressed deep concern about the fighting in Aleppo, he said he was particularly concerned – Mr Ban, this is – by the continued use of heavy weapons, including attack helicopters. He revealed that a convoy of the UN's observer mission in Syria, including its leader, was attacked on Sunday, but there were no casualties. A BBC correspondent who's been to Aleppo says a constant stream of people are leaving the city while those who remain say they are short of food, water and electricity.

World News from the BBC

A court investigating Iran's biggest ever banking scandal has sentenced four of the defendants to death. Thirty-nine people have been on trial implicated in a banking fraud that's estimated to have involved more than $2.5bn. The fraud centered on forged documents used to secure loans to buy state-owned companies under the government's privatisation scheme.

The Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, has warned people to avoid shaking hands as an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus claimed its first victim in the capital Kampala. Catherine Byaruhanga reports.

Uganda's health minister confirmed reports that a clinical officer has died from the Ebola virus in Kampala. The health worker was referred to Mulago hospital after contracting the virus from patients in the west of the country where the outbreak began. Seven doctors and thirteen health workers who came into contact with her at the hospital have been quarantined , and emergency measures have been put in place there. There were reports of people fleeing the hospital in Kibaale where some of the first patients were treated.

The two foreigners who survived the car crash in Cuba in which the well-known dissident Oswaldo Paya was killed a week ago have dismissed reports that their vehicle had been pushed off the road. At a news conference in Cuba, the Spanish politician Angel Carromero said he lost control of the car in a bad stretch of road.

At the London Olympics, a 15-year-old Lithuanian girl, Ruta Meilutyte, has won the women's 100m breaststroke . The teenager was visibly shocked after taking Lithuania's first ever Olympic swimming medal. One of the most anticipated events of the day, the men's 200m free style final, was won by the French swimmer, Yannick Agnel. It's France's third gold medal in the pool. Elsewhere, China continued their dominance of the medals table, winning golds in weight-lifting, diving and the men's team gymnastics final –a title rather. The British men's team took bronze – that's their first team gymnastics medal for 100 years.

That's the news.

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