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BBC news 2013-12-04

BBC News with Jerry Smit

A judge in the United States has ruled that the heavily indebted city of Detroit is eligible for bankruptcy. Judge Steven Rhodes told packed courtroom the city was clearly insolvent when bankruptcy was declared in July, the largest such municipal filing in US history. Unions and creditors had challenged the move arguing Detroit had not negotiated with creditors in good faith. The ruling clears the way for the city to come up with a plan to shed 18 billion dollars in debt. The city's Mayor Dave Bing said it was a tough day for Detroit's citizens.

“The judge has spoken and it's a tough day for all of us here in Detroit. I believe with the crisis that we had, this was inevitable. I don't think anybody necessarily wanted to go in this direction but now that we are here it's more important that we work together as oppose to continuing to fight each other.”

The Vatican has refused to provide information requested by the United Nations on sex abuse of children by priests. Robert Pigott has more.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child put a wide-ranging questionnaire to the Holy See last July asking for detailed information about the particulars of all sexual abuse cases notified to the Vatican since 1995. The questions included whether priests, nuns and monks guilty of sexual crime will allow to remain in contact with children. In its response, the Holy See insisted it was separate and distinct from the Roman Catholic Church, and that it was not its practice to disclose information unless specifically asked to by the authorities in the countries where they were serving.

A team of judges appointed by the French court to investigate the death of Yasser Arafat near Paris nine years ago has dismissed the theory that he was poisoned. The judges say the Palestinian leader died of natural causes. Here's Christian Fraser.

Yasser Arafat's official medical records say he died in 2004 from a stroke resulting from a blood disorder. But amid continuing claims he was murdered, his body was exhumed last year. A Swiss report said tests on the body showed unexpected high activity of polonium, 18 times than normal level which moderately supported they said the poisoning theory. But French reports say the delegation of French judges that also traveled to the West Bank has ruled out poisoning pointing instead to a death from natural causes.

Allegations that Poland hosted a secret prison and torture center for the American intelligence agency, the CIA have been heard in open court for the first time. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has heard the claims that Warsaw allowed the US to interrogate terrorist suspects in a remote forest in northern Poland in 2002. Lawyers for two men say they were water boarded, subjected to mock executions and told their families would be sexually abused.

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The Ukrainian Prime Minister has said he is ready to talk to representatives of tens of thousands of protesters gathered outside parliament in Kiev. They're keeping up pressure on the government to sign a deal to bring Ukraine closer to the European Union. But Mykola Azarov said demonstrators must operate within the law.

“We know that the government has its flaws, its shortcomings and it is made downright mistakes. We understand this, we are open to criticism and prepared for dialogue with representatives of the protesters and the opposition parties. But we have one very important condition: they must stop occupying government buildings and interfering with the work of the government.”

Here in Britain, the editor of the Guardian newspaper Alan Rusbridger says that he has so far published just 1% to the files leaked by the former US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden. Britain's intelligence agencies have accused the paper of compromising the country's security. Appearing before the Home Affairs Select Committee, Mr. Rusbridger said senior figures in the US and Britain had countered that allegation.

A senior administration official of the current Obama administration told us last week and asked the same question. “ damage,” he said, “I have been incredibly impressed by the judgment and care that you would expect from a great news organization.” and finally, a senior White Hall official at the heart of this story September 9th, “I have not seen anything you have published today which has risked lives.”

Just days before Friday's draw for next year's World Cup in Brazil. Football's World governing body FIFA has admitted that at least three stadiums won't be ready by the end of December deadline. They include the venues at Curitiba and Cuiaba. But most notably at the stadium aim on to for the opening matches in Sao Paolo which was damaged last week. FIFA's president Sepp Blatter said he trusted the organizer’s ability to deliver on time.

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