>> "bbc world news" is presented by kcet, los angeles. funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you?

>> and now "bbc world news." >> great britain enters an age of austerity. the government reveals the biggest cuts to spending in decades. another court ruling. gays are once again banned from serving openly in the military. the u.s. shakes hands with saudi arabia on a $60 billion. welcome to "bbc world news, "broadcast on pbs. coming up, worst than first thought. malaria deaths in india could be greater than estimates. a sky diver murdered her love rival by cutting the vital chords to her parachute.

>> great britain's coalition government announced the biggest cut in recent times. the finance minister says they are essential to pulling them back from the economic print. critics say this was delivered by an ideology. great britain has an 11% budget deficit and. george is born announced plans savings of 81 billion pounds -- george osborn announced savings of $81 billion. nearly half a million jobs were lost across the public sector and pension age will increase to 66. >> this cutts to the heart, chancellor. >> the chancellor left the treasury promising not to cut overseas aid. months later he was saying he

was determined to stick with plans to reduce the budget deficit. >> we have 109 billion pounds, the largest budget deficit in europe at a time when the whole world is concerned about high deficits and our economic stability depends on relaying those concerns. to abandon our plans now would be the road to economic ruins. we will stick to the course, we will secure our stability, we will not take great britain back to the brink of bankruptcy. >> george r. osborn announced $130 billion worth of cuts. half a million jobs will be lost and the bill for policing will be cut by 16%. he announced the state pension age would rise to 66, the welfare budget would be cut by $10 billion, and spending at the foreign office would be cut by

24%. >> some members say this is their ideological objectives. not all of them, but for many of them this is what they came in politics for. >> great britain is not alone in needing to cut its deficit. the unrest in greece underlies a need for action across most economies. the british deficit is over e. 11%. that compares with 10.7% in the u.s. greece as a deficit of 8% but stagnant growth. germany has a deficit of 5.4%. >> these cuts are very large. it only happened twice. >> one key question is whether

these measures will be a enough to deliver the savings required. there are economic uncertainties, too. will growth be damaged and will the private sector be able to recruit public workers soon to be out of a job? with these cuts having an impact until 2015, the verdict may not be clear before then. >> the federal appeals court has ruled the ban on openly gay men and women in the military may be temporarily reinstated. the pentagon is appealing against a judge's ruling that overturned the don't tell -- don't ask, don't tell policy. our correspondent in los angeles explains the chain of the events. >> this policy started in 1993. it meant gave men and lesbians could be members of the armed

services providing they did not reveal their sexual orientation. that law was challenged by the republicans -- the organization that believes it was the wrong policy for the military. gay people ought to be allowed to be open about their sexuality. under a district court in california they agreed with them and imposed an injunction against the policy against the wishes of the u.s. government. the obama administration believes this should be determined not by the courts but by political moves, fragile the changing the policy so the decision has come down to the appeal court in san francisco. they sided with the obama administration and overturned that injunction which means once again it is the law that gay people cannot be open about their sexuality.

>> how effective or ineffective has this policy been in the military? >> it has been very effective in that it has deterred lots of gay people from joining these services. many have joined and have felt very stifled by the fact that they could not be open about their sexuality, but the law means they cannot mention they are gay to anyone. they cannot talk about it publicly or to their friends or family. that has been a very restrained situation for so many people. it has caused a lot of tension among gay people who want to be members of the armed services. the counter argument is that the law has brought some stability, especially this argument being used at a time of war when american servicemen and women are involved in conflicts

overseas, that now is not the time to introduce what some people see is a level of instability. >> china's rapid growth is slowing. the economy grew 9.6% compared to the same period last year. the slowdown comes as beijing tries to steer china's rebound from the global crisis to a more sustainable level. french president has ordered to reopen the [unintelligible] many gas stations have been running short of stock. nicolas sarkozy says he is determined to end these strikes that has paralyzed the country. he is insisting he will press on with plans to raise the french retirement age to 62. here is our paris correspondent. >> for the third day, of violence in this paris suburb.

people searching for confrontation. there were similar scenes elsewhere. the pension reform bill is the touchstone for grievances around the country and the pretext for troublemakers to join. the major focus is the fuel shortages. riot police broke up three blockades as oil refineries -- at oil refineries. they panicked buying has led to a 500% jump in fuel consumption. over 3000 stations are closed with many others running low. which is why the interior minister is promising a robust response. he is now authorizing the use of the special intervention force to break blockades. the equivalent of a swat team.

it is not just the pickets at the refineries, there is chaos around the country. several hundred workers brought the two airports to a standstill today. with fuel shortages and major disruptions, some families have revise their plans for the break. the pension bill will be approved by the senate, perhaps on thursday. but that will not be the end of it. the summitt union sadie progress should continue even after the bill is approved -- some argue -- the union's progress should continue. in 2006 protests forced the government to retreat on a controversial labor reform bill. there is no sign the president is about to relent, but the unions will not give up without a fight. >> the u.s. has plans to sell military aircraft to saudi

arabia for a $60 billion. officials say congress has been notified of the deal. blackcludes 84 f-15's and hawk helicopters. our washington correspondent will talk about this deal. >> it is senecal in terms of its size -- it is significant. congress has 30 days to oppose this suggestion from the obama administration. congress is not expected to do that, but in terms of the size of the deal, 84 new f-15 aircraft , 72 black hawk helicopters, missiles, or equipment, a a whole lot of military hardware. there are separate packages under this plan that would total $60 billion, making this

one of the biggest arms deals. it is hugely significant. >> any opposition from israel? >> this is the interesting thing. there are certain politicians in america who are close to the israeli government who might have been expected to make some noise, but what officials are saying is they don't expect israel to object partly because israel will still maintain its military superiority over nations like saudi arabia, including american hardware help. partly because there is a common threat here. israel and the u.s. and arab nations like saudi arabia are concerned about the rise of iran and its nuclear ambitions and threat to destabilize the region. there is a collective advantage in the u.s. having a powerful military ally from the arab world within the persian gulf

region. it will be saudi arabia. d> you are watching "bbc worls news." a skydiver murders her love rival by cutting the courts of her parachute. prenuptial contracts where couples agree how they divide their assets if they split up are commonplace in many countries, but they have no legal standing in the u.k. after a landmark ruling, a german woman has won a legal battle against her former husband. >> this german heiress emerges from court today victorious after a legal battle with her former husband. the judge ruled a prenuptial agreement both assigned was fair. >> she and her ex-husband have promised each other that if anything went wrong between them they would not make

financial claims against each other. it was meant to be a marriage for love, not for money. >> she is worth an estimated 100 million pounds and married nicholas in 1998. the couple lived in london. when they separated, he worked at the university on a fraction of his former salary. the supreme court upheld a ruling reducing his divorce settlement to below 5 million pounds. the ruling said prenuptial bulls can have a compelling wait. -- prenuptials can have compelling weight. each will be decided case by case, but it is the clearest indication yet from the supreme court that given the circumstances prenuptial agreements will be of help. in 2012 the commission will report on whether a change in the law is needed.

>> archaeologists have described -- discovered four mummies in lima. remains were found in a tomb. archaeologists are still trying to determine the age and sex of the mummies. 490,000 public sector jobs will go in the u.k. as the coalition government tackles the deficit. a federal appeals court has ruled that the u.s. may temporarily reinstate the ban on openly gay men and women serving in the armed forces. in afghanistan almost one- quarter of the 5.6 million votes cast last month have been declared invalid by the independent afghan election commission. 200 candidates are being

investigated for fraud. >> over 1 million fake votes found their way to ballot boxes during the september elections. this footage was shown in the ballot stuffing in action. >> across the country, fraud was rampant. nearly one-quarter of the votes have been disqualified. the independent election commission says 224 candidates were involved. they say the results are legitimate even so. >> i consider them a success in a situation like in afghanistan where instability was the main challenge. in such an environment conducting an election is a success. conducting a better election is a greater achievement.

>> president karzai warned that the irregularities were to be expected. these elections appear not to be much better or worse than the presidential elections. then 1.5 million fake votes were cast. afghanistan's international partner needs these elections to be credible, a sign the country is moving closer to standing on its own feet. these are only preliminary results. the disqualify candidates are subject to appeal, so the final results could be weeks away. >> a skydiver has been found guilty of murdering her love rival by cutting the courts of her parachute. the victim was sent plummeting to her death as both women took part in the jump. >> she found the adrenaline thrill irresistible and had

jumped thousands of times. these pictures show els van doren enjoying the sport she loves high in the sky, but three years later a jealous rival used it to kill her. her parachute sat untouched and she plunged more than 1,000 meters and was killed -- her parachute was sabotaged. a police investigation found it was no accident. she was having an affair with a fellow skydiver who was also seeing this woman, els clottemans. at her murder trial she was portrayed as being jealous and resentful of els van doren. on wednesday, the judge read the verdict, she is a killer. after a trial which had captivated many belgians, there was anguish for els clottemans's

family. she could face life in jail. but for the victim's family relief was clear. >> i am very satisfied because the jury [unintelligible] that is very important for us. >> the evidence was always circumstantial. there was no proof that els clottemans cut the cord, but the jury was convinced of her guilt. she will be sentenced on thursday. >> the number of people dying from malaria in india has been underestimated according to new research. it says there are at least 13 times more malaria deaths than the world health organization estimates. mosquito nets, at the first line of defense against malaria, one of the most common diseases in the world. the exact numbers of people

affected is difficult to calculate. new research suggests more than 200,000 people die in india. a starke rise compared to official data from the world health organization that estimates only 15,000 deaths occur each year from malaria. field workers -- two doctors reviewed each description and decided the death was caused by malaria. the who admits there are limitations to its calculations, but say the estimate is too high. it argues the way the information was collected is not trustworthy, as high fever can be caused by many other diseases. mixing insecticides to spray houses is part of a control needed in india, as well as scaling up treatments in adults.

the authors of the study say similar analysis needs to be done in other malaria countries. >> a tremor has shaken in chile. it had a magnitude of 5.7. there are no immediate details of damage. pope benedict has named 24 new cardinals, setting his mark on the body that will select his successor. among the new cardinals are two americans from key posts in europe and africa. >> pope benedict calls his cardinals princes of the church. now he has named 24 new ones. this is only the third time since the pope elected he has appointed new cardinals.

clergy helped set new policy. he made his announcement at the vatican. >> now with joy i would like to announce on november 20 i will hold a consistory during which i will nominate new cardinals. [applause] >> there was applause when these worshipers found out the news that their archbishop from washington is to be one of the new cardinals. >> you recognize no one is ever worthy of this title and honor, but you are also grateful to god for the opportunity. >> the other new cardinals come from places like egypt, ecuador and within the vatican. church commentators say the new mix is going to strengthen the european's influence in

choosing pope benedict's successor. >> is a majority of europeans means europe is still the most important place for christianity. and that if a new pope will come from the third world, it will be the european cardinals to decide it. >> vatican watchers say it is south americans to will be most disappointed as they only have two new cardinals. that compares with three from africa, a sign of faith pope benedict has in the merging churches. the most important place in christianity remains europe. >> an american muslim convert zachary chesser has pleaded guilty to making threats against the creators of "south park."

the charge relates to an episode that shows a profit mohammed wearing a bear suit. he admitted to charges of providing support to somalian militants. in new york hotel chelsey secured its place in history with a film shot on its premises. it has housed bob dylan, ellen monroe and dylan thomas. that could all come to an end with its impending sale. >> in a town full of many famous landmarks, this hotel is an icon. the walls are full of art work, often painted from guests who needed a break. artists and movie stars come up everyone stayed here. >> we have a lot, arthur miller,

quite a few artists who have stayed here. andy warhol has been here and bob dylan was here, too. it is the vester array of artists. >> marilyn monroe was another famous guest. her suite is available for $400 a night. behind the history is a building badly in need of modernizing. its owners reckon the renovations will cost millions, so they are opting to sell. many are wondering what will happen to the hotel's lenient attitude towards guests. david is a novelist and long- term residents. >> it was a place of real tolerance, all kinds of unusual people. they all live here and came to this place. i like that. i like that nobody cared. if you wanted to be quiet, you

could be quiet. >> no price has been set, no buyer has emerged. the owners promised that no matter who buys it, the chelsey will be the chelsey. it is and always will be a haven for artists. the founder of penthouse magazine has died at the age of 79. a statement was issued by his family and he died after a long battle with cancer. "penthouse" was billed as a magazine of sex, politics and protests. it had a circulation of almost 6 million during its heyday. a reminder of our main news, great britain announced its biggest spending cuts in decades. if federal appeals court ruled the u.s. may temporarily reinstate the ban on openly gay men and women serving in the armed forces.

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