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>> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> going, going -- but not just yet. silvio berlusconi's pledge to step down is not enough to calm the markets. mr. berlusconi's long goodbye is not helping. >> [speaking foreign language] >> i still don't believe he will resign. i think you'll find a way to stay in power somehow. >> welcome to gmt. i am george alagiah, with a

world of news and opinion. also in the program -- calls for tougher sanctions against iran after the latest report on its nuclear ambitions. will russia and china use their veto? the guantanamo trials barack obama once said would never happen. the first military commission since he took office. it is midday in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and 1:00 in the afternoon in rome, where silvio berlusconi's pledge to step down has done little to ease the financial pressure on the country. the cost of government borrowing earlier today, wednesday, hit the 7% rate, which most experts regard as the danger zone. part of the problem seems to be that silvio berlusconi says he will only " once he has implemented tough economic reforms. some would say that's just too much wiggle room for comfort. >> george, thank you very much.

we are outside the house of parliament in which the vote took place yesterday afternoon which triggered a series of events which led silvio berlusconi to announce that he will be standing down. today, as you said, more uncertainty about the timetable of the resignation. it all depends, of course, on the tough financial austerity package being passed by parliament. a little more certainty about silvio berlusconi's plans, however. he gave an interview on the italian version of "breakfast tv" saying he will not stand in any further election. he effectively nominated someone like angelina as his successor. that has been one of the names of touted about. he said he wanted a generational change. the timetable is not certain.

with the cost of borrowing for italy up to 7%, that crucial threshold. some analysts say it may cause the ecb causing its purchasing of italian debt to try to put pressure on them to get this bill through as quickly as possible. let's get this report from alan johnston. >> the agony of defeat. silvio berlusconi, italy's political magician, has just run out of tricks. he is reeling from a knockout blow delivered here. berlusconi has dominated italy's parliament for years. he must have known he was losing his grip. there were too many defections from his ranks. suddenly, it was clear that in this place, he had more enemies than friends. >> [speaking foreign language] >> what will happen is what

berlusconi said today. we will approve the budget reform law, as europe has requested, and then he will resign. >> [speaking foreign language] >> with the crisis continuing and italy in pain, hope to find a government that will give us international credibility and allow the country to provide the necessary reforms which berlusconi has not been able to give. >> on the streets of rome, they know silvio berlusconi is a master of the surprise maneuver. they wondered if he would really go. >> i still do not believe he will resign. i think he will find a way to stay in power some help. >> [speaking foreign language] >> an electoral period that is very confused. i do not know where that will lead us. >> mr. berlusconi is insistent that he will indeed step down. he will leave after parliament adopts a round of reforms. he sd there shoulde be

elections in february. >> i will resign as soon as thec bee sie lii e'thev'ence i beli'r possible, i see elections being held at the beginning of february. i will not be a candidate. >> right now, more than anything, there's a sense of confusion. silvio berlusconi has promised to step down, but there is a huge uncertainty about what will follow. bbc news, rome. >> skepticism and uncertainty. that's also reflected in some of the newspapers when they heard the news that he would step down after passing this bill. this is just a taste of some of the headlines. silvio berlusconi on the front of the newspaper "falling apart slowly" as this paper sees it. what does it mean that he will resign after this bill is passed?

it reflects a lesser faith in what exactly might happen and whether he will indeed do as he says he will and what the future holds for italy after he goes. george? >> thank you very much. now to some of the other stories making headlines around the world. the president of iran has declared that the country will not budge an iota from its nuclear path, which he says is entirely peaceful. he was responding to a report by the iaea, which accuses iran of trying to build a nuclear weapon. it has prompted calls for unprecedented sanctions against iran. ehranis our to ir correspondent, james reynolds. >> he has called the iaea an american puppet. he insisted his country's nuclear program is entirely

peaceful. he accused the agency of discrediting itself by siding with what he called absurd u.s. allegations -- a point also made by iran's ambassador to the iaea. >> it's mostly politically motivated, the report, which has been prepared in an unprecedented matter. >> many in israel will be concerned, here carrying out a drill against a nonconventional weapons strike. for now, israel has yet to react in public to the report. the agency stresses that it has serious concerns regarding the possible military dimensions to the nuclear program in iran. for the west, this may be enough for a fifth round of sanctions

against the country. for more un sanctions to work, a cautious china will have to be . >> residents face a sudden early arrival of winter and also uncertainty about what kind of action the country may now face. james reynolds, bbc news. >> mark fitzpatrick joins me from washington. thank you for being with us on gmt. without getting too technical, let's go into a little bit more detail on this report. does it have a smoking gun? >> i do not think one can say there's a smoking gun, but there's a very comprehensive set of activities that range across,

as far as i know, the entire gamut of technologies that are involved in designing and developing a nuclear weapon. how far iran got in the process is not clear. most of the information dates from 2003 and before. some of it continued after that. it's not very clear how much and whether iran still has a very dedicated comprehensive effort to develop nuclear weapons. >> if someone like you cannot be sure, it's rather crucial, isn'? >> they really need to be certain about the technical achievements going on. >> its very clear that the program is not entirely peaceful, as it says. how any country that is not totally in hock to iran could

continue to support it and question the facts that are now laid out before the international community really soundastounds one. that does not mean iran is on the verge of producing a nuclear weapon. they received a lot of foreign technology in this effort. if nations could implement the sanctions that are existing, iran could be cut off from further such technology. that could be the best way to ensure that it does not crossed the line to producing nuclear weapons. >> i'm not sure if he meant to, but in your last answer, you effectively challenged the likes of russia and china. china, in particular, has been resistant in the past to sanctions. you say there's absolutely no reason why a country like china should try to prevent any further sanctions. >> i'm saying that it is incontrovertible that iran had a

nuclear development program but least until 2003. whether that continues into what level is the unclear parts. china went along with earlier sanctions. the problem is that they have not implemented them fully. firms in china are still supplying iran. china should at least crackdown on the existing activity and implement the sanctions it signed up to already. >> thinking of things in diplomatic terms, where do you think this leaves the obama administration? there must be an enormous amount of pressure coming from israel for the administration to say something or perhaps do something. what do you think is most likely? >> i think the obama administration is fanning out across the world to try to shore up support for their pressure on iran. whether they can get another united nations security council sanctions is questionable given the attitude of russia and

china, who are worried that if the security council adopts another sanction, it could lead to a military action. they felt burned by the libya case where the security acouncil did one and it was used to oust gaddafi. i think it will be looking to put further pressure on iran and cut it off from the technology that has supported its nuclear programs. >> thank you very much. the russian space mission to send a probe to one of the moons of mars is running into trouble. it was launched on tuesday. the engine failed to file your. failed -- to fire. international aid agencies say money is running out to help millions of people affected by the floods that devastated large parts of southern pakistan early

this year. the organizations say the failure to raise adequate funds would force them to cut relief efforts after next month and leave millions needing food and shelter. south sudan says its oil production has fallen by a quarter since its independence four months ago. many engineers from the republic of sudan after the south became independent and there's now a shortage of skilled workers. oil provides 98% of south sudan's budget. still to come on gmt -- michael jackson's brother, jermaine jackson, gives us his family reaction following the conviction of the pop star's personal doctor. a leading republican contender to challenge barack obama has publicly addressed accusations that he made advances towards four women. herman cain said he is prepared to take a lie-detector test to

prove his innocence. this report from washington. >> he's the plain speaking pizza mogul, surprise front- runner in the republican race. his candidacy is threatened after claims that he sexually harassed four women. he denies this. >> the charges and the accusations -- i absolutely reject. they simply did not happen. >> the first accuser to go public alleges he made an unwanted sexual advance 14 years ago when she approached him for help after losing her job. >> i want you, mr. cain, to come clean. admit you were inappropriate to people. >> my first response is -- i do not even know who this woman

is. secondly, i did not recognize the name at all. >> even as the candidate denied one claim, another accuser was going public. today's spokesperson for the u.s. treasury -- in the late 1990's, she accused your maintaiherman cain of sexual harassment. his republican rivals smell blood and the polls suggest primary voters are losing faith and tiring of this scandal. if he is to survive, herman cain needs to change the subject and fast. steve kingstone, bbc news, washington. >> this is gmt from "bbc world news." i am george alagiah. the cost of borrowing in italy

has hit a new record one day after prime minister silvio berlusconi said he would resign once budget reforms are passed. the iranian president, ahmadinejad, has dismissed a report from the united nations which says there were signs iran may have worked on designing a nuclear weapon. time now for some business news. >> thank you very much. we will start in china. prices rose at a slower rate last month and inflation has eased back to 5.5% in october, down from a three-year high of 6.5% in july. food prices fell slightly. on average, people spend more than half of their income on food in china. >> of course, it has been increased by him saying he would resign. therefore, there have been some hope initially that his

resignation would then open the door for some people, or support for the authority package. the domestic politics are much more complicated. there is a power struggle taking place. everybody wants to position themselves in the best way ahead of the coming election. that's going to keep still level of uncertainty high. as you said in your opening statement, this has come very late. this could have been a big step forward in politics -- is it not too late? we've seen substantial flattening in italy. -- each time when spreads went to 450 to 500 basis points, such as greece,

the market moved into a much higher territory thereafter. the risk in italy is there. >> i'm sure you gather that was not martin. he was talking about the an italian crisis. the subject seems very impossible to get away from. however, we will now try to will want to hsbc. the bank made $3 billion in the three months to the end of september. europe's biggest lender reported a fall in income from investment banking and a rise in bad debts in the united states. it was all not gloom and doom. above that figure, profits were boosted by a one-off gain of $4.1 billion. dexia says it will lead to raise another 4 billion euros.

this is despite receiving 90 billion eurosty of guarantees. more bad news for toyota drivers. it's recalling more than half a million vehicles. a faulty part could affect the steering of a number of models. a number of lexus models are also affected. in mostly affects cars sold in the united states and japan. let's have a look at the markets. that was the european markets. like i said, they were down. cac, ftse, same, down about 1.5% as a reaction to the continuing problems in italy.

yesterday, we saw a brief flurry, which was reflected in the asian markets. there was a brief flurry as a reaction to berlusconi offering his resignation. that's the businesses. >> italy at the end. >> a little bit of italy. >> the man accused of organizing the deadly attack on american warships in yemen will appear between a military trial in guantanamo bay. it's the first since president obama allowed the military commissions to resume earlier this year. >> thank you. yes, this is a significant day in guantanamo. this is the first time these military trials have resumed. president obama put a block to them when he first came into office. under opposition from congress, he is effectively being forced to withdraw that.

what we will see today for the first time in nine years since his capture in the arabian gulf -- he is accused of bombing the uss cole. we have been here for the last 36 hours. the military authorities have shown us around the base during that time. >> inside america's most notorious prison, this is one of several camps at guantanamo bay housing those captured during the u.s. war on terror. we have been brought here under strict regulations. cannot show the faces. there's one camp we cannot visit. that's where the authorities keep what they described as a high value prisoners, including the suspected mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. another of its inmates is alleged to beat the boat bomber, al-nashiri.

it killed 17 american servicemen and wounded dozens more. he was captured in the arabian gulf in 2002 and disappeared into a network. for the first time, he will appear before a trial and hear the charges against him. he faces the death penalty. >> the military commissions at guantanamo bay have caused considerable controversy and this case is no different. defendant is known to be repeatedly tortured during his interrogation by the cia. the prosecution say the system is a fair balance between national security and transparency. the defense team have some major concerns. >> this is so completely unorthodox and so different from what would occur in a federal court. there's nothing about this that's fair or legitimate. this is a court organize to

kill. >> president obama wanted to bring an end to the trial, but it has been stopped by a belligerent congress. the idea of transferring those who plotted 9/11 to mainland usa was unpopular. the military commissions will resume. both sides admit they of no idea when the trial will conclude. a decade since the first shackled prisoners arrived here, america appears no closer to heeling what is considered its most festering sore. >> this is expected to be an arraignment hearing. what we will hear is simply a lot of complex procedural arguments filed from both sides affectively looking at how this test case is going to be carried out. this is really an initial hearing. there's no telling, both sides admit, when the trial will start or conclude.

some of the attorneys we have been speaking to say it will not be until three years when in actual verdict will be available. it is complex and this is the very start. there are, of course, many more to come. >> thank you very much. the family of michael jackson say they want to know more about the circumstances surrounding the pop star's death. his personal physician, dr. conrad murray, has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter and faces a possible four years in jail. our los angeles correspondent has been to speak to michael's brother, jermaine jackson. >> the last jackson family photographs with michael. jermaine jackson told me his brother was full of life and excited about his comeback concerts. now, almost two and half years after the pop star's death, jermaine says the family takes little comfort from the conviction of conrad murray. >> to see murray handcuffed -- i

think my mother's heart went out a bit for his mother. we have feelings. it was negligence, just like we said. it was corporate negligence, as well. we're still looking for answers. >> dr. murray has been said to be devastated by what happened, devastated by his conviction, devastated by the loss of michael. do you have any sympathy for him? >> i cannot say i do. he was looking at the money instead of the person. even during the rehearsals, they were looking at performance is to show us the human being, michael. had someone just said, call any one of us and said, "come down, your brothers not normal." he would alive today.

>> michael will live on through his music. a legacy his family will treasure. >> stay with "bbc world news." there is plenty more to come. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. union bank. and shell. >> this is kim - about to feel one of his favorite sensations. at shell, we're developing more efficient fuels in countries

like malaysia that can help us get the most from our energy resources. let's use energy more efficiently. let's go.