20/09/2011 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at ten, on the slide - the state of the global economy gives

more cause for concern. In Europe and America, the IMF warns of a

possible return to recession unless decisive action is taken.

global economy has entered a dangerous new phase. The recovery

has weakened considerably. And a blow to Britain as the growth

forecast is reduced, but ministers say they are on the right track.

The right response is to stick to the plans we have set out up to

reduce the deficit and support economic growth. That is what the

IMF has advised us to do. A politician has cannot sit on their

hands any longer. We need to act for growth and jobs. It is the only

way to secure the future and get our deficits down. We can reveal

that ministers are discussing new ways of reviving the economy. We

will have the details. Also tonight:

A former Afghan president and chief peace negotiator is killed by a

suicide bomber in Kabul. The nurse questioned about

malpractice at a Stockport hospital speaks for the first time since her

release. I can't believe it is happening. Even then, they arrested

me. I thought I would be home for tea time, because surely they knew

I had not done anything wrong. And the first group of Team GB

athletes are named for the London Games of 2012.

And I will be with Sportsday later on the BBC News Channel, including

tonight's Carling Cup tyres as Manchester United renew their

Good evening. The global economy has entered a "dangerous new phase",

with a risk of renewed recession in Europe and America. The warning

comes from the International Monetary Fund at its headquarters

in Washington. The growth estimates for Britain and other major

economies have been sharply reduced, and the IMF urges Europe to "get

its act together" to tackle the debt crisis.

The IMF has taken a long, hard look at the global economy and found it

a pretty scary place. Today's report talks of a dangerous new

phase in what may now be a weekend bumpy recovery. Many economies are

facing anaemic growth. It is a big change from even a few months ago,

and nowhere has the outlook changed faster than in Italy. Today,

Italian newspapers were full of the news that the government's credit

rating had been cut for the first time in five years. The fund says

Italy is paying the price for the failure to resolve the crisis here

in Athens. Students took to the streets there again today to

protest against government cuts. There is clearly a difference

between Greece and Italy. I think the lack of clarity on Greece is

affecting the credibility when it comes to judgment of other

countries. The crisis in the Eurozone is one reason why the fund

has now sharply lowered its growth forecasts. It now expects the

Eurozone to grow by 1.6% this year and the US to grow by 1.5%, half as

fast as last year. The forecast for the UK is for growth of just 1.1%.

The chancellor's Budget assumes growth of 1.7%. The other big

danger flag Dublin this report is in the US. The fund worries that

the battle between the president and Congress will derail the

recovery here, with public spending cut to sharply next year, but not

enough long-term to silence questions about America's debt.

President Obama sounded like he was reading the fund's Strip yesterday,

announcing his deficit plan. need to invest in what will promote

hiring and economic growth now, while still providing the

confidence that will come with the plan to reduce our deficits long

term. The president's opponents know that talk of jobs strikes a

chord. Less than a year ago, Jo Farrell had a well-paid job, a

comfortable home in Virginia and two cars. Now all of that has gone.

His wife and three sons are living in his mother's trailer while he

works a double shift at a local restaurant. I try not to show my

emotions too much. I don't want my husband to feel absolutely defeated

and not be able to provide for his family. But for me as a woman, it

is hard to look at my kids every day and know that we failed them in

some way. The IMF has a difficult balance to strike with this report.

They need to sound the alarm, but they do not want to seriously

damage confidence. One of the things that will give America and

other countries a lost decade is if it ordinary people feel so gloomy

about their prospects that they decide to slash spending now. In

that sense, the greatest fear hanging over the global economy may

well be a fear itself. The IMF's Chief Economist admits that George

Osborne is one of the -- walking a fine line as well in deciding

whether to slow the pace of cuts. At some point, if things turn out

to be worse, one has to reconsider plans. But there is loss of

credibility when you have established a plan and you need to

change it. At some point, you need to do it, but the threshold is

higher. The watchdog for the global economy sees dangers all around us,

but it does not want anyone to press the panic button just yet.

The government here says this is no time to ditch its austerity

measures. But the BBC understands that some ministers are arguing

that the Chancellor could inject up to �5 billion into the economy

without abandoning his deficit reduction strategy. As our

political editor Nick Robinson can reveal, they believe Mr Osborne

could raise capital spending on infrastructure projects.

The economy is slowing and the Chancellor knows it, but however

bad the forecasts get, the coalition has just one message - we

are sticking to plan. The right response is to stick to the plans

we have set out. We will go on with determination and no wavering.

Credibility comes with having a plan and sticking to it, but

recognising that within it, there is also flexibility. Behind the

scenes, away from the cameras, an important debate is just beginning

amongst ministers about just how much flexibility there can be while

sticking to plan A. Some ministers have told me that they believe the

Chancellor could increase spending on so-called capital projects by as

much as �5 billion, in an effort to stimulate growth. All agree that in

-- improving Britain's infrastructure, including its

transport links, could get the economy moving. Ministers have

announced plans to accelerate spending on big projects. But some

are now contemplating going further, by increasing the capital budget.

It has always been treated differently from so-called current

spending, which pays for the salaries of police officers and

nurses and the running costs of public services in government

departments. The Chancellor has always argued that Britain's

economic credibility, with nervous financial markets, depends on

sticking to his plan, to which the Shadow Chancellor has always

replied, if the plan is not getting the economy growing, the plan

should be changed. The IMF are right. Politicians can't sit on

their hands any longer. We need to act for growth and jobs. It is the

only way to secure the future and get deficits down. I in Birmingham,

which has seen many jobs lost, the Liberal Democrat conference has

echoed, as minister after minister has taught not about the deficit,

but about the need for a plan for growth, the need for a stimulus.

The big economic policy question now is, how do we progress from

financial stability to growth? We need to do more. More to help

support jobs and growth in our communities. Ministers, whether Lib

Dem or Tory, stressed the need to stick to George Osborne's Budget

plan. But they are beginning to sound rather different about what

exactly that means. Any extra spending would require the

Chancellor to borrow more. Some call that being flexible. Others

will say no, it is abandoning plan In a moment, we will be speaking to

our political editor Nick Robinson, but first, our economics editor

Stephanie Flanders in Washington. It is a difficult balancing act

that is now facing so many of the world's big economies? Yes,

extremely difficult choices. The one piece of good news is that

negotiators from Europe and the IMF, who had pulled out of Greece in the

negotiations over the next slice of Greece's money for his emergency

bail-out, they have apparently had a constructive conference call with

the Greek government this afternoon and will be back in Athens at the

weekend. There is some progress on that piece in the Eurozone crisis,

but the broader crisis is with us. Governments everywhere are facing

the same dilemma of how to balance the need to get on top of the debt

in the long term against the need to support the recovery in the

short term when the recovery everywhere is looking weak. It is

interesting that countries like Britain and America, who have high

borrowing rates at the moment, as the fund points out, they are

actually enjoying very low interest rates. It is almost free for them

to borrow to fund these kind of investment snake is talking about.

But as we have seen in Italy and other places, that may seem

attractive now, but they cannot be sure that that confidence will stay

and markets will continue to have confidence in the government. That

debate will be on going inside the Treasury tonight. Let's talk more

about that debate with you, Nick. Are we about to see some kind of

significant shift in the government strategy? Not yet. I think it is

still the case but whether in public or private, Liberal Democrat

and Conservative ministers see the need to stick to the plan, in other

words to convince financial markets to look elsewhere if they are

looking for a government that doesn't know what to do or is

uncertain. But, and it is a big but, ministers here are beginning to

think, what happens if everything we try to get the economy growing

is not quite enough? All sides have agreed that they want to speed up

infrastructure projects. They should look around for unspent

money and spend that on in to stretcher. But some are beginning

to say to me, we could actually just increase those budgets a

little without, they claim, actually getting off-plan A. The

reason is because that so-called capital spending is treated in a

slightly different way from day-to- day or so-called current spending.

For the moment, it is a debate that is risky. But behind the scenes,

this is the argument. Do you risk upsetting the financial markets,

and is the gain from extra spending enough to make it worth taking that

risk? It is a debate that is about to begin.

Former President Rabbani of Afghanistan, the man chairing peace

talks with the Taliban, has been assassinated at his home in Kabul.

Mr Rabbani was meeting two members of the Taliban at the time of the

explosion. President Karzai has cut short his visit to the United

Nations in New York and is flying back to Kabul.

Heavy security tonight, outside the house in Kabul close to the

American embassy where former president Rabbani was killed by a

Taliban fighter with a bomb concealed in his turban. Rabbani

was a divisive figure, head of the Northern Alliance opposition to the

Taliban and a surprise appointment to lead the council set up by

President Karzai to talk peace with them. The Afghan President heard

the news in New York just before he met President Obama. The mission

that he had undertaken was vital for the Afghan people and for the

security of our country and the piece of our country. We will miss

him very much. Burhanuddin Rabbani may have died trying to bring peace,

but he lived as a warrior. He was the founding father of the Afghan

mujahedin, the Islamic fighters who repulsed the Russian invasion in

the 1980s. The country he led briefly as President in 1992 was

divided by civil war as the mujahedin he had inspired fought

among themselves, leading to the emergence of the Taliban in

reaction to the chaos, with their unique fundamentalist world-view.

Rabbani's death will send shockwaves across a country worn

out by war. Whoever was responsible for carrying out this attack

tonight was sending a clear message that they believe there is more

fighting to be done before there is A Royal Marine shot dead in

southern Afghanistan has been named by the MoD, he was 24 year-old

marine David Fairbrother from 42 Commando. Tonight his commanding

officer paid a tribute, describing him as a first class Marine, and a

young man of rare quality. A nurse arrested by police

investigating the contamination of saline at a hospital and Stockport

say she has been unable to live a normal life since she has been

released. Rebecca Leighton was charged with theft and criminal

damage with intent to endanger life, and spent more than six weeks in

custody. The charges have been dropped but she is still suspended

from her job. She was accused of killing her

patients. She spent six weeks in jail. Now, for the first time,

Rebecca Leighton has spoken about what she has been through. I woke

up to the police banging on the door, but even then I didn't... I

thought the police wanted to ask further questions. I thought I

would be home for tea time because surely they know I have not done

anything wrong. Rebecca was arrested after the deaths of three

patients. They all received contaminated Saline, and on 22nd

July she was charged with criminal damage to endanger life. 12 days

later the charges were dropped and she was told she could return to

nursing, but remains suspended from Stepping Hill while they

investigate claims she stole medicine. I plead with the police

all the time, just don't stop looking. If you do, surely the

person that has done these horrific things will still be out there.

Security remains tight at Stepping Hill. Here, every car is checked in

and out because the person who contaminated this Saline could

still be inside the hospital. 60 detectives need to speak to

hundreds of witnesses, and this includes patients, visitors and

staff. But it is also an investigation that has changed

Rebecca Leighton's life. I am living with my parents, I am not

working, I can't go outside with that people taking pictures of me.

I can't walk down the street on my own because I am scared. One-day

Rebecca Leighton hopes to return to work as a nurse, while the families

of those who died at Stepping Hill are still waiting for answers.

Still to come - a glimpse of 2012, as we look at the commercial

pressures on our Olympic athletes. The no request to the athletes

which might impact on their performance would be sanctioned by

me or the British Olympic Association.

The firms which control most of the energy market are guilty of

predatory pricing, according to the Energy Secretary Chris Huhne. He

said today he would make it easier for consumers to change supplier

and try to save money on their bills. He said tariffs needed to be

easier to understand and compare. Winter is fast approaching. The two

rounds of energy price rises means warming our homes will cost around

�160 more than just 12 months ago. That is bad news for this couple,

who lived in Essex. Joan is disabled, they need to keep the

heating on, but they find the range of offers simply too confusing.

are high energy users, both on gas and electricity, so we have an

incentive to look around. It is difficult within the supplier's

Terrace, let alone between tariffs. Any simplification will be an

advantage. Does the government have any plans to make life easier?

Simpler tariffs are coming. Companies will also have to say on

bills where you might find a cheaper deal. There are also plans

for customers to benefit financially when firms are fined

for wrongdoing, and the Energy Secretary is also warning the

industry over predatory pricing, which he fears maybe keeping

newcomers out of the market. It is simply not fair that big energy

companies can push their prices up for the vast majority of their

consumers who do not switch, while introducing cut-throat offers for

new customers that stops small firms entering the market to

provide real competition. Privatisation was meant to deliver

savings for consumers, but the big six energy firms have faced

increasing criticism as spiralling commodity prices has sent bills

ever higher. Will this make a difference? It is about time

someone took steps to make sure this market, which is characterised

by about selling, complex tariffs, that something is done to make life

easier for consumers. If you have never switched supplier, doing so

now could save you a couple of hundred pounds, but energy reforms

take time and for some the benefits may not be felt this winter.

In Yemen, there has been a third day of violence in the capital

Sanaa, where thousands of anti- government protesters are occupying

the central square. More than 70 people have died since the weekend.

Protesters want President Saleh to stand down. There are fears Yemen

is now on the brink of full-scale civil war.

It started peacefully today, thousands of protesters calling

again for President Saleh to step down after 33 years in power. The

response has been brutal. But this is a complicated uprising.

Government forces are fighting military units under a general who

has turned against the ruling family. Civilians are often caught

in the middle. Yemen is much the poorest country in the Arab world.

Emergency services and hospitals are ill-equipped for this onslaught.

It is estimated 70 people have been killed since Sunday, and many more

badly wounded. Inside the hospital, there is plenty of anger against

President Saleh and his family. TRANSLATION: To them I say by God,

we will not withdraw from our squares and fields until our

demands are fulfilled. Yemen's President keeps backing out of

apparent offers to hand over power to his deputy, while Western

government clings to the hope he will go before civil war. If we

really have to persuade all concerned, it is time to make that

transition, to sign an agreement that will allow a peaceful

transition of power to take place. Why is it proving so hard to

resolve? Partly because Yemen is the base far Al-Qaeda. Western

countries are nervous - could Al- Qaeda benefit of a ruthless

dictator should fall? Are calling on President Saleh to hand over

power, the United States still helped the family to run his regime.

There is a battle between the country's ruling elite. The put

esters are caught in a power struggle between two prominent

figures. On the one hand you have the President's family still in the

palace, and on the other hand you have a prominent rival army general

who defected earlier this year. Tonight, some sort of ceasefire

appears to be taking hold in Yemen as the United States issues a fresh

appeal for restraint, but there is no sign of fundamental change in

favour of the ordinary people of Yemen.

The former Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi has made another defiant

statement broadcast on the Syrian television channel, saying it would

be impossible to topple his regime because it had the support of the

Libyan people. He added his enemy's success depended on NATO air raids,

which he said would not last forever.

Britain's greatest Olympic sailor Ben Ainslie is one of the first

confirmed members of Team GB, the 550 British competitors will be

taking part in London 2012. The sailing team was announced as the

British Olympic Association was forced to dilute the commercial

demands on athletes taking part in the Olympic Games. Our

correspondent explains the changes. Britain's sailors have got used to

leading the way at the Olympics, they have won more medals than any

other nation and today, led by three-times Olympic champion Ben

Ainslie, they became the first sport to announce their squad for

London 2012. The hard work starts now. We have 11 months to prepare

for the Olympics. A lot of responsibility to go out there and

get the results, and be successful. These are the first members of

Britain's biggest Olympic team for more than a century. They will face

huge levels of expectation next summer, but there will also be

commercial pressures and the question is will they potentially

impact on the chances of delivering success? We have obtained the

agreement all athletes will have to sign. The concern - that the BOA is

asking them to do too much to satisfy sponsors and commercial

partners. The agreement requires Attlee's to comply with all

reasonable requests from the BOA, London 20 twirled and their

partners in order to maximise the promotional benefits of sponsorship

events. The document also reveals how more contentious plans have

been dropped after opposition from athletes and their agents,

including the requirement to attend one VIP dinner for or reception

organised by the BOA during the Games. The head of the BOA told me

that proposal had been a mistake. It was an error to think athletes

should appear during the Games when they should be 100% focused on

performance, and that was swiftly removed. But people will think this

is another example of the BOA trying to cash in. I don't think

they would because there is no cash involved. He said the team would

always come first. My line at a very early stage in this process

was as clear as crystal. No request to the athletes which might impact

on their performance would be sanctioned by me or the board of

the British Olympic Association. Britain's sailors will play a major