BBC News with Jonathan Izard
The United States Senate has voted to scrap the 17-year-long ban on gay men and lesbians openly serving in the military. Senators voted 65-31 to end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that's forced gay soldiers to conceal their sexuality. Supporters of the ban claimed that scrapping it during wartime would damage troop morale. From Washington, Iain MacKenzie reports.
"Don't ask, don't tell" had divided Congress along party lines. In the end, a number of moderate Republicans joined the Democrats to end the 17-year-old policy. The decision is a major victory for President Obama, who had made an election promise to repeal "don't ask, don't tell". He welcomed the Senate vote, saying no longer would patriotic Americans be asked to lie to serve their country. The timescale for its phasing out is not immediately clear. However, the Defence Department is expected to be given some time to implement the change.
Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to step down as president of Ivory Coast, has demanded that peacekeeping troops from France and the United Nations leave the country immediately. His spokeswoman accused them of colluding with former rebels. The UN is among several international organisations that say Laurent Gbagbo's rival Alassane Ouattara won the recent election. A spokesman for the UN force in Ivory Coast, Hamadoun Toure, warned that its troops had a mandate to return fire if necessary.
"The situation is very serious. It's not an easy one. But we hope and call on them not to use violence to settle problems. We call on them to show serenity and calm. The will which should prevail is the will of the people of Cote d'Ivoire as expressed on 28 November, 2010. So it's not a showdown between Laurent Gbagbo and United Nations."