BBC News - China's manufacturing activity falls to a 32-month low

China'a manufacturing activity fell to a 32-month low in November, hurt by a slowdown in the global economy.

The manufacturing sector has been one of the biggest drivers of China's economic growth

China's official Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 49.0 in November, the lowest level since March 2009.

The industry survey data comes amid concerns that a slowdown in the global economy may dent demand for Chinese goods and hurt its economy.

PMI is a key indicator of manufacturing activity and a reading below 50 shows contraction.

"The November PMI dropped further to below the boom-bust line of 50... indicates that the economic growth pace would continue to moderate in the future," said Zhang Liqun, a researcher with the Development Research Centre of the State Council.

Slowing demand

The success of its manufacturing sector has been key to China's economic growth in the past few years.

However, recent economic problems in two of its biggest export markets - the US and Europe - have raised concerns about whether the sector can maintain its growth pace.

Those fears were fanned further as the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP), who produce the official PMI, said that the index for new orders also fell in November.

The new export orders index dipped to 45.6 in November from 48.6 the month before, indicating an accelerating decline in demand.

The BBC's Damian Grammaticas in Beijing said that even though China's economy was still expanding, the slowdown in the pace of growth was faster than expected.

He said the authorities were now "concerned about how to keep China's economy from slowing too fast".

BBC News - Pension talks begin between unions and government

The government and the unions are to attempt to resolve the dispute about changes to public sector pensions, which led to a widespread strike.

The unions and the government are in dispute about how many civil servants went on strike

The main teaching unions will hold talks with the government on Thursday, while the health service unions will hold similar talks on Friday.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said ministers are prepared to alter what is currently being offered.

Unions say more than two million workers took part in the strike.

David Cameron described the walkout by public sector workers on Wednesday as a "damp squib", saying it failed to cause the level of disruption expected.

Unions oppose plans to make members pay more and work longer to earn pensions.

The BBC's political correspondent, Iain Watson, says the Association of Teachers and Lecturers is hoping that the basis of a deal might be in place by early next year.

The government has said it will be flexible and look at legitimate concerns over the phasing in of the changes, our correspondent added.

Public services are now beginning to get back to normal after the biggest one-day strike since 1979.

The London Ambulance Service says it has resumed normal operations after it had to call in the police when it came under severe pressure during the strike.

At one point, during a surge in demand, only a half of the service's vehicles were staffed and 100 people were waiting for an ambulance.

About two-thirds of state schools shut and thousands of hospital operations were postponed as a result of the industrial action, with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) calling it "the biggest strike in a generation".

But ministers disputed the number of those who actually went on strike, putting it nearer to 1.2 million.

Mr Maude said the government's "rigorous contingency planning" had "significantly" limited the impact of the strikes.

"[The] strike was inappropriate, untimely and irresponsible, especially while talks are continuing," Mr Maude said. "Responsibility for any disruption lies squarely with union leaders.

"We now know that in the health service only approximately 79,000 staff have not been at work, which means that 85.5% of staff in NHS Trusts, Foundation Trusts, Ambulance Services and NHS Direct actually turned up."

He also said that the county's border controls had operated "effectively with minimal disruption to those travelling".

The Cabinet Office said that "significantly less than a third" of civil servants - 146,256 out of a total of 489,000 - took part in strike action.

But the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, Mark Serwotka, accused the government of lying about the number of civil servants who went on strike.

"The idea they could get that figure [of 146,256] within five hours is laughable," he said.

Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, said the government had put the public sector "under attack" and that the strike was fully justified.

"There comes a time when people really have to stand up and make a stand," he told ITV.

"With the scale of change the government are trying to force through, making people work much, much longer and get much, much less, that's the call people have made."

Neil Clarke, a union organiser with Unite, said: "The government is attacking our pension schemes. They are looking for public sector workers to contribute more, work longer and receive less in pension benefits.

"The average public sector pension comes in at £3,000 a year. Could you live on £3,000 a year?"

As hundreds of rallies were held in cities and towns across the UK on Wednesday, the TUC estimated that 30,000 protesters had turned out in Birmingham and some 25,000 in London.

BBC News - Eurozone finance ministers likely to miss rescue target

Plans to expand the eurozone's debt rescue fund to about 1tn euros ($1.3tn; £860bn) look unlikely to be achieved.

Jean-Claude Juncker (right) met Italy's premier Mario Monti before the finance minister's meeting

Eurozone finance ministers held talks late into Tuesday evening in a bid to agree a deal on bolstering the European Financial Stability Facility.

But Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker said after the meeting that the 1tn euro target was unlikely to be hit.

He said, however, that expansion of the EFSF's firepower would be "substantial", but gave no details.

"We haven't lowered our ambitions but the conditions have changed, so it will probably not be one trillion euros but less," he told reporters after chairing the finance ministers meeting in Brussels.

"But it will still be substantial," he added. European leaders want to bolster the EFSF from 440bn euros in case large economies such as Italy or Spain need to call for bailout money.

However, ministers did agree to allow the bailout fund to partially guarantee potential losses investors might incur on the purchase of government bonds.

In a statement the EFSF said the guarantee would give a bondholder "an amount of fixed credit protection of 20-30% of the principal amount of the sovereign bond.

"The partial risk protection is to be used primarily under precautionary programmes and is aimed at increasing demand for new issues of Member States and lowering funding costs."

'Unpredictable'

Ministers also decided to create co-investment funds to allow public and private investors to participate in the EFSF. But EFSF chief Karl Regling said it was impossible to give a figure at this stage.

"All of this is unpredictable, and market conditions will also change over time so that's why it's not possible to give one number," he said.

Increasing the power of the EFSF from its current lending capacity is seen by investors as vital to combating the debt crisis.

While current bailout provisions were adequate for countries such as Greece, Portugal and the Irish Republic, much greater firepower is needed in case larger economies such as Italy and Spain need help.

Fears that Italy in particular may need financial assistance were raised on Tuesday when the government was forced to pay much higher interest rates.

In an auction of 10-year bonds, Italy had to pay a rate of 7.6%, compared with 6.1% at a similar auction last month. Three-year bonds carried a yield of 7.9% compared with 4.9% a month ago. Such high interest rates are seen as unsustainable.

The sale raised 7.5bn euros, which was towards the top end of the target range.

Strong leadership

European leaders are coming under increasing pressure to agree a decisive plan of action to resolve the debt crisis.

On Monday, US President Barack Obama called for bold action while Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski urged Germany, the eurozone's largest economy, to take a stronger lead.

"You know full well nobody else can do it," he said.

Also on Monday, France and Germany proposed closer ties between eurozone economies, including binding limits on borrowing. These plans were well received by investors, who hope closer union would give policymakers the tools to solve the debt crisis.

BBC News - UK warns Iran after embassy stormed

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has warned Iran of "serious consequences" after protesters stormed the British embassy and a UK compound in Tehran.

Riot police took several hours to remove protesters from the embassy compound

Offices were ransacked and flags burned in the attacks, which followed a demonstration against sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear programme.

Mr Cameron described the attacks as "outrageous and indefensible".

The US and EU also condemned the attacks. Iran's foreign ministry expressed "regret" for the incidents.

The demonstrations followed a vote in Iran's parliament to reduce diplomatic ties with Britain in retaliation for imposing further sanctions.

'Dangerous situation'

Mr Cameron said the failure of the Iranian government to defend British staff and property was "a disgrace".

He said all British staff and their dependents had been accounted for and he praised Britain's ambassador to Iran, Dominick Chilcott, for handling a "dangerous situation with calm and professionalism".

"The Iranian government must recognise that there will be serious consequences for failing to protect our staff. We will consider what these measures should be in the coming days," he added.

US President Barack Obama said he was "deeply disturbed" by the attack.

"That kind of behaviour is not acceptable, and I strongly urge the Iranian government to hold those who are responsible to task," he said.

The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, called on Iran to protect foreign embassies in Tehran.

"The United States condemns this attack in the strongest possible terms. It is an affront not only to the British people but also the international community," Mrs Clinton said at a news conference in South Korea, where she was attending a global development conference.

Germany, France and the EU also condemned the attack.

Hundreds of protesters - whom Iran described as "students" - had massed outside the embassy compound before scaling the walls and the gates.

A car was set alight, windows were broken, offices wrecked and paintings and other items dragged outside and dumped.

The students chanted "the embassy of Britain should be taken over" and "death to England".

Another UK diplomatic compound in northern Tehran, known locally as Qolhak Garden, was also overrun and damaged.

The occupations went on for several hours. By nightfall riot police had restored order and evicted the protesters.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry expressed "regret for certain unacceptable behaviour by a small number of protesters in spite of efforts by the police".

"The relevant authorities have been asked to take the necessary measures and look into this issue immediately," it said.

Correspondents say the protests were organised by pro-government groups at universities and Islamic seminaries. The demonstrations also marked the anniversary of the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist in Tehran, which many Iranians have blamed on the UK. Britain denies any involvement.

Diplomatic row

Last week the US, UK and Canada announced new measures targeting Iran over its controversial nuclear plans.

That followed a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that suggested Iran was working towards acquiring a nuclear weapon.

It said Iran had carried out tests "relevant to the development of a nuclear device".

For its part, the UK Treasury imposed sanctions on Iranian banks, accusing them of facilitating the country's nuclear programme.

On Sunday, Iran's parliament voted by a large majority to downgrade diplomatic relations with the UK in response to the British action.

Iranian radio reported that some MPs had chanted "Death to Britain" during the vote, which was approved by 87% of MPs.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.

BBC News - OECD warns of European recession

The OECD has warned that the eurozone and UK could be entering a recession, and has cut its global growth forecast.

World trade growth has slowed significantly according to the OECD

The OECD said the eurozone would shrink in the fourth quarter by 1%, and by 0.4% in the first quarter of 2012.

For the UK, the OECD's predictions are a 0.03% contraction this quarter, and a further 0.15% next.

Separately, Bank of England governor Mervyn King told a committee of MPs that growth would be "flat or close to zero" over the next six months.

He told the Treasury Select Committee that he had no yet read the OECD report, but warned: "The outlook for output growth in the near term is considerably weaker than even three months ago."

The OECD's report also revised down its forecast for global economic growth to 3.8% this year and 3.4% next year.

Events

A "negative event" in the eurozone, such as a default by Italy or Spain, could even cause a global contraction, the OECD said.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development represents wealthy countries such as those within the eurozone, the US and Japan.

"More than usual, world economic prospects depend on events," it warned.

In the absence of such an event, the OECD's Economic Outlookpredicted positive growth in the eurozone for 2012 as a whole of 0.2%, despite a shallow recession in the period September 2011 to March 2012.

It recommended the European Central Bank should cut rates and increase its purchases of government bonds in order to to limit the cost of borrowing for governments.

"What we see now is contagion rising and hitting probably Germany as well," said OECD chief economist Pier Carlo Padoan

"So the first thing, the absolute priority, is to stop that and in the immediate the only actor that can do that is the ECB," he added.

In the UK, growth is predicted to be faster than the eurozone next year, at 0.5%, the OECD said.

UK risks

The Paris based group also predicted rising unemployment in the UK, with the jobless rate increasing from 8.1% in 2011 to 9.1% by 2013 even as the economy recovers.

Whilst supporting plans to cut the deficit, the report recommended that the Bank of England should increase further its quantitative easing programme to a total of £400bn to increase the flow of credit to the economy.

The government said the low growth forecast was the result of the eurozone crisis.

"It's very clear that as an open economy, we are going to be affected by what happens on our doorstep, in the eurozone," said a spokesperson.

The opposition called on the government to slow down its cuts to the deficit.

"We need action and a change of course now to boost jobs and growth and get the deficit down in a balanced way," said the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls.

Seeking growth

The OECD warned that a further deterioration in the UK economy could require changes in policy.

"Short-term fiscal support would be warranted, for example by easing up on the planned cuts in public investment, temporarily slowing consolidation," it said.

Another economic forecast is expected tomorrow from the government's independent Office of Budget Responsibility.

Economists have warned there are currently few reasons to be optimistic about the UK economy.

"It is hard to see where any growth next year will come from," said David Tinsley, UK economist at BNP Paribas.

Trade slowdown

In the US, the economy is expected to continue to grow by 1.7% this year and 2% in 2012.

However, a failure by the US Congress to agree a more balanced way to cut the federal government's deficit could also see the US economy shrinking, the OECD warned, as in the absence of a deal harsh government spending cuts and tax rises are due to take place over the next 15 months.

"Much tighter fiscal tightening in the US could tip the US economy into a recession that monetary policy can do little to prevent," it warned.

Global trade growth is also slowing according to the group.

Trade will have risen by 6.7% by the end of this year, it predicted, but will slow to 4.8% during 2012.

"International trade growth has weakened significantly. Contrary to what was expected earlier this year, the global economy is not out of the woods," the report warned.

The OECD did, however, predict a pick-up in Japan's economy, following this year's earthquake and tsunami.

It said Japan would grow by 2% in 2012, after a contraction of 0.3% in 2011.

BBC News - US and EU consider bilateral trade talks

US and EU leaders have said at the conclusion of a White House summit that they could launch bilateral trade talks to boost jobs and growth.

Barack Obama: ''We've got a stake in their (Europe's) success and will continue work in a constructive way to try to resolve this issue''

They announced a joint working group to explore how to enhance the "untapped potential" of transatlantic economic co-operation.

The statement followed wide-ranging talks between US President Barack Obama and European Union leaders.

The US and EU account for around half of the world's economic output.

The 27 countries of the eurozone make up the largest trading partner for the US.

Doing 'the unthinkable'

Foreign aid and cybersecurity were also on the agenda as President Obama met EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Monday.

But the eurozone debt crisis loomed over their talks.

President Obama said after the meeting that this issue was of "huge importance" to the US economy.

"I communicated to them that the United States stands ready to do our part to help them resolve this issue," he said, adding that it would be tougher to create jobs at home if European markets were contracting.

The two sides said in a joint statement: "We must intensify our efforts to realise the untapped potential of transatlantic economic co-operation to generate new opportunities for jobs and growth."

It is thought the working group could look at the possibility of cutting tariffs and other regulation that might hamper trade.

The group, to be headed by EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, would "identify and assess options for strengthening the EU-US economic relationship, especially those that have the highest potential to support jobs and growth", said the statement.

An interim report is expected next June, with the final recommendations due by the end of 2012.

After the meeting, Mr Van Rompuy told journalists that the EU had been taking hitherto "unthinkable" measures to try to restore growth.

"But we have to do more," he added.

Although the US has struck free trade deals with countries around the world in recent years, it has not engaged in bilateral trade talks with the EU.

This is said to be partly out of concern it might detract from the Doha round of world trade talks. But those negotiations have dragged on for more than a decade with no clear end in sight.

Monday's summit was held as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warned the eurozone economy was shrinking and that the UK could dip back into recession.

But world markets were up in response to reports of a proposed fiscal union that would set binding limits on eurozone government borrowing.

US-EU trade was up 15% in the first nine months of 2011, despite uncertainty in the global economy.

Trade between the US and EU is worth around $3.6bn (£2.3bn) per day and overall investment between the two supports around 7.1m jobs, according to the US Trade Representative's office.

The statement from Monday's summit also touched on issues on which the US and EU broadly agree - such as concerns over Iran's nuclear programme, nurturing clean energy technology and encouraging democracy in the wake of the Arab Spring.

BBC News - German police clear nuclear waste train protest

Police in Germany say they have cleared thousands of protesters who were trying to block a trainload of nuclear waste.

Many of the protesters had tethered themselves to the rail tracks

Protesters had blocked the tracks near the site in northern Germany where the spent nuclear fuel is to be stored.

The 150 tonnes of uranium, originally from German nuclear plants, is being moved in 11 containers from Normandy, France, where it was reprocessed.

It is the last of 12 such shipments from France because of a German move away from nuclear power.

Reports said 1,300 people had been detained following the clearing of the protest.

Riot police

About 20,000 police have been deployed along the German route of the train.

When the train started out from north-western France on Wednesday, riot police were used to remove protesters who tried to block tracks.

Twelve arrests were made in the violent clashes which erupted.

Anti-nuclear activists have said it was too dangerous to move the nuclear waste 1,200km (750 miles) from the Areva reprocessing plant at La Hague to its final destination of Gorleben.Other protests have also slowed the train's progress but have been largely peaceful.

Areva has denied that transportation of the waste poses a risk to the environment.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said this year that all of her country's nuclear plants would be shut down by 2022.

BBC News - Egypt ready to vote in first post-Mubarak elections

Egyptians are preparing to the head to the polls for the opening stage of the first elections since former President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February.

As dawn broke people were already queuing to cast their ballots outside polling stations in the capital, Cairo.

But protesters who want the vote to be postponed still occupy Tahrir Square.

The head of the country's military council, which took over after Mr Mubarak was unseated, has said the country is "at a crossroads".

"Either we succeed - politically, economically and socially - or the consequences will be extremely grave and we will not allow that," Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi said in a statement on Sunday.

He urged top presidential candidates Mohammed ElBaradei and Amr Moussa to give their support to his nomination for prime minister, 78-year-old Kamal Ganzouri.

Monday's voting begins an election timetable which lasts until March 2012.

The first stage of the poll, running until January, covers elections to the 508-member People's Assembly.

Over the last nine days there has been a revival of the protest movement which forced Mr Mubarak from office, with hundreds gathered at its hub, in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

At least 41 protesters have been killed and more than 2,000 wounded as tensions flared in recent days.

The protesters fear the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) - which is headed by Field Marshall Tantawi and is overseeing the transition to democratic rule - is trying to retain power.

"We reject any resolution taken by the military council - except for the handover of power to an authority that we approve. Then we will be making the decisions in Egyptian politics," said protester Samira Hosni.

Mass demonstrations - in Cairo and beyond - had called for military rule to end before parliamentary elections were held.

There have also been smaller gatherings expressing support for the country's interim military rulers.

'Dangerous hurdles'

On Monday morning the numbers in Tahrir Square were small, while queues were forming outside polling stations in the city.

Meanwhile, a pipeline in Egypt which supplies Israel and Jordan with natural gas has been attacked by saboteurs, Egypt's Mena state news agency said.

Witnesses reported seeing masked men driving away from the pipeline, close to the town of Arish, before two blasts were heard. It is the ninth such attack on the pipeline this year.

Field Marshall Tantawi said the army would ensure security at the polling booths and reiterated that the vote would go ahead on schedule despite the protests.

Analysts say the vote is almost certain to proceed, but the voting procedure is complex and there has been little time for campaigning, so it is unclear how many people will cast ballots.

There are some 50 million eligible voters in the country who will choose candidates from 50 registered political parties.

On Saturday, Field Marshall Tantawi held talks with leading political figures Mohamed ElBaradei and Amr Moussa to discuss the political crisis.

The BBC's Jon Leyne, in Cairo, says the man that the military council has nominated as prime minister, Kamal Ganzouri, has not gained traction or widespread support.

Aged 78, he looked every one of his years at a recent news conference and is seen as a Mubarak-era figure, our correspondent says.

But Mr ElBaradei - who has said he would be prepared to lead a national government until a president could be appointed - and Mr Moussa are powerful political figures who would challenge the power of the army, our correspondent says.

By naming Mr Ganzouri as prime minister, Field Marshall Tantawi is clearly trying to head off that threat, our correspondent says.

BBC News - France and Germany plan changes to EU treaties

Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Nicolas Sarkozy are to propose modifications to EU treaties designed to improve governance of the eurozone.

President Sarkozy: "All three of us are determined to work along the same path

The announcement came after their first meeting with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti since he took office.

Mr Sarkozy said they would "propose modification of treaties to improve eurozone confidence so there is more integration and convergence".

Mrs Merkel said they would not change the role of the European Central Bank.

The modifications are to be proposed over the next few days, but no details have yet been released.

France and Germany disagree about whether the ECB should act as lender of last resort and whether bonds should be issued by the whole of the eurozone instead of individual countries.

Mr Monti laid out his economic programme to his French and German counterparts, including undertaking to balance Italy's budget in 2013.

At 118% of annual economic output, Italy has a high level of overall debt, but the country has managed to service similarly high debt levels for the past 20 years.

The main problem with the Italian economy is weak growth - the country has averaged 0.75% growth a year over the past 15 years.

The yield on Italian 10-year bonds has jumped back above 7%, which is seen as the point at which the cost of borrowing becomes unsustainable.

It had dropped below that level the day after Silvio Berlusconi stood down.

The three leaders have agreed to meet again in Rome soon.

German bonds

The meeting came a day after a German bond auction failed to raise the target amount.

On Wednesday, Germany sold just 3.6bn euros ($4.8bn; £3bn) worth of 10-year bonds, from 6bn euros on offer.

In an unusual move, Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, said on Thursday that reports it had bought up some of the remaining bonds were incorrect.

"We do not finance the government, that is absolute rubbish," Bundesbank board member Joachim Nagel told the Reuters news agency.

In an official statement, the bank said: "The Bundesbank serves as a technical service provider in the issuance of federal government bonds and does not hold any German government bonds on its own account.

"Underbiddings have occurred from time to time in recent months and cannot be seen as a general mistrust in government securities".

It said bonds that were not taken up by investors in an auction were sold later on the secondary market.

Eurobonds

"In my conversations with analysts, traders and officials I'm finding more and more of them are talking about the end game for the euro. Not the end, necessarily, but a moment of truth very soon that will either force a big leap forward, or a wrenching break-up," said BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders.

"Even Germany cannot be a safe haven if this crisis goes critical."

On Wednesday, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso launched a consultation on whether the 17 eurozone countries could issue joint stability bonds.

But Mr Barroso stressed that the creation of the bonds would require much greater scrutiny of the budgets and economic policies of individual members.

Germany opposes both the issuing of joint bonds and greater involvement for the European Central Bank (ECB) in bailing out troubled economies.

Its government is concerned that joint bonds would reduce pressure on member states to reduce their debt burdens.

On Thursday, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said that it was important that the ECB should be allowed to intervene in the debt crisis.

"It's urgent. It will be discussed this very day in Strasbourg," he told France Inter radio.

Gavin Hewitt, the BBC's Europe editor, said that Mr Sarkozy and Mrs Merkel seem to have made "a truce" on the role of the ECB.

There was, he said, "a deal to agree to disagree. President Sarkozy said that in order to ensure the independence of the ECB 'no positive or negative demands should be made of it.' That seemed to be a temporary declaration of a cease-fire between France and Germany."

Portuguese strikes

Also on Thursday, Portugal had its debt rating cut by Fitch to so-called "junk" status, and warned it could be cut again.

Fitch made the downgrade because of its "large fiscal imbalances, high indebtedness across all sectors and adverse macroeconomic outlook".

Portugal, along with Greece and the Irish Republic, has received bailout funds from the eurozone.

The news came as a 24-hour general strike in Portugal brought the country to a halt in protest against austerity measures.

BBC News - Nuclear power 'gets little public support worldwide'

There is little public appetite across the world for building new nuclear reactors, a poll for the BBC indicates.

There was large support for renewables and for making energy supplies more efficient

In countries with nuclear programmes, people are significantly more opposed than they were in 2005, with only the UK and US bucking the trend.

Most believe that boosting efficiency and renewables can meet their needs.

Just 22% agreed that "nuclear power is relatively safe and an important source of electricity, and we should build more nuclear power plants".

In contrast, 71% thought their country "could almost entirely replace coal and nuclear energy within 20 years by becoming highly energy-efficient and focusing on generating energy from the Sun and wind".

Globally, 39% want to continue using existing reactors without building new ones, while 30% would like to shut everything down now.

GlobeScan polled 23,231 people in 23 countries from July to September this year, several months after an earthquake and giant tsunami devastated Japan's Fukushima Daiichi power station.

Rising tide

GlobeScan had previously polled eight countries with nuclear programmes, in 2005.

In most of them, opposition to building new reactors has risen markedly since.

In Germany it is up from 73% in 2005 to 90% now - which is reflected in the government's recent decision to close its nuclear programme.

More intriguingly, it also rose in pro-nuclear France (66% to 83%) and Russia (61% to 83%).

Fukushima-stricken Japan, however, registered the much more modest rise of 76% to 84%.

In the UK, support for building new reactors has risen from 33% to 37%. It is unchanged in the US, and also high in China and Pakistan, which all poll around the 40% mark.

Support for continuing to use existing plants while not building new ones was strongest in France and Japan (58% and 57%), while Spaniards and Germans (55% and 52%) were the keenest to shut existing plants down immediately.

In countries without operating reactors, support for building them was strongest in Nigeria (41%), Ghana (33%) and Egypt (31%).

Atlantic oddity

Although the survey cannot determine definitively whether the Fukushima disaster was responsible for changes of opinion, it appears likely.

"The lack of impact the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan has had on public views towards nuclear power in the UK and US is noteworthy," said GlobeScan chairman Doug Miller.

"This contrasts with significantly increased opposition to nuclear new-build in most countries we've tracked since 2005."

Other pollsters have also found continuing support in the UK for nuclear energy.

The BBC/GlobeScan poll is broadly consistent with other global polls as well.

In June, both Ipsos-Mori and the Japanese Asahi Shimbun newspaper found drops in support for the technology in most countries, with support continuing in a number including the US.

The Ipsos-Mori poll found that nuclear enjoyed the lowest support of any established technology for generating electricity, with 38%.

Coal fared not much better, at 48%, while solar, wind and hydro all found favour with more than 90% of those surveyed.

"That renewable energy combined with efficiency can replace coal and nuclear is not only a majority popular belief, but a fact supported by a growing number of authoritative reports," commented Jan Beranek, who leads the energy team in Greenpeace International.

"Nuclear power is a relatively tiny industry with huge economic, technical, safety, environmental, and political problems. And the Fukushima accident reminded the world that all reactors have inherent risks."

But bodies such as the International Energy Agency see a continuing role for nuclear power, as the global demand for energy grows and governments struggle to control greenhouse gas emissions at a reasonable cost.

John Ritch, director-general of the World Nuclear Association, said that Fukushima was the first significant nuclear incident in 25 years, and has not caused a single fatality.

"Policymakers must respect public opinion, but they must also respect facts; and the facts still favour nuclear power," he told BBC News.

"Those facts warrant a better educational effort from industry, from governments and from journalists.

"Nuclear power will be even safer after Fukushima, and will continue to mature as the world's premier non-carbon technology."