US military training on Vieques cancelled

The United States Navy has cancelled military training exercises on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques which were to have been carried out this month.

A Navy spokesman said the decision was made in the light of discussions earlier this week at the Pentagon between the US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, and the new governor of Puerto Rico, Sila Calderon.

At the meeting, Mrs Calderon pressed for an immediate end to military training on environmental and health grounds.

The Navy says the island, which it has used for the last sixty years, is essential for preparing US forces for combat. Voters on the island will decide in a referendum in November whether to allow the Navy to stay.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service