24/01/2013 BBC News at Ten

Get out of Benghazi now, the Foreign Office tells all Britons in

the Libyan city they are in immediate danger. Two years ago,

Britain and other NATO countries helped the rebels in the City, now

Westerners are warned of a specific threat against them. The violence

there has been increasing. Four months ago, the US consulate was

set on fire and four Americans killed. We only issue advice like

this to leave Benghazi if we have credible and specific evidence that

there is a genuine threat. We will be assessing the danger to Britons

and why they have become a target. Also tonight, David Cameron in

Davos, the calls on multinational companies to pay their fair share

of tax. The Syrian refugee crisis, Jordan says it cannot cope with the

huge influx. All day people are continuing to arrive here, some

3,000 in the last 24 hours. Crime drops to its lowest level for

more than 30 years, what are the reasons behind it?

And playing the boy, not the ball, but who was most to blame for

football's latest controversy? And coming up in Sportsday on the

BBC News Channel, sadness and anger, Sir Bradley Wiggins talks about the

emotions he felt watching Lance Good evening. All Britons have been

urged to leave the Libyan city of Benghazi immediately following a

Foreign Office warning of a specific and imminent threat

against Westerners there. Two years ago, Britons were directly involved

in helping rebels and the city top or Colonel Gaddafi. Now they are a

target. The city is increasingly in the grip of warring Islamist

factions and has seen an upsurge in violence, including an attack on

the US consulate which left four Americans dead. Security

correspondent Gordon Corera reports. Another terror threat in North

Africa. Today the Foreign Office told all Britons in Libya's second

city of Benghazi to leave immediately because of a specific

and imminent danger. This is a turbulent part of North Africa, and

the whole of the region, North Africa and the Sahel, is an area

where various terrorist and militant groups to operate and

organise. We want to work with the governments of those countries to

put an end to that threat, but we have got to put the safety of

British citizens first. Libyan officials tonight said the warning

to them by surprise. A TRANSLATION: This announcement that hints at

something which does not really exist on the ground is not

justified in our opinion. But only a few months ago, a large group of

well-armed men attacked the US consulate in Benghazi, killing

America's ambassador, Chris Stevens, and three others. Over the last few

months, the security situation across North Africa has

deteriorated. After the attack in Benghazi last September, the start

of this year saw Mali come close to falling to his illness linked to

Al-Qaeda and tell France intervened. And a few days after that, an

attack was launched on a remote gas the gas facility attack was mark

Demel Mark tarp -- Mokhtar Belmokhtar. He is not thought to be

behind this latest threat. It is less than two years since Britain

and France took the lead in saving Benghazi from Colonel Gaddafi, but

with guns now readily available and the state weakened, the city has

become a dangerous place, according to one journalist who has just left.

I have not returned to the country because I received a specific

abduction threat in response to an investigation I was doing in two

events with armed groups in Benghazi, and I feared, if I go

back, that threat will be carried out, and I don't really want to

discover the consequences. Today's warning means the city which once

welcomed the West is now too dangerous for its citizens. The

question is how far that danger spreads across the region.

Gordon joins me now in the studio. What more can you tell us about

this threat? It was based on a highly specific and credible

information that came in in the last few days, leading to this

warning. There are less than 50 Britons thought to be in the city

of Benghazi, but it is thought they were in real danger. The threat is

not just against Britain's, Germany and the Netherlands have also

warned their citizens, and French nationals would also be targets.

Many of the French have already left because of the fear they might

be targets in retaliation for that French intervention in Mali.

Retaliating for that intervention may be one possible motive for the

group behind this, but there are a kaleidoscope of different groups

operating in the region. They are often competing with each other to

carry out an attack. You could see that in Algeria just last week.

According to some reports, that attack might have been planned out

of Libya. It has been bad for some time in Benghazi, we should say,

this is not a sudden change overnight, but it is a sign of a

tightening threat across the region. -- Heitinga.

The David Cameron says it is time for governments around the world to

tackle tax avoidance by multinational companies. He was

speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland,

where he met several European leaders, including Germany's Angela

Merkel. As Stephanie Flanders reports, questions about his pledge

to give the British people a referendum on EU member were high

on the agenda. There are statesmen at Davos and

also salesmen. Today the Prime Minister was trying to be both.

you think this is an unashamed advert for the UK and UK business,

you're absolutely right! It is Britain's turn to chair the G8, and

in his special address this morning he said he would use it to make

sure that big global companies were paying their fair share of tax.

am a low-tax conservative, but I am not a companies should pay no tax

Conservative. The lady at the back. Stephanie Flanders, BBC. Oh, right!

In the last 24 hours, you have told any business thinking about

investing in the UK that we might not be in the European Union in

five years' time, and this morning you are told and that if they come

to the UK, they will be put under enormous pressure to pay more tax.

If you look at the 55 very major business leaders who have written

to the Times this morning, they say that this is a sensible approach.

You're quite right to raise the issue about tax avoidance and some

of the moral issues attached to it. Part of the reason for raising this

at PGA Tour level is that this is a problem for all countries, not just

for Britain. -- at the G8 level. You might expect the boss of

Goldman Sachs to be interested in all of this. The investment bank

got into bother when it considered delaying staff payments to help

them avoid paying the top rate of tax. Lloyd Blankfein said the

public pressure had not changed their mind, but there is a limit.

Are you going to hold people to public opprobrium because a house

they could have sold in January, instead they sell it in May because

there was a profit to be made on the house? Because the price was

higher than the purchase price? If you do that, you are going to

criminalise every right-thinking person who organises their fares

and a sensible way. David Cameron is not the only European leader to

descend on Davos. He had private meetings with Angela Merkel and the

Dutch, Italian and Irish prime ministers today. His critics might

worry about the uncertainty created by a referendum. His message,

public and private, was that he wanted to be remembered for the

opposite, for securing Britain's place in a reformed EU. I think the

UK in the EU has been a good thing for everyone, and will continue to

be. I am for it. I do not like uncertainty, but suppressing

uncertainty is not the same thing as resolving it. There is a feeling

here in Davos that they might, just might be able to relax. The risk

hanging over the eurozone has lifted, but they still have some

very difficult years ahead. David Cameron may well feel the same way.

The violence in Syria has led to unprecedented numbers of refugees

crossing the border into neighbouring Jordan, according to

the country's foreign minister. The United Nations has caught the

situation extremely critical, and the Jordanian government is calling

for immediate international assistance. Up to 3,000 refugees

are entering Jordan every day, with tens of thousands more waiting to

cross. Special correspondent Fergal Keane reports from the Zaatari

refugee camp. Small figures in a vast crisis,

every night now they come in at. Most are women and children,

terrorised by war. And for the children, how frightening is it?

They are screaming, they cannot sleep. They cry all the time.

In the distance, in the country behind them, smoke rises from an

explosion. But on this side of the border, they meet soldiers who

At each border crossing, our forces are there to receive them, the

Brigadier-General tells me. We take them somewhere safe to restore

their sense of security. This is the place of safety, the

Zaatari camp, where nearly 70,000 Syrian refugees are now being cared

for by the Jordanian government and the United Nations. All day people

are continuing to arrive here, some 3,000 in the last 24 hours, and we

are told there are tens of thousands more waiting on the other

side of the border. All of this is putting a huge strain on the

resources of the camp. It is extremely critical. There are about

50 or 60,000 ready to cross into Jordan. We know that we have done

as well as we can, given the resources we have got, which is

that we have got no resources any more. We need money desperately to

expand his camp, as well as open two others. So far the United

Nations has raised just 3% of what it needs to care for the refugees

in Jordan over the next 12 months. And help of all kinds is needed.

This woman cares for her severely disabled nephew. Her own husband

was killed in Syria. People do what they can to create some dignity in

their surroundings. But among many of the refugees, there is a sense

that the world beyond the camp has abandoned them. This is a disaster.

Disaster! There is no value for the children, for the human being, no

value our tour. Where is the humanity? These are images of one

day in the life of Zaatari camps. The new, struggle with flinty

ground. -- newcomers. The young learn quickly the burdens of an

adult world in turmoil. And the men mourn three-month-old who died a

It was a tragedy that might easily have happened at home in Syria, but

to bury their child in exile deepens the grief. At twilight on

the border, the people keep coming by any means they can. We watched

as these families bordered boats on the Syrian side. But with their

numbers growing and scammed International aid promised, for how

much longer can Jordan offers A man has died after two cars

carrying four members of the same family crashed into a river at

Buxton in Derbyshire. After the accident, the mother managed to

free the children, but the father was stuck. He was eventually freed

40 minutes after he first entered the freezing water. The family were

taken to hospital, where the father Nearly a quarter of schools and 6th

form colleges in England are failing to produce any pupils with

the top A-Level grades sought by the leading universities. And,

according to figures from the Department for Education, last year

almost 200 schools fell below the Government's target of 40% of

pupils gaining at least five good GCSEs, including English and Maths.

Luisa Baldini has more. The Government wants more schools

to encourage pupils to aim high in their A-level choices, particularly

in disadvantaged areas. But the new statistics show there's a long way

to go with pupils limiting their options by choosing the wrong

subjects. Today's figures show that in nearly a quarter of the 2,5 00

schools and colleges teaching A- levels no pupils achieved the two A

and one B grades in the subjects often sought by the top

universities. I think the Government in everything that

they're doing are concentrating on the top 20%. The Government need to

remember that there's a range of students out there with a wide

range of abilities and disabilities and we need to cater for all of

them. A-level students in England study a wide variety of subjects,

everything from religious studies to biology. But the Russell Group

of leading universities, including Bristol, York, and Nottingham, say

they most commonly look for high grades in subjects like maths,

physics and modern or classical languages. Other subjects like

economics, music and religious studies, may be acceptable or even

desirable according to the course, but sometimes only in combination

with at least two of the others. These are the subjects that enable

to you keep your options open. They prepare you well for a wide range

of subjects. It's important that students take advice and it's

important that many of them study at least some of those facilitating

subjects. The data also shows that over 200 schools failed to reach a

new Government target which requires them to have 40% of pupils

achieving five good GCSEs, or to show significant improvement. The

Department for Education says whether students take an academic

or vocational route or mix of both, standards must be high and a light

shone on the schools and colleges which do well.

And more details of the school league tables for England can be

found on the BBC News website. Coming up: As French air strikes

continue in Mali, evidence emerges of alleged atrocities by some of

Mali's own soldiers. The overall level of crime in

England and Wales has dropped to its lowest level for more than 30

years. There are two sets of figures out today - a survey of the

public's experience of crime and the number of crimes reported to

the police. Both sets of figures show a drop across most categories,

whether it's murder or anti-social behaviour. As our home editor Mark

Easton reports, experts are struggling to work out why.

Crime has been a profound concern for generations with many people

still believing that it's rising. But today's figures for England and

Wales reveal something remarkable, the chance of being a victim of

crime is now at its lowest level since we started measuring more

than 30 years ago. By asking people about their actual experience of

crime, statisticians 8% in a year. Violent crime down 12%, household

down 7%, vandalism down 14%. The survey suggests crime has actually

Halfsined since 1995, ten million fewer crimes a year. Crimes

recorded by police have also fallen, although the Office for National

Statistics suggests police figures may sometimes overstate the

reduction because of inconsistent recording systems. All the data,

though, tells a story of crime at historically low levels. The great

crime mystery of our times, is why? One theory is that a number of

anti-crime measures have contributed. Improved locks and

security means cars are harder to steal, homes more difficult

toburgle. Targeted policing is credited with

reducing some crimes. We have seen a lot of improvements in the

science of crime fighting, forensics and DNA detection which

make it more likely we catch criminals and may deter some as

well. There might be wider changes taking place in society about the

way people behave towards each other. Another theory is the

internet is playing a part. Bored youngsters who might once have hung

around on the street getting into trouble are more likely to be

online Ormeau bile. Teenagers - - or on their mobile. The use of

social media by young people is increasing. What we don't know is

exactly what impact that has on youth crime. We know when young

people are bored there is evidence to show when people are bored

they're more likely to get into trouble and do something that's

antisocial or minor crime. Another theory for the fall is the ban on

lead and petrol and paint t may sound unlikely by lead is sa potent

nerve toxin associated with aggression. A number of respected

scientific studies have found strong coralations between exposure

and violent crime rates. There are all sorts of reasons why crime

rates change, interpersonal reasons to do with families, relationships,

society, economics. A range of things. The criminal justice itself

is a relatively small part of that. What's been baffling experts for

many years is why crime's been falling in virtually every

developed nation over the same period, regardless of economic or

crime policies. It may just be that the criminalology textbooks will

need to be rewritten. The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick

Clegg, has raised concerns about the Government's economic strategy

tonight. In an interview, Mr Clegg said that the coalition may have

cut spending on capital projects too deeply when it took power.

Let's get the latest from our political correspondent Ross

Hawkins, who is at Westminster tonight.

How significant are these comments by Mr Clegg? Nick Clegg's done

something rather unusual for a politician, he's admitted, in

effect, that the Government of which he is a part could have made

different decisions about the economy, suggesting it should have

spent more on capital expenditure, spending for investment at the

start of this parliament this evening, a Conservative health

Minister speaking on on Question Time said that argument may have

some merit. Labour say these are important admissions that prove the

Government needs to change its course, they point to comments by

the IMF's chief economist they say suggests he thinks that too. At the

Treasury they believe they've got the IMF on side, there's no hint of

a change of plan and it's pointed out they've spent an extra �20

billion on that capital expenditure than they say Labour would have

spent. Tomorrow we have the latest figures on whether or not the

economy is growing. Nick Clegg's comments are sure to play a key

part in the debate that follows. Everybody here at Westminster knows

that debate about who is competent to handle the economy and who can

make it grow matters more than any other.

Thank you. In Mali, the North African country where French troops

are supporting Malian forces against Islamist rebels, evidence

has emerged of alleged atrocities carried out by Mali's own soldiers

- including at least 30 summary executions. From Mali, our

correspondent Andrew Harding reports.

Familiar images, but the first from this war, a French air strike

against Islamist fighters' vehicles in northern Mali. The French

mission here is proving successful, so far. But it's what's going on

behind the frontlines that's triggering alarm.

Malian Government soldiers are being accused today of going on the

rampage against civilians. We found this body on the frontlines, an

Islamist fighter or one of dozens of locals allegedly killed by their

own army. We already have evidence of killings, of rapes against

civilians. The fear now is that as the French pave the way for the

Malian army to retake territory the army, which is thirsty for revenge,

will commit more of these crimes against people who are just -

because of the colour of their skin as being a being collaboraters.

Rare footage of the rebels who seized Timbuktu. There are fears of

an ethnic blood bath, if and when the ancient city is it recaptured.

There was news today of defections from one Islamist group which

figures who said they opposed terrorism. But the rebels remain

strong. An army hospital, it's been a humiliating year for these

soldiers. Revenge on many minds here. They're

all terrorists, this Sergeant tells me, but now we will win. But that

victory depends on this outside military help. It's not about to

stop, but the British Foreign Office today expressed deep concern

about the allegations against Mali's army. British troops are on

their way here very soon to help train the Malian military and

improve their discipline and prevent abuses, but it's all a

little late. Events on the ground are moving very fast here and there

are real concerns now that the mission to liberate Northern Mali

could get very ugly. Mali's army has promised to

investigate any human rights abuses but its credibility is, shall we

say, in doubt. After all, it staged a coup last year. So the French

soldier on. The stakes are too high not to. With Islamist fighters here

still threatening Algeria, Libya and beyond. But it's not going to

be quick or pretty. The controversy surrounding the

Swansea ball boy incident in last night's League Cup semi-final shows

no sign of abating. Chelsea's Eden Hazard may face further punishment

from the FA after being sent off for kicking a Swansea City ball boy,

but now the boy's conduct has come under some scrutiny after he

appeared to boast beforehand about delaying the game. Our sports

correspondent Joe Wilson reports. Officially in football the ball

boy's neutral but his role can be tactical. When the home team's on

top and time's running out and the opponents are desperate for the

ball. Situation resolved by a boot towards the ribs. Hazardous indeed.

Have you ever seen anything like that before?! The boy put his whole

body on to the ball. I tried kick the ball. I think I kicked the ball

and not the boy but I have apologised. Hazard was sent off, he

may have acted out of frustration but even the players' union concede

he was wrong. It's a job to do for the referee and the assistants,

with regard to putting time on and not for players to take the law

into their own hands. There was no appearance from the ball boy in

Wales today, no comment for the hopeful media near his family home.

But outside Swansea City measured sympathy. I can see why Chelsea are

angry over it, you know. Things happen, don't they? I thought that

the two of them were out of order. Hazard should never have done that.

Chelsea are the European champions, desperately needing positive

headlines. Their players have been involved in a remarkable series of

controversies recently. But there are some who feel that Eden Hazard

was the injured party at Swansea. The ball boy's only job is there to

get the ball back and he wouldn't give it back. I think his behaviour

is quite disgraceful and I think Eden Hazard has been badly treated.

The FA are reviewing the incident. Hazard already faces a three-match

ban. Charlie Morgan admitted before the game time-wasting is part of