18/02/2013 BBC News at Ten

David Cameron in India trying to boost business and international

ties. Batting for Britain, Mr Cameron leads the largest trade

delegation taken overseas by a Prime Minister. India is going to

be one of the great success stories of this century. The top three

economy by 2030 and I want Britain to be its partner of choice. We'll

ask how efblgtive this trip to India will be less than three years

since the last one. Also tonight: You're a very

attractive woman. I am not. Yes you are. I'll tell you something else.

You've got a very sexy neck. Comedy great, tributes to the actor

Richard Briers, who's died aged 79. So often when people die you might

be sitting at home thinking, "Oh, there must be a chink somewhere in

that." But with Richard there wasn't. In the wake of the

horsemeat scandal supermarkets and ministers trial to reassure

shoppers and restore confidence. Tackling the obesity crisis,

arguments over whether a tax on fizzy drinks is part of the answer.

And in football, Manchester United strike first in their FA Cup clash

Good evening. David Cameron is in India for a three-day visit aimed

at doubling trade by 2015. The Prime Minister said he hoped the

trip would open doors for British business and announced he would

ease visa restrictions on business people and students come together

UK. Mr Cameron made it clear that in return he wanted India to remove

barriers to investment for UK-based companies. This report from our

Deputy Political Editor James Landale. Today in Mumbai, the Prime

Minister went out to bat, not just for a local street team, but also

for British business. I'd forgotten how tiring this is. Cricket may be

one of our greatest exports to India. David Cameron doesn't want

it to be our last. But whatever the spin, when it comes to pitching for

business here, Britain still has much to learn. That's why he

arrived with what he said was the largest trade delegation a British

Prime Minister has take an broad. The UK, he said, is on the track --

on track to double its trade here by 2015 but it had to do more. He

promised Indian businessmen a fast- track visa and... In terms of

university students we have a clear message here in India this week,

which is there is no limit on the number of Indian students that can

come and study in British universities. They need an English

language qualification and a place, but there's no limit on the numbers.

So as many of you who can get places at our great universities

are welcome to come. He said Britain could over the people of

India expertise in energy, infrastructure and education,

particularly by investing in a so- called bills corridor between

Mumbai and Bangalore to the south. In return the Prime Minister said

that India should once again be a gateway to global trade, opening up

its markets and banking and insurance to Britain and the world,

in the hope that just possibly Britain could land a few deals on

the way. Like the one France won last year

to sell hundreds of jets to India, a deal that has yet to be signed.

Mr Cameron said he would remind Delhi that the part British euro

fighters were still available if the French deal fell through. You

say you want a special relationship with India. But does India want a

special relationship with Britain? The signs are very good. Half of

Indian investment into Europe comes to Britain and Britain is now the

largest European investor into India. I think the basis for that

special relationship and partnership is absolutely there.

This is going to be the third largest economy in the world by

2030. I want to make sure it's British firms that are helping to

build those hospitals, construct those roads, provide those

universities and we want a real exchange between our countries. (

Britain's relationship with India is not just about trade. Today Mr

Cameron paid tribute to the hundreds who died and were injured

in the Islamist attacks on Mumbai in 2008. Tomorrow his talks with

the Indian Prime Minister will focus on the joint fight against

terrorism. Earlier I spoke to James and asked

him whether trips like this make a difference. Yes and no. Clearly, a

trip like this opens doors and creates new relationships. It

drives momentum by all the deals that follow through. It makes

everything official. One of the businessmen on the trip said simply

the fact of having his photograph taken with the Prime Minister and

senior Indian politicians he sticks it on his website and that gives

him credibility here and drives new orders. We are starting from a very,

very low base. At the moment, Belgium has more bilateral trade

with India than the UK. There's a huge amount to do. The Prime

Minister came on one of these trips two-and-a-half years ago. There

wasn't as much impact as people had expected at the time. These trips

can make a difference, but only if there's sustained follow through in

the months and years ahead. Prime Minister has been talking

about women in politics. Tell us more about that. Well, the Prime

Minister went to a question and answer session at Unilever's

headquarters here. He doesn't just get asked about trade and foreign

affairs. He was asked how he stays fit. He goes to bed early. He was

asked about tax avoidance. Not surprisingly he's against it. He

was asked about the role of women in society. He said he felt there

were not enough women at the top table of politics, the judiciary

both here and in the UK. He said it's not just good enough to have a

level playing field, companies had to be more proactive if getting

women to the top table. He was open about who was driving this policy.

It wasn't the Civil Service or his favourite think-tank or his

political advisors, it was his wife, Samantha.

Tributes have been paid to the actor Richard Briers, who's died at

the age of 79. He was best known to millions for his enduring role in

the sitcom The Good Life. The star who was also known for his

Shakespearean roles has been battling a serious lung condition

for a number of years. Nick Higham looks back at his life. You are not

stachy Margo. You're a very attractive woman. I am not. Yes,

you are. I'll tell you something else, you've got a very sexy neck.

You've never seen my neck. Richard Briers and Penelope Keith in a

LAUGHTER The show was originally written as

a vehicle for Richard Briers, a sign of his reputation in the 70s

as one of Britain's finest comic actors in. The brilliant four-

strong cast he played the infuriating by enduring Tom Good

who threw off regular work to become self-sufficient. Good

morning Barbara. Good morning Tom. It's me Margo. Good morning, you're

perfectly correct. It is you. many tributes have been paid how

about wonderful he was, what a nice person, everyone felt they knew him,

he was loved, he was a national treasure. So often when people die

you might be sitting at home thinking, "Oh, there must be a

chink somewhere in that." But with Richard there wasn't. He was what

he said on the tin - a thoroughly nice chap. He'd started acting in

the RAF. At drama school he shone, playing hamlet no less. I got a

notice from Darlington the great critic in the Tell graph. He said,

"Last night British Airways British Airways British Airways played the

part of hamlet like a deplted typewriter." His nervous energy and

machine-gun delivery brought him work on television. Yes, sir.

done. He became a household name in Marriage Lines with Prunella Scales.

It isn't a pie if it hasn't got a top, it's a stew. He was like Tom

Good in The Good Life. I more or less played myself, a highly strung

person, desperate to get things right. After The Good Life he

stretched himself in. Restoration comedy and in Shakespeare with

Kenneth Branagh. Dickie and I agreed that we're both the quickest

hamlets on record. He wishes he had a recording of his to see if he was

quicker than me. I don't think he was. I believe, yet I hold not

honesty to have it not set down that you yourself Sir Shall grow

old, like a crab you could go backward. Branagh directed him as

King Lear and in films like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein opposite

Robert de Niro. A man shouldn't have to hide in the shadows. That's

never your slip. I'd be ashamed to put you in a rag like that. In Dad

he movingly played a man who discovers his wife, suffering from

Alzheimer's, is being abused. came trouble to my house in the

likeness of your grace. As films like Much Ado About Nothing

confirmed Richard Briers was more than just a great comic actor. It

wasn't until late in his career that he got the chance to show just

how much more. Richard Briers, who's died aged 79.

The food retail industry is determined to restore confidence in

its products following the horsemeat scandal. That's according

to Environment Secretary Owen Paterson who met bosses from

leading supermarkets today. New figures sales of frozen burgers

have fallen sharply since the scandal started.

The Government is clear, the people ultimately responsible for the food

on the supermarket shelves are those who sell it, even if

sometimes what's inside the package isn't necessarily written on the

outside. So today those people were invited to the Environment

Secretary's office where retailers confirmed tests on the vast

majority of processed beef are expected to be completed this week.

We're getting more and more confident that we are going up the

supply chain and certainly with the DEFRA and Secretary of State's

support we're uncovering what is clearing an adulteration issue

further up the chain. Consumer confidence is now key. A new survey

suggests that though sales of burgers have dropped shoppers

haven't desserted them all together. But more than 900,000 households

have stopped buying frozen burgers, mainly own brands. Though 1.6

million households were still buying them up to the beginning of

February. Overall sales though have declined for major retailers.

was salute determination in the industry to restore confidence in

their products and I'm pleased to say we look forward to meeting on a

regular basis to absolutely make it clear that when consumers buy a

product they get what they bought. Not all supermarkets have had to

remove products from their shelves. Some have tried to shine a light on

other areas of the food industry and part of the issue has been the

complex supply chain passing through different companies and

countries. It's clear now that the retailers are taking responsibility

for the products that they sell. That's very, very logical. But I do

think that the Government has a role in placing what those

retailers are doing just to make sure that the standards are

maintained. A customer base which has its eyes fixed on certain goods

at certain prices is also said to be putting pressure on the system.

Should consumers be less demanding? Should retailers take all the

responsibility? Do regulations need to change? And what the suppliers?

The extent of the scandal may be emerging but the solutions are far

from clear. The Government has confirmed that

British soldiers are to be deployed to Mali for up to 15 months.

They'll carry out infantry and artillery training for the Malian

armed forces, who are fighting Islamist extremists. Ministers

confirm that the UK would contribute 40 personnel to a

European Union training mission, due to start in the spring.

A man has gone on trial in Tenerife accused of murdering and beheading

a British woman in a knife attack on the island. Jennifer Mills-

Westley was killed in May 2011. A Bulgarian man, Deyan Deyanov, is

charged with her murder. The BBC has apologised for

disruption to its broadcasts today, as journalists stage a 24-hour

strike over job cuts. Members of the National Union of Journalists

have walked out in protest over compulsory redundancies. The picket

lines have been set up outside a number of BBC offices.

Making headlines rather than reporting them. Radio and TV output

on the BBC has been disrupted today by a journalists strike. Radio 4's

Today Programme cancelled, substitute presenters and reporters

and picket lines at BBC studios in Glasgow and elsewhere as union

members protest at the BBC's decision to make compulsory

redundancies. Unfortunately, we found ourselves having to take

strike action to try and highlight our concerns, not just for

individuals at risk but for the future of the BBC and the quality

broadcasting that we think the public deserve. The BBC says it's

disappointed the union has taken strike action and it's apologised

to audiences for the disruption to services. It says industrial action

doesn't alter the fact that the BBC is facing significant savings

targets. We're really disappointed that the NUJ have chosen to strike.

We continue to talk to them. We talked to them last week and we'll

continue to meet with them to find a realistic solution. We've been

very clear with the NUJ that we do believe that some compulsory

redundancies are unavoidable. union says cuts and redundancies

are threatening the quality of BBC programmes and it's promising to

continue a work to rule when the Coming up on tonight's programme:

Built in 1964, it has transported 2,500 researchers on more than

4,400 dives, but now it's time for Fizzy drinks should be heavily

taxed and junk food adverts moved after the watershed according to

the body representing nearly every doctor in the country. The Academy

of Medical Royal Colleges says ballooning waistlines constitute a

huge crisis. But the soft drinks industry says a tax would just be a

stunt. James Buchanan reports. Britons are getting bigger, more

than one in four adults is classed as obese and fatty foods and fizzy

drinks are two of the reasons why. Doctors say it is one of the

greatest threats to public health in the 21st century, contributing

two diabetes, heart attacks and cancer. More Suzi Briggs are being

sold than ever before, with cola making more than half of the amount

sold -- more a fizzy drinks. A report says the government must

take action by slapping on a tax which will push prices up by at

least 20%. Sugary drinks, we don't need them to survive, they are just

water and sugar and calories. Let's try to encourage people to drink

more healthy drinks. But it is not just fizzy pop doctors have in

their sights. They want to see fewer fast-food outfits near

schools, a ban on advertising fatty foods on television before 9pm and

more money spent on weight-loss surgery. Drinks manufacturers say

they are not to blame for bloated Britain. Soft drinks contribute on

average just 2% today the calorie intake. We need a holistic approach

that addresses the fundamental issue of people's lifestyle, the

exercise they do it and the dye it they have overall. That is far more

considered in the long term than this cheap stunt -- and their diet

they have. The but the Department of Health says there is no single

answer to the obesity problem and it is up to everyone, government,

industry, health professionals and individuals themselves, to work

towards healthy eating and healthy lifestyles.

The time has come for the Security Council to refer war crimes in

Syria to the international criminal court for prosecution, according to

a United Nations human rights investigator. The comments come as

the latest UN report details a worsening picture of human rights

violations and war crimes, committed on both sides, in a civil

war that has killed more than 70,000 people in two years.

An Islamist group linked to Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility

for the kidnapping of seven foreigners, including a Briton, in

northern Nigeria. They were taken by gunmen who attacked a

residential compound in Jama'are, I spoke to our Nigeria

correspondent in Lagos and asked him what we know about this group.

This group has been named by the UK government as a terrorist

organisation linked with Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb. Ansaru have been

linked with several attacks in the past, including the kidnapping of a

Briton and an Italian, both of whom were killed in a failed rescue

attempt in March last year. The group is believed to be a breakaway

faction of the book abhorrence sect, which has been responsible for a

wave of violence across northern Nigeria -- Boko Haram. In November

they kidnapped a French man and they said it would put -- it was

because of the French intervention in Mali. This is done by criminal

gangs, could target a lot of wealthy people, especially

foreigners, because they feel they can get some good ransoms from this,

but with the rise of insurgency in the north, a lot of extremist

groups are also targeting foreigners and come in with a

different ideology, not just ransoms. A lot of observers say

with the French intervention in Mali, the rising threat against

Westerners in the region is one to look out for.

In Venezuela, Hugo Chavez has returned home following cancer

surgery in Cuba two months ago. Crowds gathered to welcome the

president who has been taken to a military hospital in the capital.

Mr Chavez's arrival was announced on his Twitter account with the

words: "Thank you, my God. Thank you, my beloved people".

The tiny three-man submarine Alvin has been the workhorse of

underwater research for nearly 50 years, finding new life forms and

dramatically advancing our understanding of the underwater

world. Now it is getting a long- overdue revamp and Pallab Ghosh has

been given a preview before its relaunch. The Alvin, a submarine

which is explored more of the deep- sea than at any other research

vessel. It can take a crew of two scientists and a pilot deep into

the sea's midnight zone. No sunlight can penetrate there. But,

so far, it's only been able to dive 4,500m metres, so not able to

explore the very depths of the ocean. Now it is having an upgrade,

which will enable it to go much deeper. At its heart, a new cockpit

for the crew. An airtight sphere forged from 15.5 metric tons of

titanium. It will be 10,000 PSI, which is like putting your average

house on your big toe, �10,000 per square inch. To get there, the

sphere is about three inches thick, almost 11 centimetres. And a

special titanium material to withstand the pressures.

scientists enter through this hatch. Let's take a look at what's inside.

I'm now entering what they call the personnel sphere, and it is from

here they will be able to see the very bottom of the sea. Discovering

new life, and seeing sights no one has ever seen before.

The new cockpit is slightly larger than the old one. It has new

instruments and five viewing windows. Alvin began service nearly

50 years ago and as well as charting the sea floor, it located

a lost hydrogen bomb in the Mediterranean in 1976. -- 1966.

Susan Humphreys has been on board Alvin during some of its greatest

scientific discoveries. Now it will be there to explore nearly all the

sea bed, what does she expect to find next? I think we could

discover many different new sorts of marine life. We could discover

new geological processes. We will be going to places that we have

never been before. And I have no doubt that we will be making new

discoveries when we go there. its refit is completed next month,

Alvin will set off on new missions, sending scientists to explore

uncharted waters at the bottom of the sea.

Some football news, and Manchester United are through to the quarter

finals of the FA Cup. There was a dramatic conclusion to their game

with Reading, with United ending up winning 2-1. Ian Kemp watched all

the action. It may come as a surprise to learn

that some fans at Old Trafford tonight probably would not even

born the last time Manchester United lifted the FA Cup.

Remarkably that is almost a decade ago, a record their manager wants

to rewrite. Reading have reached the quarter-finals in two of the

past three seasons but the early stages of this match suggested they

Only the width of the post prevented Reading from going a goal

down by half-time. Nani was unlucky that time, but in the second half

he would not be denied and the deadlock was finally broken. The

proverbial floodgates threatened to open, as Javier Hernandez made it

two three minutes later. There was another goal, but this one went to

Reading, to make for a tense finish. But they could not complete the