13/01/2014 BBC News at Ten

his strongest backing yet to the shale gas industry. Despite the

controversial process of fracking he says the economic gains can't be

ignored. Shale gas is important for our country. It could bring over ?3

billion of investment, give us cheaper energy for the future and

increase energy security. But protesters claim that dangers are

being ignored and vast areas of the countryside could be ruined. The

risks are far too great. They far outweigh any benefits we might get.

We'll have more on the Government's plan to give local authorities

financial rewards for allowing development of shale gas. Also

tonight: How the debate about the UK's national debt - all ?1.4

trillion - of it is affecting the arguments about Scottish

independence. The biggest-ever inquiry into child

abuse opens in Northern Ireland, considering allegations spanning 70

years. Francois Acra first lady could be in hospital for another

week, recovering from reports that the President is having an affair.

Do you have a name, pirate captain? And why some family films containing

strong language could be given to the ratings in future. And coming up

in Sportsday on BBC News. An emotional Cristiano Ronaldo beats

Lionel Messi and Frank Riberey to win the FIFA Ballon d'Or. It's

second time the Portugal captain has won the award.

Good evening. David Cameron has given his strongest backing yet for

shale gas and the controversial process of fracking, saying the new

industry could create tens of thousands of jobs and provide

cheaper energy. The Prime Minister unveiled financial incentives

allowing those councils in England which approve new shale projects to

keep millions of pounds in tax receipts. Critics said the

incentives amounted to bribes. An unlikely front line in the battle

over fracking. Today, protesters climbed on tankers heading for a

drilling site, leading to a stand-off with police. Fracking is a

danger to human health and the environment. The risks are far too

great. They far outweigh any benefits we may get. We don't

believe we will get any benefits. The Prime Minister disagrees. He was

visiting an onshore production site in Lincolnshire, near to where the

French oil giant Total plans to invest ?30 million looking for shale

gas. Shale is important for our country, it could bring ?3 billion

of investment, give us cheaper energy for the future and increase

our energy security. I want us to get on board this change that is

doing so much good and bringing some which benefit to North America. I

want others to benefit here as well. Large swathes of the UK have already

been opened up for energy exploration. It is these blocks that

are shaded in red. The government is considering significantly expanding

the search to, potentially, more than half of the UK. To get local

councils on board, they will be offered 100% of the business rates

from a fracking site, potentially worth up to ?1.7 million a year.

Communities will also get ?100,000 for every well and 1% of the revenue

when a site goes into full production. But we'll all of that be

enough? We need to see a fair share. The Treasury is going to make

about 53% in tax out of future oil operations. They are already giving

big incentives to fracking operators. That's all fine. But

local communities, not local councils, have to see a fair share.

Fracking takes place thousands of metres underground. Water, sand and

chemicals are injected in two shale rock, unlocking gas trapped for

millions of years. It has revolutionised the market in the US,

causing prices to plummet. The Government says the same could

happen here. Some in the fracking industry are unconvinced. It would

have to be an enormous amount of gas production, the only way to get

lower gas prices, all other things being equal, gas has to compete with

gas. That means there has to be a surplus. It would be possible, not

something I'm planning on at the moment. What the Government is

planning on is that 20-40 wells will be drilled over the next couple of

years. But whether this latest incentive, or, as some have called

it, a bride, will kick-start fracking is far from clear.

Nick Robinson is with me. It's quite clear that plenty of people have

real concerns about this technology and what it entails. What is the

Prime Minister's thinking? I think he's decided to go through the

political pain barrier, to resist the local campaigners, who now

include the Council in the Chancellor's -- and Mr's own

constituency. They have decided they don't want fracking. The Prime

Minister also resist the green campaigners saying, why are you

turning your back on wind and solar? Why, the cause they think the

attentional gains dwarfed the political downsides. There is that

potential big gain in terms of jobs, potentially cheap energy. But also,

really, the security of supply, the certainty that we have our own

energy supplies. Above all, this is part of the political battle over

the economy. The Prime Minister, at the beginning of every week, once to

say I have a long-term plan for the economy. Ed Miliband will try to

answer that with his own long-term plan on Thursday. In the Telegraph

he says the middle-class is getting poorer and smaller, and he wants to

reverse both. By the way, BBC News online has a lot more for you,

background analysis. The Treasury has declared that it

will, in all circumstances, take responsibility for all UK Government

debt should Scotland vote for independence in September. The move

was aimed at removing the risk of default resulting from any dispute

about Scotland's share of the debt and giving reassurance to the

financial markets. Supporters of Scottish independence say their

campaign has been boosted by the Treasury's promise, as our business

editor Robert Peston reports. The United Kingdom - in the red, or

at least our Government is, to the tune of ?1.4 trillion. But what

would happen to that debt if Scotland vote for independence?

Well, the Treasury said today that Scotland would be under no legal

obligation to take on any of the huge debt. So, why has the Treasury

said it will continue to stand behind all of the UK's enormous

debts, even if Scotland were to break away? Well, it's because

investors were uncertain who would be truly liable and there was a

danger that, in the absence of certainty, the British Government

could end up paying a higher rate of interest. The last thing we want is

uncertainty to cause taxpayers in every part of the Unitied kingdom to

have to pay a kind of separation surcharge on our debt in advance of

this referendum. But here's the funny thing. The Scottish National

Party, and Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond, insist Scotland will

take on some of those British liabilities. Despite the fact we've

no legal obligation, because they claim they're the continuing state,

we're prepared to take a share of liability, to pay a share of the

debt that has been built up by Alistair Darling and George Osborne

in terms of the financing of it. In return, of course, for the proper

share of the assets to the countries. The assets Alex Salmond

is talking about include this, North Sea oil, which he wants for

Scotland. And, because he wants a separate Scotland to keep the pound,

he also wants to negotiate some influence over how the Bank of

England said the price of money - interest rates. So, how much of the

UK's debt might Scotland take on? Well, an amount equal to 55% of

Scotland's income, or GDP, says a Scottish Government White Paper if

it's determined by Scotland's contribution to public finances. And

it would be 75% of Scottish GDP of the calculation were made on

Scotland's share of the UK's population. But, in both cases,

Scotland's debts would be lower than the 80% of GDP which is the official

forecast for the UK's debt. And, of course, a separate Scotland would

have to borrow new money from managers of huge funds, like this

bloke, to pay for public services. Do you think a Scottish Government

could borrow at the same low interest rates as the British

government currently pays? Well, there's a lot of uncertainty around

that because we don't know what assets they'd get. But, broadly

speaking, I think we should expect them to pay a higher rate of

interest on their borrowing than the UK Government, simply because

they're a new borrower and the market would demand a higher

interest rate for the uncertainty of the new borrower. That question,

what price investors would charge Scotland for funds, will be red-hot

in the referendum campaigns, since it'll also have a strong bearing on

what Scottish businesses and people would pay to borrow. Robert Preston,

BBC News. The United Kingdom's biggest ever

inquiry into child abuse has opened in Northern Ireland. Its goal is to

decide whether there was institutional abuse at homes run by

the state, church or voluntary organisations. The inquiry is

looking into allegations of abuse over a period of 70 years, from 1922

to 1995. More than 300 people are expected to give evidence over the

coming two years. In all, 13 institutions are under

investigation. Nick Higham reports from Banbridge in County Down, where

the hearing is taking place. Happy children, welfare and cared

for in a wholesome environment. That was the public image children's

homes across Britain and Ireland sought to project. The reality will

sometimes very different. This one, filmed in the UK in the 1950s, was,

like many, run by a religious order, in this case The Sisters of

Nazareth. Kate Walmsley was taken into care. In this care home, she

wet the bed and was publicly punished for it. At confession, she

was singled out for sexual abuse by a priest. When she reacted, she was

branded a delinquent. I was an abused child. I was not a

delinquent. I was a child, crying for help. I was a hurt a child, you

know? I just needed someone to ask me, why was I not happy? Today, the

inquiry chairman said some victims of abuse had waited years to tell

their stories. The inquiry's council quoted Nelson Mandela. There can be

no keener dedication of a society's cell and the way that it treats its

children. By examining vulnerable children living in children's homes

in Northern Ireland between 1922 and 1985 were treated, this inquiry will

essentially examine the soul of Northern Irish society over that

period. Over the next 18 months, the inquiry team sitting at this former

courthouse in the small town of Banbridge will hear often harrowing

accounts of childhood is a raft of affection and scarred by cruelty,

physical and psychological abuse, and sometimes sexual abuse as well.

At the inquiry today, Margaret McGuckin, one of the campaigners who

fought to set it up. She was a victim herself, taken into care when

she was three, separated from her brothers and sisters. She described

a childhood of sadness and ill-treatment. Bath-time was an

awful ritual, to be scrubbed, roasting, scolding, hot water over

your head, ducked down into a steel basin, screaming out for help and

shivering. The inquiry will look at abuse and institutions run by the

Church, charities and the state. Campaigners want official

recognition of what they suffered and for those still living who

committed the abuse to face criminal charges.

In France it's being reported that Valerie Trierweiler, the partner of

President Hollande, may stay in hospital for at least a week. She

was admitted on Friday after being told of allegations that the

President was having an affair with an actress. Mr Hollande, who's

already the most unpopular President in the history of the Fifth

Republic, is due to make a major speech tomorrow. But he is

struggling to contain the crisis around his private life. This report

does contain flash photography. President Hol hall's partner, first

-- President Hollande's partner, Valerie Trierweiler, remains in

hospital and may stay there for several days. She went for treatment

after a French magazine indicated the president had a new girlfriend.

Still a majority of French people see this as a private matter. I

personally don't care if he has a wife or if he has two or three

wives. That's not my problem. Every president has a life and love

affairs. So no matter for me. The president has deplored the invasion

of his privacy but has not clarified the nature of his relationship,

neither has Julie Gayet, the actress he visited.

TRANSLATION: I think the private life is a private affair. It is

something we have preserved in France. But questions are mounting.

The apartment which the president visited was rented by a friend of

the actress with reported links to criminals. As regards the First

Lady, even the president's allies say his relationship will have to be

clarified. If something has to be announced on the life of the family

of Mr Hollande, I'm sure that there will be some information given in

the next days. Amidst all of this, President Hollande tomorrow is due

to hold his first press conference of the new year. Many saw that as an

opportunity to relaunch his troubled presidency and to do that, he has to

address the problems of the economy - low growth, high unemployment. To

achieve progress there, much depends upon his credibility. There have

been frequent protests about the economy. It was the turn of taxi

drivers to block roads today, among their complaints - higher taxes. And

when we asked what they thought of the president, we got this response:

LAUGHTER The president's task tomorrow is to

explain how he will revive the economy to a sceptical and

frustrated public. It will be a decisive moment for his presidency.

Tonight, he is preparing inside the Elysee Palace. The risk is that few

will listen to him on the economy until he clarifies his personal

life. The interim president of the Central

African Republic has called for an end to the sectarian violence that's

claimed at least a thousand lives over the past month. The Republic's

first Muslim president resigned last week and fled the country. In the

days that followed, there's been less violence between Muslim and

Christian groups, but both accuse each other of carrying out

reprisals. Paul wood has spoken to a man accused of carrying out one of

the worst attacks, an act of cannibalism. There are graphic and

disturbing images and details in Paul's report.

The winners in this conflict, delirious with victory. The

Christians were victims, now they're on top. It's a dangerous time to be

Muslim. A charred and dismembered body is dragged through the streets.

Christians have just killed a Muslim passer-by. This man was at the head

of the mob. He was in a blind fury that day. Muslims killed his

pregnant wife, his sister-in-law, her baby, he tells me. They broke

down the door and cut the baby in half. I promised I'd get my revenge.

Revenge was an act of cannibalism. TRANSLATION: First he stabbed his

victim. You are Muslim, Muslim, Muslim, he said. I poured petrol

over him. I burned him. I ate his leg right down to the white bone.

The victim was just passing through on a bus. Most Christians are

horrified, but resigned. "No-one tried to help him" say these

eyewitnesses. "Everyone's so angry with the Muslims. No way anyone was

going to intervene." This happened at 2pm, when the

streets were crowded with people just like you see today. Everyone

we've spoken to is still at a loss to know what to make of it. Was it

the act of a madman, was it somebody who'd been pushed by sectarian

hatred? Was this explained, perhaps, by traditional beliefs in magic and

sorcery? These fighters are Christians, but they also believe in

magic. Their amulets contain soil from their ancestors' graves. Some

carry the flesh of enemies they've killed. These charms are a delicate

subject, not often discussed with outsiders. "We are bullet-proof",

says the commander. He went further, perhaps his crime resulted from his

own demons, but to some Christians, he's a hero. That doesn't bode well

for this country's future. In Jerusalem hundreds of foreign

ignitaries, including Tony Blair and the US vice-president, Joe Biden,

have attended a national memorial service for Ariel Sharon, the former

Israeli Prime Minister. He died on Saturday, at the age of 85, having

been in a coma for the past eight years. Mr Sharon was purried at his

family farm, close to the Gaza Strip. Our Middle East editor,

Jermey Bowen, sent this report. With prayers and tributes outside

its Parliament, Israel and its friends, said a final farewell to

Ariel Sharon, eight years to the month after a stroke removed him

from power. Net Benjamin Netaiyahu said he would go down in history as

one of their great military leaders. To Ariel Sharon's sons and

grandchildren, Joe Biden, the US vice-president, said Sharon's

passing also felt like a death in the family to many Americans, even

though, at times, he'd had profound differences with American leaders.

From my observation, he was a complex man, but to understand him

better, I think it's important history will judge, he also lived in

complex times. In a very complex neighbourhood. The coffin was taken

away to be buried at the Sharon family farm in southern Israel.

Ariel Sharon is as controversial in death as he was in life. For many

Israelis it was his military qualities, his strength and his

capacity for ruthlessness which made him a desirable Prime Minister at

the time that he was elected. Ariel Sharon owned a house in the old city

of Jerusalem, where most residents are Palestinians. For many years he

led the drive to settle Jews in the occupied territories. Jewish

settlers who live in the Muslim quarter have armed security guards.

A prominent Palestinian, who believes in nonviolent resistance to

Israel, said Israelis should move on from Sharon's legacy. He thought he

can deal with Palestinians and Arabs and the rest of the world only

through force. What Israel needs is a different kind of political

generation, people who understand that they themselves will not be

free as Israel is from occupation unless we, the Palestinians, are

free. As a soldier Ariel Sharon ignored

orders if he thought his plan was more effective. Off the continue

was. Many Palestinians and some human rights campaigners think he

should have been put on trial as a war criminal. But he goes to his

grave mourned by Israelis who felt safer when he was alive.

You can see more on Ariel Sharon's life in a special programme:

Israel's Iron Man at 11. 20pm tonight on BBC Two.

Cristiano Ronaldo has won FIFA's Ballon d'Or award after being named

the best footballer in the world 2013. He received his award this

evening from the great Brazilian player pele. Cristiano Ronaldo.

It's the second time the Barcelona and former Manchester United player

has won the award. He'd been runner up in three of the past four years

to Lionel Messi. He was clearly overcome at regaining the title.

There was success for the British film, 12 Years A Slave, at the

Golden Globes last night in Los Angeles and it's now being tipped

for success at the os karsz -- Oscars.

The Golden Globe award goes to... 12 Years A Slave.

Director Steve McQueen said he'd been taken aback by the award but

said he was pleased that a film which tells the true story of a man

sold into slavery had been so warmly embraced by cinema audiences.

Now films meant for family audiences, which contain some strong

language, will be given tougher ratings in future by the British

Board of Film Classification. The board has published new guidelines

to give more weight to the theme and tone of a film. In response to a

public consultation, the board also said it would consider the

psychological impact of films as well as the visual detail.

Do you have a name Pirate Captain? They call me the Pirate Captain.

Order man animations The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists was

given a U rating by the British Board of Film Classification, so

it's suitable for four years. But it contained the word "crap". Which

caused some parents to complain and the BBFC to take a new approach to

language. Hence forth there will be pretty much a zero tolerance when it

comes to U rated films and rude words. Children cop yip a lot of

what they learn, so they copy the bad language. That can be

embarrassing to the parents if they repeat the language to the vicar or

something like that. The BBFC also will pay more attention to how films

containing films of horror, gore, sex and self-harming are treated. It

gave Black Swan, for example, a 15 rating, but might take a different

approach to such a film in the future, instead allocating 18

classification to signal that it's not a sweet film about ballet, but a

dark and graphic tale of paranoia. Strong visual detail of violence or

its aftermath is a cause for parental concern. A change the

producers of the hunger games discovered recently. It had to drop

some screens in order to receive a 12 A rating. They're looking at the

context. Film, the wider meaning of the film, the horror in the film,

the creepiness, the disturbing sexualisation. They are looking at

that as a whole. That's very important to see the film as a whole

and not a set of buzz words or swear words. Film isn't the only area

where changes are happening. The Government is poised to alter the

regulations governing music DVDs, requiring, for the first time, those

aimed at 12 to 15-year-olds to apply for BBFC rating. Online videos such

as Miley Cyrus' controversial Wrecking Ball, which has been

watched by around half a billion people, will not be affected. At

least not yet. However, a pilot project is being discussed that

could see the BBFC's ratings system introduced at some point on Google's

YouTube website. That's all from us. First look at the papers on the BBC

News channel. Now we join our news teams