30/12/2012 BBC Weekend News

Good afternoon. The Prime Minister says in his new year message that

Britain is heading in the right direction. David Cameron says the

country is making tangible progress and people can look forward to next

year with optimism. Labour said Mr Cameron is out of touch and the

economy is failing under his policies. Robin Brant reports.

Looking back on 2012, David Cameron admits it was a tough year, but do

not expect a new year, new me from the Prime Minister. The coalition

will push on with its plan, and he believes things will get better.

can look to the future with a realism and optimism. Realism

because you cannot cure problems that were decades in the making

overnight. There are no quick fixes, and I would not claim otherwise.

But we can be optimistic, too, because we are making tangible

progress. The highlights what he believes have been the Government's

key achievements, the deficit reduced by a quarter, hundreds of

new, or independent academies to replace schools, and an increase in

the state pension. No mention of the disastrous budget, though. DPM

is optimistic because he has got to be. The coalition government is not

even halfway through its age of austerity yet, with eight years of

tax rises predicted. David Cameron believes it is essential, if the UK

is to keep up with the rest of the world.

The running shoes were back on in spite of a knee injury over

Christmas. He thinks there is no time to spare. Britain is in a

global razed to succeed, a razed with countries like China, India

and Indonesia, a race for the jobs and opportunities of the future, so

when people say we can slow down on cutting our debt, we say no, we

cannot win in this world with a great millstone of debt around our

necks. The millstone of debt is what underpins it all, but the

Prime Minister does not want people thinking that the government is

just about the deficit. Labour has condemned the message has more of

the same from a prime minister who has failed to deliver.

The body of a young woman who died after being raped on a bus in Delhi

has been cremated. The medical student died in a Singapore

hospital where she was being treated. The attack sparked

protests across the country about attitudes to women in India. Andrew

North reports from Delhi. They have called her India's

daughter, the protesters are keeping up their calls for an end

to the repressive attitudes to women in the country. Many here

identified closely with the 23- year-old, their friends described

her as a modern student. It was a return in the dark as for her body

two weeks since she was raped on a night-time bus. India's most senior

leaders came to the airport to receive the flight. There was a

heavy police presence for her funeral, anxious about further

protest. The Government promises a fast trial for the six men accused

of their rape and now murder. Women say enforcing the law will not be

enough. They are talking about the judiciary, convictions, and that

will act as a deterrent, but the key point that remains, are we

ready to change our mindset where we say that women cannot be

objective fide customer as protests continued, the soul-searching

begins. Many say that India has little hope of realising its

ambitions until it treats women The Bishop of Sheffield has led

prayers for a church organist who died after being attacked on

Christmas Eve. Alan Greaves, 68, had been on his way to Midnight

Mass in High Green, where the service was held. He sustained head

injuries and died on Thursday. Two men are in custody after being

arrested on suspicion of his murder. Most people spend less on Christmas

shopping this year than last according to research by a consumer

group. The study also found that nearly half of consumers used

credit cards, overdrafts and other forms of borrowing to help fund

purchases. Theo Leggett reports. In the week before Christmas, the

crowds were out in force and the tills were ringing up and down the

country, but according to Which? many consumers struggled to pay for

their seasonal shopping spree. The Organisation interviewed 2000

adults in the run-up to the festive break. Nine out of 10 of those

questioned said they felt under pressure to spend too much. Just

under half said they had used some form of debt to help them meet

their bills, with many claiming it was the only way they could afford

crispers at all. Credit cards were the most popular form of borrowing,

although a substantial proportion also relied on store cards and

overdrafts from their banks. According to Which? reliance on

credit may be storing up trouble for the future. The overall picture

is one of declining financial resilience among the population

with people telling us they are feeling very squeezed. In the long

term, borrowing on credit is bad for consumers and the economy.

is not just a problem for consumers. The retail industry says that

Christmas sales were acceptable and may have been slightly higher than

last year, but it spending dries up over the next few months, life

could become very tough indeed. What the survey suggests is that

while Christmas may have provided some short-term relief from the

general financial gloom, for many the season of celebrations are

likely to be followed by a painful new year hangover of debt which may