12/01/2013 BBC Weekend News


12/01/2013

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Good afternoon. WHITE Lord Heseltine, the

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Government's adviser on economic growth, has warned David Cameron

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that holding a referendum on Britain's relationship with the

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European Union would be, "an unnecessary gamble". He said it

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could drive away investment because of what he called, "a cloud of

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uncertainty". The Prime Minister is expected to announce details of his

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proposals in a speech later this month. Our political correspondent

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Alan Soady reports. Is David Cameron the Prime Minister who is

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to give voters a referendum on Europe? He will set out later this

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month the plans on Britain's future relationship with the European

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Union and it is expected he will give the public a vote for the

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first time since the 1970s. But the Conservative former Deputy Prime

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Minister, Lord Heseltine, now the Government's adviser on economic

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growth, is worried. In a newspaper interview, Lord

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Heseltine says, to commit to a referendum about a negotiation that

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has not begun, on a timescale, you cannot predict, on an outcome that

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is unknown, where Britain's appeal is an inward investment market is

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the centre of the debate, seems an unnecessary gamble.

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David Cameron favours renegotiating the terms of Britain's membership,

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but he did not rule out the possibility of leaving the EU in

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the future. His Chancellor, George Osborne, has also raised the

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question of EU membership, saying he would like Britain to stay in

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but on new terms. Renegotiation would rely on the willingness of

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other EU leaders, like the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, but a

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senior member of her party warned Britain could be making a mistake

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if it chose to leave the European Union. Lord Heseltine has been on

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the pro-European wing of the Conservative Party. There are those

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Euro-sceptics who may say this is a case of he would say that, wouldn't

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he? But David Cameron did hire him as the adviser on growth. There may

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be some MPs on the Prime Minister's side who has sympathy for what Lord

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Heseltine is saying. The Liberal Democrats Business Secretary, Vince

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Cable, has warned that the debate over Europe is disruptive and

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unhelpful, but the debate goes on, and with it public divisions at the

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heart of Government. Four police officers have been

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injured during another night of violence linked to Union flag

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protests in Northern Ireland. Police fired plastic bullets as

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rioters threw more than 30 petrol bombs. From Belfast, Chris Page

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reports. Politicians, the police and the business people said it

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should stop, but last night the rioting returned after two nights

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of peace. In the Rathcoole estate on the outskirts of north Belfast,

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the loyalists attacked the police with petrol bombs, rocks and

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firebombs. In Carrickfergus there was more rioters with more than 3

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petrol bombs thrown. The police responded by using water canons.

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Four officers were injured. There were a number of other

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demonstrations that were peaceful, but while the vast majority of

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people have not seen street violence, many have been affected

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by roadblocks, traffic was prevented from passing down several

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main roads. The company that runs public transport says it is losing

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out badly. Yesterday we had to withdraw

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services to most parts of Belfast. Only services running to airports

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were open. All other roads were blocked. We had to look after the

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safety of our staff and the customers.

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The violence that has caused this disruption has been confined to

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small areas, but it has cost the police and the businesses here

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millions of pounds. Almost six weeks into the dispute, there is no

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sign of the demonstrations ending. More details have emerged of the

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Government's plans for a flat rate pension, for people retiring after

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2017. Its expected to be �144 a week. Some people are expected to

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benefit from the change such as women who take long career breaks

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to bring up children but that others will have to pay hundreds of

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pounds more in national insurance during their working lives. The

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Government's white paper will be published on Monday.

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Government forces in Mali have regained territory from Islamist

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militants following air strikes by the French military. France has

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sent troops into the West African country to help the government

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repel an advance by the rebels. The French president Francois Hollande

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described the militants, who are linked to Al-Qaeda, as terrorists

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threatening Mali's very existence. Firefighters in Australia are

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continuing to tackle more than 100 bushfires. Gusty winds are making

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it hard to control the blazes, in the states of New South Wales,

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Tasmania and Victoria. Nick Bryant reports. The forecast was for the

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temperatures in the whos and a return to angry winds of earlier in

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the week. So the helicopters were in the skies early, dumping water

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from the planes. Of the 100 or so fires, three blazes posed a risk to

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the communities. For a time this fire front outside of Cooma, south

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of Canberra, threatened 15 properties, but relief came with a

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drop in temperatures and friendly winds. That's the story across New

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South Wales. Here, the fire crews deliberately set alight to the bush

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land. Such are the dry conditions, that in a matter of minutes it was

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ablaze. The crews are playing a guessing game with the fire, trying

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to predict its path and to deprive it of fuel. It's been a torrid week

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for the teams trying to contain the blazes, but given the catastrophic

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conditions, it is amazing that there has not been more destruction.

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Mate, the conditions we have had in the last several days, considering

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were was catastrophic fire danger and there has been no property loss

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it is remarkable and a credit to the firefighters who are all

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volunteers. Fires on the eastern side of this

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vast Continent are seeing this gigantic antic wall of dust close

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to the coastline. It looks like a creation of Hollywood, rather than

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