25/01/2014 BBC Weekend News

Good afternoon. Labour has said it would reintroduce the 50p top rate

of income tax if it wins the next general election. The Shadow

Chancellor, Ed Balls, told an audience in London that the move

would ensure those with the broadest shoulders bore a fairer share of the

burden. Business groups have criticised the policy. The

Conservatives said it was the same old Labour. Are you going to put up

taxes? The answer is yes. Ed Balls told an audience of left-wing

activists that a Labour government would reintroduce the 50p top rate

of income tax. It cannot be right for David Cameron and George Osborne

to have chosen to give the richest people in our country is huge tax

cut. That is why the next Labour government will reverse the top rate

tax cut so we can finish the job of getting the deficit down fairly.

Labour introduced the rate for those earning more than ?150,000 in 2010,

during their final few months in power. The coalition scrapped it in

2012 after research suggested it raised less than predicted. The

analysis done by each MRC and supported by the old BR was not just

looking at short changes -- HMRC. It was looking at the long-term. The

analysis showed that 50p rate would raise little if anything. The Shadow

Chancellor's cancer is officials underestimated the number of tax --

the amount of tax paid by the rich when it was in place. He pledged

that the Labour government would pass a law that would commit it to

balancing the books. The only borrowing a load would be for

investment in infrastructure. -- allowed. Labour hopes its message

will get through to people on incomes of all sizes. What sort of

reaction at this got away from party politics? I was in that hall, packed

with left-wing activists. They lapped up the 50p rate. The reaction

from business is the opposite. We have a few statements in the last 30

minutes. The CBI said it will put talented people off coming to the

UK. Something even more scathing. They called it knee jerk reaction. I

suspect Ed Balls might not mind that, because Labour's whole thing

is standing up for ordinary people in the face of the rich. The Syrian

government and the opposition have met briefly for the first time in

the same room - sitting face-to-face, but not talking

directly at the talks in Geneva. The initial meeting lasted about half an

hour, with only the UN mediator, Lakhdar Brahimi, speaking. They are

due to meet again later today, with the focus expected to be on

humanitarian aid and the release of prisoners. Our correspondent is

there. Is this reacted as -- regarded as progress? It certainly

is progress given for many hours yesterday it seemed as if the whole

peace process might collapse. The sticking point was whether the

government would accept the declaration last June which set out

a plan for the transition of power. It seemed they would not talk about

it, then they said they would talk about it in principle, and that was

enough to get the opposition into the room. Dictators usually don't

like to listen, but today, they had to listen to us and the voice of the

Syrian people, who want transition from dictatorship to democracy. The

transition process has just started today. They will not start talking

about the future of the president straightaway. That is the endgame.

This afternoon they will focus on humanitarian issues, getting

humanitarian aid into cities where people have been cut off for 18

months. We have spoken to rebel groups who said they would accept

what is being negotiated on their behalf. That would be concrete

progress which would make a real difference to people on the ground.

Police have warned that any British nationals travelling to Syria can be

expected to be stopped when they return, and could be arrested. Sir

Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, told the

BBC there was "huge concern" that Britons returning after fighting in

Syria posed a threat to the UK. This month, 16 people have been arrested

on suspicion of terror offences after travelling between Syria and

the UK. That compares with 24 in the whole of 2013. A murder

investigation has been launched by Surrey police following the death of

a 17-year-old girl. Officers were called to an address in Oxted after

the body of a girl was discovered. A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on

suspicion of murder and is in police custody. Anti-government protesters

in Ukraine have stormed the Energy Ministry in the capital, Kiev. The

demonstrators briefly occupied the first floor of the building, in what

officials called an act of terrorism. Protests are continuing

in cities across the country. The Interior Minister has accused the

demonstrators of hoarding weapons and said efforts to resolve the

unrest by peaceful means are "futile".

Reports from Paris say the French President Francois Hollande is to

announce his separation from partner Valerie Trierweiler later today. The

French First Lady is not married to Mr Hollande but assumed the role

following his election in 2012. Two weeks ago a magazine claimed that

the president has been having an affair with the actress Julie Gayet.

Tennis and China's Li Na has won the Australian Open in Melbourne -

beating her opponent, Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova, in straight

sets. It took a tie-break to decide the first set 7-6, but after that it

was one-way traffic, as the fourth seed took the second set 6-0 for her

second career Grand Slam title. You can see more on all of today's

stories on the BBC News Channel. That's all from me, stay with us on

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