24/10/2011 BBC News at Six

David Cameron appeals to his MPs not to rebel over Europe as he

faces his biggest revolt since becoming Prime Minister. Dozens of

Conservatives could defy him tonight and vote for a referendum

on membership of the EU, despite this plea from the Prime Minister.

It is not the right time at this moment of economic crisis to launch

legislation that includes and in or out referendum. When your

neighbour's house is on fire, you first impulse should be to help

them to put out the flames. Like his predecessors, he is caught

between the party's interest and the national interest -- interest.

It is an out-of-touch Tory party tearing itself apart over Europe.

Also on tonight's programme: The desperate search for survivors

continues in Turkey after the earthquake that has killed more

than 260 people. A murder hunt is launched after the

body of a 28-year-old is found beaten and burned on the roadside

in Ayrshire. And the UK's tale of two autumns.

Severe weather warnings for some but drought conditions for others.

We are still looking at fields crying out for water. These are dry,

drought, dustbowl conditions. I will be here with Sportsday,

including a look back at United's Good evening. Welcome to the BBC

News at six. The Prime Minister has made a personal appeal to his MPs

not to defy him over Europe, as he faces his biggest Commons rebellion

since entering Downing Street. Dozens could rebel against him and

vote tonight for a referendum on Britain's membership of the

European Union. The vote is being seen as a test of David Cameron's

authority even though the government is not expected to lose,

as James Landale reports. The struggle to save the eurozone

has prompted a battle of wills at Westminster. Give voters a say, say

some MPs. Focus on saving Europe's economy first, say others. The

battle is testing the loyalty of MPs and the authority of the Prime

Minister. Rule Britannia! Conservative MPs may not go as far

as this but passions are high. Many want a referendum on whether

Britannia should stay in, get out or renegotiate its relationship

with the EU and one is even prepared to give up his role to

vote for it. My country comes before my party. We should not be

subject to a three-line whip. In my constituency, people would like to

be given a say. David Cameron spent the day trying to persuade rebel

MPs to back down. In public, he argued that a referendum now would

be rash and premature. When your neighbour's house is in fire, your

first impulse should be to help them to put out the flames, not

least to stop those flames reaching your own house. This is not the

time. This is not the time to argue about walking away. And this is why

he is not giving ground. From the days Margaret Thatcher said no to

further integration to the use when John Major fought running battles

with Euro-sceptic MPs, to the campaigns we have Hague fought to

save the pound, voters rarely rewarded a party focused on and

divided by Europe. There was no promise of a referendum in the

coalition agreement or the Tory and Labour manifestos and tonight

labour said it would support the government in the road. Like his

predecessors, he is caught between the party interest and the national

interest. It is an out-of-touch Tory party tearing itself apart

over Europe. And all the time, the British people are left to worry

about their jobs and livelihoods. But those pressing for a referendum

so that people must have their say. At a time when people pick up their

phones and spend their own money voting week in, week out to keep

their favoured contestants in Strictly Come Dancing and the X-

factor, many people will be baffled as to why it is the government and

all those who oppose this motion seemed keen to prevent them from

having their chance to vote. Does he understand our anxiety that so

many parties having promised a referendum again and again, clearly

it is something the British people want, to have a say over their

future relationship with the European Union, that it is ironic

that the House of Commons is likely to vote against what the British

people want. The government will defeat the call for a referendum.

What will matter is the size of the rebellion. It will be a test of how

many Tory MPs trust the Prime Minister on Europe and it will be a

test of his very political authority in the House of Commons.

Europe is changing as a result of the eurozone crisis and this will

impact on Westminster. Tonight's vote may be the first of many more

to come. In a moment we will be speaking to

our Europe editor in Brussels, but first Nick Robinson is at

Westminster. It is the size of this rebellion that will be crucial.

Yes, and the number 42 is one to look out for. That would mean the

biggest rebellion of this government to date and the biggest

rebellion against government policy on the issue of Europe that any

Conservative government has ever seen. In a sense, a number is not

the point. What we have seen in the House of Commons today is the

evidence of a lack of trust of the Tory backbenchers in their own

government. One illustration of that has just this minute happened

inside the House of Commons when Adam Holloway, the age to the

Europe Minister, has urged other MPs to vote with their consciences

to vote for the referendum and if he does that, he will have to

resign from his government position. This would demonstrate that despite

the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister and the government whips,

they have simply not managed to convince their own side and David

Cameron said today he shared the yearning for change in Britain's

relationship with Europe and I think Tory MPs, after tonight, will

say, when exactly is this going to happen?

As European leaders try to grapple with the debt crisis, what do they

make of this? I don't think they are focused on

this, they are more focused on the fact they are facing a deadline.

Europe's leaders will have to come back here on Wednesday night and

eventually Phipps -- fix the eurozone crisis and that is where

they crisis is. There appears to be some progress. MPs were told today

in Germany that the side of the EU main bail-out fund will be expanded

to one trillion Euros to protect countries like Italy, but left

progress in reducing Greek debt. But at the moment, there are

sticking points and another indication of the pressure that is

going around, Silvio Berlusconi in Italy has been told, give us some

indication you are getting your public finances in order by

Wednesday. What have to happen is on Wednesday evening, they have to

be able to convince the world that they have at last got control of

this eurozone crisis. Thank you.

Rescue teams in Turkey have managed to pull more people alive from the

rubble after the strong earthquake that hit the east of the country on

Sunday. At least 265 people are known to have died and it is feared

the death toll will rise. More than 1,000 people have been injured in

the quake, which measured 7.2 and struck close to the border with

Iran. The city of Ercis was the worst-hit, with almost 1,000

buildings destroyed. From there, Daniel Sandford sent this report.

Hammering, cutting, pulling frantically at the ruins of

reinforced concrete apartment blocks. The ordinary people of

Ercis were desperately helping the official rescue teams to look for

the hundreds who are missing. At the centre of this rescue effort is

the 29-year-old man, who is trapped beneath the rubble, pinned between

a wall and a car. He has been there for 24 hours over a freezing cold

night, and amongst those trying to get him out of his brothers. They

had formed a human chain, passing saucepans full of rubble away from

it injured brother, slowly making space for him to be brought out.

With exhaustion setting in, his mother waited patiently near by.

TRANSLATION: We have all been here since yesterday. We slept in the

car overnight and no food has passed any of his brother's' lips.

The six-year-old is also somewhere under the collapsed flats. Her

uncle told me she had been out playing at the time of the

earthquake and no one has heard from her since. I am sad for my

sister's husband... He was dead in the other rubble. We were their

reading him, at his funeral, and just got back here and we are

hoping the kid will come out, hopefully. No matter how seriously

injured, but alive. Overnight in the regional capital Van, a small

boy had been found alive. His rescue was pleading with him to be

patient while they worked to get him out. And in Ercis, this toddler

was successfully pulled out alive by emergency workers. CCTV footage

has emerged which shows the moment the powerful earthquake struck. The

shaking stops this couple in their tracks. A full-scale aid operation

is now under way. Encampments have been fed up to house the homeless

and give them some protection from sub-zero temperatures -- have been

set up. But with the rescues, including that of this 29-year-old,

going on into the second night, many people are choosing to sleep

out to be close to their relatives, trapped under the rubble.

Police in Ayrshire are trying to trace the last movements of a man

whose burned body was found at the side of a road early on Saturday

morning. Officers say Stuart Walker, who was 28 and from Cumnock, had

suffered horrible injuries in an extremely violent attack.

Stuart Walker was a popular and gentle man described by friends as

quick with a smile and always happy. His death has shocked the --

shocked the town where he lived and died. His grieving family joined

others in laying flowers on this secluded piece of land, where his

body was discovered. Imagine what his mum and dad have been through

and his sister... Very tough. Fairy-tale. -- a very tough. He was

the life and soul of the party, he would never let you get by without

saying hello. Stuart Walker was last seen alive on this stretch of

road in the early hours of Saturday, just a short distance from where

his body, beating and burnt, was later found. Police have been

examining the area and trying to work out with a 28-year-old had

been before. It is not something we read about in the newspapers every

day so there is an element of violence which is uncommon. The

motive for that we have yet to establish an suffice to say, a

young man who had everything to live for has had his life snatched

away. Detectives are looking into all aspects of Stuart Walker's life

but tonight there are additional officers on the street here,

reassuring the community not used to such extremely violent crime,

while still working to find this young man's murderer.

Applications for university courses in the UK have dropped by 9%

compared to last year. The admissions service UCAS says the

number of mature students, over the age of 25, has also fallen by more

than 20%. One of Joanna Yeates' neighbours

has told a court in Bristol that he did not hear any screams on the

night she died. Geoffrey Hardyman said he was ill with a cold and had

gone to bed without hearing any disturbance from the flat below him.

Vincent Tabak denies murdering Miss Yeates but has admitted

manslaughter. James Murdoch, the executive

chairman of News International, is to give evidence for a second time

to a parliamentary investigation into phone hacking at the News of

the World. Rupert Murdoch's son will appear before the Commons

Culture, Media and Sport Committee on November 10th.

In Libya, there are reports that more than 50 pro-Gaddafi fighters

may have been massacred in Sirte, the city where Gaddafi was found

last week. Their bodies were discovered a day after the

country's new leaders declared national liberation. Many people

who were forced from their homes during the fighting in the city are

now returning in the hope that they can rebuild their lives. Wyre

Davies reports from Sirte. There was heavy fighting and

destruction throughout this Libyan conflict but nothing on the scale

of what has happened in Sirte. Some say Gaddafi's home town is where

the judges -- transitional government forces took their

revenge. We followed this family back to the house they abandoned

two weeks ago. They were hoping to move back him. Hopes were dashed

when they saw the damage caused by the onslaught on Sirte. CRYING.

Therefore Bridge granddaughter is also missing. Not seemed in a panic

and confusion for days -- there four-year-old daughter. They hope

she is somewhere with their father. I don't know how to feel, says the

grandfather, I have been living in this house for 30 years. We have no

way to go. Many homes here have been destroyed

and looted. Some, perhaps understandably, fail to see the

bright future that others are talking about. I come today and I

find this is my flat, look at that. That is your house with the big

hole in the wall? Yes. It certainly feels too early for talk of

reconciliation. This town on which Colonel Gaddafi spend billions will

not enjoy such favouritism and privilege in the new Libya. Indeed,

some say that Sirte should not be be put at all and should remain as

a memorial to Gaddafi's victims -- should not be rebuilt. This is

after all the town that shocked at Colonel Gaddafi until the end. The

homes and bunkers in which he spent his last days, now in ruins. It may

well be the last place in Libya to Our top story tonight: Dozens of

Conservative MPs could defy the Prime Minister tonight and vote for

a referendum on Britain's EU membership. ,ing up:

What do you know of the unicorn? Not a lot, that's why I'm asking

you. And, as another cartoon favourite

gets the Hollywood treatment, Stephen Spielberg tells us why he

was determined to bring TinTin to 7 billion - that's how many of us

it is estimated will be living on the planet this time next week. The

world's population has expanded rapidly in the past decade with

around a billion more people alive than in 199. The United Nations is

warning that the rapid rate of growth is affecting many countries,

especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Fergus Walsh went to Saddam byia.

Welcome to the world. Like each and every one of us these newborns help

make up the 7 billion people on our planet. Katherine has just given

birth for the fourth time to a daughter. Hours old, she doesn't

have a name yet. Despite living in poverty, the parents want more

children, and they are ambitious for their future. I want my

daughter and my sons to become important people, she says. Then

they can help us. But I don't know if there'll be enough money for

them all to go through school. Most women don't use modern

contraception. For some because they can't afford to travel to

health clinics. Big families are the norm. Six children is the

average. Zambia's population is projected to triple by 2050 and

keep rising. Half the people here are aged 16 or under, and more and

more families are leaving the countryside to live in the capital,

Lusaka, in search of work. Population growth can be good for

the economy, with a young workforce and relatively fuel elderly. But

the increase here is so rapid the fear is it could perpetuate poverty.

Zambia is barely able to feed 13 million people now, so how will it

cope with 100 million or more by the edge of the century? And how do

you encourage the young to have fewer children than their parents?

Aid agencies say it starts with more rights for women. If you are

married to a man and he decides to have sen children, you have no say,

even -- ten children, you have no say. We need toe empower women so

they can make decisions about their lives. And that begins in the

classroom, where attitudes are changing. These teenagers wants

careers first and motherhood second. I want to have two kids, one boy

and a girl. I want to have two kids to reduce the population. Zambia is

a big country, three times the size of Britain, so there is plenty of

room. But the expanding population will need more schools, jobs,

hospitals and homes if it is to be lifted from poverty to prosperity.

You can see more stories from people affected by the world's

growing population on the BBC News website - bbc.co.uk/7billion.

The US ambassador to Syria has returned to Washington amid

concerns about his safety. The ambassador has faced criticism from

the authorities in Damascus for meeting Syrian opposition people

who are calling for the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.

An inquest into the death of a woman killed in a train crash in

Cumbria four years ago has heard how passengers were left strewn

across a carriage when the train derailed at 95 miles an hour.

Margaret Masson had been due to travel the next day but changed her

plans. Danny Savage is in Lambrigg where the accident happened. What

more did we learn in court today It was dark winter's evening, a Friday

night, when the 1715 service from London Euston to Glasgow came off

the tracks in the railway cutting behind me. The inquest was told the

train derailed as it went over a set of points and came to rest

scattered 300 metres away. Today we heard from people who were on the

train that night. We heard from the train driver, Ian Black, who said

without a shadow of a doubt I knew I was in big bother. The train just

jumped in the air. He was knocked out at his head hit the ceiling of

the train. He said he woke up a few moments later, wedged on top of the

dashboard, under the windscreen looking back at the seat of my cab.

I could hear screaming. I knew I was badly injured. But he still

will the presence of mind to make a phone call on his mobile phone to

warn that there had been a crash and to get the line closed. One

person died that night, Margaret Masson, who was 84 years old. This

inquest is to find out what happened. Her daughter shout, "Mum!

Mum! Mum!" in the moments after the crash, trying to hen her mother.

Somebody else in the carriage was thrown 50 feet in the air. More

details will come out as this inquest continues over the next

couple of weeks. He's Hollywood's most famous

director, but after four decades in film, Steven Spielberg says his

latest project has been among the most challenging. The film, The

Adventures Of Tintin: Secret Of The Unicorn, is the first fully

animated movie he's worked on. Speaking exclusively to the BBC he

explained how bringing the famous character to life had been a 28-

year-long labour of love. Lizo Mzimba reports. A world famous

comic book hero visualised by a world famous director. Filled with

typical Spielberg flourishes and elaborate set pieces. Here he's

stretched film technology further than he has before. Safrlt he

regards this as the biggest challenge he's faced in his 40-year

career. Never have I just made a purely animated movie until now.

Three years of active animation, so not being a part of that universe

until now. I found that, I was able to actually make two movies while

they were animating Tintin. He's used technology to capture actors'

movements. Animators use those movements as a guide as they create

each character's performance on the screen, enabling him to make a film

he had planned close on 30 years. was waiting for a technology to

come along that would better equip the style of my adaptation to the

style of Herge's illustrations. That was important to me, to get as

part to the artwork that he created. The original stories inspire huge

affection. The reviews have been mixed. Some applauding Spielberg's

adaptation, but others saying it doesn't do justisto Herge's ideas.

If they had gone for live action it might have worked but the

characters feel airy and weightless. Spielberg practically invented the

computer-enhanced blockbuster, with Jurassic Park's computer-generated

dinosaurs. Audiences will decide with whether this project deserves

similar success. The Queen's tour of Australia has

taken her to Brisbane to meet residents of the city devastated by

floods this year. They also met two koala bears who were removed from

their sanctuary when floodwaters hit.

Homeowners and businesses in parts of the UK have been told to brace

themselves for flooding as heavy rain and strong winds swept in from

the south. But for many other people it's a completely different

story, with parts of England experiencing drought conditions.

Jeremy Cooke reports on a tale of two autumns.

Storm-battered and sodden, across Northern Ireland, south-west

England and Wales the rains have come, driven inland by fierce winds.

And that means floods. In north Antrim the rising waters have

brought big problems for motorists. The rain overwhelming the drainage

systems. In Cornwall, more misery for an area which dozens of homes

and businesses were flood last year. Anxious hours lie ahead. There are

now 21 flood aletters across the west. More rain is on the way. So

lots of water but not quite everywhere. Across the English

Midlands and into East Anglia rain is a scarce commodity, a record-

breaking lack of precipitation. This rez ir voyeur in Kent, huge

swathes of -- this reservoir in Kent, its banks exposed.

In the south-west in the east of England the field are crying out

for rain. Dry, doubt, dust-bowlen conditions and the farmers are

battling to produce their crops. The dust trails tell their own

story. In Leicestershire this farmer is dealing with the driest

six months in the Midlands since records began 100 years ago.

fields should be green by now. You shouldn't be able to see any earth

at all. Be a nice green-looking feelgd, like a carpet, which at the

moment we haven't got. So floods and drought, a dramatically mixed

picture, but one we may have to get used to. It highlights just how

variable if weather is in the United Kingdom, and with climate

change predictions, it is forecast to be even more extreme and more

variable in the future. Tonight though it is the rain in the west

which is of immediate concern. Much more and there could be serious

problems ahead. Let's go straight to the weather.

Let's go straight to the weather. Two extremes? I will concentrate on

the wet extreme, if you don't mind. It is pouring with rain out there,

a deluge in parts of western Britain. Amber warnings, to stay

vigilant this evening. It keeps on pouring down, particularly in

Northern Ireland into the night. More wet weather ain't going to

help matters. It is going to pour with rain in western Wales tonight.

Squally winds in parts of Devon from a time. A respite at the

moment for Cornwall. But don't be fooled. We might have a sting in

the tail later in the night. Further heavy and prolonged showers.

But then the focus turns to eastern England and later into eastern

Scotland, where it will rain for much of tomorrow. Elsewhere it is

not going to be a cold night. A mild one. The winds will ease off

in most places. Not so in north- eastern parts of Scotland, where it

will pour with rain for much of the day. Warnings have been issued for

this part of the world. Elsewhere, drier and much better in Northern

Ireland. A few sharp showers but lengthy dry spells as well, a

chance to mop up perhaps. The same could be said for much of Wales.

Sunshine and broken cloud. South- west England, most places will have

lengthy dry and bright spells. The winds won't be as strong as they

have been. Later in the afternoon a clutch of showers in south-east

England could be heavy, possibly thundery. Before that happens a

lots of dry weather in East Anglia, the Midlands and up into northern

England after a damp start in the north-east. Things should pick up.

Not so for eastern Scotland. The up slopes of the Grampians could see

lots of rain tomorrow. A strong wind. The Met Office and

Environment Agency are working closely together. Keep up to date

closely together. Keep up to date with the flood line number.

Tonight's main news. Dozens of Conservative MPs could defy the