26/02/2016 BBC News at Ten

George Osborne tells the BBC there may be further reductions

to public spending in next month's Budget.

but says "storm clouds" over the global economy could lead

We're going to look at whether we need to go further

I'm absolutely clear, we've got to balance the books.

We'll be asking why the Chancellor - who slowed the pace of cuts last

Also tonight: The gang responsible for sexually abusing girls

in Rotherham is jailed for a total of 102 years.

Tonight, a partial ceasefire has just come into force.

Swiss lawyer Gianni Infantino takes over from Sepp Blatter as the head

I'm live in Hollywood, where for the second year in a row, only white

actors and actresses have been nominated for the Oscars, provoking

aged row which is threatening to overshadow Sunday's ceremony.

And coming up in Sportsday on BBC News:

The Six Nations is back after a week's break,

and which of Wales or France lost their undefeated

The Chancellor has warned that he may have to make further

cuts to public spending in the Budget in a few weeks' time.

Speaking exclusively to the BBC during a visit to China,

George Osborne said that "storm clouds" gathering in the world

economy and the smaller than expected size of the British

economy meant that more reductions might be necessary.

Labour have tonight accused Mr Osborne of "floundering".

From Shanghai, here's our political editor, Laura Kuenssberg.

Paying our way just got a little bit harder.

The steam's running out of this super economy

More than 5000 miles away at home, our economy might wobble too.

On another visit to China, the man whose reputation is built

on squeezing spending told me he might have to cut even more.

The economy is smaller than we thought in Britain,

and we also know that global risks are growing and Britain is not

Now, Britain is still doing better than most countries,

but that's because we've got an economic plan that says we spend

what we can afford as a nation, and so we are going to have to look

So you're going to have to make bigger cuts than those

Well, we're going to look at whether we need to go further

I'm absolutely clear we've got to balance the books,

we've got to make sure we run a budget surplus as a country

In November there were already warnings about the global economy

and you decided to slow down the pace of cuts.

Actually, you've been caught out now, haven't you,

if you are going to have to cut even harder?

Well, the spending plans we set out in the autumn were designed

to deliver a budget surplus, the amount to the most sustained

reduction in government spending Britain has seen for 100 years.

But you found ?27 billion it seems from thin air and slowed down

We've taken judgments to get that budget surplus, and now, of course,

as the global economy gets more difficult and I think everyone

accepts that things have got particularly difficult

since the start of the year, as more information comes in,

we make sure that the essentials of our plan, which are Britain

lives within its means, Britain can only spend what it can

afford, those things are applied to our public expenditure.

He believes UK business abroad, a British coffee shop

A choice the government wants you to take.

This would be the very worst time for Britain to take the enormous

economic gamble of leaving the European Union.

You've seen the value of the pound fall, and it reminds us

all that this is not some political parlour game.

Leaving the EU would represent a profound economic shock.

If you believe the risk is really so great, isn't it then the height

of irresponsibility to put this option on the table?

I don't think it's ever the wrong thing to do to confront the big

issues facing your country, whether it's in the economy

or indeed our relationship with the European Union.

This has been overhanging Britain for many, many years.

It's been overhanging the Conservative Party

You're saying if we left the EU there would be

But it was your party who put this choice on the table.

Now, if it would be such a calamity, why are so many senior Conservatives

I think we're mature enough to handle that disagreement

and above all, as Conservatives and it's something I will be

particularly focused on, we need to come together after this

period of four months, and work together to do

There's a long way to go before this Chancellor can leave behind

But certainly the world feels a pretty jittery place.

George Osborne doesn't betray many of those jitters

or many anxieties, despite what might be ahead.

Shanghai's glittering skyscrapers flash warning lights.

The uncertainty from Europe burns bright too.

For our economy and our government, risks lie all around.

Political and personal fortunes can be broken,

Laura Kuenssberg, BBC News, Shanghai.

Our economics editor, Kamal Ahmed, joins me now.

There are potential further spending cuts on the horizon. George Osborne

blames the global economy, but Labour says he's floundering. Who is

right? It's always fascinating, watching the waxing and waning of

George Osborne's economic fortunes. If we go back to the Autumn

Statement of 2015, you can see why the critics of the Chancellor will

say he has been flip-flopping. Labour tonight called this interview

with Laura Kuenssberg humiliating for the Chancellor. Because in 2015,

the news was better. There were better tax receipts for the

government, because the British economy was growing pretty strongly.

Our debt repayments were quite low, because of the low interest rates.

And as Laura said in her piece, George Osborne banked the results of

that, which is this ?27 billion extra in the public finances, now a

lot of economists said he should have actually saved some of that for

a rainy day, and boy, from 2016 we have had plenty of rainy days. Yes,

some of those are global, China slowing down. Some of them are out

of the control of the Chancellor directly, whether we leave or stay

in the European Union. But some of them are home-grown. Real wages

aren't growing as fast as thought. That means tax receipts are lower

than was thought. And also, the Bank of England has said the UK economy

is growing less quickly. That means the government's income is lower.

Now, the Chancellor has to make a big choice. Is he going to try and

hit that target of creating a surplus by 2020? Or, is he going to

ease austerity? He has decided he wants to hit the target. Why? In

2020, who might be the Prime Minister? Who might be leading the

Conservative Party to the next election? George Osborne thinks it

might be him and he thinks the big-ticket item that the public will

worry about is the economy performing well. Have the

Conservatives fixed the economy? He thinks having a surplus shows they

have fixed the economy. That is his absolute target and if he has to do

cuts to get there, he will do cuts. The ringleader of a gang

who groomed, raped and abused teenage girls in Rotherham has been

jailed for 35 years for causing what the judge called "harm

of unimaginable proportions". Arshid Hussain was sentenced along

with his brothers Basharat and Banaras, who received jail terms

of 25 and 19 years respectively. Many of the gang's victims

were in court to witness them being jailed, as our correspondent

Dan Johnson reports. Arshid Hussain, Mad Ash,

told today he'll serve 35 years The judge said she was

going beyond the normal sentencing guidelines to reflect

the seriousness of the offending. There were times when

I thought, oh God, It's taken 15 years

for this victim to He's took my life away

so now I feel I've took He's never going to be back out

on these streets for 35 years. That's what I came for,

for the justice, and I've been Basharat, a 25 year sentence,

and Bannaras, who Probably the most intense

and emotional day I've had in Crown Court and will

for a long time, if not ever. How far do you think

this result today goes towards rebuilding

the reputation of your force? I'm not seeking to defend anything

that has happened in the past. As police officers you wake up every

single day wanting to put vile criminals, organised criminals

and paedophiles in prison. In one incident

police officers found Bannaras Hussain

in a car with a girl. He told them she was performing

a sex act but they just drove away. The judge today recognised

the courage of the victims forced She also emphasised the lasting

impact on their lives, a sense of shame, the panic attacks,

the eating disorders Nobody, she said, would forget

the victim she told the court she been left hating her own body

because of what she'd been Also jailed, Karen MacGregor,

who offered vulnerable young women a home but made

them act as prostitutes. Shelley Davies lived

with her and was given The Hussains' uncle, Qurban Ali,

will serve ten years for conspiring This is him leaving

an earlier hearing. His son who wasn't involved in this

trial later pleaded guilty These brothers had

believed they were both Today, at last, they heard cheers

in court from the women whose But across Rotherham

there are many more victims still to tell their story

and see their abusers face justice. Dan Johnson, BBC News,

Sheffield Crown Court. After five years of war in Syria -

and 250,000 deaths - a partial ceasefire is supposed

to have come into effect It's being seen as the most

determined attempt yet to bring a pause to the bitter civil war -

and nearly 100 groups opposed President Obama said "the world

will be watching" to see It doesn't include

so-called Islamic State. Here's our diplomatic

correspondent, James Robbins. Darayya, apparently today,

and the Syrian government keeps up its bombing just hours before

all this is supposed to stop. After almost five years of mounting

horror, could the agreement by the US and Russia to scale

down the killing really Mutual distrust is so great,

President Obama is hardly radiating If implemented, and that's

a significant if, the cessation could reduce the violence and get

more food and aid to Syrians who are suffering and

desperately need it. A look at a map of Syria shows

the gulf between the American and Russian views of where

the ceasefire applies. These areas, shown in black,

are broadly where the US-led coalition says extremist

jihadists are in control, That should leave most of Syria

protected by the ceasefire, at least according to the Western

and Arab coalition. But look at Russia's definition

of the ceasefire area. These tiny zones, shown

in orange on the map. When I spoke to Western diplomats

today, they hoped that in practice the Russians would show far greater

restraint than that, TRANSLATION: We very well understand

the ceasefire will be a difficult, possibly even controversial process,

but there's no way other So where does that leave

a rebel-held city like Aleppo? Home to Western-backed rebels

like these, enduring sustained Russian and Syrian

government attack. And the Americans do concede Aleppo

contains designated terrorists One hope from any reduction

in violence is that more aid convoys will get through,

like today's to Homs from the International Committee

of the Red Cross. But its leader, travelling with

them, talks of sleepless nights. We see needs growing and growing,

and the gap between the needs and what we are able to do

is increasing by the day. where these families

were on the move again today, the need for a ceasefire

could hardly be more acute. The new man at the top of Fifa has

vowed to restore the image of world Swiss lawyer Gianni Infantino

was elected as successor to the former President Sepp Blatter,

who was forced from office Fifa today announced a number

of reforms aimed at making it more Our sports editor Dan Roan

was at its meeting in Zurich. Thank heavens, a sigh of relief

tonight from Fifa's new President Gianni Infantino, the man

the world governing body has chosen to repair its

battered reputation. The surprise winner of today's

election fighting back the tears before delivering his first address

as the game's new leader. We will restore

the image of Fifa and the respect of Fifa and everyone

in the world will applaud us and applaud all of

you for what we will We have to be proud of Fifa

and everyone has to be proud of Fifa and we have to be proud

of what we will do together. The football administrator only

entered the race when his old boss, Michel Platini, the former President

of European football's governing body, Uefa, withdrew

after he was suspended Endorsed by some of the great

and good of the game the multilingual

Swiss-Italian lawyer targeted votes in

typical Fifa fashion. The doubling of development grants

for national associations an expanded World Cup and even

the creation of a Fifa Legends team And those who backed

the Uefa general secretary hailed him

a worthy winner. He will run it well,

he will be a good President and we have got a reform

programme which at long last means Fifa will not be run

as a sort of private fiefdom. The arrests of senior

officials here last year The corruption scandal seeing former

President Sepp Blatter being banned from the sport he had

ruled for so long. Today Fifa finally approved

a package of reforms seen as crucial to its survival and the pressure

will now be on Infantino The speech indicated

that he is an endorser of reform but he was certainly not as clear

on reform as some of the minority Immediately what we'd like to see

is an endorsement of some of the recommendations from those

minority candidates tomorrow. The favourite Bahraini royal

Sheikh Salman had to deny links to a crackdown on pro-democracy

protesters in 2011. Ultimately even Fifa

saw Infantino as a more acceptable front man

but the new President still has a long way to go before convincing

everyone else he really has the appetite to clean up such

a tainted organisation. That's the great challenge, for just

the third Fifa President in the last 40 years. Infantino is still seen

very much as part of football's Establishment. The critics point to

his loyalty, to the disgraced Michel Platini and remarkably he even hails

from the same Swiss Valley as the man he replaces, Sepp Blatter. With

those criminal investigation is still ongoing in the US and here in

Switzerland, do not think that today represents the end of this great

scandal. Dan Rowe and, thank you.

The deaths of three Britons at a waterfalls in South Vietnam

One of the victims has been named as Christian Sloan, from Kent,

who died along with two women, aged 19 and 25.

They'd been visiting the Datanla waterfalls - a popular attraction

Our South Asia correspondent Jonathan Head reports.

No one is yet sure how the three British tourists died.

Officials say their bodies were discovered a little way

downstream from a popular waterfall in Vietnam's central highlands.

They may have been climbing around it.

They were later carried out by rescue workers.

This evening one of the victims has been named as 24-year-old

Christian Sloan, who had been travelling in Southeast Asia

His family has issued a statement, saying, Christian's death is a very

A local man who is believed to have been acting as an unofficial guide

for the three tourists has now been questioned by the police.

The Foreign Office says it is providing consular assistance

There's an implicit danger in the waterfalls that surround

You have very mossy rock, a lot of dampness, and to be

truthful, Vietnam doesn't have a fantastic reputation

The tourist industry in Vietnam has been growing rapidly recently

as the government has opened up the economy

In the past, the long years of the Vietnam War

followed by inward-looking communist rule meant that many of its natural

attractions were little-known outside the country.

After decades of isolation, it's no surprise that Vietnam

is racing to cash in on the tourist boom that's brought so much wealth

to neighbouring countries like Thailand.

But there is a dark side to this boom.

Every year, Britons die here from largely preventable accidents.

It is a sad truth that across much of this region law enforcement

is lax and a culture of safety almost nonexistent.

With just two days to go until the Oscars, the race row over

this year's ceremony shows no signs of going away.

For the second year running, all the actors nominated are white,

prompting difficult questions for the Academy.

Let's join Lizo Mzimba, who's in Hollywood tonight.

The stars are being cheered here but not far away there will be a

different kind of demonstration. The Reverend Al Sharpton, civil rights

activist, will protest at only white actors and actresses being nominated

for the second year in a row. It has led to a rope that is threatening to

overshadow Sunday's ceremony. -- led to a row.

So many things define the Oscars - the glamorous red carpet,

and this year the all-white list of acting nominees.

More than that, there's a perceived overall lack of diversity.

Y'all just got a snapshot of how Americans really feel.

One film many believe was overlooked, the story

of the birth of rap group NWA, Straight Outta Compton.

# Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr Dre is at the door... #

One of the musicians featured in the film

says the make-up of Academy Awards voters is the problem.

I feel like the Oscars wasn't made for us.

It's just those old generation, first-generation people

in there that really don't get it, they don't understand the dynamics

of the world that they're living in, but the people from,

you know, I say, 50 years old on down, they get it,

where it's diverse and everybody is about everybody.

The Academy knows it's crucial to the awards' credibility

that they're seen as being relevant to modern audiences.

That's been seriously threatened by the reaction

The Academy has planned to counter that

by replacing significant numbers of older members

who haven't been active in the industry in recent years.

He is angered by the the way they want to increase diversity

at the expense of long-standing voters.

I wouldn't want to be put into a category

To nurture the talent, I'm all for it.

But to bring them in because of their race is wrong,

or their sex, or their beliefs, that's wrong.

Now, who chooses the talent is not the Academy, as I said before,

The studios often cast black actors

in somewhat cliched roles like drug dealers or warlords.

Perhaps the industry can follow the lead of Star Wars.

They chose the relatively unknown black actor John Boyega

in a role that could have been played by any ethnicity.

How important is it that the studios should follow suit

I think it's inevitable, and I think it is critical,

and I feel like it was just important to me,

to all of us working on the movie, that the movie be inclusive.

Whatever the eventual outcome, the Academy, the film industry

and the public are united on one thing - they want the discussion

around next year's Oscars and beyond to not be about who the voters are,

but to be purely about the films themselves.

A brief look at some of the day's other news stories.

candidate has received a significant boost this evening after his former

rival, Chris Christie, formally endorsed him

Mr Christie, the Governor of New Jersey, is one of the first

major Republican figures to back the billionaire.

The private security firm G4S is to sell its children's services

business in the UK, including 13 children's homes and two

It comes weeks after a BBC Panorama investigation which broadcast secret

filming appearing to show staff abusing inmates.

G4S says the sell-off is part of its long-term strategy.

Two brothers who mocked a judge on Facebook after they were given

sentences for drug dealing have been jailed. They boasted about avoiding

prison. The leader of the Green Party

in England and Wales has told her party's spring conference

that she would be running a strong, bold campaign calling for Britain

to remain in the EU. Natalie Bennett said the UK should

remain part of a "fairer, He's been a target for the police

on both sides of the Irish border for decades - suspected of being one

of the most powerful figures But Thomas 'Slab' Murphy always

claimed he was a simple farmer. Today, he was sentenced in Dublin

to 18 months in jail - Our Ireland correspondent

Chris Buckler has more. Thomas 'Slab' Murphy has always

tried to hide in the shadows. Mr Murphy, how do

you feel about today? But the man alleged to be the IRA's

former chief of staff found himself in the full glare of the spotlight

thanks to this case not about terror There have been many claims

that his farm which straddles the Irish border was at the centre

of a multi-million pound smuggling In a raid officers found hidden

in hay bales bags of money. Cash, cheques, business records,

computers, and various other items Murphy, who was found

guilty of tax evasion, has always called

himself a simple farmer. And denied claims that he was at one

time the leader of the IRA's Terrorism was about him

being able to operate this criminal empire

along the border. And to be able to do that he had

to create an amount of fear The court case has made headlines

today, as the Irish public The Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has

in the past defended Slab Murphy as a good Republican and he has been

asked many questions about his friend during the last

days of campaigning. First of all, what happens

in the courts is a matter One of Sinn Fein's election pledges

was to get rid of the special It is where Slab Murphy

was convicted. Some have compared this case

to the prosecution of the American gangster Al Capone, who was famously

found guilty of tax evasion when the authorities couldn't find

any other case to bring against him. In Cardiff the home crowd has had

plenty to cheer about into night's rugby Six Nations clash at Wales and

France. Let's join Andy Swiss

at the Principality Stadium. This was always going to be a tense

occasion. Wales and France knew whoever won this match would go top

of the Six Nations table. It wasn't exactly a classic, but with a 19-10

win it was Wales's night. Welcome to rugby's fielded Friday.

Cardiff are awash with colour and confidence. -- feel-good Friday. As

Wales and France hoped for fireworks it was a night to be ruthless and

ruthless. The retractable roof open because of technical issues but at

first the rugby failed to live up to the occasion. Dan Biggar booted

Wales into an early lead thanks to want particular fan's approval and

what flair there was came from the hosts mainly. Williams agonisingly

close to the opening try as Wales led 6-3 at the break. After it,

though, a scruffy game sprang slightly scruffily to life. George

North chasing initially fluffing, before gratefully grabbing his

chance. It wasn't a thing of beauty but the home fans didn't mind. At

last things opened up, France also showing invention, but whatever they

threw at Wales the hosts held firm. In the dying seconds the French

captain Guilhem Guirado bundled over but it was of no more than

consolation value. England could leapfrog them tomorrow but tonight

at least Wales are the team to chase. Andy Swiss, BBC News,

Cardiff.