:00:07. > :00:12.David Cameron says Britain is on the right track in his New Year
:00:12. > :00:21.message. The Prime Minister admits 2012 has been tough, but insists
:00:21. > :00:26.people can look ahead with optimism. There are no quick-fixes. I
:00:26. > :00:29.wouldn't claim otherwise. We can be optimistic, too. We are making
:00:29. > :00:35.tangible progress. The family of a church organist
:00:35. > :00:37.attacked on his way to midnight mass speak about their grief.
:00:37. > :00:46.Last-minute negotiations in Congress to try to avoid America's
:00:46. > :00:49.fiscal cliff of deep spending cuts and tax rises.
:00:49. > :00:59.And Frank Lampard scores twice as Chelsea beat Everton to go third in
:00:59. > :01:12.
:01:12. > :01:15.Good evening. The Prime Minister says that Britain is heading in the
:01:15. > :01:18.right direction. In his New Year message, David Cameron says the
:01:18. > :01:23.country is making tangible progress, and that people can look forward to
:01:23. > :01:33.next year with optimism. Labour has responded that Mr Cameron is out of
:01:33. > :01:34.
:01:34. > :01:40.touch, and that Britain's economy is failing under his policies.
:01:40. > :01:43.2012 was a tough year, says David Cameron, with in many families
:01:43. > :01:47.finding it hard. He insists things are on the right track for the
:01:47. > :01:52.future and the Government is heading in the right direction.
:01:52. > :01:56.can look to the future with realism and optimism. Realism because you
:01:56. > :02:01.can't cure problems that were decades in the making overnight.
:02:01. > :02:05.There are no quick-fixes. I wouldn't claim otherwise. But we
:02:05. > :02:10.can be optimistic, too. We are making tangible progress. The Prime
:02:10. > :02:16.Minister points to what he sees as the Government's key achievements -
:02:16. > :02:20.the deficit, down by a quarter, more than 1,000 new independent
:02:20. > :02:25.academies and an increase in the state pension. But Labour's leader,
:02:25. > :02:28.in his New Year message on Friday, has dismissed what he says is an
:02:28. > :02:33.old-fashioned idea that wealth will triple down from the top. This
:02:33. > :02:38.Government is a Government of broken promises and broken dreams.
:02:38. > :02:42.They want you to believe that we have a good Government being let
:02:42. > :02:48.down by bad people. We don't. We have a bad Government that is
:02:48. > :02:53.letting down the good people of this country. David Cameron's New
:02:53. > :02:56.Year message doesn't mention that budget that unravelled with U-turns
:02:56. > :03:01.on everything from pasties to caravans. There is no mention of
:03:01. > :03:06.those three extra years of austerity that the Chancellor says
:03:06. > :03:10.we are going to have to endure. As well as the obvious problem of
:03:10. > :03:15.growth, Mr Cameron also faces big tests on Britain's role in Europe
:03:15. > :03:18.and keeping a lid on those ever- present coalition tensions that can
:03:18. > :03:22.threaten the existence of his Government. The running shoes were
:03:22. > :03:27.back on over Christmas, in spite of a knee injury. He says there is no
:03:27. > :03:33.time to spare. Britain is in a global race to succeed today. It's
:03:33. > :03:36.a race with countries like China, India and Indonesia. A race for the
:03:36. > :03:41.jobs and opportunities of the future. When people say we can slow
:03:41. > :03:45.down on cutting our debts, we are saying no, we can't win in this
:03:45. > :03:48.world with a great millstone of debt around our necks. No big
:03:48. > :03:54.change in direction in the coming year and a hope that the country
:03:54. > :03:57.will stick with his argument, even though it is hurting.
:03:58. > :04:00.The widow of a church organist who died after being attacked on his
:04:01. > :04:04.way to midnight mass in Sheffield on Christmas Eve has been speaking
:04:04. > :04:06.about her grief. At a service at the church where Alan Greaves was
:04:06. > :04:16.also a lay preacher, Maureen Greaves thanked the congregation
:04:16. > :04:24.for their support. Two men are being questioned on suspicion of
:04:24. > :04:27.murder. And they have been released on bail.
:04:27. > :04:32.Maureen Greaves went to church for a service at which her husband had
:04:32. > :04:36.been due to play the organ. Instead, this congregation gathered to
:04:36. > :04:41.remember hill. Alan Greaves was attacked on Christmas Eve as he
:04:41. > :04:45.walked to St Saviour's Church. Inside the church, his widow told
:04:45. > :04:50.of how her family were grieving. have never stopped crying for Alan.
:04:50. > :04:55.I know you have never stopped crying with me. I have grieved over
:04:55. > :05:01.the evil that's been done. I know that you too have grieved over the
:05:01. > :05:06.evil. Just a street away from the church, people have been leaving
:05:06. > :05:11.flowers at the spot where Mr Greaves was attacked. He suffered
:05:11. > :05:15.serious head injuries and died a few days after he was found here
:05:15. > :05:19.just before midnight on Christmas Eve. There has been some fear and
:05:19. > :05:23.anxiety. Alan was well-known in this community as well. This
:05:23. > :05:29.community and this city have lost someone who is a shining light,
:05:29. > :05:33.really. He won't be easy to replace, certainly can't be replaced in his
:05:33. > :05:39.family's affections. Inside church, tributes were paid to the medics
:05:39. > :05:45.who tried to save the pensioner's life as well as the police. Mr
:05:45. > :05:47.Greaves' family have said they want justice, not vengeance.
:05:48. > :05:52.Army bomb disposal experts in Northern Ireland have been called
:05:52. > :05:55.to deal with a suspected bomb left under the car of a policeman. The
:05:55. > :05:59.device was found in an eastern district of Belfast. A number of
:05:59. > :06:02.homes in the area have been evacuated.
:06:02. > :06:07.A senior Labour MP has warned that recent controversies have damaged
:06:07. > :06:09.the public's trust in the police. Keith Vaz, who chairs the Home
:06:09. > :06:12.Affairs Select Committee, says the Hillsborough Inquiry, and the so-
:06:12. > :06:20.called "plebgate" row with Andrew Mitchell in Downing Street, have
:06:20. > :06:22.contributed to what he described as a "dangerous cocktail".
:06:22. > :06:25.The US Congress will convene later this evening in a last-minute
:06:25. > :06:30.attempt to avoid a combination of deep spending cuts, and tax rises,
:06:30. > :06:33.coming into effect. The measures, which have been dubbed the fiscal
:06:33. > :06:38.cliff, will be triggered automatically unless a new budget
:06:38. > :06:40.deal can be agreed by tomorrow. If agreement isn't reached, it's
:06:40. > :06:50.feared the changes could greatly damage the US and the global
:06:50. > :06:52.
:06:52. > :06:56.economy. One nation with a very divided
:06:56. > :07:00.government. President Obama and Congress are grappling for a deal
:07:00. > :07:06.with just 36 hours before time runs out. This morning, President Obama
:07:06. > :07:10.gave a final push for an agreement on his terms. If there is no deal,
:07:10. > :07:15.big tax rises and heavy spending cuts will kick in automatically.
:07:15. > :07:19.should keep taxes where they are for 98% of Americans, 97% of small
:07:19. > :07:23.businesses, but if we are serious about deficit reduction, we should
:07:23. > :07:27.make sure that the wealthier are paying a bit more and combine that
:07:27. > :07:31.with spending cuts to reduce our deficit and put our economy on a
:07:31. > :07:35.long-term trajectory of growth. Republicans in Congress do not
:07:35. > :07:39.agree. They have said they won't vote for any tax rises, even for
:07:39. > :07:44.the richest Americans. Raising taxes is not going to provide the
:07:44. > :07:47.growth that we need in the country to lift the people in the middle-
:07:47. > :07:51.income and lower income brackets higher and to provide the capital
:07:51. > :07:55.that is necessary to invest in the markets to hire more people.
:07:55. > :08:00.there is no deal, the price of failure could be high. The average
:08:00. > :08:04.American family will see their taxes rise by more than $2,000 a
:08:04. > :08:09.year. As money is sucked out of the economy, a second American
:08:09. > :08:12.recession is thought likely to begin. And confidence in the
:08:12. > :08:16.American government around the world would fall. Financial markets
:08:16. > :08:21.would probably take fright. The President and Congress have had
:08:21. > :08:25.months to do a deal and have spent months not getting one. Now, as
:08:25. > :08:31.most people prepare for New Year, negotiators are in Congress seeing
:08:31. > :08:37.if there is agreement to be found. The talk is of cautious optimism.
:08:37. > :08:42.But the deadline is now very close. The latest word from the Senate is
:08:42. > :08:47.that a deal is near. A basic tax package that would see off the
:08:47. > :08:57.threat of the fiscal cliff. But there are splits amongst the
:08:57. > :09:02.
:09:02. > :09:07.Republicans. Time is running out. And Jonny is in Washington now.
:09:07. > :09:12.What are the chances of avoiding that fiscal cliff? All eyes now are
:09:12. > :09:17.on President Obama's political rivals, the Republicans. It does
:09:17. > :09:20.start to seem as if they may be about to yield. The mood music
:09:20. > :09:25.coming out of Congress, in particular out of the Upper House,
:09:25. > :09:29.out of the Senate, suggests it might be able to do a deal. The
:09:29. > :09:32.House of Representatives, which is the Lower House, is a more
:09:32. > :09:35.difficult House. It's got more radical members who are less
:09:35. > :09:40.willing to compromise on the Republican side. Even there, there
:09:40. > :09:49.seems to be talk of inching towards some kind of agreement. It seems to
:09:49. > :09:56.be the political analytics being made by the Republicans and they
:09:56. > :10:00.think they are going to be blamed if there isn't a deal. They are
:10:00. > :10:03.saying, "We won't vote for tax rises for the rich." If they don't
:10:03. > :10:06.do a deal, tax rises kick in for everybody. The Republicans are
:10:06. > :10:10.looking at their position. There is a logic behind them doing a deal.
:10:10. > :10:14.The problem is - it is a big problem - is the Republicans in the
:10:14. > :10:19.House of Representatives are split. There is a hard-core of Republicans
:10:19. > :10:24.who will not under any circumstances vote for any tax rise.
:10:24. > :10:28.So the question is will the Republican leadership push a deal
:10:28. > :10:32.through and split their own party in the House? To that, we simply
:10:32. > :10:37.don't know the answer. Thank you for now. We will find out soon
:10:37. > :10:41.enough. The funeral has taken place of a
:10:41. > :10:43.young woman who was raped and beaten by a gang of men on bus in
:10:43. > :10:48.Delhi. The 23-year-old medical student died in hospital in
:10:48. > :10:51.Singapore where she was being treated for severe injuries. The
:10:51. > :11:01.attack sparked two weeks of protests across the country about
:11:01. > :11:04.
:11:04. > :11:08.attitudes towards women in India. There is a quiet focused anger in
:11:08. > :11:14.the air as protests continue over the savage rape of the Indian woman
:11:14. > :11:17.they are called Braveheart. An effigy has become the centrepiece
:11:17. > :11:22.after her funeral today. The 23- year-old was due to marry the man
:11:22. > :11:26.she was with when she was attacked and he was badly injured. Her body
:11:26. > :11:30.was flown back in darkness to a country still struggling with what
:11:30. > :11:35.this murder has revealed about itself. India's Prime Minister was
:11:35. > :11:39.there to receive the flight. Her cremation was held in secret under
:11:39. > :11:45.heavy police guard. The authorities anxious about the public mood.
:11:45. > :11:49.There were brief scuffles during the day in Delhi. It's the
:11:49. > :11:53.government that is under pressure, accused of being deaf to women's
:11:53. > :11:59.rights. They are talking about increased policing, they are
:11:59. > :12:07.talking about judiciary, they are talking about convictions. The key
:12:07. > :12:11.point that remains - are we ready to change our mindsets? Not just
:12:11. > :12:18.women, and young and old have been joining the protests. This crime is
:12:18. > :12:22.the dark side of a changing India. The young student is an example of
:12:22. > :12:27.the modern face, the country prefers the world to see. That
:12:27. > :12:31.India is in conflict with another, where women are still treated as
:12:31. > :12:36.second-class citizens, where many men still regard rape as something
:12:36. > :12:46.women have to put up. That India is not going to fade away quickly.
:12:46. > :12:49.
:12:49. > :12:52.During the day, another girl was assaulted on a Delhi bus.
:12:52. > :12:55.Most of us spent less on Christmas shopping this year than last,
:12:55. > :12:57.according to research by the consumer group Which?. The study
:12:57. > :13:00.also found that nearly half of shoppers used credit cards,
:13:00. > :13:05.overdrafts, or other forms of borrowing to help fund their
:13:05. > :13:11.purchases. In the week before Christmas, the
:13:11. > :13:15.crowds were out in force and the tills were ringing. According to
:13:15. > :13:19.Which?, many consumers struggled to pay for their seasonal shopping
:13:19. > :13:23.spree. The organisation interviewed 2,100 adults in the run-up to the
:13:23. > :13:27.festive break. Nine out of ten of those questioned said they felt
:13:27. > :13:33.under pressure to spend too much. Just under half said they had used
:13:33. > :13:38.some form of debt to help them meet their bills with many claiming that
:13:38. > :13:42.was the only way they could afford Christmas at all. Credit cards were
:13:42. > :13:46.the most popular form of borrowing, although some relied on storecards
:13:46. > :13:51.and overdrafts. This reliance on credit may be storing up trouble
:13:51. > :13:56.for the future. The picture is one of declining financial resilience
:13:56. > :13:59.and people are telling us they are feeling very squeezed. Borrowing on
:13:59. > :14:06.credit is bad for the economy. course, not all consumers are in
:14:06. > :14:10.the same boat. And not all are worried about it. Some of these
:14:11. > :14:17.shoppers felt the financial strain more than others. I'm always in
:14:17. > :14:23.debt! Trying to scrimp and save for the next pay cheque. It is hard.
:14:23. > :14:33.are retired and we live within our means. Living within your means
:14:33. > :14:34.
:14:34. > :14:40.means that you don't overspend. have slight overspent. This isn't
:14:40. > :14:45.just a problem for consumers. The retail industry says Christmas
:14:45. > :14:48.sales were acceptable. If spending dries up over the next few months,
:14:48. > :14:52.life on the High Street could become very tough indeed. What this
:14:52. > :14:55.survey suggests is that while Christmas may have provided some
:14:55. > :14:59.short-term relief from the general financial gloom, for many the
:14:59. > :15:06.seasonal celebrations are likely to be followed by a painful New Year
:15:06. > :15:09.hangover of debt. That may weigh on the economy for months to come.
:15:09. > :15:14.Sport now and for a full round-up of all the day's action, here's
:15:14. > :15:17.Olly Foster at the BBC Sport Centre. Chelsea will finish the year third
:15:17. > :15:21.in the Premier League table after their 2-1 win at Everton. Elsewhere,
:15:21. > :15:24.QPR end 2012 stuck to the bottom. They were at home to Liverpool and
:15:24. > :15:33.lost 3-0. Tim Hague watched both matches starting with Chelsea's win
:15:33. > :15:38.at Goodison Park. The Christmas period - blue for
:15:38. > :15:48.some, but not for these two. Everton and Chelsea both won their
:15:48. > :15:49.
:15:50. > :15:58.last two matches. 63 seconds gone, the ball was in Chelsea's net.
:15:58. > :16:05.Pienaar got that one. At Liverpool, Rafael Benitez described Everton as
:16:05. > :16:10.a "small club". The now comel see manager has great experience and --
:16:10. > :16:16.Chelsea manager has great experience and quality at his
:16:16. > :16:19.disposal and Frank Lampard equalised. Everton then struck the
:16:19. > :16:22.woodwork again. Less than three minutes later, they appeared to
:16:23. > :16:28.have their answer - Frank Lampard snatching the three points for
:16:28. > :16:34.Chelsea. No new contract offer for him as yet. This performance may
:16:34. > :16:44.well change that. In London, Liverpool had no manager.
:16:44. > :16:48.Brendan Rodgers was ill so the assistant took charge. Suarez
:16:48. > :16:55.Walting his way through the QPR defence for number one. Number two
:16:55. > :17:00.was equally easy. A desperate season thus far for QPR got worse -
:17:00. > :17:07.a third Liverpool goal inside half an hour left Harry Redknapp and his
:17:08. > :17:13.captain furious. 3-0 it ended and you suspect Colin Pascoe could get
:17:13. > :17:17.used to this management business. Having Suarez in your side always
:17:17. > :17:19.helps! There was just the one match in the
:17:20. > :17:23.Scottish Premier League today and St Mirren have won only their
:17:23. > :17:25.second away match of the season. It was at Tannadice where they beat
:17:25. > :17:27.ten-man Dundee United 4-3. The referee's governing body is
:17:27. > :17:30.investigating the circumstances behind a player getting booked
:17:30. > :17:32.twice yesterday but not getting sent off. Mick Russell was in
:17:32. > :17:35.charge of the Huddersfield v Sheffield Wednesday match, and
:17:35. > :17:39.booked Jeremy Elan first for diving, then he called up the Wednesday
:17:39. > :17:45.player for a foul in the first-half and booked him again, but no red
:17:45. > :17:48.followed. The referee, who could face sanctions, admitted to his
:17:48. > :17:54.error as Huddersfield boss Simon Grayson described the incident as
:17:54. > :17:56."staggering". Saracens are one point behind the
:17:56. > :18:01.leaders Harlequins in Rugby Union's Aviva Premiership after beating
:18:01. > :18:04.Northampton but only just. Sarries won 17-16 in Milton Keynes. They
:18:04. > :18:08.came so close to losing. Saints' Stephen Myler had a penalty to win
:18:08. > :18:17.it with the last kick of the match, but it hit the crossbar and