:00:15. > :00:20.signal about Britain. The Syrian peace talks focus on aid
:00:21. > :00:29.for the people of Homs and securing the release of prisoners.
:00:30. > :00:33.And an upset in the Australian Open as Stanislas Wawrinka beats an
:00:34. > :00:52.injured Raphael Nadal to take the men's title in Melbourne.
:00:53. > :00:56.Good afternoon. The Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls, has insisted
:00:57. > :01:00.that Labour is pro-business after criticism of his party's plans to
:01:01. > :01:06.increase the top rate of income tax to 50 pence in the pound. Some
:01:07. > :01:10.business leaders have suggested that the policy could jeopardise the
:01:11. > :01:13.economic recovery. This morning, Mr Balls ruled out any further increase
:01:14. > :01:21.under Labour to a 60 pence top rate. Our political correspondent, Louise
:01:22. > :01:28.Stewart, reports. Ed Balls' announcement of the return
:01:29. > :01:33.of the 50p tax rate has proved devices, with even the former City
:01:34. > :01:40.minister criticising it. At the Shadow Chancellor defended the move
:01:41. > :01:49.this morning. We are a pro-business party. This is not an anti-business
:01:50. > :01:52.agenda. But, Andrew, it is an anti-business as usual agenda. Some
:01:53. > :01:58.business leaders have warned that increasing the rate could put the
:01:59. > :02:01.recovery at risk. Fiscal policy sends a powerful message and has a
:02:02. > :02:07.powerful impact on investment decisions. Yes, personal income tax
:02:08. > :02:10.but also corporate income tax as a significant bearing on those
:02:11. > :02:14.decisions. Arguments over the top rate of tax are not new. In 2009,
:02:15. > :02:20.Alistair Darling announced that the top rate for tax for those earning
:02:21. > :02:25.over ?150,000 per year would increase to 50p in time for the
:02:26. > :02:28.general election. Three years on, the Conservative Chancellor brought
:02:29. > :02:33.it down from 50p to 45p, allowing Labour to accuse him of cat --
:02:34. > :02:35.cutting tax for the rich. The Foreign Secretary says the proposal
:02:36. > :02:41.sent out the wrong message on Britain's economy. Ed Balls
:02:42. > :02:43.descending the signal that with the Labour government, we go back to
:02:44. > :02:51.high tax, high borrowing, high spending. That is an anti-business,
:02:52. > :02:55.anti-job creation agenda. At balls didn't say how much the tax rate
:02:56. > :02:58.would generate but said it was fair way to get the deficit down. -- Ed
:02:59. > :03:00.Balls. Louise is here. Despite the
:03:01. > :03:07.criticism some evidence today the public like Labour's 50p policy?
:03:08. > :03:11.The majority of the public who vote don't pay it because it is only for
:03:12. > :03:15.the very highest earners, those earning over ?150,000 per year. A
:03:16. > :03:21.survey today suggests that when asked, the sample, six out of ten
:03:22. > :03:26.said they would support an increase in the top rate of tax. There does
:03:27. > :03:30.seem to be support from some voters. Does it suggest the idea of whether
:03:31. > :03:35.you are pro or anti business could be one of the battle grounds in the
:03:36. > :03:38.run-up to the election? I think it will be. The former Labour
:03:39. > :03:41.Chancellor who increased the rate in the first place, Alistair Darling,
:03:42. > :03:45.has been on today to defend it as well. He has been saying that it
:03:46. > :03:50.should be brought in for the next Parliament and that would help to
:03:51. > :03:53.share the burden on those with the broadest shoulders, who could afford
:03:54. > :03:56.it, and would reduce the deficit. They have both said it should be a
:03:57. > :04:00.temporary measure. The question is, will it be enough to win over medics
:04:01. > :04:11.like business leaders, who are warning it could be detrimental to
:04:12. > :04:15.the recovery? The government is to outlaw the sale
:04:16. > :04:19.of electronic cigarettes to people under the age of 18 in England.
:04:20. > :04:21.Ministers are also going to make it illegal for adults to buy real
:04:22. > :04:25.cigarettes for children. Daniel Boettcher reports.
:04:26. > :04:32.Electronic syrups are growing in popularity will subvert designed to
:04:33. > :04:35.stop people -- electronic cigarettes are growing in popularity. They are
:04:36. > :04:41.designed to stop people being reliant on tobacco cigarettes. Some
:04:42. > :04:45.people argue there hasn't been enough research into the potential
:04:46. > :04:49.long-term effects of the electronic products. Many health professionals
:04:50. > :04:53.have welcomed new laws to be introduced in England that will not
:04:54. > :04:57.stop the sale of e-cigarettes to under 18s. Tobacco products are
:04:58. > :05:08.already banned from sale to under 18s. E-cigarettes should be
:05:09. > :05:10.considered in the same legislation. Manufacturers of e-cigarettes have
:05:11. > :05:13.also welcomed the changes, saying they have always been clear that
:05:14. > :05:17.their products are not for those under 18. There are to be changes in
:05:18. > :05:23.the law on the sale of normal cigarettes, too, banning adults from
:05:24. > :05:25.buying them for children. 41% of 15-year-olds who smoke usually by
:05:26. > :05:30.the cigarettes from others rather than trying to get them in shops.
:05:31. > :05:36.95% of 11-15 -year-olds who smoke have got somebody off to buy them at
:05:37. > :05:43.least once in the past year. -- somebody else. We know that this is
:05:44. > :05:47.a major source of supply to younger smokers. It would be a good idea to
:05:48. > :05:51.do something about that. In principle, we support the
:05:52. > :05:55.government's move. You have to make sure it is enforced. The changes
:05:56. > :06:01.will bring the law into line with that for alcohol. A teenager
:06:02. > :06:04.arrested 's vision of murder after the discovery of a girl's body had
:06:05. > :06:09.been sectioned under the mental health act. The 16 yard will be
:06:10. > :06:15.transferred to a secure hospital while he remains on police bail. --
:06:16. > :06:22.the 16-year-old. The body was discovered in Surrey on Friday
:06:23. > :06:26.afternoon. Opposition groups in Ukraine have
:06:27. > :06:28.vowed to continue their protests in support of their demand for new
:06:29. > :06:31.elections despite being offered senior jobs in the government. There
:06:32. > :06:34.were more clashes between protestors and police in the capital Kiev
:06:35. > :06:39.overnight, from where Steve Rosenberg reports.
:06:40. > :06:46.What is happening today? This afternoon, the protest support for a
:06:47. > :06:51.service of remembrance for one of the protesters, who was killed in
:06:52. > :06:55.Kiev last week. Also, in a building just to the left of me, or they
:06:56. > :06:59.people have been streaming into a building that was captured by a
:07:00. > :07:04.group of protesters last night. There was a dramatic hassle outside
:07:05. > :07:09.an exhibition centre. -- dramatic battle. There were 200 police
:07:10. > :07:15.inside. They attacked the building with fireworks, with rocks, and
:07:16. > :07:19.managed to force their way in. The police later retreated. It is one of
:07:20. > :07:24.several buildings which anti-government protesters have now
:07:25. > :07:32.captured in the Ukrainian capital. Thank you very much.
:07:33. > :07:35.Representatives from the Syrian government and opposition groups are
:07:36. > :07:38.meeting for a second day of face-to-face talks at the UN in
:07:39. > :07:49.Geneva. Discussions are expected to cover the issues of prisoners and
:07:50. > :07:53.humanitarian aid. The Chief Inspector of Schools in
:07:54. > :07:55.England has accused staff at the Department for Education of briefing
:07:56. > :07:58.against his organisation. Sir Michael Wilshaw spoke after a
:07:59. > :08:01.newspaper said two right-leaning think tanks were to criticise
:08:02. > :08:04.Ofsted, and one would call for it to be scrapped. He's told the Sunday
:08:05. > :08:08.Times he was spitting blood and blamed Michael Gove's department. A
:08:09. > :08:19.source close to Mr Gove said no-one close had encouraged the attacks.
:08:20. > :08:25.England's miserable tour of Australia continues. They threw away
:08:26. > :08:28.a winning position to lose the fifth One Day International by five runs.
:08:29. > :08:31.After their bowlers restricted Australia to 217 they appeared on
:08:32. > :08:36.course for victory in Adelaide, but lost their last seven wickets for 59
:08:37. > :08:40.runs and were bowled out for 212. It was captain Alastair Cook's last
:08:41. > :08:48.match of the tour. He'll fly back before the Twenty20 series starts.
:08:49. > :08:52.Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka has won his first major title at the
:08:53. > :08:55.Australian Open, beating an injured Rafael Nadal in four sets in a
:08:56. > :08:59.dramatic final. Wawrinka is the first man to beat Novak Djokovic and
:09:00. > :09:11.Nadal at the same Grand Slam. Alex South reports from Melbourne.
:09:12. > :09:15.Rafael Nadal's 14th Grand Slam wing was supposed to be a formality. His
:09:16. > :09:21.opponent, Stanislas Wawrinka, had never beaten him or even one set.
:09:22. > :09:24.What with the Swiss star's shots as reliable as his
:09:25. > :09:26.What with the Swiss star's shots as reliable as country's clocks, he
:09:27. > :09:31.shocked everybody by breaking his duck. For fans of the Spaniard, it
:09:32. > :09:35.was painful to watch and then painful for him to play. The medical
:09:36. > :09:41.time-out and go down well with the crowd, or Wawrinka. But it was soon
:09:42. > :09:47.clear he was in trouble. Limp serve followed limp serve and the contest
:09:48. > :09:51.looked over. Brides seem to keep him going, or was it the power of
:09:52. > :09:54.painkillers? Somehow he took the third set to launch an unlikely
:09:55. > :10:01.comeback. Now Wawrinka was gripped by anxiety. If Nadal was physically
:10:02. > :10:08.at 50%, Wawrinka was about the same mentally. But the mind unscramble
:10:09. > :10:13.just enough to take a decisive break and finally put the gutsy Nadal out
:10:14. > :10:15.of his misery. An extraordinary first Grand Slam for Wawrinka in one
:10:16. > :10:24.of the strangest finals you have ever seen. A good day for Roger
:10:25. > :10:27.Federer! Not even the best player in Switzerland any more.
:10:28. > :10:31.You can see more on all of today's stories on the BBC News Channel. The
:10:32. > :10:46.next news on BBC One is at 5.25. Bye for now.
:10:47. > :10:52.It has been a very wet and windy entered the week. It looks like next
:10:53. > :10:57.week could end on a similar note as well. In between, something a little
:10:58. > :11:02.bit different. For the week ahead it will start to feel a bit colder for
:11:03. > :11:04.all of us. There will soon be some heavy showers but they will turn