26/10/2011 BBC News at Six

"It's now or never" - the warning from the German chanceler to

European leaders as they gather in Brussels about the debt crisis.

Arriving for the crunch talks this afternoon, EU heads are told they

must find a solution to what's being called Europe's most serious

crisis since the Second World War. We need to have the greatest

possible support for the most comprehensive solution possible.

That's what we'll be discussing tonight.

Also on tonight's programme: Questions are raised over the

benefits of NHS breast screening as some argue it can do more harm than

good. An inquest hears that the singer

Amy Winehouse died after consuming a lethal amount of alcohol.

The Ministry of Defence apologises after the family of a soldier

killed in Afghanistan is made to repay some of his wages.

And left neglected for almost half a century in a filing cabinet in

Staffordshire - the letter from Lord Nelson which is about to go

under the hammer. I'll be here with Sportsday later in the hour on the

BBC News Channel, including another Tevez twist as the striker

considers legal action against his Good evening.

Welcome to the BBC News at 6.00pm. "If the euro fails, then Europe

fails" - that was the warning this afternoon from the German

Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of a crucial summit in Brussels tonight.

EU leaders have just started a meeting to try to thrash out a deal

to solve the eurozone debt crisis. But doubts are growing over whether

a comprehensive deal can be reached in the next few hours. Our Europe

editor Gavin Hewitt joins us now from Brussels. Gavin.

Sophie, all the leaders arriving here know this has been billed as a

momentous summit with the whole world watching, and certainly, they

have tried in recent days to lower expectations that a comprehensive

deal might be reached, but I'm hearing that perhaps there are

hopes that somehow during this night there could be progress

reported here. 14 times in the past 18 months,

Europe's leaders have driven this way, pledging to fix the stone zone

crisis, but never has the pressure been bigger than today. It is in

British interests we actually sol of this crisis. Some of the issues

we'll be discussing this afternoon will be directly relevant to

Britain in terms of strengthening banks, but we need to have a

comprehensive solution. That's what we'll be discussing tonight.

mood on arrival was that many problems need to be settled and

that tense negotiations lay ahead. TRANSLATION: We're all going to

have to work very hard, but there is also a lot of goodwill. That's

for sure. Some have called this the summit of the last chance. Can

Europe's leaders finally adopt a plan that persuades the markets

that they've taken control of a debt crisis that began in Greece?

The main players in all of this - Germany. Before today's summit, the

German Parliament met. The Chancellor, Angela Merkel, told MPs

the world was watching Europe and Germany. "It is watching," she said,

"whether we're ready and able in this crisis since end of World War

II to take this opportunity." think we all know this is the

greatest tests that the economic monetary union has faced.

Parliament voted to boost the eurozone's bail-out fund, a key

factor in the talks in Brussels. Here's the challenge for the summit

- to slash Greek debt by encouraging banks to take big

losses by around 50%, to strengthen Europe's banks, perhaps by a

hundred billion euros, and to increase the firepower of the EU's

main bail-out fund perhaps by over a trillion euros. Also the centre

of attention, the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi. France

and Germany had insisted he bring with him a letter setting out the

economic reforms he would make. Back in Rome, there was a scuffle

in the Parliament over plans to raise the retirement age. The

eurozone crisis is exacerbating Italy's political crisis. Europe's

leaders will meet well into the evening. What the financial markets

will be watching for is not just political statements, but detail -

hard numbers that indicate that this time a deal is more than

sticking plaster. Well, it looks like a long evening

in prospect here - a two-shirt summit, said someone. What there is

some expectation of is that midway during this evening, officials will

be able to announce a deal to strengthen Europe's banks, to

recapitalise the banks. If that happens afterwards, then the 17

stone zone leaders will meet, tackling the really difficult and

tricky issue of how to reduce Greek debt and to get banks to accept big

losses, and that could well take them into the early hours of the

morning. Sophie? Gavin, thank you very much.

With me is our economics editor Stephanie Flanders. The Prime

Minister was determined to be there. He's cancelled a trip to Japan to

be in Brussels. Why is it so important for Britain to be there?

It does seem like a distant problem, a complicated crisis with countries

we're not directly involved with. We're not in the single currency or

the eurozone. David Cameron isn't going to be writing cheques to

Greece or anything else any time soon, but it matters to us for two

reasons, one, if it ends badly, if there is some question mark about

the future of the euro or the health of Europe's banks, that'll

have an effect on the whole system and almost certainly Britain's

banks. It will be harder for Britain's banks to borrow and lend

to one another, harder for them to lend to British households. It

affects us in a more direct way. If you're looking at a more slow

European recovery or something that might result much worse from the

breakup that might push us back into recession. We've already got a

very weak recovery. We're hoping to export a lot to the eurozone.

That's two very important ways. I should say we can worry about the

growth implications even if we get a deal tonight because there is not

very much in that deal that talks very much about it in the next few

years. Thank you very much. For more analysis and explanation

of the eurozone crisis, you can go to the special section of our

website. That's at bbc.co.uk/eurocrisis.

An inquest into the death of the singer Amy Winehouse has heard that

she died after drinking a very large quantity of alcohol - well

above the level that can be fatal. The coroner was told that the 27-

year-old star, who was found dead at her flat in July, had only just

started drinking again having not touched alcohol for three weeks.

Lizo Mzimba is in north London where she lived. Yes, when the

singer was found Ted here, the news shocked many. Some of the tributes

from fans are still visible, but of course, the most deeply affected

were her family who had to endure months of speculation over how she

tied. Today they said, "It is a relief to finally find out what

happened to Amy. Amy was battling hard to conquer her problem with

alcohol, and it is a source of great pain to us that she could not

win it in time." Her family arrived at the coroners' court, father

Mitch followed by mother Janis, knowing how painful it was likely

to be to hear the details of how their taut came to die. She was a

star whose well-publicised troubles often drew attention away from her

talent, and over the last three months there had been speculation

that the singer's death was linked to her problems with drugs, but the

court heard it was actually drink, not drugs, that killed her. When

her body was discovered here at her home there were two large and one

small empty vodka bottle nearby. The coroner said up to 350

milligrams could kill you. Amy Winehouse's was 416.

Her distinctive appearance supreme song-writing abilities and vocal

style turned her into a global star. Her album Black to Black winning

her five Grammys and selling millions of copies, but it was

apparent that her addictions had the power to overcome her musical

abilities. After the Grammy awards, addictions expert Sarah Graham

understands more than most the battles the single faced. It's very

common, unfortunately, when people put down one substance, be that a

drug or an alcohol, to then cross to another substance. After so many

weeks of speculation, today is likely to be a welcome step towards

closure for her fans, but especially for her family.

And now that today's events are over, many, including her family,

will be hoping that Amy can be remembered not for how she died or

for her battles with addiction, but for the extraordinary music she

produced in her short life. Thank you very much.

Two brothers who were jailed for conning thousands of customers at a

Lapland theme park in the New Forest have been released on appeal.

Victor and Henry Mears were sent to prison for 13 months in March for

misleading advertising over their Lapland New Forest attraction. But

the Court of Appeal overturned their convictions after hearing a

juror had been texting her fiance during the trial.

The Dean of St Paul's says he is optimistic that the cathedral will

be able to reopen to the public tomorrow following changes to the

layout of the tents being used by anti-capitalist protesters. A final

decision will be taken by Friday lunch time. Two more people have

been rescued from the rubble of Turkey's earthquake. One of them,

an 18-year-old university student, was found alive 61 hours after the

earthquake struck. More than 450 people are now known to have died.

Almost three million women have them on the NHS every year, but now

questions have been raised over the benefits of breast screening tests.

The National Cancer Director for England says most experts believe

screening does save lives, but some argue it can also cause harm by

leading to unnecessary surgery. Now an independent review has been

launched, as our health correspondent Dominic Hughes

reports. Breast cancer used to be seen as a

death sentence, but survival rates have improved dramatically thanks

to advances in both diagnosis and treatment. Thousands of women can

say the UK's breast cancer screening programme has saved their

lives, and Rosemary Donaldson is one of them. If I hadn't gone for

that screening, it wouldn't have been picked up, and I'd be walking

around now with cancer cells in my body. Around 2.7 million women

across the UK aged between 50 and 70 are offered screening each year.

In nearly 17,000 cases of breast cancer are detected as a result.

The NHS estimates approximately 5 to 10% of cases are overdiagnosed.

That means women are told they have a lump, but it isn't clear if it

needs treatment. The Department of Health says its advice to women is

unchanged. Those who are invited to attend screenings like this one are

advised to come along, but they often are led to a screening

operation they just didn't need. Miriam Pryke says her life was

turned upside down by unnecessary treatment following a scan.

wouldn't have got into that situation if I had been warned

about it. I would have avoided it. I wouldn't have thought it was

worth getting into a situation where you don't know whether you've

got cancer or not, and the only way you're going to find out is by

having mutilating surgery. independent review of breast

screening will cover the whole of the UK, and doctors recognise that

as our understanding of the disease has improved, it's right to

reevaluate the evidence behind the programme. In Manchester we're

undertaking a large research study at the moment to see if we could

perhaps develop more targeted screening, so, for example, ladies

who were at higher risk of developing breast cancer had more

frequent screening. Critics of breast screening say it's no longer

clear if the benefits outweigh the possible risks. They're still in a

minority, but this independent review shows their doubts are being

taken seriously. The Ministry of Defence has

apologised for stress caused after demanding the family of a soldier

killed in Afghanistan repay some of his wages. Lance Corporal Jordan

Bancroft's parents were told that �433 in overpayment had been docked

from his earnings to cover a ten- day period after he died.

Lance Corporal Jordan Bancroft was 25 when he died, killed last year

whilst serving in Afghanistan. At the time, his family said that his

death would leave a huge hole in their lives. Now they say their

grief has been compounded by the actions of the Ministry of Defence.

They recently received a letter from the MoD which said that some

of Jordan's last pay packet was to be docked because he died ten days

before the end of the month. It means that the family will lose

moor than �400. I opened this envelope up and read a letter. I

couldn't believe what I'd read, so I read it again. How does it make

you feel? It's just devastating. It's - it just makes you think why

- you know, what's a person's life worth? Lance Corporal Jordan

Bancroft was shot by sthurgs during An operation in Helmand province

last August. He'd forfeited some of his leave time to train for

Afghanistan. The MoD says whilst his salary will be recouped, his

family will be recompensated for When he died, Lance Corporal Jordan

Bancroft's commanding officer called him a lion of England. Now

after the intervention of the MoD, his parents say their son isn't

It is now or never, the warning from European leaders to the German

Chancellor as they gather in Brussels.

Look how quickly it rose to four, 5, 6 and now 7 billion. The world's

population is growing by 200,000 people a day.

Later on the news channel, as Europe's leader arrived in Brussels

to try to thrash out a response to the eurozone crisis, markets hold

their breath and wonder whether the politicians have come up with a

It is said to have the largest windows of any commercial airliner,

and cleaner air. It is designed to make air travel more comfortable.

Boeing's new plane, the Dreamliner, has made its first commercial

flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong, three years later than first

planned. The plane should be 20% more fuel-efficient than other

planes its size. A salute for the plane hailed as a

landmark in aircraft design. Even if it is three years late. Boeing

787 Dreamliner flew from Tokyo to Hong Kong using 20% less fuel than

its competitors, thanks to its light weight design. Inside, Boeing

says passengers will notice better air quality, along with more

luggage space and bigger windows. More than 800 have already been

ordered, at around $200 million each. On the face of it, this is a

success story for the American aviation industry, but not

everything about this plane is quite as it seems. Up to 25% of

each of these 787s is actually made in the United Kingdom. The fuel

system, the arteries of the new plane, is made by Eaton at its

Titchfield plant in Hampshire, with its workforce of 800, it designs

the components, then builds and calibrates them. As Boeing runs a

production, so will Eaton. commercial side of our business is

totally booming right now. Our customers in the US and Europe have

a backlog of several years. fuel system and landing gear are

sent from the UK along with seats and engines for fitting in the US.

Production-line delays have led some airlines to cancel orders, but

Boeing is still gearing up to increase production. As we get the

aeroplane out there and airlines see the performance of the airplane

and the economic benefits, that will only continue to expand.

Airbus is now building its own light weight jet, the Airbus A350.

British companies will play a key role in its development as well,

the wings will be built at his factory in north Wales. For now,

the 787 has this guy to itself, as the only aircraft of its kind

offering advanced fuel economy and longer range. British jobs are

riding on how successful it becomes. The UK's population is expected to

reach 70 million within 16 years, according to new figures from the

ash -- the Office for National Statistics. Currently it is just

over 62 million. The United Nations prepares to announce that the

world's population has reached an estimated 7 billion. How much

We are living in an era of the huge population growth. It took until

1804 for there to be 1 billion people on the planet. By 1927, that

figure had doubled. In just over 30 years, it hit 3 billion. Then look

how quickly it rose to four, 5, 6 and now 7 billion. The world's

population is growing by 200,000 people a day. Lack of space

shouldn't be a problem. If everyone lived in one megacity, the density

of Paris, then in theory, the entire population of the planet

could fit into France, with room to spare. So will our numbers keep

rising? Almost certainly yes, for several decades. More people are in

their reproductive years than ever before. More children survive,

thanks to better health care and sanitation. And people are living

longer. The UN's best estimate is that there will be 8 billion people

by 2025, 9 billion by 2050 and 10 billion by the end of the century.

A higher UN prediction has the population at nearly 16 billion by

2,100. Much of the increase will be driven by poor countries in Sub-

Saharan Africa. Many already, with inadequate food and water. Ethiopia

could see its population rise from 80 million, to 145 million.

Contrast that with Germany. A similar population to Ethiopia now,

but this could fall, to 75 million, by 2050. Indeed, there is a

scenario that sees the world population falling. The UN's lower

estimate for 2,100 is just over 6 billion people, 1 billion fewer

than there are now. Why? Global fertility is already falling. In

1950, women, on average, had five children each. It is now down to

two-and-a-half. Small variations in fertility could have a big effect

on population size in the future. In much of the world, including

Brazil, Europe, Russia, Japan, even China, fertility has fallen so much

that populations are reliably predicted to fall later this

century. But what ever the long- term projections, for the coming

decades, we can expect more and more people on the planet, way

beyond the 7 billion milestone we are now passing.

Fergus Walsh, reporting on the world's growing population. You can

see more stories on that on our website.

The finish mobile phone company Nokia has unveiled its new range of

smart phones. The company hopes the new phones, its first to run

Microsoft Windows software, will help it return to a leading

position in the industry, after losing market share to smart phones

such as the iPhone and a BlackBerry. The online retailer Amazon has said

it is creating 1,000 new jobs before Christmas. The temporary and

permanent positions are to staff a new centre in Hemel Hempstead. It

comes despite a 70% fall in Amazon has profits during the last quarter.

At least nine people have been killed and six are missing after

torrential rain for has caused severe flooding in northern and

central Italy. Officials say over 50 centimetres of rain, 20 inches,

fell in just a few hours. The bad weather is expected to spread to

the rest of Italy later today. For four decades, it laid neglected

in a filing cabinet in Staffordshire. Now a letter written

two centuries ago by Lord Nelson has been dusted down and put up for

auction tomorrow. In it, he complains about a lack of

government funds for couriers to carry news of his successful

blockade in Naples. His statue looks down on a land

that honours and, not merely as the one of a battle but a creator of a

navy that still fights and wins by his tradition. Nelson's victory at

Trafalgar was one of the greatest in history. Collectors have wanted

to get their hands on anything connected with him. This letter is

Nelson in a frustrated frame of mind. The letter is up for sale,

addressed to mark Berry's distant grandfather. He mentions his quill

pen, keeps dipping in the ink pot and difficulties of writing. His

right hand was useless, he must have struggled to write this. He

probably didn't get it done in one day. Who knew how relevant his

words would be. Frustration, 200 years ago, at lack of government

It is soon after the successful blockade of Naples and he is

desperate for news of the armies, This handwritten piece of history

is one of hundreds of lots being auctioned off tomorrow. It has

Nelson at the heart of the letter, and I hope it finds its way into an

institution, a museum or a serious private collection. However much is

paid, this is a priceless Becks -- insight into an admiral's

exasperation at defence spending. EU leaders are meeting to try to

thrash out a deal to solve the eurozone debt crisis. Nick Robinson

joins as from Brussels. The German Chancellor says it is now or never,

we keep being told these are crunch talks, is this the last chance to

sort it out? It is a curious thing in Brussels. You see the limousines

sweep up, the men and women in suits march out, you see them

declare the need for a deal, and it is all too easy to think they are

talking about a world that none of us occupied. Then you remind

yourself just what is at stake. What they are talking about is how

to avoid not just one government, Greece, going bankrupt, but a

series of government, perhaps Italy and Spain as well. Not just a bank

going under but a whole series of banks, with huge consequences for

the economy. And lastly, how on earth to ensure that a currency set

up to bind the 17 countries together doesn't actually fall

apart. And then you remember why Chancellor Merkel said that this

was the biggest moment for Europe since the Second World War. Despite

all that, my sense is that we won't get the deal to save the euro

tonight, we will get the outlines of the framework of the deal that

might be done once the details can be agreed. Progress, yes, but not

the end of it all. David Cameron is here tonight, though not at the

crucial Denner, because Britain is not in the single currency -- the

crucial dinner. He believes this has to be as big as possible, and

that not until crisis is really Newman, until it is two minutes to

midnight, if you like, the deal will finally be done -- the crisis

is really living. That time will But we saw those pictures of

flooding in Italy and we have more on that on the websites. This cloud

is not a welcome sight for some of you on your half-term break. It is

heading towards us towards the night. We have a few showers

lingering, one or two heavy ones in the south-east. Some stretching

from Wells into Scotland, some will continue overnight. -- from Wales

into Scotland. Before that cloud arrives, it will be a distinctly

chilly night. For much of England and Wales, a grey start to the day.

For the south-east and East Anglia, it will probably stay largely dry

and cloudy. A few showers in the West, a dry and bright day. For

many. Cloud will increase in eastern areas of Scotland and we

will see patchy rain. It might turn heavier through the afternoon, it

will be there all day long in the Midlands, central and southern

England. In the South East, barely a drop. The rain, which will be

heaviest in the morning, will gradually ease away. Most of the

rain will push into Scandinavia. Lingering cloud in the south-east,

keeping temperatures up. Clearing skies elsewhere means a chilly

start to Friday and quite a foggy start which could hamper your

journey to work. Once the fog shifts, the vast majority will have

a dry and sunny day, holding on to a lot of cloud in the south-east

corner. For much of England and Wales, dry and bright, Scotland and