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and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news". >> hello, i'm christian fraser. this is the context. >> what we have delivered is significant. on the basis the government continues to deliver, we will be in position to convene a meeting of the assembly and proceed with the restoration of the political institution. >> i will tomorrow publish the details of the proposals we have made to secure northern islands place and to strengthen the union. i believe all of the conditions are in place for the assembly to return. >> i think it is terrible they have been out so long, when

nurses, doctors, all other people are living with very low wages. >> we've always valued the world government. direct engagement with politicians is important to us. this is good news. but it is only the first step on a difficult path that faces us. ♪ >> a moment of huge significance in northern ireland. the return of storment. they have a mandate from unionists to return to power-sharing institutions. we will unpack what the deal entails. the british foreign secretary says the u.k. is ready to bring forward the moment when he formally recognizes a palestinian state. and we will talk to the wall street journal about their reports on evan gershkovich, who has been detained in russia for

over 300 days. a very good evening. for the first time in nearly two years, it looks like northern ireland will have a devolved government and assembly up last night, there was a long meeting. the union's party that collapsed power-sharing, in 2022 in protest of the post brexit trading rules and checks they say. undermine northern ireland's place. he now believes they have the assurances they need from westminster to return to government with the nationalist. our island correspondent has this report. >> across northern ireland, people woke up to news of a political breakthrough that ha been nearly two years in the making. the lack of a functioning executive for so long has caused many issues for the lives of people. public sector workers on strike earlier this month overpay.

unions help increases will be a priority. >> a sense of hope, but they are apprehensive. teachers have not gotten a pay increase for three years. i have waited long enough. they watched teacher wages in other parts of the u.k. grow far ahead of teacher wages in northern ireland. >> parents help financial help with childcare available in other parts of the u.k. will be signed off. >> families have been watching developments elsewhere in the u.k.. we have seen record investment in childcare and the 30 hours scheme. it is considerably more than families can access in northern ireland. >> the dup walked out of sharing in protest of arrangements brought in after brexit. the party says their arrangements on northern ireland treated differently from the rest of the u.k.. it has been negotiating with westminster for measures to remove what it sees as economic barriers.

but the leader says enough progress has been made. >> i believe what we have delivered is significant. continues to deliver, we will be in a position to convene a meeting of the assembly and proceed with the restoration of the political institutions. >> the u.k. government will publish details of the deal tomorrow and is expected to bring legislation by thursday. the secretary of state for nortrn ireland hopes to finalize the deal soon. >> i believe all conditions are in place for the assembly to return. i look forward to the restoration of these institutions as soon as possible. >> assembly may be recalled as early as friday or saturday. but whenever the power-sharing institutions return, they will do so with a nationalist first minister. it will be the first time in northern ireland's existence, more than a century, that the

top will be held by a leader who wants a united ireland. >> powershare is the only show in town. i'm glad we are getting past the bell once again. i believe in life you get much more done when you walk together as opposed to walking apart. >> aer two years of uncertainty, frustration, and division, it looks like the stalemate will soon be at an end. but it is not done yet. people in northern ireland must do what they have done for nearly two years, wait. >> what we don't yet know is how the dup concerns have been reconciled. we will find out tomorrow when the deal is published. the conundrum is outside the eu, britain wants to do things its own way. the trouble is the border between the northern ireland and the republic has become an eu border and like any other international border, brussels

demands checks on goods that flow across the irish sea. republicans don't want any physical border between the north and south. unionists don't want a border between northern ireland and great britain, physical or imagine. we spent years going in circles to find a position that is mutually acceptable to all parties. the british government said the compromise was the windsor framework they signed with the eu this time last year. what has changed? maybe it is an optical illusion. some people see a circle, others see a square. let's bring in a columnist at the belfast telegraph. lovely to have you with us. there are opponents to what the dup agreed last night to say not a word of the protocol has been altered. why has leadership's position suddenly changed? >> interestingly, some of those opponents are members of the dup themselves.

what he says he has, and gives a presentation to his party executive, 130 members at a lotion outside of blistering. he explained to them he's negotiated changes. so that will be good to travel between into northern ireland. and there were some checks. we have a border with the eu, and they have to protect the single market and customs union. they have agreed to remove all checks. that is the stockpile to the border. he claims to have done away with it. we will not know until we see when the data is published. and the other concern was the windsor framework adds protocol also overruled, -- that you needed, nor that -- united northern ireland with scotland

and wales. that could not be amended or restored in the ways the party would have liked, but probably tomorrow, giving an assurance that northern ireland is safe and a constitutional place. something of a symbolic gesture. the agreement in 1998 says northern ireland will remain part of the u.k. until the majority of people here wish to see it other ways. that seems to be have been enough. we were just told it would pass the majority. and we know his party officers, a 12 person team, he managed to get the majority of them on board. but there are still people like nigel dodds, currently in the house of lords, stanley wilson, they said the deal has gone far

enough. and then he has leg jim, a former member of the traditional union, the hard-line unionist group. >> that is the point, the executive of which they are around 130, they saw powerpoint presentation last night. the officers have seen the command paper. when it is published, the question will be whether jeffrey donaldson can take the party wi him. >> the news conference with the party officers was meant to take place, last about an hour. a press conference was planned. it was -- a strange place for the dup, that is where it was taking place. that press conference didn't take place from 1:00 a.m., a very late-night.

they missed the evening deadlines. but he did seem quite confident. and remember, he also did the aspect where he seemed to stand up to his detractors, and called out those who had used the word saying what have you produced -- i have managed to bring the eu it seems he has.tiating table. cracks i can also see the title for your column, can jeffrey donaldson organize a bureau in e brewery? we will see tomorrow. professor is in the studio with me. there are not many who know more about the protocol than he. allison is saying the dup believe they have assurances

over the green lane, the language over the green lane in the windsor framework. mainly the goods in northern ireland. if there are changes to the language on the green lane, is it with the agreement of the u.k. government, or does the european union have to have some say? >> she hit it on the head when she said if you are changing the protocol or the windsor framework, the eu have to agree. we cannot uterine light -- unilaterally change a bipartisan agreement. anything that changes the substance of that deal has to be agreed with the eu in advance. it would be interesting to see. i'm struggling at the moment. there is a binary. either the deal is consistent with the windsor framework as written down, or it is not. if it is, it is hard to see what new things jeffrey donnison has to sell to his party because that framework has been there for over year. if not, they will have something to say because they say we are changing that bilateral treaty.

>> what matters to unionists is they remain a full integral party. does the green and red lane system and which is already in play, introduced in september, does it achieve that for unionists in northern ireland? >> more so than the pre-existing protocol did the framerk make it easier. you have to accept it is slightly strange having a customs and regulatory border within a sovereign state, which is the situation we've ended up with. now the lane helps. those people have trusted trader status can go through there. they still have to fill in paperwork. you still have to fill in paperwork to trade with northern ireland. the odd check to make sure no one is abusing the system. but for those not part of that trader scheme, there will be checks. cracks as you read recently, -- i do read them, they worry me

now. >> there has been little regulatory divergence thus far between the eu and great britain. surely if and when that happens, there will be more evidence of a border. >> certainly. should the u.k. diverge in its regulations from the european union, that should make things harder. how we can go our own way when it comes to genome distancing. in northern ireland, eu rules still apply. it can be the case going our own way, plowing our regulatory 40 that it becomes more of an issue. >> the point i'm trying to get at is when this is published, and the dup to its satisfaction think they have a deal that goes some way to realizing their concerns, does that trapped the rest of great britain into a customs union? if you start to diverge, presumably you start to lose unionists in northern ireland. >> it is not a customs union --

>> but is it de facto a customs union? you cannot diverge. it is worth pointing out we are discussing a deal none of us has seen. it is hard to know. the problem for the prime minister if the deal includes something on divergence, a statement saying we will consult before diverging, the danger is it takes part of the parliamentary party. for a large chunk of brexit, including kevin, who said the whole point of the exercise is divergence, we need to diverge from the european union, otherwise what is the point of leaving? it is a balancing act for the prime minister. he's got to keep the dup and european union on site and the party on site, as well. cracks enter two things if you would, i'm pressed for time. does the dup recognize it is the rest of the u.k. diverging away from eu rules that they might be left high and dry in the years to come?

>> they should have realized that when they supported brexit when they knew they had a border with the eu and the problems it would cause in terms of their own situation. we have a land border with the eu, and that needs to be protected in some way. we have to assume the eu and someway have agreed to these changes. the other part can be done. but until we see the substance of that, there are people on the outside, the dup, -- lane by lane and word by word there. cracks just before i let you go, pick up on the historic nature of what is about to happen. a nationalist leader taking over as first minister. someone who grew up through the troubles, it seems beyond

conceivable we would one day get to this point. yet here we are. >> it is probably not something ira thought i would see in my lifetime. when the assembly was first initiated 25 years ago. 26 years this year, it was whether they came as the people leading that assembly. it isn't just a nationalist rst minister. the first minister is a republican. she's actively campaigning for a united ireland. we are only just over 100 years old. northern ireland was formed 100 years old. look at a map on the border. itas to make it a unionist majority. and that is no longer the case. not only do they not have a majority, should be and i hope to first minister. republicans, it will be a symbolic day. i think that symbolism will not

be lost on them. especially when they are already feeling hurt by things that have happened in terms of how the british government treated them over brexit. >> the first step is geing back, the second is to see how the unionist interact once it is restored. thank you for joining us. we are going to talk to a few people. people on the ground in northern ireland, to find out how it affects them. there will be a lot of enthusiasm to get up and running. particularly since no decisions have been made over the last two years. we will get to that shortly. you're watching bbc news. taking a quick look at the stories making headlines. the serial killer nurse lucy b has lost the first age of the process to appeal her convictions. in august, she was found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill another six. she was sentenced to a whole

life prison term. she applied to the court of appeal for permission for her case to be heard. a man armed with a crossbow has been shot dead by police in southeast london. the man was tryg to force his way into a building in the seri keys area. the nhs app has been updated for users in england. the features include a prescription tool with a digital barcode that can be used in pharmacies without the need for a paper prescription. nhs digital says it will show average local hospital waiting times to patients who require nonurgent treatment. that should be useful to all of us. you are live with bbc news. one of the key elements of the windsor framework was the creation of the green and red lanes that differentiate between goods and destinations and those do for onward transporting to

the eu single market over the irh border. that system has been in place since september. if you go into a supermarket in northern ireland, you will see shells stocked with meat products that have labels stamped not for e.u.. they set aside land for a border facility designed to support real-time sharing of trade data with brussels. how is it working for businesses in northern ireland and what promise does the return hold for businesses in the north? let's speak to john traynor. he's owner of the two sticks and stones restaurants in belfast. thank you for being with us. it has been in place since september. has it made things easier for your business? >> no, it has not. people working cost, have increased rate of costs. so any product is with costs.

but today is a good day for us. but before christmas, we thought we had a deal, but that did not happen. today i have been told the dup is coming back. concealed that over the last 30 years, and the last three years with leadership. for people like me on the ground, we want to -- there is nobody helping us with tourism. there is nobody helping us with job attention. young people leave and go our colleagues in the south of ireland, still getting support, neighbors -- in the north.

there's always these different unity issues. >> it is not the greatest line, but let me persevere for one more question. i understand what you're saying. for you it is more about political uncertainty. probably more than the economic concern that has come with brexit. >> if you were a business person, with northern ireland doing stability. >> you have the u.s. government and u.k. government lining up to invest. so there must be huge enthusiasm for that. >> there is certainly. and we are all waiting to appear -- but but still have not decided -- signed on the dotted line. so much bipod -- politicians.

and today is a good day. but we want to see politicians getting back to work. if i did not go back to work fo two years, would you have a job? politicians have not gotten organized to deliver that money. if those people don't spend, they won't come to my restaurant, i cannot keep the doors open. people in job for 30 years, -- so it is a very difficult and stressful working environment. but there is hope. >> good to talk to you, thank you for joining us. there has been a lot of people who have been waiting for hospital appointments, waiting lists have been rising. there are patients whoaited a year to see a consultant partly because health care budgets could not be secured. let's bring in joe rob who was diagnosed with breast cancer at

the beginning of december and struggled with delayed appointments and surgery since. think your -- thank you for coming on. how are you? >> i'm fine. i had surgery on thursday of last week. it has gone well. >> you must be immensely frustred the dup, and it is the dup, have had this issue for well over two years. seemingly since february last year when the framework was signed, have been dragging their heels. to a point today where we did not know we would achieve something materially. could they have done this quicker? >> i think most definitely there would have and should have been a different approach. ultimately, i guess not just on behalf of myself, but a lot o the tireless workers in the health service, i'm sure i'm speaking for them. they are like political ponds in the middle of this.

we are being used as a negotiating ram weighed against the government. to try and bring this to a point. and i think there could have been a much easier way to get there. and i really don't believe the approach to government here is the right way to go about it. >> i think 3.3 billion pounds waiting to be invested in northern ireland should be back in play by next week. what will it do to health care services? >> i have seen firsthand, i have family working there. i hear the frustrations for them. because we have doctors, consultants, nurse medical trained staff who care about the service and the care they provide to people coming into the hospital. but because of lack of

investment, lack of pay, lack of cover in terms of attracting new consultants. it has been very difficult for them to provide the level of care they want to provide. once we can get that up and running and start to get that investment, we should start to attract more people back into that. we are losing qualified nurses because the pay in northern ireland is better. that is a ridiculous position to be in. not only for the nhs workers, the doctors themselves, but also the people having to go into the hospital. they are so strange, it is frustrating for the nurses, it can become frustrating for the patients who are waiting, trying to get that level of care for a short staffed workforce and under pressure workforce. >> good to talk to you.

we are wishing you the best. thank you for coming on the program. we were just saying goodbye to our viewers around the world and on pbs. narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: "usa today" calls it, "arguably the best bargain in streaming." that's because the free pbs app lets you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere.

♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... george: actually, you don't need vision to do most things in life. it's exciting to be rt of a team driving the technology forward. i think that's the most rewarding thing. people who know, know bdo. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation.