on the verge of a brexit breakthrough in brussels. the prime minister is said to be close to reaching a deal with the eu. after many rounds of talks, sufficient progress appears to have been made on the major sticking points — the divorce bill, eu citizens' rights and the northern ireland border. we've put seven months of work, both sides, into getting to this point and we're hoping that mrjuncker, today, will give us sufficient progress so we can move on to trade talks. the northern irish border — now the uk is said to be close to accepting a concession that there will be no hard border. we'll be live in brussels, westminster and dublin with the latest. also this lunchtime. nearly 750,000 pensioners and children in the uk have fallen into relative poverty over the past four years, says a charity. if you go out, you don't have to have your heating on, do you? trouble is, once it's dark in the evenings now, and cold, you have to put your heating on, don't you? allegations about the prime minister's deputy

damian green made public. the head of the metropolitan police says two former officers should not have made the claims. 10pfora tin. how co—op is becoming the first major retailer to sell food beyond it best before date to try to reduce food waste. and i'm in adelaide as england's cricketers face an uphill battle against australia in the second ashes test. and coming up in the sport on bbc news. hisjob is safe, whatever happens in russia — the fa say gareth southgate will lead england for the next few tournaments. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. britain and the european union

appear close to reaching a breakthrough in the brexit talks, which will clear the way for the second phase of brexit negotiations to begin on trade. theresa may is in brussels this lunchtime, meeting with the president of the european commission. reports indicate the two sides have reached a broad agreement on the rights of eu citizens and on the so—called "divorce bill". it now appears sufficient progress has also been made on the difficult issue of how to avoid a hard border with northern ireland. adam fleming has this report from brussels. there's no such thing as a free lunch. the prime minister is here to shake on a set of promises made by the uk, designed to get brexit talks of the past and on to the future. everybody understands that the decision to move on to trade talks is vital to everybody, of huge value to the 27 members and ourselves. is vital to everybody, of huge value to the 27 members and ourselvesm sounds like there has been some

progress on the rights of eu nationals living in the uk after brexit and brits abroad. talks about how much money the uk owes seem to have been unblocked by a more detailed offer from the have been unblocked by a more detailed offerfrom the uk. but the big stumbling block is what to do about the irish border. the irish government does not want to wait for a future trade deal. they want written guarantees now. before the prime minister's arrival, members of the european parliament were ushered infora the european parliament were ushered in for a preview because they will get a vote on the final deal. i'm optimistic it is possible, 50—50, thatis optimistic it is possible, 50—50, that is something but we have to be sure that an citizens rights, everything is ok. is there ready on the money? it seems. it seems there isa the money? it seems. it seems there is a deal on the money? you are with that? i'm cautiously optimistic but of course, we have to see the final outcome. can mrs may fix all of this today? i think that is possible. with goodwill, i think we can have a

good agreement today. one claimed the british had pledged that northern ireland would stick closely to the eu's rules on customs. it is a meeting again with reality. it is a meeting again with reality. it is a recognition of reality and what they have created is a reality and we have to accept that and that reality is full of contradictions and they have to acknowledge that. now they acknowledge it. good. and they have to acknowledge that. now they acknowledge it. goodm you look at all this activity, you would think a final brexit deal was just around the corner. it isn't. this is all about the eu feeling that enough progress has been made in the first phase of brexit talks about divorce issues to trigger the start of the second phase which is all about trade, the transition deal and the future relationship. that decision won't be made here today. it will be for eu leaders at a summit in ten days' time but be in no doubt, this is a big day in the history of brexit. adam fleming, there. the last key sticking

point has been what to do about the irish border. the government in dublin wants a written commitment that there will be no new border controls, something the irish cabinet has been meeting this morning to discuss. ireland's prime minister leo varadkar says he will make a statement later today. 0ur ireland correspondent chris buckler reports. 0n the way to a brexit deal. the uk and the eu will have to find a way through the many problems posed by these border roads. the irish government are insisting that there should be no change along the 310 miles that connect northern ireland and the republic, that this should remain an invisible border. 0nce and the republic, that this should remain an invisible border. once it marks the start and end of the european union. it is clear the irish prime minister regards this as a crucial day in the negotiations. leo varadkar called a special meeting of his cabinet and the taoiseach arrived ready for action, dressed in his gym gear. the irish foreign minister, simon kovinic,

says there has been progress, but there remain some potential doubling blocks. we believe we have a responsibility to the island of ireland as a whole to make sure we work with the british government to get a wording that can settle nerves on this issue so that as we move into phase two, people know that the result, even if it is an unintended consequence, is not going to be a ha rd consequence, is not going to be a hard border. once there were customs posts on these border roads and there is a fear they could return u nless there is a fear they could return unless there's a deal ensures rules and regulations will not be the same between northern ireland and the eu. that would include industries like agriculture and food manufacturing. but what worries unionists if that could mean over time differences would emerge between northern ireland and the rest of the uk and potentially new checks for ships travelling across the irish sea, something they have described as politically unacceptable. you can't have two separate regimes in terms

of regulation. you've got to have a choice there. what we want to have is as much regulatory compliance with the biggest market we are in so that no barriers put up to create sales, export and all the rest of it, within the united kingdom single market. a danger of the conservative government getting caught between the dup, whose support they need at westminster, the irish government, who have to give the 0k to allow talks to head on to trade. this border always has the potential to cause division. chris buckler is in dublin now and this agreement or deal looks close but what would it mean in practice? it would mean the irish catchment have got their way in practice because they have been pushing for regulatory convergence on the island of ireland. effectively it would mean that rules and regulations for trading would remain the same in the north as well

as the republic and therefore, northern ireland would stick very closely to eu rules. they had been calling for northern ireland to remain inside the single market and inside the customs union. this wording that is coming out, it does not seem that is the case but it is as close as can be and will allow the border to remain completely open as it is now. however, you heard nigel dodds, there, and that interview was taken from before this concession was talked about. nonetheless, it gives you the sense that the dup are not happy about this idea, that the island of ireland would remain the same but potentially there could be divergences, different regulations and rules in other parts of the uk. they have already been talking about that, saying that is not something they would accept. they want to keep northern ireland in line with the rest of the uk because they say that is northern ireland's biggest market. so potentially you do have political problems there and given the conservatives are relying on the dup for support at westminster, that could be a significant one. chris

buckler, thank you, from dublin. adam fleming is in brussels. we heard in your earlier report that this is potentially a big moment in brussels. does this mean that going forward , brussels. does this mean that going forward, it unlocks the door and trade talks will begin? it certainly feels like that today in brussels but the eu does not run on feelings. it runs on documents with lots of words in them. we will have to wait and see this joint document which will be published at some point after lunch by both sides which will show all the commitments they have made in the first phase of brexit talks, for example, what wording have they actually agreed to solve, for now, the irish border issue? the wording will really matter. we understand that in something like paragraph a5, what is in the preceding 44 paragraphs that could go down well or badly back home in westminster for the buy minister. quickly, the action will move from the european commission, where jean—claude juncker and michel

barnier work, the 27 remaining eu member states because they are the ones that will really be in driving seat for this process as they make the big decisions. there will be a meeting of officials from member states in about an hour. 0n wednesday, ambassadors from member states will meet and start working out what they are going to do at this summit, when all of the leaders will meet next friday, the 15th of december, to decide if sufficient progress has been made on the divorce related part of the talks to move the trade related part of the talks. that summit will be chaired by donald tusk, the president of the european council. earlier today, we heard he had cancelled a planned trip to the middle east this week because he wanted to handle brexit. people were saying that is surely a bad sign. he's actuallyjust tweeted that he's really encouraged by progress so far so actually, a good sign that things are really picking up sign that things are really picking up and as i said in my piece, this isa up and as i said in my piece, this is a big day in history brexit. adam fleming brussels, thank you. norman smith is in westminster now.

lots of positive noises coming out of brussels this lunchtime, we don't know the detail but the prime minister will have to sell this to her party and the dup. and on the face of it, you would think that will be a difficult task, certainly when it comes to the brexiteers, when it comes to the brexiteers, when you are having to talk about maybe handing over 40, 50 billion euros as part of the divorce bill, you would think they were going to 90, you would think they were going to go, no. but the story of brexit so far is that the brexiteers by and large have gone along with all the compromises mrs may has had to make, not just compromises mrs may has had to make, notjust on money but on the european court, on the transitional deal and maybe, too, european court, on the transitional dealand maybe, too, on european court, on the transitional deal and maybe, too, on the northern ireland border. the reason for that, i think, is because they view mrs may as their best bet for getting brexit because if they were to attack her and destabilise her, the fear is that could jeopardise brexit under renewed tory leader or maybe

even under ajeremy under renewed tory leader or maybe even under a jeremy corbyn government. —— a new tory leader. the difficulty for mrs may is not the 300 or so tory mps, it is the ten dup mps because they have pretty much got mrs may by her political windpipe. her government depends on them and if they don't like the sort of deal that she is putting together, then they have the power not just to scupper that together, then they have the power notjust to scupper that deal but potentially even to bring down the government. so over the next few weeks and months, i think you can expect oodles of metaphorical affection and love and custard creams and lots of other things to be heaped on those ten dup mps. norman smith in westminster, thank you. nearly 750,000 children and pensioners in the uk have fallen into relative poverty over the past four years, according to a report from a social policy charity. the left—leaning joseph rowntree foundation says it's the first sustained rise affecting these age groups for two decades. the government says the number of people living in absolute poverty has fallen by more

than 500,000 since 2010. 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan has the details. for always singleton on this drop—in centre has many benefits. she can meet friends, have a laugh, grab a bite to eat and by being here, the 84—year—old does not have to spend money heating her own home. if you go out, you don't have to have your heating on, do you? trouble is, once it's dark in the evenings now, and cold, you have to put your heating on, don't you? so you go on the bus just to keep warm? yeah. well, you know... laughter. yeah, it's lovely and warm on the bus! and then you sort of try and extend it as long as you can. even though you've got to nowhere to go? yeah. it's mad, isn't it? laughter. today's report said that successful

efforts to tackle poverty over the past 20 years are in danger of unravelling. it says that since 2013, an extra 300,000 pensioners and an additional 400,000 children are now living in poverty. in total, 14 million people in the uk are in poverty. what our report is now showing is that we are at a significant turning point. two years of sustained increases in the number of sustained increases in the number of children and pensioners in poverty is a real red flag to government that they really have to do something now. absolute poverty, not having enough food or water to live on, as fallen by 500,000 since 2010. today's figures refer to relative poverty, having a lot less than most other people and many researchers believe that is going to get worse. experts say the number of people living in poverty is likely to rise markedly in the coming

yea rs, particularly to rise markedly in the coming years, particularly among children. wages, they say, will not keep pace with prices. benefits will remain frozen and housing costs are likely to increase. thejoseph rowntree foundation say ending the freeze on benefits would make the biggest difference to reducing poverty. ministers say they are already spending tens of billions of pounds each year helping those in need. caught in the middle, the poor themselves. that fellow keeps hassling me from the water company, because i have not paid them. so i'm going to have to... dig into the funeral account. michael buchanan, bbc news. the metropolitan police commissioner cressida dick has criticised two former senior officers for disclosing information about an investigation into the first secretary of state, damian green. bob quick and neil lewis claimed that pornography was found on a computer seized from the mp‘s parliamentary office nine years ago. mr green denies watching or downloading pornography on the machine.

our home affairs correspondent danny shaw is here. how significant is this? i think this statement by cressida dick is really what you would expect the commission of the metropolitan police to say. she can't be seen in a nyway to police to say. she can't be seen in anyway to condone former officers going around doing unofficial briefings of confidential information that they have acquired during an investigation. the two officers, bob quick, confirmed the details of a story about to be printed in the sunday times last month, and neil lewis did an interview with the bbc, giving further details about allegations. pornography was an damian green's work computers. and cressida dick said it was possible both men could be prosecuted but the final decision would be with the crown prosecution service service. this is a case from nine years ago. all police officers know very well that they have a duty

of confidential allergy, duty to protect personal information. that duty in my view clearly enjoys after you leave the service. it is my view that what they have done based on my understanding of what they are saying, what they have done is wrong. and i condemn it. the most likely charges they could face would be under the data protection act, but there is a defence for someone who discloses information if that is a public interest defence, and neil lewis would argue that his information was in the public interest. the cabinet inquiry into damian green's conduct had been made aware of neil lewis and the possible evidence that he could give and he was not contacted, which fuelled his concerns that there could be some kind of cover—up or certainly that the full facts would not be you. our top story this lunchtime: 0n the verge of a brexit

breakthrough in brussels. the prime minister is on the verge of signing a deal. and coming up: a parliamentary proposal. the moment an australian mp goes off—script during a speech to ask his partner to marry him. coming up in sport: a long way to go but there's a glimmer of hope, as england take four quick wickets on day three of the second ashes test. a foreign aid project for civilian police in syria has been suspended by the government after an investigation by the bbc‘s panorama programme found that some of the money had been diverted to extremists. britain is one of six countries which have been funding the free syrian police. it was set up to bring law and order to parts of the country controlled by opposition forces. the foreign office says it's looking into the allegations. jane corbin reports. britain is one of six countries that

funds the free syrian police, set up to bring security to opposition—held areas. for eight months in 2016, british aid money meant to pay salaries for the police was handed over by them to an extremist group, nour al—din al—zenki. zenki used to get a percentage from the salaries of the free police members. it was just about taking a percentage in return for the services and to create a sort of equilibrium between the police and the fighters. the police we fund also provide support for zenki's barbaric justice system, which stands accused of torture and summary killings. the company which runs the aid project, adam smith international or asi, told us the government was aware of cash going to zenki

and asi has strict guidelines in place to ensure detainees are being treated fairly and humanely. panorama also discovered that in 2014, officers from the british funded police were present at the stoning of two women in northern syria. someone who worked for asi in syria agreed to speak to me about it, although he didn't want to be identified. asi said the stoning was only five weeks after the company took over the project and the men were not formally officers and have since been removed permanently. the free syrian police also cooperate with the so—called justice system of al—nusra, the syrian branch of al-qaeda.

so how did a british aid project ever get involved with extremist courts? people being sentenced to death for homosexuality. clearly that is completely and utterly unacceptable by any standard. the idea that british taxpayers' money was associated with that would of course be wholly abhorrent. the foreign office has suspended funding while it investigates but says the work in syria is important to protect our national interest and it robustly monitors all aid programmes. jane corbyn, bbc news. and you can watch the full programme panorama: jihadis you pay for tonight at 7.30 on bbc one. authorities in malta have arrested 10 people in connection with the murder in october of a prominent investigative journalist. 53—year—old daphne caruana galizia, who wrote about alleged corruption among politicians, was killed when her car was blown up close to her home.

the prime minister, joseph muscat, said all the suspects were maltese nationals and were already known to police. facebook says it's creating 800 newjobs in the uk next year, as it opens a new office in central london. it will become the social media company's biggest engineering hub outside of the united states. it will also house developers, marketing workers and sales teams. more than 2000 people are expected to be employed by facebook in the uk by the end of next year. the retailer toys "r" us has put forward plans to close at least 26 of its uk stores, putting up to 800 jobs at risk. the closures would form part of a deal to renegotiate debts owed by the company to its landlords. the company said there would be no disruption to customers throughout the christmas and new year shopping period. would you consider buying food that's past its best before date? the east of england co—op is to become the first major retailer to stock items

beyond their best before date on their shelves. 125 stores in east anglia will sell dried foods and tinned products forjust 10p following a three—month trial in 14 of its stores. our business correspondent simon gompertz reports. this supermarket where they are busting the best before dates. in 125 east of england co—ops will tell items beyond their dates forjust 10p each, saying waste not, want not. we tried giving it away. nobody wa nts you not. we tried giving it away. nobody wants you to give them anything. they expect you to pay for it. customers are suspicious when it is free but when you charge them 10p, people feel there is a transaction taking place and they pay something. we thought the product would last quite a while in the special display beans we have set up, but it lasted a couple of hours. nothing lasts more than a day now and it will probably

just sell through and the customers are just sell through and the customers a re really just sell through and the customers are really pleased about it. the aim is to do more to cut the quantity of food that is chucked out. the uk throws away over 7 million tonnes of it every year, and around £30 billion worth is edible. east of england co—op thinks it can save 50,000 items a year. this is what you are likely to see an supermarket food. if it is perishable, there will be a use byl food. if it is perishable, there will be a use by label. here it is the 10th of december, and after which it is not safe to knock—down prices. the director of the anti—food sainsbury donated to local good causes. waitrose does that and sells some to staff at knock—down prices. the director of the anti—food waste group welcomes the co—op's approach. this is a really good step forward. let's see how the public response and see what imprecations this could have for a wider roll—out. at the moment, the 10p food past its best before date is only for co—op customers in east anglia, but if the idea works, there is likely to be pressure on others welcomes the co—op's approach. this isa welcomes the co—op's approach. this is a really good step forward. let's see how the public response and see what imprecations this could have for a wider roll—out. at the moment, the 10p food past its best before date is only for co—op customers in east anglia, but if the idea works, there is likely to be pressure on

it wasn't perhaps the most romantic of settings for a marriage proposal but it was certainly a memorable one and it made history. an australian mp, tim wilson, has used a parliamentary debate on same—sex marriage to propose to his boyfriend. australia's parliament is debating the legislation, after last month's nationwide vote to legalise same—sex marriage. mr wilson's partner of nine years, ryan bolger, was listening in the public gallery, when he got something of a surprise. 0ur sydney correspondent hywel griffith reports. for most people, a 20—hour debate on legislative amendments probably sounds like a bit of a turn—off. but for australian mp tim wilson, it provided the perfect opportunity for a little romance. this debate has been the soundtrack to our relationship. as his 30 minute speech reached its conclusion, he knew his chance had come. his voice started to falter as he turned to the public gallery. so there's only one thing left to do. ryan patrick bolger, will you marry me? chuck that in the memoirs on the hansard.

i should let hansard note to record that was a yes, a resounding yes. congratulations. last month, a public vote in favour was celebrated with gusto after 62% of people supported the change. australia may have said i do, but there is still plenty of detail to be worked out. in parliament, the focus has been on religious freedom and the right of some people to opt out of working at a same—sex wedding, but the prime minister is still confident the bill will pass soon. few issues have divided australian politics in recent years as much as introducing same—sex marriage. today at least the debate managed to bring one couple closer together. hywel griffith, bbc news. it's not all happiness down under though. well, not for the england cricket team. they collapsed on day three of the second

ashes test in adelaide. australia bowled them out for 227, giving them a lead of 215. to do the same. simon gompertz, bbc fourin 0ur sports correspondent andy swiss has been watching the action. australia have the upper hand heading into day four in. the home of the great, the fans when it comes to batting, adelaide have seen the best. the home of the great, the threw away their wickets, their hopes and perhaps the descending on the oval were about to see how not to do it. as england threw away their wickets, their hopes and perhaps the ashes, and the captain went tamely. england were staring at humiliation. if they were brittle, australia were brilliant. and the captain went tamely. england were staring at humiliation. if they were brittle, australia were brilliant. nathan lyon's dazzling caught an even better one. mitchell starc showing the reflexes of a juggler as

australia tightened their grip. by the time the final wicket fell, england was still a massive 215 behind. game surely over. but then a twist. australia could have made the visitors bat again but decided not to. bad choice. underthe floodlights, england's bowlers sparkle. two early wickets were jimmy anderson and two for chris woa kes jimmy anderson and two for chris woakes including jimmy anderson and two for chris woa kes including the jimmy anderson and two for chris woakes including the big one, captain steve smith. australia 53-4 at 53—4 at the close. followed by an even better one. mitchell starc showing the reflexes of a juggler as australia tightened their grip. by the time the final wicket fell, england was still a massive 215 behind. game surely over. but then a twist. australia could have made the visitors bat again but decided not to. bad choice. underthe floodlights, england's bowlers sparkle. two early wickets were jimmy anderson and two for chris

woa kes jimmy anderson and two for chris woakes including jimmy anderson and two for chris woa kes including the jimmy anderson and two for chris woakes including the big one, captain steve smith. australia 53—4 at the close. it may be fate, but england finally have a sliver of hope. australia's fans will be heading home pretty happy with their team's position but england's bowlers have at least given them heart after that there was a treat for stargazers in our skies last night — the appearance of what's called a super moon. the moon was at one of its closest points to earth and was full, looking bigger and brighter than usual. it's the first super moon since november last year. that photograph was taken by our own frank gardner. but if you missed it, don't worry. there will be two more before the end of january. time for the weather with ben roach. i try to look at the moon last night but it was quite cloudy. to cloudy for some of us but some part in the east or the moon which has translated into sunny skies for some areas today, eastern scotland doing pretty well. that was carnoustie earlier but there is more clout further west in some places as sophie was talking about last night,

thatis sophie was talking about last night, that is what it looks like in cornwall during this morning, the cloud producing the odd spot of rain but essentially it is a quiet start to the week. it will not stay that way. things turn wet and windy for the middle of the week and then dramatically colder at the end of the week and some of us will see some snow. this is the satellite picture, confirmation of quite