this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at ten... the uk is facing more heavy snowfalls with an amber weather warning issued in many parts of the country. some roads will be better than others, and with any forecast, it can change, so keep an eye on what is on the media and we will do our best to keep what we can open, but there will be problems. borisjohnson meets iran's president this morning as he continues efforts to win the freedom of the british woman, nazanin zagari—ratcliffe. students could save thousands of pounds on tuition fees with a proposal for shorter, two—year degree courses. and we will be following the lives ofa group and we will be following the lives of a group of young people who share the mental health experiences first—hand. that is that 10:30am. good morning and

welcome to bbc news. heavy snowfalls across parts of the uk are causing widespread disruption this morning. snow is falling across wales, the midlands and southern england, with the met office urging people to brace themselves for transport problems. wales has been particularly badly affected with over 20 centimetres of snow falling in parts of powys. police are warning of treacherous driving conditions and several roads have been closed. over 3000 homes in wales are without power. simon clemison reports. it could be a scene from the snowman. white the new green, as you fly over parts of wales. sledge down it, sculpt it, throw it. it might not look any different to the snow which has already fallen in shropshire, but it is coming from a different

place, and that could mean it has a much bigger effect. a band of rain, this time persistent, is drifting in from the south west and is set to push against the cold air, potentially leading to heavy and continuous falls across wide areas of wales, the midlands, and into northern england, with the possibility of 20 centimetres accumulating in some spots. it could also go further south than originally thought. scotland and northern ireland are on alert. afairamount has already arrived on the weekend, but so far it originated from showers, covering some towns but not others. this hospital is calling on people with 4x4s living nearby to help bring staff to work, with the met office urging people to be prepared. for many, for now, the snow is anything but a problem. we have been sledging down the hill and it is super fun. we don't get snow very often, so we brought the kids out, and it was good fun. just having loads of fun in the snow. the met office says road, railand air

delays are likely. the hope will be that a sunday will help lessen the impact, because lots of people are not at work or school. in fact, they're here. in a moment we'll chat to navteonhal in nottinghamshire, but first let's speak to matthew richards, who's in north east wales. very heavy snow. how is the picture and how much disruption is it causing's it has been snowing heavily since 5am. iamjust in heavily since 5am. i am just in denbighshire and it seems that denbighshire, wrexham and powys are ha rd—hit. seems that denbighshire, wrexham and powys are hard—hit. we have had 20 plus centimetres here. it is falling on snow from friday, lots of areas got a few centimetres back then. the many roads in the higher areas have

been closed and it takes a few centimetres of snow to cause problems. we know emergency services have been dealing with bumps and accidents on the main roads so their main message is to not travel unless it is absolutely essential. the rsc is saying they are expecting to deal with breakdowns across the uk and if you do go out, make sure you have items in your car that can help you get out of snow if you are stuck or can keep you warm and fed and watered until help can call them. many watered until help can call them. ma ny eve nts watered until help can call them. many events and activities were caused pre—emptively ahead of the weather and others have decided that the forecast was right and it wasn't worth opening a zoo is closed and a number of theatre events have had to be cancelled today. thank you very much indeed. let's go

to our reporter in nottinghamshire. it has snowed quite a lot more since we last saw you. what are conditions like there? the snow arrived here this morning around three hours ago and you can see how beautiful it looks behind me, very picturesque. there is a snowman in the distance. the snowball fights have began. it looks beautiful, but it has been causing disruption. the two main places it has caused disruption is birmingham airport where flights have been temporarily suspended, the runways cleared. and east midlands airport where inbound and outbound flights have been delayed and the runway has been closed temporarily until at least midday. we expect more snow to fall across the region throughout the afternoon until around 3pm, but plenty of people enjoying it so it

has not been bad news for everyone. thank you very much indeed. as you may expect, the snow is bringing some travel disruption. here to tell us more is the independent‘s travel editor simon calder. where are the worst problem so far? when they first materialised this morning, it was at the airport ‘s, in particular birmingham airports where a large number of aircraft we re where a large number of aircraft were diverted and people flying in on ryanairfrom were diverted and people flying in on rya nair from barcelona were diverted and people flying in on ryanairfrom barcelona find themselves landing in edinburgh, so that will be an interesting journey getting home from there. we've had diversions from barbados, people ending up in gatwick, and other people not being where they need to be. east midlands is also closed and it isa be. east midlands is also closed and it is a question of how long they remain closed, because the longer the delay is go on, the worse it is

going to get later in the day. it is not just the uk, going to get later in the day. it is notjust the uk, we are seeing large problems towards with issues in holland and the us. amsterdam airport has slowed its arrival is read as a result, if we are sitting in bright sunshine in scotland south—west england, the flight may well not go to amsterdam because thatis well not go to amsterdam because that is closed and lots of flights coming in from the north—east united states are heavily delayed, one departure is running 20 hours late. that is the situation with flights. what about on the ground, rail, railways ? we're hearing the stories of cars getting into difficulties in snow and locking slip roads and motorways and locking slip roads and motorways and the advice from the central motorway police group is if you're journey is not absolutely essential than stay at home. motorway

blockages causing problems with national express and megabucks coaches and the railways, they began well, but it is gone downhill full stop in london which is on the fringes of the worst disruption, big cancellations out of euston station because of problems in the midlands and also because of issues in the north—western suburbs of london. thank you very much indeed. the foreign secretary borisjohnson, is due to meet the iranian president hassan rouhani this morning on the second day of his visit to the country. he'll continue to press for the release of nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, the british—iranian aid—worker who's been held prisoner in the country since april 2016. she denies charges of trying to overthrow the iranian government. but she faces the possibility of a further court appearance today after mrjohnson appeared last month to contradict her claim she was on holiday in iran at the time of her arrest. i am sure it will make a difference.

i'm sure him being there, him raising her case, him raising her case in the context of lots of other stuff, can only help improve relations. and improved relations can only lead to a better results for us. but i'm not expecting that on monday morning she comes back on the plane. students in england are being encouraged to study for undergraduate degrees in two years rather than three. the university's ministerjo johnson says these shorter courses would save thousands of pounds in tuition fees — even though universities would be able to charge nearly £2000 more per year. andy moore reports. it was a conservative manifesto promise to introduce more two—year degree courses. implementing that plan has proved tough going. the universities say it will mean major changes to their schedules, with the prospect of the same or less money in income. by the government's own admission, the pickup so far has been pitiful,

with only 0.2% of students on fast—tracked degrees. the new scheme would see students paying more for each individual year of their course, but more than £5,000 less than they would have done if it had lasted three years. it is a fantastic offer. the same quality degree, quality assured in exactly the same way, provided in a more intensive way. so instead of 30 weeks a year studying over three years, a really driven student, a highly motivated student, could pack in 45 weeks over two years. the government says each student on a two—year course will save at least £25,000 if you add in saved living costs and a year's extra earnings to the equation. and they say demand from students will persuade universities to offer the new courses. the arab league has urged the united states to reverse its decision to recognisejerusalem as the capital of israel. after an emergency meeting in cairo, the organisation said the move

was a dangerous violation of international law, which threatened to plunge the middle east into violence. sarah corker reports. another day of violence in the gaza strip and parts of the israeli—occupied west bank. a new round of hostilities. meanwhile in egypt, arab foreign ministers held an emergency meeting. there was scathing criticisms of donald trump's decision to recognise jerusalem as the capital of israel. translation: it is a dangerous decision by its nature and form, an insult to the rights of the arab countries, and in disagreement with international law. diplomatic relations between the palestinian leadership and the white house are under severe strain. a meeting between the palestinian president mahmoud abbas and big us a meeting between the palestinian president mahmoud abbas and the us

vice president mike pence has been cancelled. translation: we have taken the decision that there will be no official communication between any palestinian official and any american official. we are committed to this decision. gunfire in gaza, the anger over the us decision was mixed with grief. funerals were held for two people killed in israeli air strikes on friday. the islamist group hamas said the men belonged to their armed wing. weapons stores and a base run by the militant group were targeted, said israel. three rockets were fired from gaza. one landed in this southern israeli town, israel said. there was minor damage but no casualties. further disruption took place in jerusalem, as palestinians continued to vent their anger at president trump. mr trump has appealed for calm and moderation. many israelis continue to praise his move, but it comes

at a cost of increased tensions. sarah corker, bbc news. the equalities watchdog is to conduct its own review into the grenfell tower fire. 71 people died in the blaze, in west london injune. the equality and human rights commission is expected to consider whether the government and the local council failed in their duty to protect life. it will publish its conclusions in april, before the full findings of the official inquiry are known. the singer—songwriter chris rea collapsed on stage last night while performing at a concert in oxford. the 66 year old — who is best known for writing driving home for christmas — had a stroke last year. the ambulance service said it had taken a patient to hospital and he was in a stable condition. david davis has said that the

breakthrough deal reached in brussels on friday is conditional on getting a transitional and trade agreement. labour's shadow brexit secretary has insisted that the uk must stay close to the single market. our political correspondent susan mendonca joins me. david davis appearing on television talking about the impact assessments where he was criticised last week when he appeared at the commons select committee and said that no work at being done on assessing the impact on various sectors of the economy. it goes back to february when david davis was asked whether or not their weight impact assessments done. at the time he said the government was looking at the impact on 58 different sectors, however last week at the select committee, he was asked again and he said there where

no impact assessments at all being done. he was criticised, his integrity brought into question. he was challenged about that today and he was, it was more about the terminology, saying it was impact assessment in the sense of looking at whether there would be a cost as at whether there would be a cost as a result of us leaving the eu on different sectors, but he was talking about sectoral analysis, and he said on this, looking at different aspects like the size of an industry and that sort of thing, but work had been done and there we re but work had been done and there were 850 pages of that had been done, but the sectoral analysis, the more detailed analysis, had not been done, so i suppose trying to defend his position, but there will be those that think he misled parliament. he was also asked about the breakthrough deal by the prime minister managed to get in brussels

after looking like it would fall apart after looking like it would fall a pa rt after after looking like it would fall apart after the dup‘s intervention at the beginning of the week and it finally happened on friday. what did he have to say? there was a key question about full alignment and its meaning and people saying you can't have full alignment and not have britain effectively sticking to the walls, these customs union, he was making the point we would keep out of the customs union and the single market, and he said in tens of full alignment, it is about the outcomes rather than the methods. you can have different structures in terms of the way you work with the eu there have the same outcome the sub is quite computer, but he had this to say. we are not looking to create a circumstance where animal welfare is worse than elsewhere, we're not looking to make a circumstance where safety of food is worse or pollution waterways. we will meet the outcomes, but not do it by copying

or doing what the eu does. in terms of the deal that he said that britain would look for for the next stage in the process, you want something con cannibal —— called canada plus, plus, plus. we rely upon our services industry, financial service industry, but looking at the canada deal, that took up to ten years to pin down, so there will be those questioning whether he can do it in the time frame allowed, but he said that it would not be difficult to do a trade deals and stop it remains to be seen. i'm sure we will get used to hearing about that! his opposite number kia starmer was appearing as well stop what did he say? he was talking about the kind of deal that labour ones and what they wa nt deal that labour ones and what they want is to be as close as possible

to the way that the single market and customs union works. he says we are leaving those things but as far as labour are concerned, they want a close relationship. they talk about the relationship with norway. people remember back to the eu referendum campaign about the norway relationship being where norway has to pay in but does not have any say over the rules that are made, so there will be those looking at it and think it is not the kind of deal we want. that was the kind of model that he was suggesting that labour might pursue. you really think that the agreement that theresa may struck this week means that britain will stay very close to the single market? yes, and! close to the single market? yes, and i think that is the right thing and! yes, and i think that is the right thing and i think we should hold her to that because that goes to the heart of the question, what sort of britain do we want to be? to ec them as our major trading partner in the

future or do we want to rip ourselves apart from at? we have the eu summit where we will get more information about that deal done on friday and the kind of process moving forward, but we have parliamentarians that will be putting forward amendments to the withdrawal bill, what they really wa nt withdrawal bill, what they really want is to have it set in stone that parliament will have a meaningful vote at the end of all of this on the deal that britain finally comes to. thank you for being with us. the headlines on bbc news... an amber weather warning has been issued to many parts of the uk as morph snow is forecast. boris johnson has been conducting his second day of talks in iran and has met the country's president in a bid to win the freedom of nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe. new proposals to launch 2—mac— year degree courses could see students save over £5,000.

now for a round—up of the spores. it isa now for a round—up of the spores. it is a huge day of football. it is. two derbies in the premier league. it's derby day in manchester, and this time round the stakes are high. city are premier league leaders and could open up an ii—point lead on united in second. win today, and city will have won 11! league games in a row, not that pep guardiola's thinking about that ahead of today's match. if you are going to play one game just thinking of the record, you forget what you have to do to win the games. it will be nice because we won but sooner or later the record will be broken. how to win the game, that is my concern now. i don't want us do feel that kind of pressure, i want us to view it as a

match like we're going to have another one two days later. we want to win, we want to play well, we're going to try and let see the direction of the game. before the showdown at old trafford, there are a couple of other tasty—looking games. southampton face arsenal at noon, and after that there's the small matter of a merseyside derby, with sam allardyce's everton making the short trip across stanley park. the whole occasion is a great test for the players that we have. i think the occasion they need to rise to, it is a one—off, and however good liverpool are playing, it is a derby match, anything can happen. all i can ask the plays to do is to give it their best, play their best interest was a bit still might not be good enough goods of the former liverpool r: n.. they be good enough goods of the former liverpool r:n.. they have just scored five at brighton and seven in the premier league. ronni o'sullivan will look to equal steve davis' record of six uk snooker championship titles

when he faces shaun murphy in this year's final later today. o'sullivan beat stephen maguire while murphy saw off ryan day. hazel irvine and guests look ahead. the 40th anniversary of the championship will be contested in the final by two of the great entertainers, ronnie o'sullivan, a five—time winner, and shaun murphy, a previous winner himself. sean, a win of this evening and it was a good win, showed what murphy is capable of and the prospect for tomorrow. i can't wait. capable of and the prospect for tomorrow. ican't wait. both capable of and the prospect for tomorrow. i can't wait. both players playing at the top of their game, great break, great long porters and it will be a quick game of snooker. it will be quick firing stuff, brilliant. what difference does it make that for the first time in a longer match, just a few years ago —— days

ago, last month, how does that factor into the equation? it is an immense that shaun murphy's opinion of himself that he can beat anyone in the world, does it put the seeds of doubt in ronnie o'sullivan? possibly. ronnie will know he's in for a fact. we will keep an eye on the match and looking at how well he is playing. he's playing cavalier rings stuff at the moment. if he continues... it is ronnie who is after the record of six crowns. he has an amazing record in the tournament, since he won it, when he was only... and it was his birthday this week, so fantastic record, but he will have two player as well as he will have two player as well as he did back then. look forward to it. ipm, bbc two is when it all gets underway. live coverage then. also covered on

our website if you want to follow it there. it is all be sport. back to you. california's governor says devastating wildfires fuelled by climate change are "the new normal". jerry brown made the comments after surveying the damage in ventura county, north of los angeles. six fires have destroyed hundreds of buildings and forced 200,000 people from their homes. the flames have been driven by low humidty and parched ground. this is the new normal. and this could be something that happens every year or every few years, or it happens to some degree. it isjust more intense, more widespread, and we are about ready to have a firefighting christmas. this is very odd and unusual, but it is the way the world is, with the kind of carbon pollution that we are not only living with, but we are generating still, it is still increasing. we have to make that turn. it is going to take heroic efforts. there are many places in this country that don't get it yet,

how would you feel if your house until neighbourhood work put on a market without your knowledge? that is what has happened to residents of one small village in germany, and now the controversial sale has gone ahead at a knock—down price. two hours drive from berlin lies this historic hamlet. the factory and workers houses once served a nearby coal mine and then as a wartime training campfor coal mine and then as a wartime training camp for members of the hitler youth. now it is run down and partly abandoned, but still home to 15 people. most are elderly, long—term residence, playing lou rents. they had no idea their small community was on the market until for sale sign appeared. translation: whoever buys all these houses, you

will buy us too, that is how i see it. none of the locals could afford to bid at auction, but despite their concerns, the nine houses went under the hammer for little more concerns, the nine houses went under the hammerfor little more than concerns, the nine houses went under the hammer for little more than the asking price. translation: alwine would be a bargain for the buyer. gone! congratulations. many potential buyers stayed away, scared off by the condition of the buildings. and what would be a sizeable renovation bill. what the sole anonymous bidder will do with this piece of german history is uncertain. translation:s they do not know if they can stay in their houses not. there is the great

scepticism. amid fears of evictions and demolition, the auctioneers are optimistic full stop the say the new owner wants to do something to and has alwine residents at heart. now looking at the weather. very severe weather across parts of wales and central southern england. a very heavy snow leading to disruption with met office amber warning. the warning is that the heavy widespread search on the radar will ease down as the afternoon goes on. severe gale force winds across the south and south—west also easing down to the afternoon, whereas across the north, lots of fine, dry weather for scotland, northern ireland, the far north of england, bar a fuse snow showers in the north of scotland. snow showers will continue across

central parts of england and wales, it will be a cold day, but a little bit miles across the south—west. further sleet and snow continuing to these southern areas, going overnight and then ice will be a significant risk than danny country, temperatures will befall the wagering the overnight period, even lower than this in rural places. the headlines: an amber weather warning has been issued for many parts of the uk as more snow is expected. airports and rail services have been affected and more travel disruption is predicted. the foreign secretary has met the president of iran on his second day of talks in a bid to win the freedom of the british woman, nazanin zagari—ratcliffe. proposals for two year degree courses could save students thousands of pounds in tuition fees. the universities minister said the "accelerated courses" could "break the mould" in studying. now on bbc news — throughout 2017, newsbeat has been

following three radio 1 listeners who got in touch wanting to share their mental health experiences. bex, laura and mat invited us to have an intimate glimpse into their lives because they wanted to be able to show us first—hand what it's like living with conditions including anxiety, ocd, and anorexia. as you might imagine their stories encompass highs and lows, and as such some of the things they share with us you might find distressing. i'm bex, and i'm nearly 24. i'm actually 23. but i do not like odd numbers because they bring bad luck. so i am nearly 24. i love cats. i have got bipolar as well. and borderline personality disorder. i forgot about that then. it is quite a long list, actually, what i have been diagnosed with. we will just stick to the two. well, it is three, actually, because i have ocd as well.

that is an odd number, hang on...