this is business briefing. i'm sally bundock. another brexit milestone — the eu decides on what it wants and what it's willing to be flexible on, in negotiation with the uk. and how education is changing to prepare students forjobs in artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and robotics. and on the markets: as you can see, in most markets stocks are headed higherfollowing friday's lead on wall street. brexit dominates the headlines again. the uk prime minister is said to be fighting battles within her conservative party over the terms of leaving the european union and today the eu is expected to sign off on what it wants for the all—importa nt transition phase. there are two key dates.

the 29th march next year is when the uk government insists it's leaving the eu. the second is 31 december 2020. that's when the eu wants the so—called transition period to end. and brussels says the uk will stay in the customs union and single market until then which means eu rules continue to apply even though the uk will have no say in making any changes. one big disagreement is likely to be over international trade deals. the eu argues that while the uk is still in the single market it can't sign its own trade deals without approval from brussels. but on friday the uk's brexit secretary david davis insisted the uk would be free to sign its own trade deals

during the transition period. we are hoping to go live to brussels to getan we are hoping to go live to brussels to get an expert view on all of this, hopefully in a couple of minutes we will be able to do that. in the meantime, let us talk to about artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and robotics. technology is proving a game changer for many industries — and that includes in the classroom. there has been a growing awareness that schools need to revamp, to give today's students the digital skills they'll need in the future. and, there's big money in it too. this education dollar has brought almost a thousand edtech companies here to london. they've come from over 130 countries to showcase their wares. our reporter katie silver went along to take a look. if you look down you should be able

to see the magma on the ground. going inside a volcano... to new york, or even a trip to space, all without ever leaving the classroom. virtual reality, they tell me, is the future of education. we are just adding things to our kit like create your own content. you can put your own camera in and create the content. the company recoba box is partnered up with google to sell virtual reality sets to school —— red box. it costs about $3800 a set of eight. the tech giant has made a no—frills version of its own. of eight. the tech giant has made a no-frills version of its own. this is literally a piece of cardboard with two stereoscopic lenses. inside isa with two stereoscopic lenses. inside is a smartphone. the cardboard versions cost $15 each. it is unclear how parents will feel about google being some embedded in their children's classrooms. google says

it is about edging dating back —— educating their future employee base. a robotics company i spoke to also wants to educate tomorrow's workforce. with robotics there learning several important different skills, an introduction to computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical systems. it is setting them up to pursue careers in those fields, which are in a mad stem re is at the moment. companies are also using drones to encourage children to code. children programme at the machines and learn a mathematical concepts at the same time. global spend on education technology is expected to reach $150 billion by 2020. it is what has brought exhibitors like these from around the world, all hoping to break themselves off a piece of that pie. when you build something that adds value instantly and that even a non— tech tk news and you get mass

adoption, there are many companies into that —— teacher can use. whoever gets that right sees their volumes increase significantly. there are even companies that allow children to 3—d print pans perfectly tailored to match their handgrip. but whether they will be using pens and paper is anyone's gas. —— guess. the australian government has set out plans to become one of the world's top ten arms exporters over the next decade. the defence industry minister said grants to help arms manufacturers increase sales could create tens of thousands of jobs. lets go to our asia business hub in singapore, where sharanjit leyl has been following the story. nice to see you. tell us more about this. it is quite a shift in policy in australia. that is right. australia essentially looking to

spend big so did it can be a real contender in the arms race and, in fa ct, contender in the arms race and, in fact, you heard it from the prime minister as well, malcolm turnbull essentially saying that australian military equipment manufacturers will be offered government backed loa ns, will be offered government backed loans, part of this $3.1 billion package to become one of the world's top 10 defence exporters, as you said. australia, of course, has a lwa ys said. australia, of course, has always wanted to boost its defence spending in the face of increasing tensions in nearby waters from an increasingly powerful military in china, but it has always struggled to obtain finance from a loss of the traditional lenders who have essentially been am willing to fund the arms industry ——a loss. the government has tried to create a massive loans scheme to help finance military export equipment. the scheme is to give australia's manufacturing sector a boost and some support for the economy, which has been hampered a record low wage growth. but australia's plans come

ata time growth. but australia's plans come at a time when there seems to be allotted amount for defence and military hardware, particularly from countries like china and the middle east. that has led to some criticism from aid agencies who argue that australia could make human rights violations worse if those weapons was sold to the wrong buyers. thank you very much indeed. let us look at other business stories. australia's commonwealth bank has named matt comyn as its new chief executive. he will take over from current boss ian narev in april. comyn comes into the role at a challenging time for australia's top lender, which has been hit by a series of scandals including allegedly breaching money laundering laws. japanese virtual currency exchange coincheck will use its own funds to refund customers after hackers stole around $400 million in digital assets. the hackers stole nem, which is the 10th biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation. a care is in the news. the founder

of the company has died at the age of the company has died at the age of 91 —— ikea. that story is all the media at the moment. we seem to have problems connecting with our guest in brussels, for some reason, which is a shame. i will not be able to dig deeper on top story today about the eu its decisions as today about the eu its decisions as to what that condition should be with a transition deal for the uk's exit from the european union. we will talk about that in the news

briefing. my guest will be back. it is all over the papers, the difficulty that prime minister theresa may is happening right now with regard to the fractions within haram with regard to the fractions within ha ram party about with regard to the fractions within haram party about brexit very in the papers. we will look at that shortly —— her own party. a strong week for the united states. in asia we are seeing a mixed session. i will tell you what japan is seeing a mixed session. i will tell you whatjapan is doing. seeing a mixed session. i will tell you what japan is doing. they seeing a mixed session. i will tell you whatjapan is doing. they are up half a percent at last look in japan. basically, stocks rallying across asia, apart from hong kong, as you can see. building on this you's very start in terms of the share markets. gains in south korea leading the charge really, australia andjapan leading the charge really, australia and japan also much higher. let us look at the next screen. commodities a lwa ys look at the next screen. commodities always very much in the news. if we can bring it to you... look at that. brent crude above 70. commodities

are very much in the news. much anticipation about stronger gains for commodities like oil and the impact that will have on the global economy. a lot of talk about that in davos last week, where i was, the world economic forum, where there was a lot of discussion about the global economy doing well in 2018. the sweet spot, they called. i will see you in a moment for the news briefing. let us talk some more about the prime minister theresa may coming under new pressure about her leadership and her policy on brexit. chris mason has more. if it felt a

little bit chilly for the prime minister at the world economic forum in switzerland last week, will be political forecast isn't looking much sunnierfor political forecast isn't looking much sunnier for her now she's back home. some of her mps are fed up with what they see as her merely muddling along in office will stop and on top of that, some of those who campaigned for brexit theories being day looted to such an extent it never really properly happens. being day looted to such an extent it never really properly happensm is very convocation. that is one of the reasons why i have advocated as a border compromise. there is only so far you can go with compromise without ultimately finding yourself ina without ultimately finding yourself in a position where you are selling out the people who voted to leave. the government says it is committed to delivering brexit. but she no when a party is falling out with itself when senior figures, like this man, effectively the prime minister's deputy, have to say this... the conservative family,

left, right, and centre, because we are re broadchurch, has to come together in a spirit of mutual respect ——a broad church. look at what the picture is showing. the next age brexit negotiations is what happens immediately after we leave the european union at the end of march next year. it is yet to be formally discussed. but for a round two years freedom of movement is expected continue, with the government is reducing a registration scheme for new arrivals. the rights of eu citizens here and uk citizens in the eu looks set to remain the same and eu laws will continue to apply. the rest of the eu will get together in brussels to sign off its approach to the transitional implementation period. brexit negotiations. you are with the briefing on bbc news. here are the briefing on bbc news. here are the headlines. gunfire and explosions have been heard at a military academy in kabul.

it's the latest in a series of attacks in the afghan capital. parisians are urged to use "extreme caution" as water levels in the river seine continue to rise after days of torrential rain. white roses on the red carpet. some of music's biggest names show solidarity with victims of sexual harassment. another brexit milestone — the eu decides on what it wants, and what it's willing to be flexible on, in negotiation with the uk. a story that is leading on the busiest news app is karelian. and its obligations with regards to pensions. you can see the headlines there. basically it is about the work and pensions select committee looking into the way pension investments were managed at the collapsed outsourcing giant. that is the latest headline. you can read

more on our news the latest headline. you can read more on oui’ news out. now it is time look at the stories that are making the headlines in media across the world. we begin with the telegraph, which leads with brexit and the increasing acrimony being felt at the most senior levels of the conservative party. pro—brexit party members have accused the government of "selling out" over the eu divorce bill. the international new york times says it's good news for the world's economy with a wave of growth that is creating jobs, lifting fortunes and tempering fears of popular discontent. the guardian carries a warning for workers in the north of england by explaining they are at the highest risk of having theirjobs taken by machines, with one in fourjobs being replaced by advances in technology. the abc news website says strava, a fitness—tracking app, is revealing potentially sensitive information about military bases and supply routes via its global heat—map website. and finally with his picture

on the front of ft, ikea founder and swedish multibillionaire ingvar kamprad has died at the age of 91. so let's begin. with me is 0liver cornock, editor—in—chief, 0xford business group. thank you for returning. you are very welcome to our brussels experience. minister regs that he is opposed to the eu bill are swivel eyed. it is getting very difficult within number ten.