this is bbc news. i'm rachel schofield. the headlines at 8pm. the cabinet is more united than the brexiteers think, says amber rudd, ahead of a crucial few days for the negotiations. we meet in the committee, we meet privately for discussions and i think we will arrive at something which suits us all. two people have been killed and more than 100 injured, after two trains collided with each other in the united states. south africa's president, jacob zuma, is being urged to step down as leader of the anc, during a meeting with top party officials. political limbo continues in germany, as angela merkel‘s party fails to form a coalition government. talks continue tomorrow. also this hour, england get their six nations campaign off to a winning start. their italian hosts had their moments, but eddiejones‘ side scored seven tries to run out easy victors in rome. and in half an hour, the travel show is in the breathtaking abu dhabi,

exploring its urban and desert landscapes. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the home secretary has played down the government's divisions over brexit at the start of a crucial week in the negotiations. amber rudd said she had a "surprise message" for conservative critics of the prime minister — that the cabinet was "more united than they thought". tomorrow the european union's chief negotiator, michel barnier, will be in london for talks. and the cabinet‘s brexit committee will meet later this week, seeking an agreement on the way forward. our political correspondent, eleanor garnier, reports. putting the uk on the world map — last week the prime minister was

making friends in china and signing billions of pounds of business deals. but this week it is her own cabinet she needs to win over amid claims of disunity over brexit. i have a surprise for the brexiteers, the committee that meets is more united than they think. we meet privately for discussion and i think we will arrive at something which suits us all. exactly how we trade with the eu after brexit is a source of division in the tories. some want complete disentanglement from brussels, others hope to stay close. the home secretary believes the government's priorities are clear. we want frictionless trade at the border, no border on the island of ireland and make sure we can do trade deals outside the eu.

but it is clear how difficult it will be to get everyone on side. there are tensions with brexit, because difficult people take different views notjust in the conservative party or the labour party. we need a team effort here. so far the prime minister's prevented the decades—old split in the conservative party over europe from spilling out into something more serious. something which could spell a crisis for her government. but with crucial ministerial meetings later this week, to pin down an agreed position, theresa may will finally have to pick a path and which ever she chooses, she risks making a large swathe of her party unhappy. but it is notjust a battle at home. winning in brussels is key too. and with more negotiations with the eu this week, the next few days could be pivotal for the prime minister. and we'll find out how this story,

and many others, are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30pm this evening in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are the author and journalist yasmin alibhai—brown and the political strategist jo tanner. two employees of the us train company amtrak have been killed and over 100 people injured in a rail crash in the us state of south carolina. a passenger train travelling between new york and miami collided with a freight train and derailed. our correspondent david willis said amtrak has given more details about the two employees who have died. the two people who died in the collision today were employees, a 54—year—old engineer and a 32—year—old conductor. this is the third fatal collision on the us railway system in as many months and

this has prompted the governor of south carolina, henry mcmaster, to call for a renewed discussion about rail safety in this country. congress has not actually passed a long—term funding measure for the amtrak railway system for the last ten yea rs amtrak railway system for the last ten years and has relied on short—term, ongoing systems that have existing funding levels being maintained. president trump has, of course, mooted plans for a big infrastructure programme of around $1 trillion. it's unclear how much of that, if any, would go to actually enhancing the nation's railway system here. we often assume from this country that many people in the state travel by air because of the vast distances. how widely usedis of the vast distances. how widely used is the us rail network? very well used, especially in certain

parts of the country. on the west coast and he is closed as well 30 million people a year, more than that in fact, travel by train —— and the east coast. amtrak says based on that its safety trek —— record is very good but the national transportation board, the federal authority which looks at accidents of the type that happen in south carolina today, found a deficient culture, as it put it, when it looked into a recent derailment back at the end of last year and there are certainly concerns about safety levels given, as i say, this being the third fatal incident of its kind women many months. —— in as many months. the top six officials from south africa's governing anc have arrived at president zuma's official residence in pretoria to discuss his future. elections are not due until the middle of next year but pressure has been growing on mr zuma to step down as he faces

allegations of corruption. a short time ago, i spoke to our africa regional editor will ross. he said the political uncertainty could have an impact on the ruling party and the economy. i think the feeling within the governing anc is there is a great danger if this goes on for many months with jacob zuma still in power and the allegations of corruption snowballing and not going away, the damage to the party, ahead of next year ‘s election and the damage to the economy which is already in trouble could be huge. so the feeling is, as many people are deserting him from within the party, it would be better to try and come to some agreement where he steps down and then the new leader takes over with a clean start and tries to tackle the corruption that has become such a problem in south africa, and jacob zuma does not end up africa, and jacob zuma does not end up being dragged through the dirt

with more people deserting him. up being dragged through the dirt with more people deserting himm there any indication he is becoming more willing to make a move and to go? certainly not publicly, no. he denies all the allegations of corruption but the big thing that happened recently was in december when he lost the leadership of the anc and was voted out and there is 110w anc and was voted out and there is now a president in waiting. but nobody knows how long it will take forjacob zuma to say, ok, i'm off. people will think back to the former president who also lost that vote whenjacob president who also lost that vote when jacob zuma president who also lost that vote whenjacob zuma was the man on the rise but it took him another nine months before he resigned. what the anc want to avoid is to centres of power within the anc and the party tearing itself apart. we spoke about the top six officials in the anc ready to talk to jacob zuma. where is cyril in this? is he wanting to

weigh in? he is not weighing in at the moment and there is a holding back on that to make it look as though this is the anc we are talking about. this is the future of the country and not the future of cyril ramaphosa. but these are the six most senior positions in the anc so six most senior positions in the anc so he could not be coming from a higher place than within his own governing party. as you mention, presidential elections next year, so some way to go but the risk of damage to the anc, give us that broader picture in south africa of how the balance of power stands and how the balance of power stands and how voters might be feeling? over the last ten or 15 years, even more than that there has been a decline in the support for the anc but it has still got massive support across the country. there is always a danger as the infighting increases that other parties could form from within, and it's happened before but they have not got far. the anc is in

a hugely strong position, but they are concerned that they are becoming increasingly unpopular and there is more and more resentment with the rise in corruption and there has been a feeling, especially during the jacob zuma years in office that top officials can get away with anything. what we have seen from mr ramaphosa is that he seems to be keen to tackle the corruption, from the messages he is putting out. so the messages he is putting out. so the anc has a chance to clean itself up the anc has a chance to clean itself up and ensure there are not any surprises at the next election next year. german chancellor angela merkel‘s conservatives will continue negotiations on forming a government with the social democrats tomorrow after they failed to meet the deadline they set themselves today. a senior spd member said the two sides still have some differences. four months after its general election germany still has a caretaker government, and the country remains in political limbo. 0ur correspondent damien mcguiness is following developments in berlin. she has already tried once to form a government with the liberals

and the green party. those talks collapsed in november. this now, the potential government with the centre—left, the social democrats, is her only chance. if those talks fail, that would seriously undermine her credibility. and the most likely outcome then would be fresh elections. that would lead to a long period of instability here in germany and potentially no new government until the autumn really. and there is no guarantee after all that we wouldn't find ourselves in exactly the same position we are now where a potential chancellor would find it hard to cobble together a coalition. now, it has to be said there is a caretaker government, there is no sense of crisis here in germany, the economy is doing well. so with this caretaker government in the short—term things are ticking along nicely, the economy is booming. but what it does mean is there is no ability for this temporary government to take long—term decisions such as reform and particularly when it comes to europe. and so this is of course a problem for the whole of the eu. president macron has been waiting for a long time to push through an ambitious period of reform. if a government is not in place,

france can't do that, germany can't support france and that could potentially also have an impact on brexit because a disunited and uncertain europe would also be less inclined or less able to even strike a good deal with britain on brexit. in greece, more than 140,000 people have joined a march in a protest about a long—running dispute over the name "macedonia". it's the official name of a neighbouring country, but the people on the streets of athens today believe it implies a territorial claim on greece's northern macedonia region. the macedonian government says its country has been known by this name for a long time. greece is blocking macedonia's ambition to join the european union and nato until the issue is resolved. mps have warned that cuts to the royal marines would significantly weaken britain's defences. the government, which is reviewing defence spending, is said to be considering axing 2,000 marines

and the royal navy's two amphibious assault ships. daniela relph reports. it is a warning to government over the future of the royal marines. they're among britain's elite fighting forces and provide half the personnel for the uk's special forces. the report says more cuts would affect their ability to be a high calibre unit. and cutting ships from which beach assaults are made one militarily ill lit rail. the committee praises the defence secretary. he took control of a defence review. he is under pressure to make cuts against the funding cases being made by other government departments, but faces arguments from military chiefs that defence must be a priority. since 2010, our military has been cut by a third in its

capability. if this round of cuts happen it will be cut by half. can you imagine if we only had half the number of hospitals? spending on defence has fluctuated. since 2010 the figure show a decrease, reinforced by austerity measures. defence is now more complex and sophisticated than ever. the head of army warned of russia's increasingly powerful and aggressive military. a capability he said the uk would struggle to match. there is also now a technological side that needs resources. in the cabinet office there was a suspicion that they did not deliver the savings promised in 2015 and may have to put defence up against the wall to make them deliver the savings promised. the mod say the royal

marines play a vital role in protecting the uk, but its budget is stretched and in the face of arguments made by other departments, defence is trying to ensure the case for increased funding is heard. the headlines on bbc news: the cabinet is more united than the brexiteers think say amber road ahead of a few crucial days of negotiations. two people have been killed and more than a hundred injured after two trains collided with each other in the united states. and south africa president —— south africa's presidentjacob zuma is being urged to step down as leaders of the anc during a meeting of top party officials. sport now and a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. what a night at anfield!

we saw a sensational strike from victor wa nyama, a dazzling double from mo salah and harry kane's 100th premier league goal. this was a classic premier league match which was also covered in controversy. tim hague reports. with the title race all but over, it's all about champions league qualification for liverpool and spurs. that is the prize, well, not for everybody, and mo salah's shirt had even greater significance to synth with the egyptian in on goal and doing what he has done all season. and doing what he has done all season. after that, in the match between fourth and fifth, things we re between fourth and fifth, things were more cagey. james milner nearly making it too, but could be a wayside turn their fortunes upside down? time for substitute victor wanyama down? time for substitute victor wa nyama to change down? time for substitute victor wanyama to change the course of the match. he'd only been on one minute, and one of the finest strikes you could ever wish to see. to the victor, the spoils. well, notjust yet as there was much more drama.

harry kane had been quiet all match and then won a penalty, but he was offside? would it stand? yes was the answer. would he score? no. to make matters worse for harry kane, in injury time mo salah wriggled through and made the score 2—1. surely that was that? absolutely not. virgil van dijk bankrupting his side's chances with another penalty, the last kick of the game and redemption time for harry kane. 100 premier league goals for him and the end of a breathless second 45 minutes. good luck choosing which of these sides will be playing in the champions league next season. in today's other premier league match it was honours even as crystal palace and newcastle drew 1—1. the point for palace moves them up to 14th while newcastle are in 16th as they both battle to avoid

dropping into the relegation zone. anthony watson and sam simmonds scored two tries each as england began their quest for an unprecedented third successive outright six nations title. italy were only down by seven points at half time but eddiejones's men turned on the flair to run out 46—15 winners in rome. patrick gearey reports. the faces, the voices change, the results don't. when at home, or in rome, england have always beaten italy. their philosophy demands that this team forget that and the fact they have only lost once in three years in the six nations. your mind must be fully on the next pass, the first try. anthony watson scored it. with the next world cup 18 months away, england have been trying to establish a cruel streak and with the ruthless instinct of the hunter, watson was over again five minutes later. but italy were not simply wounded prey. even under constant pressure they found an escape. tommaso benvenuti the getaway runner. england stayed further

down the road. 0wen farrell scored before the break, then a first internation try for sam simmonds, in the team because of injuries — another english option. but wales, who play england next, will watch this italian move a few times this week. proof that there is space to be exploited, even if bellini nearly ran out. england will have learnt much themselves, like not to challenge simmonds to a race any time. his second try. his team finished with seven. the last finished off by replacement jack nowell. 46—15 reads more harshly than perhaps italy deserved, but history has repeated emphatically. england captain sarah hunter going overfor a england captain sarah hunter going over for a hat—trick of tries to help her team secured a bonus point. great britain were defeated 3—1 by spain in their davis cup tie after cameron norrie lost in four

sets, to albert ramos—vinolas. but it was another excellent effort from the world number 114 who had pulled off a massive comeback victory in his first singles rubber on friday. we are just over three hours away from the superbowl between the patriots and the eagles. you can watch it live on bbc one from 11:15 pm. i'll be back with more later on. an elderly man has died after a fire at a care home at stevenage in hertfordshire, believed to have been caused by an oxygen cylinder explosion. six other residents were also taken to hospital after the incident at woodlands view care home. 0ne is said to be in a critical condition. hertfordshire county council says a full investigation will be carried out. 0ur correspondent richard smith is at the scene. investigators are trying to piece together why there was an explosion

and fire at this care home in stevenage. the localfire brigade is being supported by police and the london fire brigade in that work. a police cordon surrounds part of the building and the people arriving today have been met by the police. the fire crews were called to reports of an explosion at about half past four in the afternoon yesterday. 41 people were in the affected part of the building and most were able to get out, but some could not. the fire service rescued five people and lead ten others to safety. seven people were taken to hospital, and one of them, a man in his 80s, has since died. another person is in a critical condition. the fire service said it appears an oxygen cylinder was in the room where the fire started and may have played a part in the fire. today, family and friends have been coming to the home obviously concerned to ensure that their loved ones are safe. 0ne visitor, a 91—year—old, asked why, how could this happen?

another woman revisiting her mother described being here at the time of the incident, seeing lots of lights, her family and children being distressed and the situation appearing to be under control. the home's owners have said in a statement the safety of residents is their number one concern, they have expressed sympathy with the family of the man who died. they say our immediate priority remains providing all support possible to everybody connected with the home and affected by yesterday's events. richard smith, bbc news, stevenage. two pensioners, including a man in his 70s, have been injured in a suspected gas explosion in bolton. several homes have also been evacuated after emergency services including firefighters, ambulance crews and air ambulance — were called out to reports of an explosion in farnworth, bolton this afternoon. sinn fein has confirmed that one of its stormont politicians, who speaks for the party on policing matters, removed a wheel clamp from his car after it was illegally parked in belfast.

video footage of gerry kelly taking the clamp off has been posted on social media as john campbell reports. gerry kelly represents north belfast in the northern ireland assembly. he's a formerjunior minister and speaks for his party on policing matters. on friday morning, he parked outside his gym in what is clearly marked as a restricted area. what happened next was captured by eyewitnesses. gerry kelly's car is clamped. gerry kelly can be seen on the ground, removing the clamp from his car, untangling the chains from around the front wheel. 0n the ground beside them are a pair of what appeared to be bolt cutters. once the clamp is free, mr kelly took it to the back of his car and propped it against the wall. sinn fein said mr kelly then drove off to attend a meeting. they added that the issue is now in the hands of his solicitor and that he would be making no further comment at this time. it's not clear if the other cars parked next to mr kelly were also clamped.

before his political role, gerry kelly was a senior member of the ira. five years ago, he was at the centre of another controversy, when he was carried on the bonnet of a police land rover. during an incident in his constituency. both he and the police driver were warned about their conduct. today, his political opponents say he must explain his latest actions. when people are elected to the assembly, we sign a pledge of office to comply with a code of conduct that no one should be above the law. so that's why we need these facts to be established as quickly as possible. the police say they are investigating a report of criminal damage to a wheel clamp. a deck officer from a wightlink ferry has been praised for his heroism afterjumping off his ship to save a drowning man. the dramatic rescue happened late last night in portsmouth harbour. today, the young man who was pulled out of the water

phoned his rescuer to thank him for saving his life. steve humphrey reports. he is a modest hero. it is just lucky we were around, i suppose, at the time, yeah. it had been a normal saturday night shift for steve chamberlain. a wightlink employee for nearly 22 years, he and his colleagues were getting the ferry ready for the midnight service from portsmouth to the isle of wight, then there came a shout of man overboard. i remember a life buoy going over my head here. and they attempted a throw at the guy. when the man in the water failed to grab the life rings, steve decided to take action. the only way out for him was for someone to go in and yeah, the coat came off, the jumper, and i actually remember grabbing hold of this here and climbing up and slinging myself over the side, without really thinking too much. steve kept the man's head above water as wightlink‘s harbour launch raced to the scene. the casualty was pulled on board and taken into paramedics who were waiting on shore.

steve climbed out of the water up this ladder. he was also taken to hospital for a checkup. it was brave. 0ur lads are trained to do these types of exercises. they practice on a regular basis. a truly heroic act? we think so, we are very, very proud of steve. lots of people are saying what you did was heroic. what is your reaction to that? i do not really know, i do not think i am a hero. i was just lucky enough to be around to help someone out in trouble. it is not known how the man fell into the water from the wharf. this morning he made a phone call from hospital to thank steve chamberlain for saving his life. he is well and good and very thankful. and appreciative. next week, steve chamberlain, and the man he rescued are planning to go for a drink together. would you do it again? yes, without a doubt. the guy, that was it. there was no sort of decision to be made. it was do or die, i think. darkest hour, a film depicting

winston churchill during the war, has been nominated for 9 baftas and 6 oscars. the make up team that transformed gary 0ldman into the prime minister are among those hoping to win an academy award. brennan nicholls has been to meet one of them. you cannot reason with the tiger when your head is in its mouth. gary 0ldman's performance in darkest hour has already earned him many accolades and critical acclaim. turning him, though, into britain's wartime prime minister has been hailed as a masterpiece of make—up. gary would come into the bus, we would shave his head, apply the make—up, takes just over three hours to apply the make—up and the wig, plus including getting into his fat suit and costume, close to four hours for the entire thing. he would then go to set for ten, 12 hours a day filming and we need to be there the whole time to maintain his make—up throughout that.

he would then have his make—up removed which takes an hour. and then, once he goes, lucy and i stay for another hour or two. gary 0ldman convinced kazuhiro tsuji to come out of retirement to design the churchill make—up. he had just been working with david on another movie, it was 0ldman who asked him to be onset applying it alongside colleague lucy sibbick and it's the three of them that have been nominated for the oscar. extremely proud. the bestjob i have done so far to date and i am just so pleased it is getting the recognition it deserves because of the amount of effort myself, kazuhiro and lucy have put into it and the people behind—the—scenes, such a big team involved. we are getting the credit and our names are on the award, but the amount of people in the workshops involved is amazing. we are to receive our reward. the 39—year—old make—up artist has a cv full of blockbusters to his name, but this is his first—ever oscar nomination. but look at the texture

here, the colour. spending a bit more time prepping, that is why the day was so long, i wanted to make sure i painted all of it perfectly so that they match every day. david flies out to los angeles for the oscar nomination lunch this weekend. then back for the baftas, before heading off to la again for the oscars themselves on the 4th of march for what could be his finest hour. time for a look at the weather with nick miller. cold snaps come and go and as far as the week is concerned we will be in the week is concerned we will be in the middle of one. we ended the week ona high the middle of one. we ended the week on a high note with sunshine around on a high note with sunshine around on sunday and as far as the week ahead is concerned it will be cold enough for snow. there will be some sunshine around as well. let's have a look at the forecast for the rest of the evening. snow showers in

parts of lincolnshire, east anglia and the south—east. very hit and miss so some of us might get a dusting and others will get nothing. many across northern and western areas will be clear with frost on the way tonight, so a chilly morning. let's look at the south—east again, and kent, sussex, essex, possibly greater london, this is where we could catch snow flurries in the morning. this u nfortu nately flurries in the morning. this unfortunately will coincide with rush—hour or evenjust unfortunately will coincide with rush—hour or even just before the rush—hour, but these are snow showers, only five miles across, almost like throwing a dart, some will get it, some won't. further wintry showers along the north sea coast and across the uk it mainly started bright and cold with a frost expected. a chilly day on the weight with the best of the sunshine across many northern and western areas and a beautiful day for