this is bbc news and these are the top stories developing at 11.003m. british and risks, believed to have been members of one of islamic state's most notorious cells are said to have been captured by kurdish fighters in syria, one of theirformer hostages so kurdish fighters in syria, one of their former hostages so that they must face justice their former hostages so that they must facejustice in their former hostages so that they must face justice in the west. their former hostages so that they must face justice in the westlj don't want hate, but i wantjustice. markets continue to fall — uk shares opened lower this morning, while stock markets across asia saw hefty falls overnight after the dowjones in new york was down by more than 1,000 points for the second time this week. researchers at edinburgh university have grown human eggs in the laboratory for the first time. the team say their findings could lead to new ways of preserving women's fertility. earlier, the sister of the north korean leader, kimjong un, arrived as part

of a delegation attending the opening ceremony. the visit by kim yojong marks the first time a member of the kim dynasty has visited the south since the korean war. it's been on display at the national history museum is as 1905, but now dippy b dipperjokers is starting a three—year of the uk. —— dippy — dippy b dipperjokers is starting a three—year of the uk. -- dippy - the dipperjokers. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. two british extremists, believed to be members of one of the so—called islamic state groups most notorious cells, have been captured by syrian kurdish fighters in syria — according to us officials. they are accused of being part of a unit which executed 27 western hostages and tortured many more. andy moore reports. alexanda kotey and el shafee elsheikh — the two britons captured by kurdish forces last month and questioned by the americans. together with aine davis

and mohammed emwazi, they formed the kidnap gang that became known as the beatles, because they were usually masked and their captors could hear only their british accents. their leader, emwazi — orjihadijohn — was killed in an air strike in 2015. aine davis was arrested in the same year, he's now serving a seven yearjail sentence. british aid worker alan henning was just one of at least two dozen foreign hostages they held captive and then executed. the four had met and became radicalised in west london. elsheikh worked in white city as a mechanic. last year, the american state department designated kotey and elsheikh as wanted terrorists who had fought for islamic state. kotey was born in paddington in london.

he was of ghanaian and greek cypriot background. the citation said he used exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding. elsheikh's family had fled sudan in the 1990s. he became a british citizen. according to the state department, he'd earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions and crucifixions. the two men were captured by the american—backed syrian democratic forces, a kurdish—led militia. the story was confirmed by american officials, after it first appeared in the new york times. mr kotey was known to be exceptionally cruel. he tortured people, including using electronic shock and waterboarding. he was also an islamic state recruiter, and he was responsible for recruiting several uk nationals to the islamic state. elsheikh also had a reputation for being cruel and waterboarded, mocks executions and crucifixions. the fate of the two men is unknown. they could be sent to the us detention centre at guantanamo bay

or they could stand trial in the states. the foreign office in the uk said it would not comment on individual cases or ongoing investigations. andy moore, bbc news. well, the frenchjournalist henin believes that the men were among his ca ptors. believes that the men were among his captors. he said that he is now hoping that former isi to is will face a hoping that former isi to is will faceafair hoping that former isi to is will face a fair trial. i don't like hate, but i want justice. i think there is sometimes a confusion between prevention and justice, but actually, these two times are exact opposites. revenge isa times are exact opposites. revenge is a violence, and call for another violence. revenge is an endless

cycle, where justice, violence. revenge is an endless cycle, wherejustice, eventually aims at extinguishing violence by sorting out grievances and bringing back peace, and this is what i want. and for you, what is justice? back peace, and this is what i want. and for you, what isjustice? being tried in a european court? justice isa tried in a european court? justice is a proper trial. i would be upset, for instance, if there is a trial in northern syria, because, more than that, i am afraid, as long as these people are detained in northern syria, just like the almost hundreds jihadi is currently detained in northern syria —— frenchjihadi northern syria —— french jihadi is. northern syria —— frenchjihadi is. they are not safe. there are too many ways that they can escape. as well, i would

not be happy if they were guests sent to guantanamo bay, because this is denial ofjustice. if we want justice, we need to give them the trial that would satisfy them, but also the victims, why is that? because the worst thing that you can give to a terrorist is a chance to debate himself as a victim. a terrorist is a terrorist, so if you give a chance to the terrorist to use public dander, by saying, oh look at me, i am the victim! because i haven't received a decent treatment, because i have been stigmatised, or whatever. if treatment, because i have been stigmatised, orwhatever. if you allow him to fuel his victimisation, then you have lost. so, this is why we need exceptionally fair process, trial. the opening ceremony

of the winter olympics is taking place in pyeongchang in south korea this morning. some of those missing — include 45 russian athletes and two we can take you to pyeongchang where the opening ceremony of the winter olympics is taking place. let's just have a little look and listen as the ceremony begins. this is a character... according to the myth, she was a bear, and then she became a woman. she married a king who gave birth to the sun, the founder of the korean nation. two additional characters join the

stage. the phoenix and the curious half man half bird. the phoenix, a mythical animal, the bird that live a thousand years and flies between heaven and earth. pmh that we see at home really spectacular. it is fair to say, less so spectacular. it is fair to say, less so if you are here in this stadium. consternation stars. some formal interjections. ——

introductions. and, with president moonjae—in. . there we are, just a flavour of the opening ceremony, there, in pyeongchang. freezing temperatures, but the sister of the north korean leader is that among the delegates there in pyeongchang for the opening

ceremony. we will be back there later on, as well. full coverage on that on bbc one if you want to watch it in its entirety. rather calm scenes, in contrast to the markets. shares in london have opened the day lower — following overnight losses in the us and asia. for the second time in a week, us stock markets have fallen sharply, with the dowjones index falling more than 4%. investors are selling off shares due to concerns central banks are going to raise interest rates soon. japan, china and australia also saw markets fall overnight. let's get more from our business presenterjamie robertson. what is going on, jamie? it is all to do really with higher interest rates and inflation. that is the fear that is behind the fall in markets reduce or starting on

friday, and really feeding through on monday and then again, particularly on thursday. it is particularly on thursday. it is particularly linked to the ten year treasury this is basically the interest that is payable on government us —— us government bonds. as information becomes more ofa bonds. as information becomes more of a threat, those bonds deals, the interest you get started get our. —— go up. those people holding stocks, shares, they think, 0k shares can go out, but it's risky, but only a limited amount of interest that i will get. and then that they look at the barn... the getting will get. and then that they look at the getting on for 3%. that was the point. that you'll started to get to 396. point. that you'll started to get to 3%. as it got to that, people said, let's go for that. let's get out of stock. as more people sold, and more

people sold. and it was very much... that was the trigger for this particular cell. behind that is a generalfear particular cell. behind that is a general fear that particular cell. behind that is a generalfear that we particular cell. behind that is a general fear that we have particular cell. behind that is a generalfear that we have inflation coming along down the route. we need to get more figures in on this. we got some bad figures in on friday, we will get more next week. that is what people are worried about, and thatis what people are worried about, and that is really the reason why we see these directions. the market is trying to work out what is happening with inflation. with the us economy, and globally, as well. some people said that all of those is a correction. the markets were overvalued. this was overdue. have we gone beyond a correction? allen—mac technically. if you're talking about the 10% change, it is a correction. when you look at the price of shares, you look at them in relation to... basically, how profitable the companies are that underpin those shares. so, if you look at the profits that a company

has been making, and many think, well, am i looking at the proper that a company has been making? 0r the profits that a company will be making? prospective earnings. when you look at perspective and in, and actually people are very optimistic about the amount that a company could earn. actually, in comparison, to what the profits which companies have been making over the last year 01’ have been making over the last year orso, have been making over the last year or so, actually be changes very small. there could be quite a lots more of a correction. if you look, also, at the general trend of growth in shares, if you look at the correction that we have had, it has just come back to roughly where it was. so, it is not much of a correction, so a little bit, but not much. thank you very much indeed. jamie robertson, there. the headlines on bbc newsroom live: the two british men suspected of being members of one

of the islamic state groups most notorious cells have been captured in syria according to us officials. uk shares slip and stock markets across asia see hefty falls, after another big drop on us markets. concerns over higher interest rates have prompted market volatility around the world. researchers grow human eggs in the laboratory for the first time. scientists say that this could lead to new ways of preserving women's that elegy. and, in sports, the opening ceremony that marks the start of this year's winter olympics in pyeongchang. is underway. catherine yun will be leading out tea m catherine yun will be leading out team gb. katie 0rmerod is out after breaking her heel. she said it is

the worst luck that she had ever had. he was favourite to replace gordon strachan, but he has now ruled himself out. i will be back with more of those stories just after half past. researchers at edinburgh university have grown human eggs in a laboratory for the first time. the findings could lead to new ways of preserving women's fertility. here's our health and science correspondent, james gallagher. in laboratories in edinburgh, scientists have grown human eggs. they've taken immature eggs that women are born with and transformed them so they are ready to be fertilised. it's taken decades of work to copy what happens inside women's ovaries. we never imagined that we would be getting these kind of results using human tissue. so it's a significant step, but, of course, the main objective for us is to improve and determine the safety of these techniques, so that they could, in the future,

go into some kind of application. it could be used for young girls with cancer, as treatment can damage their fertility. so how might it work? a girl diagnosed with cancer would have a sample of her ovary frozen before cancer treatment, then later, as an adult, the tissue would be defrosted, an egg grown, fertilised, and then put in the womb. there may even be other applications in fertility treatment. this treatment is at an early stage and needs refining. none of the eggs have been fertilised, so it is still uncertain how viable they are. darren griffin is professor of genetics at the university of kent. thank you very much for being with us. thank you very much for being with us. how big a breakthrough do you think this is? well, first of all, congratulations to the team. they did a very nice study. it paves the way for something that will help us

understand the basic process of egg development, which, obviously, before we were all fertilised and became embryos, it happened to all of us, is going on anybody‘s of all women, and so... it has is wonderful —— these wonderful potential applications further down the line. i really enjoyed reading the paper. how far of i really enjoyed reading the paper. howfarof our i really enjoyed reading the paper. how far of our way of having this direct practical application for women? it is very, very hard to tell. there are an awful lot of technical hurdles. there will be ethical and legal hurdles to take a look at as well. i hope to see that in five or ten years there will be some significant progress, and perhaps that is when we will see it in the clinic. talk to us a bit about when you mention there, ethical hurdles and legal hurdles, what do you mean by that exactly?

welcome in any new fertility treatment, we have the human embryo authority, and every time something new comes along, like this, then we have to reapply for ethical permission to do that. one of the things that we do very well in the uk is not only get the science right, but also get the social science bits right. the social policy, and the law and so on. so, what was then happen, is if this got toa what was then happen, is if this got to a stage where technically it could prove to be feasible, and as the lady quite rightly said in her quote, there, it is a long way before we're at that stage, then the process involve going to the h nba, saying this is something that we wa nt to saying this is something that we want to do. we think it will benefit patients, and then it will be considered. it is quite a long way off, but if this were to be used, practically, presumably it would be very expensive? allen—mac

potentially. again, as with pretty much anything, when it is a novel innovation, it is quite expensive, but when it becomes commonplace, then the prices come down. we can see now that ivf costs are hopefully coming down in the next few years as a result of it becoming more commonplace. all right, good to speak to you. thank you very much indeed. a late night... public services briefly halted after the senate missed a bit light —— midnight deadline, but it did then pass the bill that will now go to donald trump. 0pposed by many conservatives, and it has been criticised for not including measures to protect young immigrants known as the dreamers. trinity mirror has announced

a £127 million deal to buy the express and star newspapers from northern & shell, as well as 0k magazine. the company says the combined group will be able to save money by sharing content and reducing duplication. the chief executive of trinity mirror, simon fox says there will be changes. there will, over time, be job cuts because we are going to remove duplication, mainly in back office functions. we're bringing two very similar businesses together, and when you do that, inevitably there's a certain amount of duplication. this transaction doesn't affect our regional newspapers at all. we operate around 100 regional papers, manchester evening news through to the plymouth herald, and trinity mirror, as a group, makes over £120 million, and we're absolutely committed to continuing our investment in our great regional titles, both in print and digitally. let's get some analysis on this story now and speak to dominic ponsford, editor of the press gazette.

thank you very much for being with us, dominic. how do you see this deal? does it make sense? it make a lot of sense on both sides. the trinity mirror is now a bit of a slam i think. they value the group at just over five times slam i think. they value the group atjust over five times that, so if you think that in five years' time, the level of money back and the rest is gravy. he has made a lot of money, and now, i guess for him it isa money, and now, i guess for him it is a great time to cash out. i don't think many other people will buy it. trinity mirror can do it. they could share lot of costs. notjust printing presses, which they have a lot. the express has been making money, is that what you are saying? it has made good money, good profits, for pretty much the whole time that richard desmond has ended. this deal values it at about £150

million. twitter has never made a penny for anybody, and its lost £2 million, and it is worth 20 million. talk to us about what will happen 110w talk to us about what will happen now in terms of the politics, of the express in particular. it has always been a standard bearer of the right. will that change now in trinity mirror's hans? particularly on brexit, it is hard to argue that it hasn't been ardently pro—brexit. trinity mirror publishes the daily mirror which is only one of two left—wing national newspapers that we have. either a shared editorial leadership, it is very hard to see how the express will stay as only right that it had been. it could in fa ct lead right that it had been. it could in fa ct lea d to right that it had been. it could in fact lead to a psyche more plural

newspaper make up. newspapers in the uk are predominantly right. i think it will have two. they will have a share editorial leadership, so it has got to go slightly, that way, at least. many thanks for being with us, thank you. the reuters news agency says it believes two of its journalists have been arrested in myanmar because of their investigation into the mass killing of rohingya muslims. the agency says two rohingyas were hacked to death by buddhist villagers and another eight shot by the army. well, south east asian correspondence jonathan head joins us how correspondence jonathan head joins us now from bangkok. just tell us a bit more about what writers are saying their journalist bit more about what writers are saying theirjournalist uncovered. well, there have been a number of allegations and atrocities and massacres against the rangers since august last —— rohingya ‘s since

august last —— rohingya ‘s since august last —— rohingya ‘s since august last year. there have been estimates of thousands of people killed in these operations. reuters is looking at one particular village in the south of rakhine state. the rohingyas' areas were completely destroyed. they were able to establish contact inside the village to piece together a much more detailed account of an actual execution, they say, of ten rohingya men. they were basically selected at random from those trying to escape on the beach at bangladesh. lined up, on the beach at bangladesh. lined 9 on the beach at bangladesh. lined ga on the beach at bangladesh. lined up, dug a mass grave, and they were first hacked and then shot. it is the detail that makes this

investigation so devastating for the myanmar government, who have essentially denied all human rights abusers. they have acknowledged unlawful behaviour. reuters are saying that they were very advanced with this investigation, at the point when their journalist worth invited to meet with police, and then charged. possibly in an attempt to stop reuters from publishing this very important investigation. jonathan, many thanks for that. the uk and eu negotiating co—ordinators are meeting today to conclude the latest round of negotiations about the relationship, post brexit. negotiations this week have focused on the transition arrangments for the ireland and northern ireland. we're also expecting to hear from the eu negotiator, michel barnier, later this morning. 0ur europe correspondent

gavin lee is in brussels. gavin, just bring us right up to date. what are we expecting to hear? good morning. essentially, we are in the week when things are starting to get going, a week of talks about the transition period, culminating today ina transition period, culminating today in a press conference about all of the issues, all of the round holes that need to fit into spec yamac square pegs. —— into square pegs. there is the idea that eu citizens will have the same rights as they do now. the free movement during the transition period. theresa may has said that that cannot be the case. she said that things have to be different, even if it means that ultimately, people being registered,

so ultimately, people being registered, so post—transition ultimately, people being registered, so post—tra nsition period, ultimately, people being registered, so post—transition period, there is a different phase for those eu citizens. that is one of the many areas, also news reports in one of the uk papers that the eu might look at different rules for northern ireland post—tra nsition at different rules for northern ireland post—transition period. a d raft ireland post—transition period. a draft document suggesting that northern ireland would have access to the single market, the customs union, as well, because there would have to have a special status to avoid any hard border. again, this is something that hasn't been clear, and from anyone in the eu, officially. there are draft status... but, that is another area which is to be ironed out. notably, david davis will not be in the talks. it is just michel barnier. we will hear from talks. it is just michel barnier. we will hearfrom him soon in a press conference. maybe, exit, is that what we would call it from a gavin

lee ear(!) thank you very much. authorities in paris have had to close the eiffel tower. because of snow and black ice. the organisation that runs the tower said de—icing it was a complex procedure. paris has been covered in a heavy blanket of snow as much of northern france is hit by icy winter conditions. the snow played havoc with traffic and public transport, halting almost all buses in the capital along with some tram and commuter rail lines. that is the weather in france, let's see what it is doing here at home. nice to see that it is notjust the uk that gets disrupted by bad weather, we have had a cold start, also some rain affecting eastern parts of england, behind it, a bunch of rain, sleet and snow showers. as we can see in herefordshire, snow falling, though showers will continue to move towards the

south—east over the next few hours, may stay cloudy, little wet at times, parts of lincolnshire, for the bulk of the uk, as you can see, by the green map here, we have clear skies, good sunshine developing across most areas, but colder than it was yesterday, those temperatures down by a couple of degrees. through the evening and tonight, the rain continues to ease off, leah skies in central and eastern areas. hard frost developing. further west, cloud rolling in, that cloud and rain will spread to many areas during saturday, quite an unpleasant day, fairly strong winds. —— clear skies. colder, but there will be brighter weather. goodbye. this is bbc news, our latest headlines. former hostage held by islamic state

in syria has welcomed the capture of two british men thought to have been pa rt two british men thought to have been part of the cell that tortured him. the men, captured by us—backed syrian democratic forces, are suspected of murdering more than 20 hostages. shares in london have opened the day lower following overnight losses in asia and the us where the dowjones which closed down by more than 1,000 points for the second time this week. the opening ceremony to the winter 0lympics the opening ceremony to the winter olympics is underway in south korea. this is the scene live in pyeongchang, these pictures, interestingly, not being shown in north korea. human eggs have been successfully grown in a laboratory for the first time. the breakthrough could lead to new ways of preserving the fertility of children having cancer treatment. all of the sport now, including the opening of the winter olympics.

the rather spectacular opening ceremony is taking place at this year's winter olympics in south korea. it began with a huge firework display above the main 0lympic venues in pyeongchang. the theme followed five small children who discovered the stadium and with it a giant tiger. huge exhibition of dancing and music in south korea, traditional dress as well, some of the athletes are just on their way out in the stadium at the moment, but of course, not as many fans as they would have hoped for, temperature said to have dropped to as low as —10, so a rather empty stadium but a few fans there. that continues over on bbc 0ne. bad news for team gb before the games has really kicked off. katie 0rmerod has tweeted it's the worst luck she's ever had, and she's absolutely gutted to miss the games. snowboarder 0rmerod broke her heel in training, just a day after fracturing her wrist.

she's already had surgery, and will stay in hospital for the next week. she had been due to compete in the slopestyle and big air events. she has had herfair share of injuries already inexpensive board, she has this brilliant resilience, incredible, she comes back from it, she comes back better from incredible, she comes back from it, she comes back betterfrom injuries. you would not wish this on anyone at this point, it will be very sad for the rest of the team not to have her there, she is a very positive member of the team, that is a big loss in its own sake. we wish the best in recovery. when she is fit and well, she can look forward and focus on the future and come back and will fill the great potential that she has. there has been plenty of action on what's officially the first day of the games with the world number one mikael kingsbury impressing in the men's mogul. the canadian eased through the first qualifying session and will hope to better his silver medal from four years ago. he's now the strong favorite to claim victory in monday's final after topping the first qualifying round.

away from the winter olympics, walter smith won't be taking the scotland football manager's job for a second time. he'd become the favourite to succeed gordon strachan, after the northern ireland boss michael 0'neill turned the job down, but it's understood smith ruled himself out after talks with the scottish fa. some good news for fans of leicester city, it appears the club's "fall out" with talisman riyad mahrez is coming to an end. the bbc understands that the algeria international plans to train for the first time since the club rejected a number of bids from premier league leaders manchester city at the end of the january transfer window. it's the second round of matches in rugby union's six nations this weekend. england have been training at twickenham this morning, ahead of their meeting with wales, and head coach eddiejones has been ramping up the mind games, questioning whether wales's "fill—in" fly—half rhys patchell has the "bottle" for the match at twickenham.

it isa it is a massive step up. you know, he has not played much test rugby at all, young guy, has not what greatly experienced players around him. chris robshaw, danny care, all guys going out to him, george ford, so much experience, so the pressure on him will be enormous. it is whether he has the bottle to handle it. the former ireland internationaljoy neville will make more rugby union history tonight, when she'll become the first woman to referee a pro 1a rugby match, ulster versus southern kings. neville is already the first woman to take charge of a men's european club fixture but despite the landmarks, she says she still encounters negativity. after the little stories are coming into clubs and you referee a third division women's game, actually, i tell them division women's game, actually, i tellthem i'm here for division women's game, actually, i tell them i'm here for division one, they ask if i can keep the pace. no, there is no point in being

defensive, you get annoyed, there is no message being sent. you can watch the opening ceremony over on bbc 0ne, the opening ceremony over on bbc one, great britain and its athletes yet to appear. we will probably dip backin yet to appear. we will probably dip back in once team gb appear. rescue workers in taiwan are continuing to search for survivors in the eastern city of hualien after tuesday's 6.4 magnitude earthquake. the marshal hotel is still leaning precariously and some floors remain buried under ground as a result of the quake. the death toll has risen to ten, and rescue operations are at risk of continuing aftershocks. at least 60 people are still missing. there's a warning that some patients in england and wales being treated for hip fractures are having to wait up to 80 days to see a physiotherapist. the chartered society of physiotherapy says the average wait is 15 days, but there are unacceptable variations in care. hip fractures affect one in three women over the age of 50. richard handley had downs syndrome

and was just 33 years old when he died from complications caused by severe constipation. yesterday, an inquest found there were "gross and very significant failings" in his care. the government is currently reviewing all deaths of people with learning disabilities in england, and is due to publish the first of its findings next month. they told the bbc there is concern over a significant number of cases. jayne mccubbin reports. richard was cheeky and had a huge sense of the ridiculous. toilet humour. yes. close to richard's heart. because that's how the family dealt with what was a lifelong problem for richard. constipation. a problem which should have been manageable, but which killed him when he was 33. it's just so incomprehensible, isn't it?

it so devastating, really. it shouldn't have happened. richard's diet was well looked after by his family and care home, but when that care home turned into supported living he was allowed to eat what he liked. by the time he was admitted into hospital his constipation was so severe he appeared full—term pregnant. i saw a picture of him, actually, when he was lying on the hospital bed. the picture was taken after he had had one of the procedures to hopefully reduce the size of his tummy and looking at that picture i couldn't believe my eyes. if all those measures to protect him had been in place, it wouldn't have happened. he would still be here? he would still be here, yes. i'd still have a son. you'd still have a brother. yesterday, an inquest here in ipswich found missed opportunities to help richard and gross failures to act by the hospital. a report after has shown there are too many avoidable deaths and three years agojeremy hunt ordered a world first, scrutiny of every single death of a learning disabled person in england.

it will be a very important moment to step out and look at the way we look after that particular highly vulnerable group. that review will publish its first report next month, but we've learnt that one in ten deaths looked at so far have come with red flag indicators. that might mean, as with richard, there is evidence that treatment was delayed, or perhaps there is evidence of abuse or neglect or concerns have been raised by a family member. this woman led the serious case review into richard's death and also the scandal of winterbourne view. she says both cases exposed a system which cares deeply at the point of birth, but less as a child becomes an adult. we know that they can be fantastic when an infant arrives in this world. the nhs has done some astonishing things to keep infants alive.

however, that appears to taper and certainly sustained austerities has shown us that services have reduced and workforces have diminished and that has left families, some families, floundering. and do you think has cost some learning disabled people their life? yes, indeed. it has. richard's family have received apologies from the hospital, the council and the care provider. all say lessons have been learnt, a phrase often used after unavoidable death. —— an avoidable death. the department of health say they must stop. from july, trusts will have the published data on deaths and evidence of improvement. nhs england say they are committed to improving the lives of people with a learning disability. news conference with the eu's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier,

holding a news conference after the latest round of talks on brexit in brussels, vets see what he has to say. translation: we also planned an update by the united kingdom on the future relationship. -- let's see what he has to say. incidentally, thatis what he has to say. incidentally, that is the only meeting which has so that is the only meeting which has so far been cancelled. before this round, i was very glad to meet david davis, again, on monday, in london, at his invitation, we had a political discussion, and i was also very glad on this occasion to speak to the prime minister, theresa may. on the points which i mentioned now, this round was in our view a resumption round after the joint

report, back in december. nonetheless, i think it is useful for your work and your information to ta ke for your work and your information to take stock today and give you an update on negotiations. these meetings with the uk and with david davis, every time he so wishes, these meetings will continue to take place regularly. this method of organisation is based on regular rounds, and that is important for us on the european side, in this way, we have time, my team and i, we have time before and after each round, we have time to coordinate with the 27 member states and the european parliament. and it is in this way that we can insure transparency.

transparency that we undertook to provide from the very start. and it is in this way, using this method, that we succeeded with the united kingdom in concluding this first important stage in negotiations. in english. we focused on negotiations to provide a hard border, any negotiation must be clear and focused. as you know, our report invites for three options. first, solving the issues of the island of ireland, through the future relationship, and this future relationship would need to avoid our border and protect north—south

cooperation and the good friday agreement. once again, it is important to tell the truth, the uk decision to leave the single market and to leave the customs union would make border checks unavoidable. second, the uk has committed to proposing specific solutions to the unique circumstances on the island of ireland, and we are waiting for set solutions. the third option is to maintain full regulatory alignment with those roles of the single market and the customs union. which support the whole economy, and the good friday agreement. options

one and two can only be made in the context of the future relationship. in the meantime, it is our responsibility to include the third option in the text of the agreement, to guarantee that there will be no ha rd to guarantee that there will be no hard border, whatever the circumstances. this means that we must now start legally defining how this scenario would work in operational terms. there must be no ambiguity here. based on the discussions this week, the uk must accept the necessity of this, how to make full alignment operational, provided we discuss the other two options in parallel. and, this is what we will work on in the coming

rounds. translation: one of the keystones of oui’ translation: one of the keystones of our agreement for that agreement to be credible and sustainable, it has two include effective implementation mechanisms, in our view, these mechanisms have to include the role the european court ofjustice each time the agreement refers to european law. this remains a subject of disagreement with the united kingdom. the third point is the transition period. this period implies an extension for a limited

period, this was requested by the united kingdom. the heads of state government of the 27 gave a positive response to this request, at the european council of the 15th of december, we had a mandate, for the council, since the 29th of january, and this week we presented it to the united kingdom. when i met david davis, in london, on monday, and once again, in the negotiations in brussels this week, the united kingdom insisted that we should reach an agreement in march on this transitional period. at the same time, however, our partners set out a certain number of disagreements which i regard as substantial, in particular, on the following points:

citizens rights, it is true that the uk recognises that free movement of people will apply fully, during the transitional period, however, at the end of this transitional period, uk does not intend to extend the rights which apply according to the joint reform to citizens arriving in the uk up to the date of withdrawal, does not intend to extend these rights to citizens arriving during the transitional period, that is a major subject for us, and also for the european parliament. about the application of european rules during transition, here, the uk is asking for the right objection if it were to disagree with a new role or a new law which would enter into force during the transition period. finally, i come tojustice

during the transition period. finally, i come to justice and during the transition period. finally, i come tojustice and home affairs. here, the uk wishes to continue to be able to take part in new european policies, this is the idea of opt in, whereas it has decided to leave these very policies at the end of the transition period, to be frank, i'm surprised by these disagreements. the positions of the european union are very logical, i think. the uk wants to enjoy the advantages of the single market, the customs union, it has therefore to accept all the rules and the obligations until the end of transition, that is only logical, it also has two accept the consequences of the decision to leave the european union, to leave its institutions, and its policies. —— has to accept. to be quite frank, if

these disagreements persist, the transition is not a given. in english. -- in english. if these disagreements persist, the transition is not a given. translation: time is very short, we have not a minute to lose, if we wa nt to have not a minute to lose, if we want to succeed, and we do want to succeed, we want to succeed in this orderly withdrawal. we have to discuss the future relationship as soon as possible. ladies and gentlemen, in order to make progress on this question, it is proposed the legal text of the transition. while this text has been —— once this text has been agreed by the 27, it will be an integral part of the draft

agreement which we will then submit to the uk and let me remind you, this draft will have to be agreed by the european parliament as well. in this proposal, i stress it is a proposal, in this proposalfor a legal text, which was published this week by the commission, following the decision taken by the college, in an entirely transparent manner, we have provided for provision which reinforces implementation mechanisms existing in the eu, during the transition period. why is there this provision? which has attracted so much comment. well, if there is an infringement of european rules during the transitional period, our usual infringement proceedings, which apply today to all the member states, they may take too long, and

would not therefore resolve a possible dispute between the uk and the eu during this very short transitional period, that is the reason. it is personally normal to provide for effective implementation mechanisms in order to settle disputes, and that is true for switzerland, for instance. traditionally, the united kingdom is a country which faces very few infringement proceedings. on this subject, throughout these negotiations, our attitude and my attitude has not been in the least

discourteous or vindictive, we do not wish to punish the uk. it is totally foreign to my state of mind, this been true from the very beginning and will be true to the very end of negotiations. quite simply, we have two construct their withdrawal agreement which is legally sound and which does not give rise to any uncertainty in anyone's mind. —— we have to construct. we must move forward in a structured manner, we must coordinate, we have two be transparent, thanks to the coordination of the rounds. —— we have to be transparent. that is something we owe to the 27, we owe this to the parliament, we have worked very wisely with the parliament, also meet national parliaments. citizens,

organisations, economic and social forces. my deputy will be here this afternoon, with the british negotiators, and will be discussing precise dates and agendas for the next round of negotiations, and now, at your disposal, a few questions. many of you will be unhappy with me but i cannot take all of your time, i will make a choice which will make many people unhappy, we can takes questions, but that is all that i can do, just give me a moment, i will try to be balanced. there we go. all right, the fall is all mine, of course, and we start with adam. —— fault. of course, and we start with adam. -- fault. adam fleming, bbc, how much threat is the transition period under, and how worried are you that

it might not be possible to agree it, and on the diary clash, but prevented somebody from the uk coming to present to you about the future relationship, don't you think thatis future relationship, don't you think that is really weird? laughter translation: how the uk sees the future relationship, i said, translation: how the uk sees the future relationship, isaid, downing street, the time has come to make choices, and we await with great interest, the choice is to be made by the british government, that is all i can say. it was not possible for that presentation to be given today, for the reasons i mentioned, and hopefully... this will be in the

near future. the time and hopefully... this will be in the nearfuture. the time has come and hopefully... this will be in the near future. the time has come to make choices. if everything goes well, in march, the european council will decide on the guidelines, on the basis of previous guidelines, will decide on guidelines for opening discussions on the future relationship. in october or november, let me remind you, where we will hopefully have concluded the withdrawal agreement, dealing with the separation issues and an agreement on transition, that draft withdrawal agreement has to go through a ratification process and this will go hand—in—hand with the political statements, the 27 heads of state attach great importance to that, they will precisely described the context, the framework, the

setting for the future relationship with the united kingdom. so, the sooner that the united kingdom makes its choices, the better. i am not going to talk about a threat, i did not say i was not talking about a threat when i talked about the transition, we have to bear in mind... studio: watching michel barnier, chief brexit negotiator, we will leave that now for the viewers on bbc two leaving us, but we will stay with bbc news channel for further coverage. keeping the single market, all the policies, customs union, and economic status quo for a limited period, and it is understandable that we should keep the regulatory and supervision of structure, the

financial commitments, the way in which the rules are applied, i mean, it is the integrity of the single market that is at stake. if this disagreement were to persist, there would undoubtedly be a problem, i hope that we will be able to resolve this disagreement in the next round. translation: i had another question on this disagreement: you always have disagreements in negotiating processes, you said... you said you we re processes, you said... you said you were surprised, does that mean that there is nothing really to negotiate, that basically negotiations are there to confirm the position laid out by the european union, in particular the heads of state and government? is it basically a question of confirming that? or, the fact that you are

surprised, does that mean that there are implications for the timetable, is there something else? do see it as you see something more serious smack well, give me credit, i tried to be transparent. i see regularly after each new round, and i tell you where we stand. it would be different if we only met every six months. it may not be dramatic, but it might be a problem. as i said, i don't understand some of the positions of the united kingdom. that position is reflected in the

commission ‘s draft. the aim is to produce this in legal terms, to try and save time. we haven't got any time to lose. we want to move forward , time to lose. we want to move forward, and with that in mind, we came forward with this legal draft text. if you look at my negotiating mandate, you have the single market, the role of the court ofjustice, the role of the court ofjustice, the application of freedoms during the application of freedoms during the transition period. those points are not up for negotiation. the united kingdom itself asked for this transition period. and, i think, it's neither that to allow the authorities to prepare, to allow business to prepare. i don't think anybody is underestimating the extent of that preparatory work, and it supplies to european businesses and aaron administered is. it gives

us some and aaron administered is. it gives us some time to discuss the future relationship. if you keep the economic status quo, then that means that you have two preserve the integrity of the single market, and apply the rules for all those who benefit from the single market, including any new rules from time or decisions which might merge during that period. when it comes to citizens, it will be difficult to extend to them that we wouldn't apply the same rules after the transition to those who arrive before march, and those who applied during the transition period. ifind it very difficult to explain that, and it is a major issue for the european parliament. this is what negotiating is all about. it gives

us an negotiating is all about. it gives us an opportunity to discuss and expect our positions. the heads of state and government have talked about the uk's involvement in committee meetings, and this has to be on an exceptional basis, when the matters being discussed are a direct interest and concern to the united kingdom. that is something that we can discuss further. there are some points that are not up for negotiation, because they are at the very heart of the single market. thank you very much. what is your understanding of jeremy corbyn thank you very much. what is your understanding ofjeremy corbyn and the labour pa rty's understanding ofjeremy corbyn and the labour party's position on brexit, because it seems to be quite unclear, and are you concerned that your meetings with him have been interpreted as undermining theresa

may? and second question if i may, the punishment clause in the legal document, would britain have any recourse or appeal against that decision, and why is it necessary when the u's own position is that the ec] would see any case brought before it to its conclusion if the case was before it to its conclusion if the case was brought before the cut—off date? case was brought before the cut—off date ? thank you. case was brought before the cut—off date? thank you. on your second point, could ijust meiji in a very courteous manner, that this is a specific situation —— could ijust remind you in a very cautious manner, that this is a specific situation due to the very limited transition period. you only have to

look at infringement proceedings against member states, and did say that the uk while good students when it came to infringement procedure is —— proceedings. the uk is one of the countries which has had to deal with the fewest numbers of infringement proceedings, but it could happen. this with a very limited time frame. if you look at the normal period required to process an infringement, we just required to process an infringement, wejust don't required to process an infringement, we just don't have time to take the necessary operational decisions, so in the interests of both sides, if there is dispute, with the usual appeals etc... we need to have a specific system. that is all that we are talking about, here. i don't really understand why there was this reaction, this uproar. there is no wish whatsoever to punish. we are

trying to draft an international agreement. —— on a solid basis which can be effectively committed. i mentioned switzerland, there are other cases. that is all that we are trying to do. we just want to do this ina trying to do. we just want to do this in a series and effective way, andi this in a series and effective way, and i want that to be properly understood. —— serious and effective. on jeremy understood. —— serious and effective. onjeremy corbyn, my door is open. it is open to everybody. i even met mr farage the other day, which is a very steamy late in discussion. —— which is a very stimulating discussion. he asked to meet me, and i have no reason not to

meet me, and i have no reason not to meet him. i can tell him where we stand, but i am not negotiating with jeremy corbyn. the only people we are negotiating with is theresa may, david davis and the british government. i made this very clear tojeremy government. i made this very clear to jeremy corbyn government. i made this very clear tojeremy corbyn at government. i made this very clear to jeremy corbyn at the government. i made this very clear tojeremy corbyn at the beginning, andi tojeremy corbyn at the beginning, and i said that to him every time i have met him. i want to listen to everybody, to fully understand what is happening in the united kingdom, i want to take the time necessary to understand and respect the british political debate. i did want to say anything about domestic political debate. we will see how much time we have got left. translation: in these circumstances, what is your message to the government? should they approve these documents as drafted, or do you need more time to think, to see whether something could be changed in further negotiations with

the uk? what documents are you talking about? serve and document the legal documents for the transition period. do you mean the tax published by the position this week his mac well, it is a -- well it isa week his mac well, it is a -- well it is a draft legal text to save time. what it is agreed, this will be part of the withdrawal agreement. time is short. it is debris. next october, —— it is february. next october, —— it is february. next october, we need to have a treaty. this has got to be ready for gratification. that is under ten months. so, as soon as we have something which is legally sound we will put it all together. i am

grateful forjean—claude juncker for allowing this to be transparent. it may be amended and corrected... and, once this agreement is reached by the 27th, the document will then beat is —— be submitted to the united kingdom. you have got to get used to this transparency. it may not be totally customary, but it is a commission document that may now be discussed by the states. yes, thank you. up here, mr barnier. you

talked very clearly about northern ireland, the border issues, and those needing to be addressed and i'd be curious three —— unambiguously, is there a link between making progress in ireland, and being able to reach agreement on the terms of the transition before march? and secondly, pu has —— deq has made very clear to british companies, that they are right —— their rights will end at a certain point, that many would have two moved to enjoy those rights continuing afterwards. why is it that it continuing afterwards. why is it thatitis continuing afterwards. why is it that it is wrong for the uk to say to individuals who moved to the uk during the transition that their eu rights might not definitely continue after the transition ends? translation: but not indefinitely. we are talking about people who

arrive during the transition period. ata time arrive during the transition period. at a time when the united kingdom has agreed to extend... of the single market, including freedom of movement. that is a indivisible part of other freedoms. so, movement. that is a indivisible part of otherfreedoms. so, these rights can be enjoyed. so, we are notjust talking about companies. we are talking about companies. we are talking about companies. we are talking about questions which are of deep concern to citizens, of both sides of the channel. notjust talking about citizens who might arrive in the uk. we are talking about british citizens who might arrive in the european union. it is reciprocal. so, there is some logic behind the view that because the freedom of movement agreement is upheld, because of this, these

citizens should have probable rights referred to in the joint report. now, what is the link, the link between the solutions which we need to divide without any ambiguity to the guaranteed stability in ireland, to guarantee the good friday agreement in all of its parts, during the transition period, what is the link between that and the transition agreement? well, these subjects have to be tackled and dealt with under the withdrawal agreement. that is the link. no transition will be possible if there is no withdrawal agreement. the only legal basis for the transition is article 50. that is the context in which we are working on the withdrawal agreement. the 27th want

to ensure that the withdrawal agreement applies the joint commitment which was reasserted in thejoint report in paragraphs 49-51. that is thejoint report in paragraphs 49—51. that is the link, these two subjects must be dealt with positively in the withdrawal agreement by october. well, we mustn't forget about the winter olympics. mr barnier, you and met mr daviesjust winter olympics. mr barnier, you and met mr davies just before the presentation of the draft agreement. what explains this accusation of a

lack of courtesy, and why is mr davis saying that you were discourteous. and secondly, theresa may is fragile. is there a risk that all of these agreements might be totally undermined if there were government instability in the uk. well, i am government instability in the uk. well, iam not government instability in the uk. well, i am not going to discuss david's comments. it would not be useful. everybody can see how i work, how i behave. everyone knows what kind of language i use, since the very beginning. quite naturally, i have been objective, i have... i am not vindictive, not trying to punish anyone. i very much regret

the british vote on brexit, like others, but we respect that vote, and myjob others, but we respect that vote, and my job is others, but we respect that vote, and myjob is to implement that decision, which we respect. and, i do so calmly, i shall remain calm till the very end. i shall be objective, and i owe this out of respect to the british people. the word respect is an important word. and i shall not make any further comment on the political situation in the uk. the current government, led by mrs may has agreed with this support i think of clear political majority, so... she has agreed to the hakimi have already got, and i

—— to the situation we have all ready got and i would make any further comment on that. there will be very soon now a case please for the court ofjustice on the right of citizens after the dutch court asked questions to the court. the dutch government argued during the case that that would make it more difficult to negotiate citizens' rights during brexit. do you agree with that position, and is it going to make yourjob more difficult? if the court is... if you are waiting for the court to express itself. translation: i don't know

about the details of this case, i don't know what the circumstances were. the circumstances in which the dutch government might find it easier to discuss the citizens' rights since brexit. all i can do... i wince anything about the substance. —— i won't say anything about the substance. we have... there are dozens of paragraphs in thejoint report, sojust there are dozens of paragraphs in the joint report, so just about all citizens' rights for the duration of their lives, up to the point of brexit, all these... so, there is vast certainty for citizens,

certainty about the thickness of these rights, and the treaty, ——... we wa nt these rights, and the treaty, ——... we want to retain an agreement on an orderly withdrawal. this agreement will still be late what rights that should —— will stipulate what rights should —— will stipulate what rights should be guaranteed, and in particular, there will be details about the procedure is that the uk has under taken to make a simple... not too costly. 0k, ok, we will leave michel barnier, now. some interesting lines coming out of what he said. yak she said that he had received —— he actually said that he had received no updates from the british government about

what brexit they want. we had from adam fleming, our reporter, that actually he has said that the uk will update the commission british ideas for the future relationship this afternoon, just a few hours later than had been planned. also, mr barnier said on the question of the irish border, it is important to tell the truth, a british decision to leave the single market and leave the customs union will make border checks on avoidable. the other, quite interesting line, was that he was surprised by the disagreements between the uk and bet you on the transition arrangements. he said, "to be frank, if these disagreements possess , "to be frank, if these disagreements possess, the transition is not a given. " so, whether you want to ta ke given. " so, whether you want to take that as a threat or not,... finally, just a line about his attitude to brexit negotiations. mr barnier saying "i am not in the

least discourteous or vindictive. no desire to punish the uk. respect to the british vote in the referendum. ". that the british vote in the referendum. that is the latest on the teu situation. we will be returning to that later on. two british extremists, believed to be members of one of the so—called islamic state groups most notorious cells, have been captured by syrian kurdish fighters in syria — according to us officials. bethany haines, the daughter of murdered islamic state hostage david haines, has been giving her reaction to the news today that two british islamic state fighters have been captured. she began by telling bbc scotland how she heard the news. they are accused of being part of a unit which executed 27 western hostages and tortured many more. andy moore reports. alexanda kotey and el shafee elsheikh — the two britons captured by kurdish forces last month and questioned by the americans.

together with aine davis and mohammed emwazi, they formed the kidnap gang that became known as the beatles, because they were usually masked and their captors could hear only their british accents. their leader, emwazi — orjihadijohn — was killed in an air strike in 2015. aine davis was arrested in the same year, he's now serving a seven yearjail sentence. british aid worker alan henning was just one of at least two dozen foreign hostages they held captive and then executed. the four had met and became radicalised in west london. elsheikh worked in white city as a mechanic. last year, the american state department designated kotey and elsheikh as wanted terrorists who had fought for islamic state. kotey was born in paddington in london. he was of ghanaian and greek cypriot background. the citation said he used exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding. elsheikh's family had fled sudan in the 1990s. he became a british citizen. according to the state department, he'd earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions and crucifixions. the two men were captured by the american—backed syrian democratic forces, a kurdish—led militia. the story was confirmed by american officials, after it first appeared in the new york times. the fate of the two men is unknown.

they could be sent to the us detention centre at guantanamo bay or they could stand trial in the states. the foreign office in the uk said it would not comment on individual cases or ongoing investigations. i was at home just doing a bit of studying and i got a message on instagram from a journalist at about eight o'clock at night, and it was to tell me the news that that there was rumours that the americans had caught the two remaining beatles that has been a part of my dad's murder. how did you feel?

what were the emotions? at first i was sceptical. there are always rumours, you do tend to get the occasional one that is not true, and then, i got a news alert on my phone, from the bbc confirming it, and i thought, right, this is real. and, at first, i wasjust completely in shock, i didn't know what to feel, i didn't know what to think, and then, you kind of realise it's real, and you think, that's it. they are gone, they cannot hurt anybody else. it is that feeling of relief that they got them. and obviously, i am sure it is still really difficult now, it never goes away, but does some of it come back to you, last night? it does, because you... people say that you learn to get over it, but you never get over it, you just learn how to deal with it and manage the different emotions that play in your head every day. it does bring it all back. i remember seeing him in an orangejumpsuit, and that was those men too were responsible

for that, and they were responsible for the torture of these other hostages, for the torture of these other hostages, and the deaths of quite a lot of man and i'm actually close with a lot of their families. and what do you want to happen to these men? my personal opinion is that they should die a long, slow painful death. i think quite a lot of people will understand that, that they shouldn't be allowed to live, but realistically, that's not going to happen. and, you've got to come to terms with that. the best thing that could happen is they get locked up and throw away the key. they should never be allowed back in society. they willjust recruit people, and they willjust do this again. if it does go to trial, what are your thoughts about that?

if it goes to trial, i will certainly be there. i certainly want to look them in the eye and let them know that i am who i am and they have destroyed a big part of my life. and hopefully there will be some sort ofjustice. do you think, then seeing you, what would your hope be? i would hope that they would show some sort of remorse. seeing the families, and seeing the people that they have actually affected, and it is not, for them, they just think it's a video, but it's not, it's real people's lives, and hopefully, they will start to realise that and, if they are capable, even show a bit of the morse. newspaper reports here in the uk are alleging that aid workers for one of the country's biggest charities, oxfam, regularly used prostitutes when stationed in haiti in 2011. prostitution is illegal there, and the use of sex workers is banned by the charity's code of conduct. lets talk to our correspondence. what are details about these oxfam staff in haiti? these are very

damning claims. the times paper says that senior aid workers hired prostitutes after the earthquake hit backin prostitutes after the earthquake hit back in 2010, following, and then... of course the international relief effort. this, of course, was a massive disaster. more than 200,000 people were killed. 1.5 million people were killed. 1.5 million people forced to live in makeshift cell tours —— shelters. apparently, these aid workers while staying in guesthouse and homes, paid for by the charity, use this accommodation to hire prostitutes and to conduct sex parties. there are other allegations about pornography, as well. what have oxfam said. they have but at a statement. what are they saying? tenner they have responded, and they say that they immediately started an investigation into this 2011, as soon as it was

made aware of these allegations. into this 2011, as soon as it was made aware of these allegationsm says that the behaviour by some of these members of staff, and as a result, four were dismissed, in including the country director before the end of the investigation. it does say, though, that allegations of underage girls were not proven. they have got a hotline, as well. it is interesting... important to say that they are one of the biggest british charities. they receive hundreds of thousands of pounds of donations. after 2010, there was a big appeal, and more than £100 million was raised by the british public to help those affected by the haiti earthquake. now, we have also had a statement from the charity commission, and it says that allegations involving

oxfa m says that allegations involving oxfam staff risk undermining public trust, the charity made the commission aware that it was carrying out its internal investigation, over these games of sexual behaviour and bullying, as well, but it says that the reports. did not go into precise detail of these allegations. thank you very much. researchers at edinburgh university have grown human eggs in a laboratory for the first time. the findings could lead to new ways of preserving women's fertility. here's our health and science correspondent, james gallagher. in laboratories in edinburgh, scientists have grown human eggs. they've taken immature eggs that women are born with and transformed them so they are ready to be fertilised. it's taken decades of work to copy what happens inside women's ovaries. we never imagined that we would be getting these kind of results using human tissue. so it's a significant step, but, of course, the main objective for us is to improve and determine

the safety of these techniques, so that they could, in the future, go into some kind of application. it could be used for young girls with cancer, as treatment can damage their fertility. so how might it work? a girl diagnosed with cancer would have a sample of her ovary frozen before cancer treatment, then later, as an adult, the tissue would be defrosted, an egg grown, fertilised, and then put in the womb. there may even be other applications in fertility treatment. this treatment is at an early stage and needs refining. none of the eggs have been fertilised, so it is still uncertain how viable they are. joining me now from edinburgh is professor evelyn telfer, the lead researcher at the university of edinburgh. thank you so much for being with us.

talk us through, how big a breakthrough do you think this is, and what does that mean? show. it is and what does that mean? show. it is an incremental break through. we have been working on this for a number of years, but we have never been able to get the immature eggs all the way through to the mature stage. other people have done small pa rt stage. other people have done small part of it in terms of the whole process , part of it in terms of the whole process, and what we've been able to do is put it all together, and so, it isa do is put it all together, and so, it is a significant breakthrough, but worcester have a lots of work to do in terms of proving the process, —— we still have a lot of work to do in terms of proving the process and checking the help of the egg that we grow. just talk to us than about the indications of this. visit, we hear what you say about you got a long way to go, but ultimately, what will this mean for women and bertolucci? well, there are many implications. the system by itself allows us to study the process of egg development. we are getting in

insight into what regulates human 999 insight into what regulates human egg development, and we will understand it more and we will be able to manipulate the process more. ona more able to manipulate the process more. on a more practical sense, we are starting with this ovarian tissue, these strips of ovarian tissue that contain immature eggs. and, at the moment, many young girls and women are having that stored before they have chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment. the only option to use that tissue at the moment is to have it transplanted, and that might not be suitable for many of these women. so, this offers an alternative, if it is shown to be successful, reproducible, and healthy and safe. safe. how long might it be before we know that? years? that is a difficult question to answer, as it has taken so long just to get to this stage, if you were to extrapolate, you would say it would be many years. once you get to a certain point, things can improve,

because we now know what we should do to move forward. i would not like to give a date on that but i would say we are making good progress and maybe once we can fertilise these aches we would be in a better position to say how long it might be to reach clinical applications. we we re to reach clinical applications. we were talking to another professor about this a little earlier on. -- these eggs. that professor said that there would be legal and ethical implications if this were put into effect. and into research, because we are not allowed to fertilise eggs and this we have a licence, and so clearly we cannot do that until we get that, so that is one aspect, but onceit get that, so that is one aspect, but once it gets to treatment, that is the thing about discussing the possibility of these techniques, if we can discuss them now, we can prepare for the future and discuss what the ethical and legal implications may be and take action.

fascinating, thank you very much. let's check out the weather prospects. heavy rain across eastern part, sleet and snow falling further north and west but into the afternoon, for many of us, that should clear away and some lengthy spells of sunshine, but it will feel colder compared to yesterday. this afternoon, cloudy and wet, lincolnshire, yorkshire, suffolk, wintry showers coming into the northwest, in between, for many of us, try this afternoon, good sunshine, maximum temperature is four to 7 degrees, colder than it was four to 7 degrees, colder than it was yesterday. through the evening, and tonight, that rain across

eastern areas will ease down, cloud gathers in the west, with outbreaks of rain eventually moving in through tonight. in between a bit of a frosty start on saturday morning, day on saturday, heavy rain and strong winds, by sunday, things improving, colder, but sunny spells and some snow showers. this is bbc newsroom live, our latest headlines. the daughter of an aid worker killed in syria by two british jihadis who were part of the so called islamic state says she's relieved they have been captured. david haines was murdered by the group in 2014. they have destroyed a big part of my life and hopefully they'll get some justice. eu negotiator michel barnier warns that a transitional deal after the uk leaves the eu "is not a given". he says that substantial disagreements between britain and the eu need to be overcome. the charity oxfam has condemned

the behaviour of seven former members of its staff in haiti, after newspaper allegations that the aid workers regularly used prostitutes when stationed in the country in 2011. the charity said the men were no longer working for it. the company has said that it is committed to preventing sexual abuse. human eggs have been successfully grown in a laboratory for the first time. the breakthrough could lead to new ways of preserving the fertility of children having cancer treatment. why —— and fireworks in south korea as the opening ceremony to the winter trinity mirror has announced a £127 million deal to buy

the express and star newspapers from northern & shell as well as ok magazine. the company says the combined group will be able to save money by sharing content and reducing duplication. a little earlier i spoke to dominic ponsford, editor of the press gazette who told us how he viewed the deal. works for both sides, slam dunk for trinity mirror. they value the group at five times this, five years' time there will have their money back and there will have their money back and the rest is gravy as it were, for richard desmond, he has made a lot of money out of express newspapers since buying them in 2000, for him it isa since buying them in 2000, for him it is a great time to cash out, i don't think many other people will buy it. trinity mirror can do it, biggest publisher, they can share a lot of costs, not least, printing presses , lot of costs, not least, printing presses, which they have a lot of. the traditional view is that

newspapers have been losing money but the express has been making money. the daily express has made good office for the whole time richard desmond owned it but this deal values it at only £150 million. look at twitter, never made a penny for anyone, it has lost £2 billion since it was launched, it is worth 20 billion... laughter rather sad for all the media, people do not see a long—term future in it so that is why the valuation is comparatively low. talk to us about what will happen in terms of the politics of the express in particular, it has always been a standard—bearer of the right and brexit, will that change now it is intranet to mirror‘s hands? particularly on brexit, it would be difficult to argue that it has not been stridently in favour of brexit, the most stridently pro—"brexit" newspaper. trinity mirror publishes the daily mirror, one of only two

left—wing newspapers we have, so either, a shared editorial leadership, difficult to see how the express will stay as forthright on the right as it has been. that is interesting, could lead to a slightly more floral newspaper make up for the slightly more floral newspaper make upforthe uk, slightly more floral newspaper make up for the uk, if the express go slightly towards the left, because uk national newspapers are predominantly right—wing and i think it will have to do that if only briefly, the daily mirror is strongly left—wing, so it has to go slightly in that direction at least. in a late night session, the us house of representatives has approved a new spending bill, averting a second protracted government shutdown. public services briefly halted after the senate missed a midnight deadline, but it later passed the bill, which will now go to president trump. the bipartisan deal includes

spending increases worth hundreds of billions of dollars, opposed by many conservatives; and it has been criticised for not including measures to protect young immigrants, known as the dreamers. the eu's chief brexit negotiator has said the uk's decision to leave the single market and customs union would mean checks at the irish border were "unavoidable". an agreement between the government and brussels in december committed the parties to an open border in ireland after britain leaves the bloc. let's speak to our brussels reporter adam fleming. started up rather bizarrely, that michel barnier said he had not received a comment on an update because of a diary clash. he had not received a comment on an update because of a diary clashlj asked him if he thought that was a bit weird, this is what has happened, they were meant to discuss the future relationship and the uk's approach this morning, i understand that was going to be oliver robinson, chief civil servant brexit negotiator on speaking with the

deputy of michel barnier, his opposite number, i have heard that michel barnier can to meeting and oliver robinson is unable to speak with him because they are not at the same level, michel barnier negotiates only with david davis. the meeting will take place at the right level, however, european sources are saying that will not happen this afternoon, instead they will have a talk about future dates and negotiating rounds. —— oliie robbins. that is frankly a mess, and we will only know what happens by tea—time tonight, that is one of four things i heard in the press conference where there were problems between the two sides. let's talk through a couple of the others, on the irish border, that was quite interesting, because he was saying border checks would be unavoidable, if the uk leaves the customs union and the single market. that is another issue where we will have to wait time to find out what happens, what is going on at the moment is

officials in the building, the european commission, and british counterparts, are trying to turn commitments made between the prime minister and jean—claude juncker in december written down in a document called the joint report into an actual text of a treaty that would draw agreement, the actual brexit treaty, they have to make that legally watertight, and sound like a treaty should. what michel barnier said was that they will proceed on the basis that they will go for the third favourite option, which is continued regulatory alignment with the single market and the customs union, which to some people sounds like staying in the single market, which the uk does not want. having said that, the uk is now going to present the other two options, coming up with a really good future relationship, or coming up with specific solutions for the border

which means you do not need to have border checks. officially, the text we are going to discuss now is going to be about the uk's third favourite options, but the uk will still discuss the other options, the two preferred option, in parallel. i'm sorry it is so complicated, that is why i said at the start of the a nswer why i said at the start of the answer that we will have to do wait answer that we will have to do wait a little while and see what happens and what is written down regarding the border between northern ireland and the republic. we completely blame you for making brexit so complicated(!) all yourfault! laughter we will see what michel barnier has been saying on the issue of the irish border, he has said that any solution must be concise and unambiguous. a new solution must be clear, precise and unambiguous, the report provides for three options. first, solving the issues on the island of

ireland, through the future relationship. this future relationship. this future relationship will need to avoid the border and protect the corporation, and the good friday agreement. it is important to tell the truth, the uk decision to leave the single market and to leave the customs union would make border checks unavoidable. second, the uk has committed to proposing specific solutions to unique circumstances on the island of ireland, and we are waiting for such solutions. the third option is to maintain full regulatory alignment with those rules of the single market and the customs union, current or future, single market and the customs union,

current orfuture, which single market and the customs union, current or future, which support the corporation, the economy, and the good friday agreement. options one and two can only be made in the context of the future relationship. in the meantime, it is our responsibility, to include the third option in the text of the withdrawal agreement, to guarantee that there will be no hard border whatever the circumstances. michel barnier, chief brexit negotiator. where does this leave negotiations? chris maurice ca nady where does this leave negotiations? chris maurice canady spying for us. there are now less than two months before the beginning of the financial year in which brexit actually happens, so it's hardly surprising that pressure from business for greater clarity is

becoming intense. negotiations between uk and eu officials have been taking place in brussels again this week, with plenty still to be resolved over the withdrawal agreement and the details of a transition period after brexit. but in the long term this is what people wa nt to in the long term this is what people want to know — how is the uk's future relationship with the eu going to work? that means reaching agreement on trade arrangements. trying to negotiate a security treaty. and working out how future foreign policy cooperation will work in practice. and it is trade — in fa ct in practice. and it is trade — in fact the entire economic relationship — that is proving the most difficult to pin down. formal negotiations haven't even started yet. and yesterday we had a reminder that the lack of clarity is making people nervous, even outside of europe. if there is no profitability of continuing operations in uk — not japanese only —

no private company can continue operation. so it's as simple as that. and this is all high stakes that i think all of us need to keep in mind. so what do we know? well, the uk government plans to leave the eu single market and customs union, the closest form of cooperation between countries anywhere in the world. but we also know they want to maintain frictionless trade, no tariffs, no checks, the minimum of bureaucracy. but the eu says that's not possible, unless the uk sticks extremely closely to all of its rules and regulations. the uk position is still being negotiated in cabinet, but it wants the freedom to. —— the uk position is still being negotiated in cabinet, but it wants the freedom to diverge from eu rules in certain areas, agriculture is one obvious example, foreign trade deals another. it also says publicly that it wants to finalise all negotiations on the future before the uk leaves the eu in march 2019. the eu says that's not realistic, there's not enough time to sort it all out. it wants a broad

political declaration finalised by october, but says negotiations will have to continue in a transition period after brexit. as for divergence, well, it's warned the uk repeatedly that it can't expect to cherry pick the best bits of the current relationship without taking on the common responsibilities. so that's why there's now so much pressure on the government to set out more explicitly what it wants to negotiate. and don't forget, if you see headlines proclaiming "agreement reached", that's just here in the uk. you have to get the other 27 eu countries on board as well, they all have their own interests, and that's one of the reasons why this is such a complex process. the president of south korea, has

been shaking hands with the sister of the north korean leader, kim jong—un, at the opening ceremony of the winter olympics in pyeongchang, thatis the winter olympics in pyeongchang, that is the breaking news, these are the latest pictures. south korean president declaring the olympics opened, twice, in fact, shaking the hand of kim jong—un's sister, opened, twice, in fact, shaking the hand of kimjong—un's sister, and so clearly, very symbolic moment, a bit of goal ring of relations, that is how it is being seen, —— a bit of a thawing. the first member of the kim dynasty to visit the south since the korean war, so that is a historic moment. just that she was there, kim yo—jong, and now shaking the hand of the south korean president, moon jae—in. does not mean that the

crisis in the korean peninsular is in any way over, but it does mean that perhaps there is a little step towards some sort of detente. the sister of the north korean dictator, kimjong—un, sister of the north korean dictator, kim jong—un, shaking hands sister of the north korean dictator, kimjong—un, shaking hands with sister of the north korean dictator, kim jong—un, shaking hands with the president of the south. the main story, two british extremists, now reported to have been captured by kurdish fighters in syria. ——. two british extremists, believed to be members of one of the islamic state group's believed to be members of one of the islamic state groups most notorious cells, are said to have been ca ptu red cells, are said to have been captured by kurdish fighters in syria. we can speak with a man who gave up syria. we can speak with a man who gave up a career in syria. we can speak with a man who gave up a career in finance and flew to syria three years ago to fight with the syriac military council, a christian group who are allies of the kurdish ypg — people's protection units. he recently returned to the uk after helping to liberate the city of raqqa. i would

like to get your comment and reaction to the news that these two men, thought to have been implicated into the murders of 27 western hostages, have now been captured, two of the so—called the beatles, foreman from britain who were members of so—called islamic state. —— four men from britain. members of so—called islamic state. -- four men from britain. great day forjustice, -- four men from britain. great day for justice, these -- four men from britain. great day forjustice, these people have terrorised syria for many years now, the fight against is has been brutal and bloody and there is a little bit of justice and and bloody and there is a little bit ofjustice and a glimmer of hope at the end, finally seeing isis defeated and terrorists brought to justice. what would you like to see happen to them? there is talk that there will be taken to guantanamo bay, we do not yet know. since most victims were american, i think it is appropriate that they are sent to the united states to stand trial for

murder, and i think also, it is important that they have a trial, by jury important that they have a trial, by jury of their peers. so that the world can lay out their crimes and we can start creating a peace and reconciliation process during the trial period. tell us about your time there, because it is an its ordinary story, you were a financier, here in london, then decided to fight islamic state, tell us decided to fight islamic state, tell us your story. everyone camera member where they were when mosul fell in 2014, i was sitting at my desk, in ordinaryjob in the city andi desk, in ordinaryjob in the city and i was absolutely horrified at what is was doing, these gentlemen ca ptu red what is was doing, these gentlemen captured recently were horribly killing those poorjournalists and humanitarian workers. —— isis. iwas moved, i wanted to do something about it, i decided tojoin a secular democratic group on the ground and show britain what they

we re ground and show britain what they were not doing at the time, supporting local groups and drawing attention to the crisis. during the fighting, let me tell you what... let me tell the viewers what you did during the fighting. you lost a lot of friends. i went in december, 2014, i was there recently, in rack, at the liberation, i have done many things over the years, i fought alongside the ypg but i also set up alongside the ypg but i also set up a medical unit. —— raqqa. that did a lot of training, it was an ambulance service, taking people from the front line, behind the front line, andi front line, behind the front line, and ifund front line, behind the front line, and i fund raised front line, behind the front line, and ifund raised for that. we treated hundreds of people and gave training toa treated hundreds of people and gave training to a lot of people say the amount of work i have done is varied. i have done everything i can to support the local people. the home office has warned that anyone whojoins either side on home office has warned that anyone who joins either side on the syrian conflict can be prosecuted. from that point of view, what happened

when you return? i have been stopped under section seven of the anti—terrorism act, which is absolutely right, i'm a big supporter of the police. at the end of the day, i have never been arrested before, i am a british citizen that believes passionately in democracy and equality and secular values, i went out to support the real victims of the islamic state in any way i could, if that meant defending them with a weapon in my hand, setting up a medical aid charity, that is something i was prepared to do. the ypg is not listed on nt anti—terrorism act. i spent three yea rs anti—terrorism act. i spent three years there, i have come home, and i am sharing my story, telling people about what i have seen and what i did when i was there. —— the ypg is not listed on any anti—terrorism act. is islamic state being defeated, is it weaker? absolutely, difference between 2014 and what the

islamic state controlled today is enormous, they have been defeated in raqqa, their so—called caliphate has imploded, and that is why we are seeing people like the gentleman captured recently, i struggled to call them gentlemen, but those people called, they are hiding in ditches, from air strikes, running away from the sdf, the group i was with, they have nowhere to go, and finally drawing out of bunkers and surrendering as the cowards they are to the authorities. the islamic state is finished. the thing to focus on now, what kind of future do we wa nt focus on now, what kind of future do we want for syria ? focus on now, what kind of future do we want for syria? it has to be secular, democratic, federated, where all different communities come together and build a peaceful future. we need to start focusing on who is going to inherit this country, and my view is that the syrian democratic forces, the sdf, are the best best bet. would you go back if you felt he needed to, if you felt you wanted to fight again

against islamic state if you had to? i have always said that i will stand in support of the syrian people, that i want to maintain the territorial integrity of syria, focus on a federated democracy, now that isis is gone and they are out of the equation, i want to focus the british government to fight local groups. if isis raised its head again, it would not take very much for me to put a uniform back on and get out there in support of the people i love. very interesting to speak with you, thank you for your time and thank you for being so frank with us. jane hill will be here with the one o'clock news, first, the weather prospects. heavy rain moving from west to east and behind it, a scattering of wintry showers, courtesy of this

that of fellow, wind coming round from the northwest, cold at source but that is where the best of the sunshine has been. further east, nuisance cloud so far today, rather gloomy story, as you can see, friday, and greater london. for the rest, beautiful blue sky and sunshine, as denoted by this picture sent in from cumbria. showers that are falling of producing a light dusting of snow. as we go through the evening and overnight, cloud will gather and rain will push in from the west. on the leading edge of that, turning increasingly into snow, for scotland and northern ireland. vera skies, further east, cold start, hence the reason that the temperature gradient dips down. —— clearer skies. the snow can be an issue first thing if travelling in scotland, snow and ice, as much as five to ten centimetres before it eases away, there will be some lying snow first thing in the morning, maybe snow showers lingering, parts of cumbria as well. further south,

rain through wales and south—west england, that rain will be drifting east as we go through the day. it is in improving weather story across parts of scotland into the afternoon, brighter spells, rain turning heavy, as it moves through the uk, eventually towards the south—east. pretty miserable afternoon for many of us, we may break double digits but it will not feel like it. important rugby matches this weekend, on saturday, there will be some rain around, unsurprising, significant breeze as well, noticeable wind which could affect the kicking game for ireland. as we move out of saturday, the low pressure will move and on the southern flank, we could see dales or seve re southern flank, we could see dales or severe gales. then we can trace those isobars all the way up into the northwest, as we head toward sunday, it is winter proper, these

showers will be falling as snow across scotland, northern ireland and north—west england. the best of the sunshine will be further east. that is it, enjoy. this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at 1.00pm. the daughter of murdered islamic state hostage david haines, expresses her relief at the capture of two british islamic state fighters in syria who are thought to have been part of the cell which tortured him. oh! you kind of realise that they are real and to think, that is it. that feeling of relief that they have got them. the eu's chief brexit negotiator michel barnier says a proposed transition period after britain leaves the single market and customs union "is not a given" and checks at the irish border were "unavoidable". the charity oxfam has condemned staff over reports they regularly used prostitutes when stationed in haiti on a mission to help those affected by a devastating earthquake in 2010.