a "decisive" step forward on the road to brexit as britain and brussels reach a deal on the transition period. they agree on how much britain owes and the rights of eu citizens — but how to avoid a hard border in ireland remains an issue. translation: a decisive step remains a step. we are not at the end of the road and there is a lot of work still to be done on important subjects including ireland and northern ireland. we'll be looking at the agreement in detail and asking how much of a step forward it is. also this lunchtime... international chemical weapons experts arrive in uk to examine the nerve agent used to poison the former russian spy and his daughter. a 26—year—old british woman from sussex has been killed in syria, fighting alongside kurdish forces. dozens of motorists stranded overnight in devon as the mini beast from the east brings more disruption. and teetering on the edge — the homes in norfolk evacuated over the weekend amid high winds and waves. and coming up in the sport,

rory mcilroy is favourite to win golf‘s first major of the year, the masters, after his first victory in 18 months, at the arnold palmer invitational. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the brexit secretary, david davis, and the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, say it is a decisive step forward. they announced this morning that they've reached agreement on a large part of the deal for britain's departure from the eu — from the rights of eu citizens, to the transition period and how much the uk will pay. but how to avoid a hard border in ireland is still an issue. the announcement comes ahead of an eu summit later this week which the prime minister hopes

will pave the way for talks on trade. our europe correspondent, damian grammaticus, is in brussels. today has been a busy day here in brussels, david davis called it a significant step, mr barnier called ita significant step, mr barnier called it a decisive step. the outline agreement for this transition period that would come in in one year's time when the uk leads the eu, the link all the rules and trading freely but there are crucial issues remain an earlier today the irish foreign minister was here to make sure the irish border issue was not overlooked. first thing this morning and it was the irish foreign minister who was in brussels meeting michel barnier before david davis got there. his aim was to see to it that irish concerns remained uppermost in the brexit negotiations. simon coveney began the day tweeting that he was

on an early flight to ensure there would be no backsliding on the irish border issue. after his meeting, eight satisfied looking mr kirby said that solidarity with the eu partners remained strong. —— satisfied looking simon coveney. a little later it was david davis's turn, hoping a transition deal could be secured but to do so was urgent with brexit just be secured but to do so was urgent with brexitjust a year away. be secured but to do so was urgent with brexit just a year away. are you confident today? we are determined, mr barnier said. you confident today? we are determined, mr barniersaid. when they re—emerged it was to say they had agreed to a transition period after brexit where the uk will be outside the eu but continued to trade freely with it. this not need the late investment decisions based on guesses about the future deal —— need not delay. businesses have certainty about the terms that will a plight immediately after our

withdrawal which means they can continue to operate with confidence as the design of the future partnership with the eu becomes clear. mr barnier displayed on the screen is the full text of the withdrawal treaty, yellow highlights for the clauses that still needed work. the eu is insisting on its so—called backstop option where northern ireland might stay fully aligned with eu rules to avoid a new border or so we agreed today that a backstop solution must form part of the legal text of the withdrawal agreement. the backstop will apply unless and until another solution is found. the uk is still hoping a border can be avoided if it does not now present a better option than the alignment of all parts of the island of ireland should be the solution. there are still tricky issues to address here, the uk gained some things and it will be able to

negotiate and sign trade deals in that condition is not implement them and it has signed up to the shorter transition the eu wanted and all citizens rights should be guaranteed through the transition period, for eu citizens moving to the uk. all of this will go to the eu leaders who meet here at the end of the week for them to give the green light for talks to begin on the future relationship. our assistant political editor, norman smith, is in westminster. a decisive step forward, how significant is it? i think any way you slice it it is a significant moment because we now have an end date for the final departure from all existing eu rules and regulations, december 2020, and you can probably hear the sighs of relief echoing around large part of westminster and the business community because it gives us a buffer zone. for business, 21 months in which to get used to life outside

a single bucket and for government time to put in place new procedures in terms of customs policy and trade policy, immigration policy and to try to solve some of the remaining fundamental difficulties in particularly the issue around the northern ireland border. it is another key plank in the road to brexit. we had the withdrawal agreement in december and now agreement in december and now agreement on transition. the difficulty is the price that has had to be paid and for many brexiteers, they ponder whether it is too high. they don't like the fact that during this transition period we will still be subject to the rulings of the european court, we will have to accept new eu rules, we will in effect remain part of the single market, freedom of movement will largely continue as is. the question is, do the brexiteers go on the war path and try to tear down this agreement? the answer is no, i don't

think they will because however uncomfortable they might be with aspects of this deal, for then the end goal of leaving the eu is so important that they don't want to do anything to jeopardise it by potentially undermining this transition deal. thank and you can keep across the latest developments following today's agreement between britain and the eu on the bbc news website. international chemical weapons experts have arrived in salisbury to examine the nerve agent used to poison the former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter. the team, from the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons, will also visit the military research base at porton down in wiltshire. it comes a day after the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, accused the russian government of stockpiling nerve our correspondent duncan kennedy is in salisbury. i think the arrival of those weapons

inspectors at porton down, distin the road, will be crucial to confirming that agent is russian. the foreign secretary, boris johnson, said today in brussels that russian accusations to the contrary were, in his words come increasingly absurd, but moscow has repeated what it believes to be the truth is the exact opposite of what britain is saying, they are saying that britain's claims are groundless. porton down is an isolated facility on salisbury plain that has operated since the first world war and it is that expertise built up over a century that is the foundation of its world—class reputation for testing chemical weapons. the team from the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons was invited here by the government. they are expected to spend up to a week talking to scientists and others involved in the investigation buzzed up involved in the investigation buzzed up the process will be very rigorous, they are the professional

body. they are investigators from the un, very experienced operators and they do this all over the place. they have been to syria many times to investigate chemical weapons. for two weeks experts have been filmed taking what looks like samples from across salisbury. it has not been made public whether the nerve agent in board was delivered at a powder, liquid or otherform. the team that has arrived at porton down will be crucial to confirming the nature of the nerve agent. it inspectors will discuss first how to transport samples of the nerve agent from porton down out of the country. the samples will be sent for analysis to one 01’ more samples will be sent for analysis to one or more of around 20 approved laboratories at their disposal. it might take at least two weeks for the results to come through. although that process will not be quick, britain is confident that the inspectors will confirm the nerve agent comes from russia and today the foreign ministers from the eu

gave what they called their unqualified solidarity to britain's case. the foreign secretary, also in brussels, said russian denials were becoming increasingly absurd. this isa becoming increasingly absurd. this is a classic russian strategy of trying to conceal the needle of truth in a haystack of lies and obfuscation. moscow said again today it had no involvement in the attack on sergei and yulia skripal on the 11th of march. mr skripal‘s bmw seems to bea 11th of march. mr skripal‘s bmw seems to be a focus of the police enquiries, with multiple requests to the public asking them if they saw it. it is one of nearly 800 pieces of evidence gathered by officers in what they have described as a complex and challenging investigation. at the heart of the investigation is the nerve agent but we will have to be patient on this. as inspectors

have said time and again, it could ta ke two have said time and again, it could take two or more weeks before the final independent results come through. duncan kennedy, thank you. vladimir putin is beginning another six years in power after declaring an overwhelming victory in russia's presidential election. mr putin is said to have received more than three quarters of the votes. the main opposition leader, alexei navalny, was barred from standing. and there have been complaints of an unfair election, including counting irregularities and forced voting, as richard galpin reports. vladimir putin emerging triumphant, yet again, in front of his supporters, in moscow last night. this, following an election from which any serious opposition candidates had been excluded. and today the russian media, most of which is controlled by the kremlin, also revelling in his appointment as president

for another six years. and yet, cctv footage from polling stations posted on social media here tells a different story — of blatant rigging. these women stuffing ballot boxes. there are reports of hundreds of violations during the vote. officials, though, say the violations this time were far fewer than in the last election. and mr putin is already concentrating again on the big issues of state, including the crisis with britain over the poisoning of the skripals. he is adamant the kremlin was not behind the attack. translation: it is rubbish, drivel, nonsense, to think that russia would do something like that ahead of a presidential election and the world cup. and this respected academic told me it would have made no sense for the russian state to have been involved in the poisoning.

the last thing that putin needs right now is to have another problem, not even with the united kingdom, but with the west at large. my assumption has always been that after elections he would start making cautious steps in the direction of some kind of limited reconciliation. so if not the kremlin itself, some here believe it could be connected to the murky world of powerful factions swirling around the president — those determined to keep russia isolated from the west. richard galpin, bbc news, moscow. a 26—year—old british woman has been killed in northern syria, fighting alongside kurdish forces. it's understood that anna campbell, who was from lewes in east sussex, died in the town of afrin, which has been the target of turkish bombing. our turkey correspondent, mark lowen, reports. from the calm of east sussex, anna

campbell felt a calling to fight in syria pulls up in guvnor 26—year—old plumber and syria pulls up in guvnor 26—year—old plumberand human syria pulls up in guvnor 26—year—old plumber and human rights campaigner, shejoined the kurdish militia last year, dyeing her blonde hair to stand out less. she was killed reportedly in an air strike by turkey in its offences against the ypg kurdish fighters. herfather called her principled and brave. she was quite adamant about it. i said, you could be killed. and she said, i know, dad, there's nothing i can do to reassure you about that but i have to do this because it is the most important thing for me. seven other british nationals have died fighting with the kurds in syria and iraq, anna campbell is the first british woman killed. turkey declared victory over the weekend at it seized the town of afrin from the ypg who it sees as terrorists are

links to kurdish militants within turkey. the town bears the scars of a two—month offensive, some 200,000 residents fleeing, the first now returning, but as troops tore down a kurdish statue and looted shops, there is a fear thatjustice is becoming retribution. an outpouring of nationalism in turkey had accompanied this funds, crushing itch age—old kurdish foes unite a polarised country. this said tu rkey‘s polarised country. this said turkey's victory day, another says, we wrote history in afrin. turkey might move on to other areas also held by the ypg, going against the west which sees the kurds as allies in syria. anna campbell died fighting for those western allies, another life, anotherfigure in the half a million killed in syria's war. our top story this lunchtime. the government says it's taken a "decisive step" forward in negotiations with the eu over britain's departure. and still to come...

paralympics gb are on their way home after their most successful medal haul at a winter games since 1984. coming up in sport, former england and wigan wingerjosh charnley has joined warrington wolves with immediate effect. he ends a 17—month stint in rugby union with sale. it was dubbed the mini beast from the east — but it has still caused big problems in parts of england and wales. over 700 schools are closed again today, after more than 20 centimetres of snow fell in wales and south west england. about 80 motorists were forced to stay overnight, at an emergency centre set up in a college near the a30 in devon. among those stranded were a bride and groom on their wedding night, as sean dilley reports. this rescue centre in devon was not

we re this rescue centre in devon was not were newlyweds sarah and john planned to spend their first night as husband and wife. the couple were among dozens of motorists offered safe haven at okehampton college. we we re safe haven at okehampton college. we were fortu nate safe haven at okehampton college. we were fortunate in that we could get off the road at okehampton, made the decision there and then. then we came into town. there's nowhere to stay. there a voluntary group run by devon city council who came and rescued us and brought us here to okehampton college. the county councils say they helped about 80 people seek refuge from the snow after police closed a 64 mile stretch of the a 30. we certainly had the majority of people travelling on the a 30 caught out by snowdrifts. people are on the minor roads and got stuck and couldn't get any further. they came to us for someone any further. they came to us for someone and shelter for the night before getting under way today. more

than 20 centimetres of snow fall has been recorded in central and southern england, with hundreds of schools across devon, cornwall on somerset shut. in wales, more than 200 schools were either partially or fully closed, and in scotland temperatures fell to minus five. police say anyone travelling should be alert to local device. -- advice. the advice must be heeded. keep a close eye on social media, look at the weather warnings and advice and ta ke the weather warnings and advice and take heed of that advice. don't become complacent just because take heed of that advice. don't become complacentjust because the major route are looking 0k. as soon as you come of those main roads, a lot of the minor routes are treacherous. the met office has issued a fresh weather warning for england and wales. they say ice is likely to form, increasing the risk of accidents. sean dilley, the bbc news. sarah ransome is in okehampton. are things starting to improve? they are. the situation is slowly improving. the snowploughs have been

out overnight and they have been out all morning to try and clear those roads, particularly the a30 that was shut for quite some period last night. it only reopened about half past eight, nine o'clock this morning, when the emergency services we re morning, when the emergency services were clear that it was safe for motorists to drive. i drove down with myself and there were still stranded car is slowly being recovered by recovery vehicles and taken away, so that the sides of the road were clear and suitable for the lanes to be opened up. as you can tell, we had a lot of snow here overnight. freezing temperatures caused some of those problems with ice forming on the roads as well as the amount of snow. that is improving. hundreds of schools are still shut this lunchtime. it is not clear yet when they will open. with a yellow warning of ice overnight tonight, devon and cornwall police are advising drivers not to go out

after dark if they can possibly avoid it. they don't want a repeat of what happened last night. sera, thank you. they've been described as the "crack cocaine of gambling" — fixed odds betting terminals on which you can bet £100 every 20 seconds. now the gambling commission — the government's adviser on gambling — has said no—one should be allowed to bet more than £30 on them at a time. betting shops say such cuts will mean job losses across the industry. now the government must decide what to do, as our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz, reports. costly, addictive, a scourge on vulnerable gamblers — these machines, mainly in betting shops, are blamed for ruining lives. terry white from cardiff told us he lost £250,000 on fixed—odds betting terminals, and 15,000 in one day. it's a massive rollercoaster because the health implications, the emotions, the loss obviously of a large amount of money. although it was money that i'd won, it still meant i lost my house. i've been fortunate enough

that the council have found me accommodation, which i'm very grateful for, because i was facing being homeless. what the gambling commission is proposing is a limit of £2 on stakes in slot machines, but a maximum of up to £30 for the more popular roulette terminals. also, more careful tracking of how much individual gamblers are spending, but not the £2 restriction for all machines that many had been called for. the evidence we have showed you need to come down to at least £30 to have a significant impact on the harms and the risk of harms that people face. what was clear was that there was no individual figure that acted as a magic bullet, which is why we are suggesting £30 or less. for the gambling commission it is also an argument about freedom. should they put very tight controls on our freedom to gamble? and if they do, will people use their freedom of choice just to gamble online instead? so there's a possibility for a £2 maximum, only on the slot machines, which are a tiny minority of the business.

whereas the roulette games, their maximum could ~ 47,7:71‘5'1 . —— — — — — — . ~ betting shops have warned that a £2 limit on all machines would result in thousands of outlets closing. it is now up to ministers to decide how tough the restrictions will be. simon gompertz, bbc news. tv presenter and mcpartlin has been

released after being arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. he was detained yesterday afternoon following a collision involving two other cars in mortlake in south—west london. several people were treated for minor injuries after the accident, and a child was taken to hospital as a precaution. this year has been a tough one for many british retailers, with high profile problems at chains such as toys r us and maplin making the headlines. earlier this month, john lewis cut its staff bonus to its lowest level in decades. but its new boss, paula nickolds, says there's still plenty of life left in the high street. she's been speaking to our correspondent, emma simpson, as the firm opens a huge new store in west london. it's a new look for an old name. at john lewis' 50th store, things are getting personal. there is a concierge desk to plan your visit. there is a room for workshops. on how to do stuff around the house. and partners have been trained by an

actor. hello emma, and welcome to john lewis. but why get ready to open a new big expensive department store when so much shopping is now being done online? we think that the much discussed high street dying story is overstated. customers still wa nt story is overstated. customers still want to have physical experiences. they want personal interactions. looking around this shop and —— today, you can see it as a very exciting things still to do. it is not the only retailer rethinking the role of the department store. a few doors down, debenhams is opening restau ra nts a nd doors down, debenhams is opening restaurants and gymnasiums. house of fraser is trying to reduce its surplus space to save money. these are tough times for department stores. the big challenge to make the space profitable, because they've got so much, they are filling it with physical experiences

we can't get online and hoping we will spend money on their products at the same time. but of course the challenge is to make all that space profitable. i asked the newjohn lewis boss if the uk had simply too much of it. there is no doubt that consumer behaviour is changing and that currently consumer confidence is low. that means all retailers have to be at the very top of their game. and it will mean that the strong, evolve, adapt and survive, and others may not. she this one will be a crowd pleaser. but as the lights go on here, where else in our high streets will they be going out? emma simpson, bbc news, west london. britian‘s pa ralympics team are on their way home from south korea, after the winter paralympics drew to a close yesterday. paralympics gb are celebrating their most successful medal haul at a winter games since 1984. kate grey sent us this report from pyeongchang. the past ten days have seen the british team pushed to the limits on the snow and ice and pyeongchang. disappointment for the curlers,

as they came up short, and the snowboarders faltered. but on the ski slopes it was a different story — menna fitzpatrick and her guide, jen kehoe, winning four medals, including gold on the final day, to become britain's most successful winter paralympians. it's been amazing. it's been an incredible event. everyone has been really helpful, really lovely. it's really nice to have family and friends supporting us. the resilience that the athletes have shown, and certainly menna and jen from a dnf in race one to gold in race five. and i think the preparation and the ability for them to deliver those kind of performances is down to talent, but also the support behind the scenes. great britain had a target of six to 12 medals in pyeongchang, aiming to equal and with the ambition to improve on their performance from four years ago, where they won six medals and an historic gold. and with british athletes competing across more sports than ever before

at a winter games, the target seemed achievable. and it was, thanks to one sport, one classification and a small number of athletes winning all seven medals. but it does call into question the breadth and depth of the british team. i'm proud of every single one of the 17 athletes that came here to pyeongchang to represent paralympic gb. yes, the medals came from snow, but every one of those athletes did give it their all. the games drew to a fitting close with britain's golden girls carrying the flag. the international pa ralympic committee could also celebrate, with more nations taking part than ever before, and a record number of tickets sold. they can now call these games the greatest winter paralympics to date. kate grey, bbc news, pyeongchang. they are teetering on the edge of a cliff — more than 10 homes in the norfolk village of hemsby were evacuated at the weekend amid high winds and waves. their owners have been told that it's too dangerous to go back and their properties are in danger

of falling into the sea. robbie west reports. on the cliff edge, homes hung over the sea this morning in hemsby, following another night of strong winds and stormy seas. people started to leave on friday. as the tide was drawing in, lifeboat crews helped move people out. stephen chadwick knew he had to go after seeing his garden disappear overnight. i bought it for sea views, beautiful sea views. and now the sea has taken it away. woke up this morning, had a cup of coffee at half past seven at the back door. i felt — it was like an earthquake, and the cliff just went. just in total shock, and watching people taking most of the house apart. i don't think i'll be here tomorrow. homeowners were evacuated following a fortnight of high tides and easterly winds that washed the coast‘s natural defences away. the next morning, the damage could be seen. the council say 13 homes remain in a precarious position, and are being inspected after each high tide.

these properties probably won't be lived in again. the damage caused — i was up there friday, then saturday, and what was there, that is actually gone. paul rayjoined the lifeboat crews after seeing his home. he believes it's unsafe for his wife and dogs to return to the house they have lived in for the past eight years. to look at it, i think to myself, that's my home and i've lost it. but obviously i've got to look on the positive side, that i wasn't in there last night, nobody lost their lives are anything. and everybody got us out and looked after us very well. so i've got to move forward, though i have lost my home. five years ago here in hemsby, three homes were washed away following a storm surge. 13 homes are in immediate danger this time. as owners return today, they hope history won't repeat itself. robbie west, bbc news, hemsby. time for the weather

with darren bett. the mini beast from the east, helu banished it? it is gone. all gone. uk. through the week ahead it is slowly turning milder and milder. we are more likely to get rain from midweek than snow. we have banished the cold easterly wind. we get winds for a while. it changes significantly. we get atlantic air which will bring some rain. a lot of snow still. particularly in the south—west. some areas, not much snow at all. for most of us, we are seeing the sunshine. that