the uk and the eu agree the main principles of a transition deal, paving the way towards brexit. a handshake and relieved smiles after intensive talks over the weekend. the deal we struck today, on top of that agreed in december, should give us confidence that a good dealfor the united kingdom and the european union is closer than ever before. translation: a decisive step remains a decisive step, but we are not at the end of the road. there's still no solution to the problem of the northern ireland border. we'll bring you all the details about what's agreed and what's not. also tonight... investigators search a new site in the spy poisoning case as international chemical weapons experts arrive in the uk. the 26—year—old british woman killed fighting alongside kurdish militia in syria. ant mcpartlin is arrested for suspected drink—driving and goes back into treatment, his saturday night

programme is taken offair. and the couple whose white wedding lasted a little longer than they expected after they were marooned by the mini beast from the east. and coming up on sportsday in bbc news, we look back on rugby union's six nations, which culminated in an irish grand slam when they won at twickenham at the weekend. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the uk and the eu have conditionally agreed a part of the transition deal that should smooth the way towards brexit. both the eu negotiator michel barnier and the brexit secretary david davis have called the agreement — for the period from march next year

to december 2020 — a decisive step. these are the pages of the transition deal — highlighted in green is what's been agreed. in yellow, close to agreement, in white, the parts still being negotiated. agreed so far... eu citizens arriving in the uk before december 2020 will have the same rights as those here now, as will uk citizens living in the eu. the uk will be able to negotiate trade deals during the transition period. but not yet agreed is the issue of the border with northern ireland. our europe editor katya adler has more. in the quest to resolve relations after brexit today was a big moment between the eu and uk. an historic handshake to seal a deal, not the final brexit deal but the long—awaited agreement on transition to ease the uk from leaving the eu to life on the outside. the eu and

uk's chief brexit negotiators were visibly relieved, they had been under pressure from business. businesses need not delay investment decisions or rush through plans based on guesses about the future, instead they now have certainty about the terms that will apply after withdrawal. certainty, not quite. an oft repeated phrase at ago she nations is... nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. the transition deal is part of the uk's complex moved to all withdrawal agreements from the eu. areas highlighted in green indicate where agreement has been reached but emissions are daring. like ireland, there is still no solution on how to avoid a hard border between northern

ireland and the republic. the uk hopes an ambitious trade deal can solve the problem butjust in case, ireland and the rest of the eu insist on a backstop agreement where northern ireland stays in the customs union and parts of the single market. what ireland has asked for is we would have an insurance mechanisms so i and others can say to people in northern ireland and ireland, we will not have border infrastructure again. what was agreed today? it will be time limited. the uk will continue to pay into the budget, maintaining full access to the single market and customs union. it will have to follow all eu rules but will no longer be a decision maker though it may voice concerns. the uk can sign new trade deals but cannot implement them until after transition. but brexit decision—makers were upbeat. good news today? as you see,

springer has sprung with a force spreading to these often frosty negotiations. progress today was hailed as a big step forward but it is not all good news for the government. it is clear there will not be a final trade deal between the eu and uk at the end of these talks, the transition will be used to hammer out more details and to get this far, the uk has had to make concessions. like fishing. farfrom taking back control as promised by the government, eu quotas will continue during transition, allowing eu countries to fish in uk waters. the transition period is expected to be waved through by eu leaders at a summit at the end of the week. in a moment we'll be getting reaction from our business editor simonjack. but first, let's go to our political editor in a moment we'll be getting reaction from our but first, let's go to our political editor laura kuenssberg in westminster.

how is this agreement going down there is it being seen as a success for the government? i think you would have heard the sighs of relief in westminster in brussels. there had to be compromised to get this far. some budging on the eu side but a lot more from the british government for tory mps, particularly on fishing. there has been compromises too far and certainly some of the things agreed in the draft deal are different from what leave voters we re different from what leave voters were promised in summer 2016. it will be almost two years before the government can make significant changes to immigration policy and we will play billions of pounds for almost two years after leaving. but broadly speaking for the government, their priority in terms of brexit has been to get this transition deal done. today, they believe they have done. today, they believe they have done that. the reason is

straightforward. they were concerned about the idea of brexit being a shock to the system where we leave next year and were responding to demands in their party and the business community that the big decision the country took was something that would have to happen over time and today is a big building block to making sure that agreement is in place but a lot of work still to do and so sighs of relief in number 10, but maybe not for long. simon this gives business more certainty, is it enough? the sighs of relief laura is talking about are echoed in the boardrooms of businesses in the uk. it is a welcome development in the brexit process , welcome development in the brexit process, time to have breathing space to prepare for life outside the eu but having said that,

businesses like banks and pharmaceutical companies, car companies, it does not mean the issues will be spirited away, what will happen in northern ireland, about regulation, investment but businesses talking to their employees, who employ eu staff, this will be welcome. bigger businesses have spent hundreds of millions on contingency plans and i do not expect them to stop. they will want more detail about the final picture and what our relationship will be. for the business community, very welcome, a time to draw breath, but not a time to relax. simon jack and laura, thank you. 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. it comes as eu foreign ministers expressed unqualified solidarity with britain.

the focus of the investigation shifted ten miles north of salisbury, to the village of durrington. here, officers examined and then removed a car that was used to pick up yulia skripal from the airport the day before she and her father, sergei, were attacked with nerve agent. nearby, at the military research complex of porton down, inspectors from the global chemical weapons watchdog the 0pcw were due to start analysing the nerve agent that british experts believe came from russia, a process that officials say could take some weeks. in brussels, the foreign secretary was talking to nato and european allies, trying to maintain the diplomatic pressure on russia — looking notjust for statements of support, but tangible, joined—up action. there are things we can and must do together, tackling disinformation from russia, and the uk has been helping to fund that at an eu level. tackling cyber together.

the uk must prove russia's role in the poisoning of mr skripal or apologise. as for russia's diplomats in london, well, some of these officials and their families will be heading home tomorrow — 23 in all, with a similar number of british diplomats leaving moscow shortly.

tomorrow, the national security council will meet to decide britain's next steps and there is a live debate within government — should they retaliate and escalate, or simply do nothing? should they kick more russian diplomats out of the embassy here or should they find new ways of penalising russia? the question is, what further diplomatic price is the government prepared to pay? james langdale, bbc news. a british woman who was a volunteer fighter with an all—female kurdish armed unit has been killed in syria. it's understood 27—year—old anna campbell, who was from lewes in sussex, died last week in the town of afrin along the northern syrian border, where turkey has been fighting kurdish forces since january. emma vardy has been speaking to her father. anna campbell was a principled and determined young woman, according to her family. she had qualified as a plumber in the uk but she left britain to travel to syria last year. i was alarmed but not surprised,

really, because i know her. she's always had a desire, a wish, a tendency to protect the vulnerable. ifi if i wanted to participate in the revolution of women... anna campbell had joined the all—female kurdish armed group, the ypj. she saw them as a movement representing women's liberation in the middle east but turkey considers them as an extension of the kurdistan workers party, which, it says, is a terrorist organisation. at first she became involved in fighting against so—called islamic state where is has been holding the last of its territory. but, injanuary, the new front in the conflict opened up. turkey began attacking the kurds along the northern syrian border, around the town of afrin. in a statement, the ypj said they tried to keep anna campbell away from the front lines but that she had insisted

on joining the operation. british police have repeatedly warned against travelling to syria and have advised that becoming involved with any armed group could lead to prosecution. since 2015, seven british men have lost their lives while assisting the kurds. others, who have returned to the uk, have been arrested. it is in afrin that kurdish commanders say anna campbell was killed by turkish air strikes and friends informed herfamily. i know she would never have forgiven me if i had stopped herfrom going but i feel like i could have done more to raise awareness of what was going on. anna campbell is the first british woman fighting with the kurds to have died. her family say she was driven by a belief in creating a better world and was prepared to put her life on the line. emma vardy, bbc news, in lewes. one of the largest inquiries into the alleged abuse of teenage british army recruits has collapsed after a judge halted the first

of three court—martials. it had been alleged 16 instructors ill treated 28. the judge said a three—year investigation by the royal military police have been seriously flawed. the tv presenter, ant mcpartlin, says he will seek further treatment after he was arrested on suspicion of drink—driving. he was detained yesterday afternoon following a collision involving three cars in south west london. itv says his saturday night programme broadcast with his partner declan donnelly will not be broadcast this weekend. 0ur entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba has more. moments after the mini he was driving was involved in a collision with two cars, ant mcpartlin at the scene of the crash. when police arrived he was taken away under arrest after failing a breath test. a number were treated for minor injuries and a child passenger taken to hospitalfor a precautionary

checkup. the evening before, ant mcpartlin have presented itv‘s saturday night takeaway. he returned to tv last year after going into rehab visitation to treat addiction to alcohol and painkillers. this afternoon, the broadcaster said... from britain's got talent through to i'm a celebrity so much of itv‘s deterrent is built on ant mcpartlin as well as his co—host, declan donnelly foot appear they will be trying to wreck what one of this will mean for the long—term future of one of it's will mean for the long—term future of one of its biggest stars. —— trying to work out. police say inquiries into the collision are

continuing. the time is 18:15pm. our top story. britain and the eu shake on a brexit transition deal — but there's still no agreement over northern ireland. still to come.., a heroes' welcome for britain's pa ralympians as they return from their most successful winter games. coming up in the sport, as a new favourite for golf masters in a couple of weeks it is rory mcilroy after he won the arnold palmer invitational yesterday, his first tournament victory since september, 2016. doctors have restored the sight of two patients with the most common form of blindness in the uk. more than 600,000 people in the uk sufferfrom age related macular degeneration and doctors hope the treatment could be widely available within a few years. the team at moorfields eye hospital in london used surgery to insert stem cells at the back of the eye. here's our medical correspondent fergus walsh. before his pioneering

stem—cell treatment, douglas waters was completely blind in his right eye. now he can see. everyone wanted to go outside when the... rain finally stopped. that's perfect. so, this is an amazing improvement, mr waters. ijust couldn't believe it. and each morning, i picked things out in the bedroom to look at, out of the garden. i'd do this. and it's unbelievable. i'm really chuffed, i suppose you could say! and so is his surgeon. two patients with age—related macular degeneration had the sight—restoring treatment at moorfields eye hospital, in london. we are able to show that we could take someone that could not read at all, that could not see the book that they were supposed to be reading from, and taken them to reading around 60—80 words per minute with their normal reading glasses.

for us, this is a fantastic breakthrough. and it could help other patients with age—related macular degeneration, who can lose all their central vision. so what causes amd? well, if we open the eye, the macular is at the back. it's the part of the retina responsible for central vision. now, if we pull out a section, here are the light—sensitive cells, the rods and cones. amd is triggered when a crucial layer of support cells — seen here in green — die. as a result, patients gradually lose the ability to read or to recognise faces. scientists use stem cells from human embryos and turn them into the support cells needed. they were put onto a tiny patch like this, which was placed at the back of douglas's eye. you can see it here. the stem cells repaired his vision. regenerative medicine's goal is to restore a person's health. i think this is one of the first

indications from regenerative medicine that that can be achieved. we can stop people from going blind. douglas, who's 86, says the stem—cell therapy has given him renewed independence. moorfields says it should be no more expensive than other amd treatments, and potentially could help save the sight of thousands of patients. fergus walsh, bbc news. the government has been told it needs limit the amount of money people can spend on fixed odds betting machines. they've been described as the ‘crack cocaine of gambling' — with people being able to bet up to a hundred pounds a time. the gambling commission is advising the maximum stake should be 30 pounds. campaigners and opposition mp‘s had called for the limit to be no more than £2. danny savage has more. they are found in nearly every high street bookmakers. traditional—looking fruit machines with a very modern twist.

you can gamble up to £100 a spin but now it's been suggested the maximum bet should be £30 or as low as £2. terry white lost a quarter of a million on them. he was addicted to playing the games on a digital screen. £5 became 10, became 20. next thing i didn't realise how much i was putting in. and, strangely, because you're putting the money in quickly, it's not like you're dealing in caah face—to—face over the table or in a private card game or somewhere, it'sjust a number on a screen and that also makes it easier for you to lose control. these three bookmakers in sheffield all have the machines and around them are signs warning people not to gamble more than they can afford. now nobody coming out of these shops today wanted to talk to us on camera but they all believed that limiting the amount of money you could bet would not necessarily solve the issues of so—called problem gambling. have you got an app on your smartphone, a gambling app?

justin larkham lectures on gambling awareness. today he was talking to academics at the university of hertfordshire. he's a former gambling addict and is concerned that betting shop punters willjust go elsewhere. actually it might drive people to go online betting, which potentially is more dangerous and hidden. so i also think that a reduction from £100 down to £30 will make a difference. a maximum bet of £30 is being suggested for non—slot machines like these ones, where you can play roulette but, where's that figure come from? the evidence we looked at showed that you need to come down to at least £30 in order to have a significant impact upon the harms and risk of harms that people face. what was clear though was there was no individual figure that acted as a magic bullet, which is why we're suggesting £30 or less. bookmakers say the machines account for half the revenue taken in their shops and they say, if maximum bets are limited, the odds of finding one of these on your high street will be slashed.

danny savage, bbc news, sheffield. uber has announced it is ending testing cars with no drivers. the mini beast from the east brought snow and biting winds for much of the uk over the weekend. among the worst affected areas was the south west of england where hundreds of drivers were stranded on the a30 last night with police closing a 60 mile stretch between exeter and bodmin. jon kay has the story of one couple who got stuck at the most unfortunate time. a white wedding. but sarah and john lund had no idea their honeymoon would be even whiter.

fun driving conditions. after the confetti, a blizzard of snow, as they headed through devon on the a30 last night. so, they abandoned their car on the edge of dartmoor and began married life in an emergency rescue centre. we did see accidents on both sides of the road and other cars driving in a haphazard way. we went very slowly and we just knew we needed to keep each other safe. so, this ended up being the marital bed — on the floor of the school classroom with 80 other rescued motorists. no, wasn't expecting that at all. yeah, lots of potential scenarios go through your mind before your wedding night but never imagine snow in 0kehampton. so, after a night they will never forget, the newlyweds checked out of their unlikely honeymoon suite... retrieved the wedding car, and got their marriage back on track, heading to their hotel in cornwall before another storm arrived.

with temperatures falling yet again, and more severe ice predicted, motorists here in the south—west of england are being urged to stay off the moors overnight and not to drive at all after dark. not that mr and mrs lund planned to drive anywhere this evening. they have made it to their hotel in cornwall where the sun has been shining and where tonight they finally have a room to themselves. jon kay, bbc news. britain's paralympic team arrived home today after their most successful winter games. menna fitzpatrick and her guide jen kehoe became britain's most decorated winter paralympians — with one gold, two silver and a bronze at this year's paralympic games in south korea. andy swiss reports. they left as hopefuls and have

returned as history makers. four medals including the best base save till last. fitzpatrick has less than 596 till last. fitzpatrick has less than 5% vision. she followed her guide to gold for slalom. they told me it is barely sinking in. it means everything to me. i have always had a dream since i was little to come away with a medal at the paralympic games. 2018 was always that goal from ever since i first started. i am immensely proud to have done it. hopefully it will inspire others to go out there and do the same and get out and try something you never know where it will lead. this is a simulation of what fitzpatrick sees when she is skiing. following her guide potluck bright orange beard at up guide potluck bright orange beard at up to 70 miles an hour. her parents first took her skiing when she was

five. how things have changed! she used to follow me down the slope in a bright orange coat. she used to shout me to wait for her and i am having to shout at her to wait for me. the pair are already targeting the next games. for now they say they will celebrate with a cup of tea. time for a look at the weather. when will it be over? it has stopped snowing and the lying snow will melt this week will stop we have lost the bitterly cold wind. things will become lighter and then there will become lighter and then there will bea become lighter and then there will be a change in wind direction which will bring rain from mid week onwards. a lot of dry weather at the

moment and a lot of snow lying, particularly over the hills. the drifting snow has been the problem today. looks much more like spring in belfast. not everywhere covered with snow. it will turn icy tonight. we have cloud loitering in the north sea. there may be one or two drizzly showers, heightening the risk of icy patches. it will be colder in the west and north, particularly in scotla nd west and north, particularly in scotland and northern ireland where we have clear skies and light winds. the high pressure has pushed away the snow showers and it has dropped the snow showers and it has dropped the wind as well. a lot of the showers will break up and we will get some decent sunshine. further north some thicker cloud to give some drizzly showers allowing sunshine to develop in northern

england. all the while plenty of sunshine in scotland and northern ireland. temperatures higher than today. still a chilly wind in the east of england. it will lose that on wednesday when will start to pick up on wednesday when will start to pick upa on wednesday when will start to pick up a milder, atlantic wind. much more cloud on wednesday. 0utbreaks of rain most of it in western scotla nd of rain most of it in western scotland over the hills. we could see tebbutt is up to 10 celsius. lucky us. —— temperatures up to 10 celsius. britain and the eu have agreed a traditional brexit transition deal but there is still no agreement over northern ireland. that's it. now on bbc one, we canjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. this is bbc news and our latest headlines: a big step on the road to brexit as agreement is reached on the uk's transition period, but the eu's chief negotiator warns there's still work to be done — particularly on the irish border. businesses need not delay investment decisions or rush through contingency plans based on guesses about the future deal,

instead they now have certainty about the terms that will apply immediately after our withdrawal. a decisive step remains a step. we're not at the end of the road, there is a lot of work still to be done. 0utside salisbury forensic teams examine another car